Ask Izzy Cut Sparks Cross-Party Revolt as Demand Hits Record

Almost 200 charities and community organisations have joined a cross-party campaign urging the Albanese government to restore $2 million a year for Ask Izzy, a free online directory linking people in crisis to food, housing and emergency help. The coalition has grown from 24 organisations at launch, while more than 2,000 Australians have written to politicians demanding action.

Pressure is building as the service reaches record demand. Ask Izzy logged 9.1 million searches last financial year, up 7 per cent. Food made up almost a third of requests. Financial assistance, housing and mental health support followed.

Who Relies On It

The people using the tool aren't an abstraction. Women account for 63 per cent of users, and one in five people seeking housing assistance are escaping family violence. Not-for-profit Infoxchange runs the service, which lists more than 500,000 charities, government programs and community organisations.

Demand stretches well beyond capital cities. In Victoria’s Mallee electorate, home to about 88,000 people, residents made roughly 28,000 searches for help last year. Coalition MPs in regional Queensland have requested detailed figures by electorate ahead of Senate estimates hearings later this month.

Independent MP Allegra Spender said her office relies on the tool. “Ask Izzy is a fantastic service connecting the most vulnerable members of our community to support when they really need help,” she said. “Our office uses it when we're trying to find emergency assistance for people in our electorate.”

A Rare Alliance in Canberra

Support for restoring the funding crosses the chamber. The Coalition, the Greens, One Nation and crossbench MPs back the campaign, though One Nation and the independents haven't made formal commitments. The office of Tasmanian Liberal senator Claire Chandler told a constituent that the Coalition supported reinstatement. “When in government, the Coalition always provided financial support to the Ask Izzy service,” the office said in correspondence. “Labor must explain why it has stripped funding away from a service helping 9.1 million Australians seeking assistance in hard times.”

The question remains unanswered. No federal government minister has publicly explained the decision to end funding on June 30, offering only a reference to government processes. Services Australia confirmed that its funding agreement ended on June 30 and pointed to alternative government referral services that don't require additional licensing or subscription costs.

Infoxchange chief executive David Spriggs rejected the idea that others can easily fill the gap. “The government helped establish Ask Izzy, and its agencies, funded services and countless vulnerable Australians rely on it every day,” he said. “The government should restore the funding.”

The Ask From Frontline Workers

Campaign organisers are seeking $6 million over three years. They estimate that the service generates $83.1 million in annual public value, far exceeding the $2 million-a-year cost of keeping it running.

Frontline workers and people with lived experience of homelessness, family violence and financial hardship plan to travel to Canberra during the next parliamentary sitting week and press their case in person. The campaign warns that cutting emergency assistance during a cost-of-living crisis could leave vulnerable Australians without help.

Why This Matters: Ask Izzy stands at the front door of the safety net. For someone fleeing family violence or facing a night without housing, a free, searchable directory can mean finding help in minutes—or not finding it at all. The figures show who uses the service: mostly women, many escaping violence, in towns and cities alike. Organisers estimate that the $2 million-a-year saving pales beside the $83.1 million in public value the service generates, even as demand reaches record levels. The episode also raises a question of democratic accountability. When backbenchers, crossbenchers and charities across the spectrum call a service essential, yet funding disappears without a ministerial explanation, voters are left asking who decided and why. Senate estimates hearings later this month offer the first formal chance to get answers.