Charlotte Kaye watched Treasurer Jim Chalmers deliver the federal budget from the $484-a-week rental she shares with her two adult sons in Coburg in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

"I can honestly say I felt totally worthless, invisible," she said.

"Surprise, surprise, the most vulnerable of our society have been ignored again."

While the government says it has the economy moving in the right direction, Charlotte doesn't feel better off than she did 12 months ago.

According to new polling commissioned by the ABC's Q+A, neither does the rest of the country.

Just 12 per cent say they're better off now compared to 12 months earlier, according to the weighted national poll of 1,501 Australians by YouGov.

More than four in 10 say they're worse off, while a similar number reported they're in the same position financially.

And in an election campaign that has both sides balancing cost of living pledges with a budget black hole, the research shows two-thirds of Australians want financial support before deficit reduction.

Just a quarter of respondents felt reducing the budget deficit — forecast to hit $42 billion in 2026-27 — should be the priority.

For Charlotte — who spoke passionately about her struggles to find employment and make rent on Q+A last week — any relief is welcome.

But she says the promise of a small tax cut from the government, or a 12-month reduction in fuel excise from the Coalition, won't go far.

"I think that's just a vote grab," she said. "I think that's pointless, absolutely pointless.

"I just think at the moment, this government is just throwing money left over right, it's not thinking about the issues that are really affecting us."

Australians react to Labor budget

The Q+A/YouGov poll, taken in the days after last week's budget, shows Labor has work to do communicating its economic agenda.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of respondents said they couldn't recall anything that would make them financially better off in the budget.

Just 16 per cent named tax cuts, a $17 billion package that will make average workers around $270 better off a year from 2026-27. Just 7 per cent named energy rebates.

Most Australians — 65 per cent — believe the tax cuts won't make a noticeable difference to lives. Around a quarter say they will.

And while the government is campaigning on giving everyone a tax cut, most Australians (65 per cent) say they should have been targeted at low-income earners who need it the most rather than a universal cut (27 per cent).

The YouGov survey also reveals where the financial pain points are for many Australians. Mortgages and rent unsurprisingly topped the list (30 per cent ranked it first), ahead of groceries, utilities and medical bills.

Charlotte gets a $500-a-week JobSeeker allowance, leaving less than $50 for other expenses. Her twin 18-year-old boys live with her and help out where they can.

"I can't live on $50 a week," she said. "That $50 is supposed to be for everything, all my utilities, my food, my Myki [public transport] card …

She warns of a "massive class divide" across the community.

"You've got the people who have and the people who haven't. And the people who haven't are the majority," she said.

'Why is my life worth so little?'

Charlotte's testimony on Q+A last week has racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media.

"It was the first time ever in my life I've really spoken up, and it made me feel good about myself," the 55-year-old mother of four said.

"Women of my age are not being listened to. We're invisible and we're being brushed aside."

Charlotte is university educated and has worked as a nurse, in real estate and retail. She's completing a masters in counselling "so I can be self-employed". 

She says one interviewer advised her to shave 10 to 15 years off her age.

"I'm either under-qualified or I'm highly over-qualified. I can't find that middle ground," she said.

She's worried what another rent rise could mean.

"If I lose this property, when my lease comes up in July, there's a high likelihood I'm going to be homeless because I can't afford to live here," she said.

"Why is my life and others on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, the aged pension worth so little?

"My story isn't unusual … There are loads and loads and loads of people like me."

She wants politicians to work together — a tough ask in the first week of a fierce election campaign.

"We are in such a mess," she said.

"The country is becoming so divided and that is so, so wrong. It shouldn't be this way. I'm really upset. I'm furious."

Watch Q+A — with federal frontbenchers Ed Husic and Ted O'Brien — tonight at 9.35pm AEDT on ABC TV and ABC iview.