Australian wealth not reaching all: report YEARS of economic growth have failed to stem the number of disadvantaged people in Australia, with new research finding many are still being "left behind." As Australia grew richer - thanks largely to a booming resources sector - during the decade leading up to 2010, up to 40 per cent of the nation's adult population experienced at least one year of poverty relative to income, according to a Productivity Commission report. "While strong economic growth is a means of increasing living standards and opportunities for Australians, it does not necessarily mean that the benefits of growth are equally shared," the report reads. The document cites figures showing that in 2010 up to 2.8 million Australians were "income poor," living in a household earning less than half the national average. 2.9 million experienced multiple deprivation, including being unable to afford health care, and a quarter of adults experienced social exclusion. "Notwithstanding growing levels of prosperity over the last two decades, and the unemployment rate more than halving ... some Australians continue to be left behind," the report reads. The 246-page working paper released on Thursday shows impoverishment is most common in large towns and rural areas and often comes from prolonged periods of financial hardship. "There is strong evidence to show that education, employment and good health are associated with protection against disadvantage," the report says. It noted however, that the most disadvantaged do not have the opportunity to develop their capabilities. The development of effective public policy to combat disadvantage depends on evidence-based research gathered over the long term, the report says. While countries including New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada have compiled more extensive data on poverty trends, Australia lacks research. The Productivity Commission and other Australian agencies rely on databases including labour force statistics and household income surveys to analyse the extent of disadvantage. These surveys have only been operating for a relatively short period of time and, as such, do not provide a complete picture of the life-course people take.