Families in Bidyadanga and Yakanarra in the Kimberley, Kiwirrkurra in the Gibson Desert and Jigalong in the Pilbara can access cheaper food and everyday items at an additional 15 remote grocery stores.
The federal government's Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme will cover 30 essential items in these Western Australian "outback stores", including tinned vegetables, canned fruit, toilet paper and nappies.
Prices for essential items in remote communities often balloon due to the costs associated with transporting goods to the regions.
The scheme reduces the cost of the items in line with prices people pay in urban areas.
For Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community chief executive Tania Baxter, whose community is the largest remote Aboriginal community in WA, owning and operating a remote store comes with additional challenges.
"The cost of freight and limited buying power of an independent store means that the cost of stock into store is greater than that of the supermarket giants," she said.
"Many of our customers are on pensions and low incomes, so they are facing financial stress just to maintain housing, power and basic household requirements."
Ms Baxter said the store, which provided employment opportunities and funding for community programs, could help families access affordable basics without penalising the business.
About 225 remote stores can join under the expanded scheme, with 113 already signed up and saving customers up to 50 per cent off in-store prices.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy urged more stores to get involved.
"For too long, First Nations remote communities have paid too much for food and other essential items, compared to people living in big cities," Senator McCarthy said.
Approved stores can order stock from a list of 30 essential items to meet community needs.
"Our government knows cost-of-living pressures are felt hardest in our remote communities and that's why our Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme is so important," Special Envoy for Remote Communities Marion Scrymgour said.
A 2024 Choice investigation revealed some remote residents were paying twice as much for groceries as consumers in the city.
28°C