Bankruptcies down over a quarter

The number of people and businesses sliding onto bankruptcy dipped during the September 2010 quarter to its lowest level since late 2007.

The Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia recorded 6260 bankruptcies over the quarter. There were 4944 personal bankruptcies, ITSA said.

Bankruptcies peaked in the September 2009 quarter at 7330.

The debt threshold for bankruptcies  has increased to $5000 from $2000 under recent law reforms, although the impact of that change will not be reflected in the data for some months.