Australians entered into a record number of Part IX debt agreements during the December, according to figures released last week by Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia. While the number of debt agreements is rising, the number of bankruptcies has fallen.There were 2510 new debt agreements in the December quarter - up 23 per cent on the December quarter of 2011.There were 5259 new bankruptcies during the quarter - down 5.6 per cent on the December quarter of 2011.Overall personal insolvency activity in the December quarter was 1.9 higher than during the December quarter of 2011.Attorney-General Nicola Roxon issued a statement saying reforms to the Bankruptcy Act in 2007 had made it easier for people to enter debt agreements as an alternative to bankruptcy."Debt agreements give many Australians in financial distress an alternative option to get back on their feet sooner than bankruptcy," Roxon said.