One in five struggle to repay debt

A growing number of people are struggling with their debts, according to Veda Advantage's latest Australian Debt Study.

According to the survey, of 1036 people, released yesterday, 21 per cent said they were finding it difficult to pay their bills and repay debt.

This is an increase from 19 per cent six months ago and is in line with the response in September 2008 - at the height of the financial crisis.

Of those who said they were struggling to repay debt, 28 per cent said they were likely to apply for more credit in the next six months.

Fourteen per cent said they had missed a bill payment in the past three months. This is up from 12 per cent six months ago.

Most respondents (82 per cent) said they had cut back on everyday or lifestyle spending to pay a bill or debt and the number who have cut back on grocery purchases has increased from 43 to 47 per cent over 12 months.

One in four said they had asked friends or family for financial assistance at some point in the past 12 months.

Veda's head of external relations, Chris Gration, said it was concerning that a significant number of people already struggling with their finances were planning to apply for more credit.

Gration said the Government needed to get on with the long-awaited reforms to credit reporting.