Australian household debt grew in the 2021/22 financial year, while savings levels fell, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics National Accounts data.

Average household debt grew by 7.3 per cent to A$261,492 in 2021/22, which was close to double the growth of 3.7 per cent growth in gross disposable income of $139,064.

The age groups with the highest levels of debt relative to all households are 35 to 44 year olds, with 1.7 times the overall average, and 45 to 54 year-olds, with 1.5 times the average.

Average deposit assets, which are made up of savings and offset account balances, grew by 11.6 per cent to $144,669.

Excluding offset balances, gross savings per household fell 2.6 per cent to an average of $34,550.

In the lowest income quintile, savings levels fell 63 per cent in 2021/22 to a net debt of $5,769, while in the highest income quintile savings fell just 0.2 per cent to an average of $111,274.

The ABS said the fall in savings reflects the pick-up in household spending as the economy reopened after COVID lockdowns.

“The decline follows a period of elevated savings for households across all quintiles, where household income was boosted by COVID support payments and spending was impacted by COVID restrictions.”

Final consumption expenditure per household increased by 5.9 per cent to $104,514 in 2021/22.