Personal insolvency numbers are rising, as higher interest rates and the increased cost of living make an impact.
The Australian Financial Security Authority recorded 2410 new personal insolvencies in the September quarter – up 4.7 per cent from 2310 reported in the June 2022 quarter.
Numbers have been on the rise since the March quarter, when there were 2215 personal insolvencies.
However, the quarterly numbers are still relatively low. They are down around 10 per cent on last year’s numbers and are well down on the pre-pandemic period, when more than 6000 personal insolvencies were regularly reported each quarter.
Among the September quarter figures, 59.2 per cent were bankruptcies, 39.5 per cent were debt agreements and the rest were personal insolvency agreements and deceased estates.
A little over a third (35.7 per cent) were business related, an increase from 35.4 per cent in the June quarter.
ASIC’s September quarter business insolvency data also show a rising trend. According to ASIC’s numbers there were 2050 business insolvencies in the September quarter – up from 1563 in the June quarter and 1080 in the March quarter.