Personal insolvency numbers fell during the pandemic as stimulus measures and bank forbearance provided a buffer for household budgets, and with the return to business as usual the numbers have fallen even further.

According to the latest Australian Financial Security Authority figures, there were 2215 new personal insolvencies in the March quarter - down 8 per cent from the December quarter and down 13 per cent from the March quarter last year.

It is the lowest number ever recorded in the AFSA personal insolvency time series, which goes back to 2007, and is less than half the number reported in December 2019, before the pandemic struck.

AFSA has not provided any commentary on the figures but likely reasons for the record low number include the low unemployment rate, low interest rates and the fact that many households used COVID stimulus to build savings. And debt collection agents have reported that some lenders continue to use some of the forbearance measures introduced during the pandemic.

Bankruptcies, which accounted for around half of all personal insolvencies, fell by 15.3 per cent year-on-year to 1450.

Debt agreements were down 10.5 per cent to 730 and personal insolvency agreements rose from by 76 per cent to 30.

The proportion of bankruptcies that were business related was 29.9 per cent.