High inflation and interest rates are starting to hit household budgets hard, with the Australian Financial Security Authority reporting a sharp increase in personal insolvency numbers in the March 2023 quarter. According to the latest AFSA figures, there were 2494 new personal insolvencies in the quarter – up 7.5 per cent on the December quarter and up 12.6 per cent on the March quarter last year. Just over 60 per cent of the new insolvencies were bankruptcies and 38.3 per cent were debt agreements. There was a small number of personal insolvency agreements and deceased estate bankruptcies. A little over a third (34.4 per cent) of the personal insolvencies were business related – up from 29.9 per cent a year ago. The biggest increases were in Tasmania (up 34.4 per cent year-on-year), Victoria (up 18.7 per cent) and South Australia (up 16 per cent). Numbers were up 5.6 per cent in the Northern Territory, 3.5 per cent in New South Wales and 1.3 per cent in Queensland. There were falls in Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.