Personal insolvency numbers have jumped by more than 50 per cent since the start of the year, as high interest rates and inflation finally start to have an impact on household budgets. The Australian Financial Security Authority reported that there were 921 new personal insolvencies in March – up from 796 in February and 772 in January. AFSA said that where it could identify the industries an insolvent individual worked in, the most common were construction, health care and social assistance, and retail trade. Of the 579 people declared bankrupt in March, 193 were involved in a business. Personal insolvency numbers remained low last year, despite the stresses on households. In the 2021/22 financial year, personal insolvencies hit a historic low of 9545, thanks largely to government, central bank and industry responses to the pandemic. In the December quarter, there were 2321 new personal insolvencies – down 3.7 per cent from the September quarter and down 3.6 per cent from the December quarter 2021. AFSA said last year that it did not expect the trend to continue. “Personal insolvency volumes are expected to revert towards the long-term average over the next two years, as the full impact of recent monetary tightening and other macroeconomic factors hit households.” Now we are seeing that reversion. Over the past 20 years, Australia has averaged more than 28,000 personal insolvencies a year, with a high of 37,263 in the 2009/10 financial year.