The Australian Financial Security Authority today released the personal insolvency activity statistics for 2016–17 and the June quarter 2017.
Total personal insolvency activity in Australia: % change compared to the previous year
Debt agreements increased 11.9% in 2016–17 compared to 2015–16. Debt agreements reached a record level in 2016–17. They have reached a new record each year since 2011–12. In 2016–17, there were record debt agreement levels in all states and territories except Tasmania.
Personal insolvencies increased 2.1% in 2016–17 compared to 2015–16. This was mainly due to the rise in debt agreements, as bankruptcies fell 5.1%. With the exception of a small rise in 2015–16 (0.2%), bankruptcies have fallen every year since 2010–11.
Personal insolvency agreements are small compared to the other types of personal insolvency. They rose 39.4% in 2016–17 compared to 2015–16.
As well as reaching an annual high, debt agreements reached a quarterly record in the June quarter 2017. However, personal insolvencies fell 3.5% in the June quarter 2017 compared to the June quarter 2016. This fall was entirely due to a fall in bankruptcies.