Overview

Over 1 in 3 Australians experienced some form of hardship & 1 in 5 believe they really struggling to make ends meet. Not having enough for an emergency, for food or basic necessities or being unable to pay a bill were the next most common causes of hardship. Despite rising interest rates, the least common causes of hardship included being unable to meet mortgage, credit card or personal loan repayments. For those experiencing hardship around 3 in 10 relied on their credit card or friends and family. The next most common type of debt used were payday loans, used by 10% of those experiencing hardship.

For further details, please see the NAB Consumer Insight Survey -Financial Hardship (Q3 2022)