Updated
- $3.40T
- Total household debt as of December 2025, a record high
- 1.88×
- Debt-to-income ratio. For every dollar earned, the average household owes $1.88
- 65%
- $1.34 trillion in new debt added since 2015
- 30.8%
- Of mortgage holders spending more than 30% of income on repayments
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HECS debt by degree, field of study and gender in AustraliaHECS-HELP is the loan that covers the student contribution for a Commonwealth supported place, commonly known as HECS, where the government subsidises part of the course cost. In 2026, that contributi…Section 01 · Total debt
How much is Australia's total household debt?
As of December 2025, Australian households owe a combined $3.40 trillion, up from $2.06 trillion ten years earlier. That means household debt has grown by 65% in a decade, adding around $1.34 trillion to the national total. Based on projected household counts, this is about $313,633 per household, with most of this linked to mortgages. Compared with income, Australians now owe roughly 1.8 to 2.1 times their annual disposable income, placing Australia among the more highly indebted developed economies.
Growth has been steady across the full period, with only a brief pause from 2019 to 2020. Since then, debt has grown by more than $850 billion as property prices rose sharply and borrowing expanded in the years before the 2022 rate rises. Nothing in the data suggests that the trajectory is changing.
Section 02 · Debt breakdown
What types of debt do Australian households carry?
Australian household debt is mainly tied to property. The ABS and RBA divide household debt into seven categories, but owner-occupier mortgages and investment property loans account for most of the total. Other types of debt, such as credit cards, personal loans and student loans, make up a much smaller share. This heavy reliance on housing debt helps explain why interest rate changes can have a direct effect on household budgets.
Average debt per household · December 2025
Debt Type
Avg. Amount
- 1Owner-occupier mortgagesSingle largest liability and the primary driver of Australia’s high debt-to-income ratio$349,410
- 2Investment property loansConcentrated among older, upper-income households; subsidised by negative gearing$337,577
- 3Personal loansTypically secured against vehicles and household goods$14,704
- 4Borrowings from other householdsInformal loans from family and friends$5,859
- 5Credit card debtMost widely held type; total account numbers have been declining since 2017$3,193
- 6Payday loansConcentrated in low-income households; carries predatory annualised interest rates$1,222
- 7Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)High uptake among Gen Z (28%) and Millennials; often invisible on credit files$653
Source · ABS Household Income and Wealth, Cat. 6523.0 · from www.abs.gov.au
Section 03 · Home loans
New dwelling loan commitments by year
New home loan commitments reached a record $106.98 billion in the December quarter of 2025. The trend over the past decade has been shaped by both lending rules and interest rate changes. Lending fell to a decade low of $49.85 billion in 2018 after APRA tightened credit standards, before surging during the pandemic as low interest rates and stimulus measures pushed commitments to $92.57 billion in 2021.
That momentum reversed during the RBA’s rate-rise cycle in 2022 and 2023, when higher borrowing costs reduced lending activity, particularly among first-home buyers. Since mid-2024, lending has recovered steadily, with both owner-occupiers and investors returning to the market. By December 2025, total commitments had surpassed the previous pandemic-era peak.
That momentum reversed during the RBA's rate-rise cycle in 2022 and 2023, when higher borrowing costs reduced lending activity, particularly among first-home buyers. Since mid-2024, lending has recovered steadily, with both owner-occupiers and investors returning to the market. By December 2025, total commitments had surpassed the previous pandemic-era peak.
Why do home loans dominate household debt in Australia?
Australian property values are heavily driven by land prices, which pushes borrowing sizes up. The average owner-occupier mortgage is now $349,410, making a home loan the largest financial commitment most households carry. It is also the reason why an RBA rate decision lands so directly on household budgets here compared to most other countries.
Section 04 · Personal loans
Personal loan values by year
Personal fixed-term loan commitments reached $9.51 billion in the December quarter of 2025, the highest level in the series. Vehicle loans made up $4.80 billion, while $4.71 billion went to other purposes, including personal investment, travel and household goods.
The split shows how personal borrowing has changed over the past decade. Non-vehicle lending has roughly doubled since 2015, rising from $2.32 billion to almost match vehicle lending by 2025. This suggests Australians are using personal loans for a wider range of expenses, not only car purchases.
Personal loan commitments fell to $4.95 billion in December 2020, when vehicle supply chains were disrupted, and consumers pulled back on spending. Lending recovered from 2021 as supply improved and demand returned. By 2025, both vehicle and non-vehicle lending were contributing almost equally to the total.
Section 05 · Student debt
Student debt (HELP/HECS) by year
Australia's total HELP debt reached $125.3 billion in FY2024-25, almost double the $62.9 billion recorded ten years earlier. The total has increased every year over the past decade, driven by rising enrolments, annual indexation on 1 June, and a labour market where many entry-level roles now require degree-level qualifications.
At this level, HELP debt is no longer only a personal finance issue; lenders include HELP repayments when assessing borrowing capacity, which can reduce how much some graduates can borrow for a home.
FY2022
HELP debt crossed $100 billion for the first time
Total student debt reached $104.2 billion in FY2021-22, crossing the $100 billion mark for the first time. That took six years from the $62.9 billion base in FY2015-16. A further $21 billion has been added in the three years since.
Annual indexation can cause HELP balances to grow even when graduates are making repayments, especially during periods of high inflation. Since HELP debt first crossed $100 billion in FY2021-22, the total has continued to rise by roughly $8 billion to $10 billion each year. This was most noticeable in 2022-23, when some borrowers saw their balance increase despite regular payments. For graduates hoping to buy a home, HELP repayments can reduce borrowing capacity at a time when property prices remain high.
Section 06 · Credit cards
How much do Australians owe on credit cards?
Total credit card balances and spending activity reached $345.2 billion in 2025, up 36% from $254.4 billion in 2015. Growth has not been steady. The figure reached $275.9 billion in 2018, then fell to $244.2 billion in 2020 as households reduced spending and paid down card debt during the pandemic.
Credit card debt is smaller than mortgage, student and personal loan debt, but it remains important because unpaid balances usually attract high interest rates.
Since 2021, the total has risen each year, reaching a new record in 2025. The average balance per household is $3,193, which is lower than other major debt types. However, unpaid credit card debt can still carry very high interest rates.
Section 07 · Debt by age group
Which age group holds the most debt in Australia?
Debt does not fall evenly across age groups. Australians aged 35 to 44 carry the largest total, with an estimated $797.54 billion and a debt ratio of 1.73. This is the life stage where peak mortgage repayments, ongoing HELP debt and, for some households, investment property loans all run at the same time.
The 25 to 34 group holds an estimated $525.55 billion with a ratio of 1.14, many of them navigating a first property purchase while still carrying HELP debt. Carrying both debts makes them more sensitive to rate rises and indexation changes. At the other end, Australians aged 65 and over hold just $82.98 billion, a ratio of 0.18, reflecting a lifetime of paying down debt. The youngest cohort, aged 15 to 24, carries $129.08 billion, mostly HELP debt and early personal borrowing, and that figure will grow considerably as they move towards homeownership over the next decade.
Section 08 · Financial stability
Financial stability and risk
At this scale, household debt makes Australian families more sensitive to changes in the economy. Most Australian mortgages are on variable or short fixed-rate terms, which means RBA rate changes can flow through to household budgets within weeks.
This is why household debt matters beyond the headline total. When debt levels are high, even a small change in interest rates can have a noticeable effect on monthly repayments.
How many households are experiencing mortgage stress?
Around 1.56 million households are currently spending more than 30% of their gross income on mortgage repayments. At current debt levels, a sustained rise in interest rates or a fall in household income could push a meaningful share of those households into genuine financial difficulty.
Mortgage Holders in Stress
Households spending more than 30% of gross income on repayments, April 2024
30.8 % in overall Australia (2024)
- New South Wales942,801
- Victoria862,651
- Western Australia385,632
- South Australia246,340
- Queensland643,463
- Northern Territory21,361
— Highest Number of Mortgage Household: 942,801
Source · ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021 · from www.abs.gov.au
References
- ABS Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth · Australian Bureau of Statistics
- ABS Lending Indicators (Tables 1, 4 and 24) · Australian Bureau of Statistics
- ABS Household Income and Wealth, Cat. 6523.0 · Australian Bureau of Statistics
- RBA Household Debt Key Statistics · Reserve Bank of Australia
- RBA Credit and Charge Cards, C1.2 · Reserve Bank of Australia
- RBA E2/E7 Household Debt Classifications · Reserve Bank of Australia
- APH HELP Debt Statistics 2024–25 · aph.gov.au