Households becoming 'over-indebted'

Average household debt has almost doubled since the early 2000s, with about three in 10 Australian households considered to be "over-indebted".

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' survey of income and housing found average household debt rose to $169,000 in 2015/16, up from $94,000 in 2003/04.

One in four households carried debt equal to three or more years worth of disposable income and a further two per cent held debt equal to three-quarters of the value of their household assets, which in both cases the statistician considers to be "over-indebted".