Realestate.com.au
AUSTRALIAN households are putting off electricity bills, insurance payments and credit card repayments to meet their rent or mortgage, with research pointing to the difficult choices facing families under financial pressure.
A Finder survey of 1006 Australians, conducted in August, found 23 per cent had missed or delayed at least one bill in the previous year to cover housing costs. Finder estimated that represented about 2.3 million households.
Energy bills were the most commonly deferred expense, with eight per cent of respondents delaying electricity or gas payments.
Six per cent had put off car insurance payments and the same proportion had delayed credit card repayments. Home internet, buy now pay later repayments and home insurance were each deferred by five per cent.
The findings show how the pressure to keep a roof overhead can spill into other parts of the household budget, leaving bills unpaid and families exposed to further costs.
Finder money expert Richard Whitten said rent and mortgage repayments were leaving many Australians with little room to absorb other expenses.
He said households were postponing payments to ensure their housing costs were covered, raising concerns about how often families were having to choose which bills could wait.
Delaying those payments can add to the pressure through late fees and interest, making it harder to catch up.
Whitten encouraged people struggling to meet bills to contact their providers before a payment was missed and discuss available options. He also suggested reviewing major recurring expenses and seeking better deals where possible.
The research comes as advertised rents remain at record levels nationally, despite a slowdown in rental growth.
REA’s quarterly Rental Report put the national median advertised rent at $675 a week in September, an increase of 1.5 per cent over the quarter and 5.5 per cent over the year.
Capital-city rents reached a median of $700 a week, up 7.7 per cent annually.
Regional rents were unchanged over the quarter at $600 a week, but remained 3.4 per cent higher than a year earlier.
For households already stretching each pay packet, the figures point to continued pressure: securing somewhere to live is taking priority, while other bills fall behind.
