Survey Finds 50 Per Cent Growth in Household Wealth in Four Year Period

Wednesday 2 July 2008

The latest Melbourne Institute Survey of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Annual Report has shed new insights in to the huge changes that have occurred in Australia especially in relation to household wealth.

According to Dr Roger Wilkins, HILDA Survey Deputy Director, "One of the key findings to emerge from the latest wave of data is the very large growth in household wealth.

Net worth of Australian households (total assets less total debts) was estimated to have risen from an average of $401,000 per household in 2002 to $608,000 per household in 2006.

This growth was not simply due to the rich getting richer. Wealth for the median (typical) Australian household also rose rapidly – from around $217,000 in 2002 to around $326,000 four years later.

Rising house prices have clearly been the most important source of growth in wealth, but holdings of superannuation, other property and shares have also increased substantially."

The Hon Jenny Macklin, MP Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs has stated that "The Australian Government recognises the critical contribution made by the HILDA Survey to provide evidence based research essential for effective policy development.

The data set is used by over 850 licensed users such as the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Productivity Commission and social policy centres at Australian and international universities.

The HILDA data has been used for a range of projects focusing on issues such as wealth accumulation, labour market participation, the cost of housing, causes of marital breakdown, childcare and fertility.

The survey is helping us map and understand the changing lives of the Australian people. Working in partnership, the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, The Nielsen Company and the Melbourne Institute are leading the way in longitudinal social and economic research."

Funded by the Australian Government and managed by the Melbourne Institute, the HILDA Survey commenced in 2001 and is set to continue until at least 2012. It is recognised internationally as a truly first-class household longitudinal survey.

The survey is included in Cornell University's Cross-National Equivalent File, a central database that brings together longitudinal household surveys from a variety of countries.

The latest HILDA Annual Report can be found at http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/hilda/areport.html

Research Contact
Dr Roger Wilkins
Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
Phone : 03 8344 2092
Fax : 03 8344 2111
Email : r.wilkins@unimelb.edu.au

Media Contact
Mr Ordan Andreevski
Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
Mobile : 0438 385 466
Fax : 03 8344 2111
Email : oan@unimelb.edu.au
Web : www.melbourneinstitute.com