News
Aussies richer than ever
Emigrating to Australia is, for many people, a dream encouraged by the prospect of having a better standard of living.
But whether the cost of living in Australia is actually cheaper has always been a matter open for debate. However, treasury figures have recently been released revealing Australians are richer than ever, with each Australian being worth an average AUS$300,000.
The market value of Australian net private-sector wealth was AUS$6200 billion, or AUS$6.2 trillion, as of June 2005 – up almost 12 per cent in a year. That represents about AUS$300,000 for each Australian.
Meanwhile, the growth in private wealth in 2004–05 was slower than in the previous three years, but above average for the past 20. Home ownership made a smaller contribution in 2004–05 while growth in private wealth was only 3.3 per cent, but homes and units still make up the lion's share (AUS$3600 billion) of private wealth.
The other major influence on wealth was the rise in share market prices over the past two years. Growth in business assets, which include shares and Australian investments abroad, contributed 9.6 per cent to wealth. This was a significant factor as it is more than double its long-term average contribution.
Business assets, totalling AUS$2,600 billion, made up a third of all Australian privately held wealth. Forty years ago, Australians were worth on average just AUS$8,600, with national private wealth hovering around $100 billion – more than a third of which was in homes.
In comparison, each Australian was worth AUS$8,600 in the 1960s with the figure growing to AUS$56,000 in the 1980s – more than a third of which was tied up in property. Economic conditions overall in Australia remain positive with the country's banking system well capitalised and highly profitable and bad debt levels low by both historical and international experience.
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18 December 2006