Bankruptcies fall to near 10-year low

Personal bankruptcies fell to an almost 10-year low last month, according to the latest figures from the Official Receiver's Office.

Bankruptcy petitions in October fell about 17 per cent to 584 from 704 in September.

It was the lowest monthly figure since December 2000, when there were 573 petitions filed.

Of the petitions last month, 41 were submitted by creditors - the lowest number since the 39 in June 2007. For the first 10 months of the year, the number of bankruptcy petitions totalled 7,717, down more than 44 per cent compared to the same period last year.

There were 13,872 petitions between January and October last year and 15,784 for all of 2009.

The Official Receiver's Office did not provide any analysis of the improvement.