Northern Territory Ranks Second in Financial Resilience Index
Zurich has revealed an Australian Resilience Index ranking states and territories by financial health, with the Northern Territory achieving second place over larger economies like New South Wales and Victoria.
Methodology and Key Metrics
The index, developed by Zurich with partners Mandala Partners, RedBridge and Accent Research, combines four key resilience measures, which include health indicators, financial stability metrics, social factors, and environmental or climate-related considerations.
Financial resilience was assessed through seven specific metrics, including income stability, employment conditions, debt levels, access to emergency savings, superannuation balances, insurance coverage, and reliance on government payments.
According to the report, financial resilience most strongly correlates with overall community resilience, with communities demonstrating strong financial metrics averaging eight times higher super balances, nine times more dividend income, and being roughly three times less likely to lack emergency funds compared to the least resilient areas.
Top Performing Regions
The Australian Capital Territory led the rankings with 28 percent of residents classified as having high or very high financial resilience, while only 8 percent of its population lacked emergency funds. The Northern Territory followed in second place with 25 percent of residents achieving high or very high financial resilience.
Zurich attributed the territory’s strong performance to its below-average housing stress levels and fewer residents without emergency savings. Other regions showing strong financial resilience included Western Australia at 21 percent, New South Wales at 19 percent, and Victoria at 18 percent.
Queensland and Tasmania tied for the lowest rankings at 13 percent each. Queensland faced the highest rate of emergency fund shortages at 18 percent, while 27 percent of Tasmanians reported experiencing housing stress.
Age and Gender Patterns
Financial resilience increased sharply with age across all regions, with older Australians more than three times as likely as younger demographics to achieve high or very high scores. Men also demonstrated substantially stronger financial resilience than women across all surveyed areas.
The youngest demographic exhibited greater financial strain through higher renting rates, housing stress, part-time employment, and limited emergency savings, according to the findings. These younger individuals showed significantly lower financial resilience metrics compared to older age groups.
