What causes Australians stress? In previous years COVID-19, fires and floods spiked the stress charts, but now 'cost of living' is a major stressor.
In the 2024 Australian Community Survey, we asked Australians how stressed they have felt in the past month and delved deeper into what was causing their stress.
The highest stressors? Cost of living was the top response reported by six in ten Australians, followed by health concerns and family relationships.
Common sources of stress
In the 2024 Australian Community Survey (ACS) by NCLS Research asked Australians, ‘How stressed have you felt in the past month?’ Then they were provided a list of 10 different stressors and asked to nominate which items caused them high levels of stress.
The most common source of stress is cost of living, with six in ten (59%) Australians saying this causes them high levels of stress.
Health concerns are next on the list with 35% of respondents saying their health caused them high stress in 2024. Thirdly, family relationships were named as a stressor for around 25% of those surveyed.
The impact of loneliness and the stress of possible or actual loss of household income were both nominated by around 1 in 6 Australians (16% and 14% respectively).
For related information on the levels of stress or happiness reported by Australians in 2024, read our articles Half of Australians report high stress and Six in ten Australians say they're happy.
