Loan defaults rose by almost 30 per cent in the last financial year with failures to pay the bills on time up in every Australian state and territory, figures from the nation's biggest credit check firm have revealed.

And economists say consumers who haven't experienced a recession are upping their borrowing to levels more than double their income because they are confident the good economic times will continue.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has recommended credit check companies be allowed to tell the banks more about consumer credit files in a bid to stop lenders giving people loans they can't afford.

Veda Advantage has revealed that defaults - where bills are not paid for 60 days - went up by 28.6 per cent in the 2006/07 financial year.

Veda's head of external affairs Chris Gration said the data showed consumers were increasingly facing debt stress.