There are claims that Australians suffering mortgage stress are living on rice so they can avoid the shame of losing the family home.
In a study partly supported by the Reserve Bank, University of Western Sydney researchers interviewed people suffering mortgage distress.
University spokesman Professor Phillip O'Neill says shame prevented many people taking part in the study.
But he says of those who did participate, some had resorted to eating less so they could keep up with mortgage repayments.
"This is not in the past tense; people are literally eating the bare minimum - just rice - obviously looking after their children, but putting the repayment of the mortgage above every other thing that they could possibly devote an expenditure to," he said.
He says the Federal Government should be careful about overstating how easily Australia got through the crisis when so many people are still struggling.
But he says the drastic moves my some homeowners has helped prevent the kind of mass mortgage defaults seen in the United States, during the global financial crisis.
"If we did have large-scale defaulting in a neighbourhood in Australia, we would have a toxic affect spreading of negative equity and that would be alarming," he said.
