Based on data from the 2001 Census, more than one in ten Australian homebuyers are experiencing 'mortgage stress', defined in this Research Note as a situation in which homebuyers are paying 35 per cent or more of their income on home loan repayments. While it is acknowledged that not all households paying 35 per cent or more of their income in loan repayments are necessarily experiencing stress, mortgage stress in this paper refers particularly to the high risk that a stressful situation might arise.