A lack of income security is giving one-fifth of Australians the blues according to new research by Deakin University.

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index asked respondents to rate their income security on a scale from 10 to zero, where 10 is complete income certainty and zero is complete uncertainty, with almost 20 per cent of respondents rating the certainty of their income as five or less.

"The findings indicate that some Australians feel they are living close to the financial edge, which raises questions about whether, as a nation, we are forgetting the importance of planning ahead and managing financial situations effectively to accommodate for the unexpected," Australian Unity managing director Rohan Mead said.

"The RBA says household debt has risen much faster than household disposable income. We need to consider what these patterns of debt and consumption are actually doing to our wellbeing and quality of life," Mead said.

The survey also found that income uncertainty is a far more negative influence on wellbeing than either distress at interest rate rises or petrol prices.

According to the author of the index professor Bob Cummins, a higher level of income uncertainty puts an individual's wellbeing at below normal levels and, as a consequence, they face a higher risk of depression.

"It's quite a concern given that so many Australians are convinced that happiness will come from purchasing material possessions, and are caught in what has been recently described as the 'work-and-spend cycle'. It is most certainly increasing people's stress about their income," professor Cummins said.

The research also shows that income security has a bigger impact on those with household incomes of less than $30,000.

"The financial pressure that Christmas places on many Australians, combined with the recent interest rate rises, is squeezing the budgets of many families even further," Anglicare Victoria chief executive Dr Ray Cleary said.