More Australian companies are failing, according to newly released data by ASIC today.

The data, which covers a nine-month period from July 1 to March 31, shows that 7,742 companies entered external administration — a 36.2% increase compared to the same time period a year ago.

ASIC data shows the majority of failing companies were in the construction and accommodation and food services industries.

In total, 2,142 construction companies entered administration ( or 27.7%), while 1,174 accommodation and food services businesses failed (15.2%).

The data also shows that 878 companies were restructuring, and 1,593 companies had court-appointed liquidators.

Compared to previous 12 months, it's an increase of 294.6% and 218.8%, respectively.

However, ASIC said that the ratio is still lower than it was a decade ago.

"Notably, the ratio of companies entering external administration compared to the number of registered companies (expected to be somewhere between 0.3% to 0.33% for the full year) is still less than 2012–2013 levels (0.53%), as over the same period the number of companies registered in Australia has increased from just over 2 million to 3.3 million," ASIC said in a statement.

The insolvency data by ASIC comes after CreditorWatch released similar findings yesterday, showing that more businesses are now in the hands of external administrators than ever.

CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan spoke to The Business about rising insolvencies last night, which you can watch below:

Alternatively, you can read chief business correspondent Ian Verrender's assessment of the CreditorWatch figures below: