But while the report by Deloitte Access Economics found Canberra had the most financially conscious people in the country, a large number of residents still failed the test for financial literacy and health.

The Deloitte report, commissioned by financial comparison website Compare The Market, found ACT residents were more financially aware than last year. The report's findings were based on a survey that asked respondents about their financial habits.

"The financial consciousness index measures how conscious people are of their ability to improve their financial incomes as well as their capacity and willingness to do so," Compare The Market general manager of digital banking David Ruddiman said.

"ACT residents scored the highest across the country for financial consciousness once again with an average score of 52, so a one point improvement from the year before.

"However, there is a downside to it as 30 per cent of ACT adults failed the test for financial consciousness."

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Mr Ruddiman said the coronavirus pandemic had definitely forced people to rethink their approach to their finances.

"COVID-19 has forced savings on people, they are not going out as often, they are eating in ... and they are not shopping as much as they were, so that has certainly helped household savings for those employed and earning their income," he said.

As well, since the pandemic there had been a greater demand for financial advice in the territory.

Care Inc. financial counsellor Rosie Fisk said the Canberra-based service had a huge uptick in the number of calls from people who were looking to manage their finances.

"There are a lot of people who are in situations now that they may not have been - people losing their jobs or people having their hours reduced - and as a result we are seeing more people coming to our service," she said.

"There's a need for more budgeting and just really knowing what you have coming in and what's going out.

"People are probably more aware of where their money is going and also because there is so much uncertainty with the future, people are probably looking more to save their money in case something else is going to happen."

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Ms Fisk said the service was used to assisting people on low to moderate incomes but the pandemic had seen a shift to a wider demographic of income levels.

"We are seeing people having issues with their personal loans or credit cards and people having problems paying their utilities or people who may not have ever needed government assistance before," she said.

Spending habits had also changed as businesses across Canberra have reported that consumers are spending less, Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Graham Catt said.

"I've heard that from retailers and different sectors that people are definitely spending less and it's not necessarily they are spending less often but when they do spend they are probably spending less money," he said.

"I think the perception we have from members is there is a very conscious acknowledgment that these are challenging times and people have to be more careful about their discretionary spending and more careful about the risks they take in doing so."

There had also been a shift in spending habits, Mr Catt said.

"People's spending habits are also shifting so they are actually spending more on others as well as on themselves," he said.

"There has been a shift, very conscious, to people seeking out Australian made products."