An age-old tax keeping empty nesters in huge homes while young families squeeze into apartments has drawn renewed ire from a frequent critic.

Successive Reserve Bank governors have criticised stamp duty, the tax paid on property purchases.

"My predecessor called it a tax on mobility," Michele Bullock said on Friday.

"It's also a barrier to people moving to find jobs ... a barrier for dynamism in the economy.

"It basically keeps people pretty much where they are instead of allowing them to up and move."

Australia's average household size has been on a long-term decline, accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"So the same housing stock provides housing for less people, because there's less people in each house," Ms Bullock told a News Corp business forum.

She suggested stamp duty

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