ABS responds to "More information sought on superannuant statistics" (Canberra Times, 6 July 2012, p16)

CPI is a high quality economic indicator

Contrary to the letter published yesterday ("More information sought on superannuant statistics", 6 July 2012, p16), the Australian Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a high quality economic indicator that measures changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by Australian households. The CPI was recently updated to reflect the latest estimates of household expenditure. Information on how the index is constructed and the items included in the CPI basket can be found in the ABS publication 'Consumer Price Index: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2011 (ABS cat. no. 6461.0). This publication can be found on the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au) by entering 'CPI concepts, sources and methods' into the search bar.

Judy Henson
Assistant Statistician
Prices Branch
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Canberra, ACT