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CPI a widely used economic indicator released quarterly

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an important economic indicator. It provides a general measure of changes in prices of consumer goods and services purchased by Australian households. The CPI is used for a variety of purposes, such as in the development and analysis of government economic policy, the adjustment of wages and pensions and in individual contracts. Because of this, the CPI directly or indirectly affects all Australians.

CPI figures are produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for each quarter (three months ending March, June, September and December) and are typically released within one month of the end of the quarter. They appear in the publication Consumer Price Index, Australia (Cat. no. 6401.0). In addition, key CPI results appear on the ABS internet site https://www.abs.gov.au.

CPI introduced in 1960. Now comprises 13 linked series

The CPI was first compiled in 1960 (with index numbers backcast to 1948). It was initially designed to measure quarterly changes in retail prices of goods and services purchased by metropolitan wage earner households. The CPI was preceded by five series of retail price indexes compiled by the (then) Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. These series were titled the A, B, C, and D Series, and the Interim Retail Price Index respectively. The C Series Index, which began in 1921, was the principal retail price index in Australia prior to the introduction of the CPI.

The introduction of the CPI brought a change in the approach to measuring retail price movements. Instead of the former emphasis on long-term, fixed-weight indexes, the CPI comprises a series of shorter-term indexes which are chain linked together to form a continuous long-term series. This approach allows changes in expenditure patterns to be reflected in the CPI. The CPI now comprises thirteen linked indexes.

This guide

The purpose of this guide is to provide a broad overview of the CPI; how to use the CPI; and how the CPI is calculated. It takes into account changes made with the introduction of the 13th series CPI in the September quarter 1998 and is suitable for general users.