SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES
| Weighted average of eight capital cities | Jun Qtr 2010 to Sep Qtr 2010 % change | Sep Qtr 2009 to Sep Qtr 2010 % change |
|
| Food | -0.6 | 1.6 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 4.0 | 14.5 |
| Clothing and footwear | 1.4 | -3.0 |
| Housing | 2.9 | 6.2 |
| Household contents and services | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| Health | -2.0 | 4.3 |
| Transportation | -1.0 | 0.8 |
| Communication | -0.1 | -0.3 |
| Recreation | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| Education | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| Financial and insurance services | 3.1 | 12.6 |
| All groups | 1.0 | 3.8 |
|
PBLCI - All Groups, Quarterly change
| PBLCI - All Groups, Contribution to quarterly change - September Quarter 2010
|
SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS
THE ALL GROUPS PENSIONER AND BENEFICIARY LIVING COST INDEX (PBLCI)
- rose 1.0% for the September quarter 2010, the same as in the June quarter 2010 (1.0%).
- showed a larger increase for the September quarter 2010 (+1.0%) than the CPI (+0.7%).
- rose 3.8% through the year to September quarter 2010, the same as the through the year rise to June quarter 2010 (3.8%).
- showed a larger increase through the year to September quarter 2010 than the CPI (+2.8%).
OVERVIEW OF PBLCI MOVEMENTS
- The most significant price rises this quarter were for housing (+2.9%), alcohol and tobacco (+4.0%) and financial and insurance services (+3.1%).
- The most significant offsetting price falls this quarter were for food (-0.6%), transportation (-1.0%) and health (-2.0%).
NOTES
FORTHCOMING ISSUES
| ISSUE (QUARTER) | Release Date |
| December 2010 | 14 February 2011 |
| March 2011 | 16 May 2011 |
| June 2011 | 15 August 2011 |
| September 2011 | 14 November 2011 |
ROUNDING
Any discrepancies between totals and sums of components in this publication are due to rounding.
INDEX NUMBERS USE REFERENCE BASE OF JUNE QUARTER 2007 = 100.0
To allow comparison of the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index with other ABS price indexes, all index numbers in this publication use a reference base of June quarter 2007 = 100.0. However, percentage changes used in this publication for the Consumer Price Index are as published in
Consumer Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6401.0). The percentage changes for Analytical Living Cost Indexes used in this publication are as published in
Analytical Living Cost Indexes for Selected Australian Household Types (cat. no. 6463.0).
INQUIRIES
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
SUMMARY COMMENTARY
THE PENSIONER AND BENEFICIARY LIVING COST INDEX
The Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) has been designed to answer the question:
'By how much would after tax money incomes need to change to allow age pensioners and other households whose principal source of income is government benefits to purchase the same quantity of consumer goods and services that they purchased in the base period?'
The PBLCI has been derived by combining the age pensioner Analytical Living Cost Index (ALCI) and the other government transfer recipient ALCI. Living cost indexes are intended to measure the impact of changes in prices on the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by these particular household types.
In the September quarter 2010 the PBLCI increased by 1.0%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.7% over the same period.
Since the PBLCI series began in June quarter 2007 it has risen 12.3%, compared to 10.0% for the CPI. Differences have occurred for a number of reasons that relate to factors that affect the component series used to compile the PBLCI. The inclusion of mortgage interest and consumer credit charges and the different treatments of housing and insurance in the PBLCI result in variations between the PBLCI and the CPI series. The expenditure patterns of age pensioner and other government transfer recipient households differ from those of the overall household sector covered by the CPI. This also contributes to differences in the percentage changes.
For more information on the relationship between the PBLCI, CPI and the ALCIs, see the Explanatory Notes.
MAIN CONTRIBUTORS TO CHANGE
The PBLCI increased 1.0% for the September quarter 2010. Housing (+2.9%) made the greatest contribution to the quarterly rise primarily due to annual price rises in July for utilities. Alcohol and tobacco (+4.0%) also recorded increases for the quarter primarily due to the flow on effect of the 25% increase to the federal excise tax for tobacco on 30 April 2010 as well as the rise in the rate of federal excise on 1 August 2010. Financial and insurance services (+3.1%) also recorded increases for the quarter as a result of rises in mortgage interest charges.
The most significant offsets were provided by food (-0.6%), transportation (-1.0%) and health (-2.0%) primarily due to falls in fruit and vegetables, automotive fuel and pharmaceuticals.
The major contributors to the difference between the PBLCI (+1.0%) and the CPI (+0.7%) in the September quarter 2010 were tobacco, mortgage interest charges and utilities. Rises for tobacco, for which PBLCI households have a relatively higher proportion of expenditure, recorded increases for the September quarter 2010. The rise in mortgage interest charges this quarter also contributed to the difference due to mortgage interest charges being excluded from the CPI. PBLCI households also have a relatively higher proportion of expenditure attributed to utilities than the wider CPI population group, which also recorded a rise for the quarter.
GRAPHS
Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index and CPI, All groups
- Percentage change from previous quarter
Comparison of PBLCI and CPI Indexes
Comparison of PBLCI and Analytical Living Cost Indexes
Table 1: Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index, All Groups, Weighted average of eight capital cities - index numbers, percentage change and points change |
|
 | | | Percentage change | Points change |
| Quarters | Index Numbers(a) | From previous quarter | From corresponding quarter of previous year | From previous quarter | From corresponding quarter of previous year |
|
| 2008 | | | | | |
| March | 103.4 | 1.6 | . . | 1.7 | . . |
| June | 104.7 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 4.7 |
| September | 106.1 | 1.3 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 5.2 |
| December | 106.0 | -0.1 | 4.2 | -0.1 | 4.3 |
| 2009 | | | | | |
| March | 107.0 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 3.6 |
| June | 107.1 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 2.4 |
| September | 108.2 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
| December | 108.8 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 2.8 |
| 2010 | | | | | |
| March | 110.1 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 3.1 |
| June | 111.2 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 4.1 |
| September | 112.3 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 4.1 |
|
| . . not applicable |
| (a) Reference base of index: June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
Table 2: Percentage change in analytical living cost indexes, PBLCI and CPI, by commodity group - June Quarter 2010 to September Quarter 2010 |
|
| Commodity group | Age pensioner | Other government transfer recipient | PBLCI | CPI |
|
| Food | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.5 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 3.0 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
| Clothing and footwear | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Housing(a) | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
| Household contents and services | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Health | -1.9 | -2.2 | -2.0 | -0.7 |
| Transportation | -0.9 | -1.1 | -1.0 | -0.6 |
| Communication | 0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1 | -0.3 |
| Recreation | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Education | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Financial and insurance services(b) | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 0.5 |
| All groups | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
|
| (a) House purchases are included in the CPI but excluded from the population subgroup indexes. |
| (b) Includes interest charges and general insurance, except for the CPI. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis. |
Table 3: Points contribution to quarterly change, index points - June Quarter 2010 to September Quarter 2010 |
|
| Commodity group | Age pensioner ALCI(a) | Other government transfer recipient ALCI(a) | PBLCI(b) | CPI(a) |
|
| Food | -0.12 | -0.14 | -0.14 | -0.09 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 0.25 | 0.57 | 0.43 | 0.25 |
| Clothing and footwear | 0.07 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.05 |
| Housing(c) | 0.74 | 0.60 | 0.65 | 0.52 |
| Household contents and services | 0.10 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.08 |
| Health | -0.15 | -0.08 | -0.11 | -0.04 |
| Transportation | -0.10 | -0.12 | -0.12 | -0.08 |
| Communication | 0.01 | -0.01 | -0.01 | -0.01 |
| Recreation | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.07 |
| Education | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Financial and insurance services(d) | 0.14 | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.05 |
| All groups | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
|
| (a) Re-referenced to base of June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (b) Reference base of index: June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (c) House purchases are included in the CPI but excluded from the population subgroup indexes. |
| (d) Includes interest charges and general insurance, except for the CPI. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis. |
Table 4: Contribution to total index, by commodity group, index points - June Quarter 2010 to September Quarter 2010 |
|
| Age pensioner ALCI(a) | Other government transfer recipient ALCI(a) | PBLCI(b) | CPI(a) |
| Commodity group | Jun Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2010 | Jun Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2010 | Jun Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2010 | Jun Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2010 |
|
| Food | 23.91 | 23.79 | 21.54 | 21.40 | 22.54 | 22.40 | 17.76 | 17.67 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 8.46 | 8.71 | 12.36 | 12.93 | 10.72 | 11.15 | 8.15 | 8.40 |
| Clothing and footwear | 4.62 | 4.69 | 4.36 | 4.42 | 4.47 | 4.53 | 3.59 | 3.64 |
| Housing(c) | 20.71 | 21.45 | 23.81 | 24.42 | 22.51 | 23.16 | 23.28 | 23.80 |
| Household contents and services | 11.32 | 11.42 | 10.36 | 10.44 | 10.77 | 10.85 | 9.55 | 9.63 |
| Health | 8.49 | 8.34 | 3.66 | 3.58 | 5.69 | 5.58 | 5.58 | 5.54 |
| Transportation | 12.14 | 12.04 | 11.70 | 11.58 | 11.89 | 11.77 | 13.81 | 13.73 |
| Communication | 3.72 | 3.73 | 4.35 | 4.35 | 4.09 | 4.08 | 3.17 | 3.16 |
| Recreation | 11.18 | 11.27 | 9.82 | 9.86 | 10.39 | 10.45 | 11.35 | 11.42 |
| Education | 0.18 | 0.18 | 2.15 | 2.15 | 1.32 | 1.33 | 3.28 | 3.29 |
| Financial and insurance services(d) | 5.95 | 6.09 | 7.38 | 7.64 | 6.78 | 6.99 | 9.70 | 9.75 |
| All groups | 110.7 | 111.7 | 111.5 | 112.8 | 111.2 | 112.3 | 109.2 | 110.0 |
|
| (a) Re-referenced to base of June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (b) Reference base of index: June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (c) House purchases are included in the CPI but excluded from the population subgroup indexes. |
| (d) Includes interest charges and general insurance, except for the CPI. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis. |
Table 5: Percentage change in analytical living cost indexes, PBLCI and CPI, Commodity group - September Quarter 2009 to September Quarter 2010 |
|
| Commodity group | Age pensioner | Other government transfer recipient | PBLCI | CPI |
|
| Food | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 10.8 | 16.4 | 14.5 | 11.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | -2.8 | -3.1 | -3.0 | -2.8 |
| Housing(a) | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.2 |
| Household contents and services | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Health | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 5.2 |
| Transportation | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Communication | -0.1 | -0.5 | -0.3 | -0.4 |
| Recreation | -0.2 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -0.7 |
| Education | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.8 |
| Financial and insurance services(b) | 8.0 | 15.5 | 12.6 | 3.4 |
| All groups | 3.1 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 2.8 |
|
| (a) House purchases are included in the CPI but excluded from the population subgroup indexes. |
| (b) Includes interest charges and general insurance, except for the CPI. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis. |
Table 6: Points contribution to annual change, index points - September Quarter 2009 to September Quarter 2010 |
|
| Commodity group | Age pensioner ALCI(a) | Other government transfer recipient ALCI(a) | PBLCI(b) | CPI(a) |
|
| Food | 0.40 | 0.33 | 0.35 | 0.29 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 0.86 | 1.83 | 1.41 | 0.85 |
| Clothing and footwear | -0.13 | -0.15 | -0.14 | -0.11 |
| Housing(c) | 1.32 | 1.38 | 1.34 | 1.17 |
| Household contents and services | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
| Health | 0.37 | 0.14 | 0.23 | 0.28 |
| Transportation | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.09 | 0.09 |
| Communication | 0.00 | -0.01 | -0.02 | -0.01 |
| Recreation | -0.01 | -0.06 | -0.04 | -0.07 |
| Education | 0.01 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.18 |
| Financial and insurance services(d) | 0.45 | 1.03 | 0.79 | 0.33 |
| All groups | 3.4 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.0 |
|
| (a) Re-referenced to base of June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (b) Reference base of index: June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (c) House purchases are included in the CPI but excluded from the population subgroup indexes |
| (d) Includes interest charges and general insurance, except for the CPI. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis. |
Table 7: Contribution to total index, Commodity group, index points - September Quarter 2009 to September Quarter 2010 |
|
| Age pensioner ALCI(a) | Other government transfer recipient ALCI(a) | PBLCI(b) | CPI(a) |
| Commodity group | Sep Qtr 2009 | Sep Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2009 | Sep Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2009 | Sep Qtr 2010 | Sep Qtr 2009 | Sep Qtr 2010 |
|
| Food | 23.39 | 23.79 | 21.07 | 21.40 | 22.05 | 22.40 | 17.38 | 17.67 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 7.85 | 8.71 | 11.10 | 12.93 | 9.74 | 11.15 | 7.55 | 8.40 |
| Clothing and footwear | 4.82 | 4.69 | 4.57 | 4.42 | 4.67 | 4.53 | 3.75 | 3.64 |
| Housing(c) | 20.13 | 21.45 | 23.04 | 24.42 | 21.82 | 23.16 | 22.63 | 23.80 |
| Household contents and services | 11.37 | 11.42 | 10.42 | 10.44 | 10.82 | 10.85 | 9.59 | 9.63 |
| Health | 7.97 | 8.34 | 3.44 | 3.58 | 5.35 | 5.58 | 5.26 | 5.54 |
| Transportation | 11.94 | 12.04 | 11.48 | 11.58 | 11.68 | 11.77 | 13.64 | 13.73 |
| Communication | 3.73 | 3.73 | 4.36 | 4.35 | 4.10 | 4.08 | 3.17 | 3.16 |
| Recreation | 11.28 | 11.27 | 9.92 | 9.86 | 10.49 | 10.45 | 11.49 | 11.42 |
| Education | 0.17 | 0.18 | 2.04 | 2.15 | 1.26 | 1.33 | 3.11 | 3.29 |
| Financial and insurance services(d) | 5.64 | 6.09 | 6.61 | 7.64 | 6.20 | 6.99 | 9.42 | 9.75 |
| All groups | 108.3 | 111.7 | 108.1 | 112.8 | 108.2 | 112.3 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
|
| (a) Re-referenced to base of June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (b) Reference base of index: June quarter 2007 = 100.0 |
| (c) House purchases are included in the CPI but excluded from the population subgroup indexes. |
| (d) Includes interest charges and general insurance, except for the CPI. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis. |
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