The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures household inflation and includes statistics about price change for categories of household expenditure.
In the 12 months to February 2026:
In the month of February, the CPI was unchanged in original terms and rose 0.2% in seasonally adjusted terms.
Quarterly CPI data can be found in tables 17 and 18 in the Data downloads. Data for the most recent quarter will be added to tables 17 and 18 when the monthly CPI is published for the months of March, June, September and December.
The previously published quarterly data has been re-referenced. Index numbers are now set to 100.00 in September 2025. More information on re-referencing is available in Re-referencing the quarterly Consumer Price Index.
| Original | Seasonally adjusted | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted average of eight capital cities | Jan 26 to Feb 26 (% change) | Feb 25 to Feb 26 (% change) | Jan 26 to Feb 26 (% change) | Feb 25 to Feb 26 (% change) | |
| All groups CPI | 0.0 | 3.7 | 0.2 | 3.7 | |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | -0.1 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 3.1 | |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 0.2 | 4.3 | 0.1 | 4.3 | |
| Clothing and footwear | 2.6 | 5.0 | 0.3 | 4.9 | |
| Housing | 0.3 | 7.2 | 0.7 | 7.3 | |
| Furnishings, household equipment and services | 0.9 | 1.3 | -0.1 | 1.3 | |
| Health | 0.1 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 3.2 | |
| Transport | -0.7 | -0.2 | -0.6 | -0.2 | |
| Communication | 0.2 | 0.8 | -0.1 | 0.8 | |
| Recreation and culture | -3.0 | 4.1 | 0.6 | 4.0 | |
| Education | 4.5 | 4.8 | 0.2 | 4.8 | |
| Insurance and financial services | 0.1 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 2.4 | |
| CPI analytical series | |||||
| All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted | n/a | n/a | 0.2 | 3.7 | |
| Trimmed mean | n/a | n/a | 0.2 | 3.3 | |
| Weighted median | n/a | n/a | 0.2 | 3.5 | |
This chart shows the annual contributions of the individual components summing to the total CPI annual movement. Any differences in the sum of the individual components and the total are due to rounding.
CPI annual inflation was 3.7 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, down from 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to January 2026.
Trimmed mean inflation was 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, unchanged from the 12 months to January 2026.
Annual Goods inflation was 3.5 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, down from 3.8 per cent to January 2026. The main contributor was Electricity, which rose 37.0 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026. The largest negative contributor was Automotive fuel which fell 7.2 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, prior to the Middle East conflict.
Annual Services inflation was 3.9 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, unchanged from January 2026. The main contributors were Domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+8.8 per cent) and Rents (+3.8 per cent).
The Tradables and Non-tradables series measure the contribution of goods and services that are highly exposed to international trade influences (tradables), and those that are mostly influenced by domestic factors (non-tradables), to overall household inflation. Examples of tradables include automotive fuel, most food items, and clothing and footwear. Examples of non-tradables include housing and education.
Annual Non-tradables inflation was 5.0 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, up from 4.9 per cent to January 2026. The main contributors were Electricity (+37.0 per cent), New dwellings (+3.7 per cent) and Domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+8.8 per cent).
Annual Tradables inflation was 1.3 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, down from 1.9 per cent to January 2026. The main contributors were Accessories (+12.7 per cent), Audio, visual and computing media and services (+10.2 per cent), and Beef and veal (+13.5 per cent), while the largest negative contributor was Automotive fuel (-7.2 per cent).
Analytical series
| Jan 26 to Feb 26 (% change) | Feb 25 to Feb 26 (% change) |
|---|---|---|
| Trimmed mean | 0.2 | 3.3 |
| Weighted median | 0.2 | 3.5 |
| CPI excluding volatile items* | 0.1 | 4.2 |
| CPI excluding volatile items* and holiday travel | 0.6 | 4.1 |
| Tradables | -0.3 | 1.3 |
| Non-tradables | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| Goods | 0.1 | 3.5 |
| Services | -0.2 | 3.9 |
| Discretionary | -0.4 | 3.4 |
| Non-discretionary | 0.3 | 4.0 |
| All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted | 0.2 | 3.7 |
*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel
| Index number(a) | Percentage change (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | Jan 2026 to Feb 2026 | Feb 2025 to Feb 2026 | |
| Sydney | 101.40 | -0.2 | 3.8 |
| Melbourne | 101.36 | -0.1 | 3.3 |
| Brisbane | 101.05 | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| Adelaide | 101.41 | 0.1 | 3.4 |
| Perth | 101.21 | 0.6 | 4.9 |
| Hobart | 101.46 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
| Darwin | 100.91 | 0.1 | 3.2 |
| Canberra | 101.42 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| Weighted average of eight capital cities | 101.31 | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| Group | Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth | Hobart | Darwin | Canberra | Weighted average of eight capital cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All groups | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| Food & non-alcoholic beverages | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| Alcohol & tobacco | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
| Clothing & footwear | 5.9 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 6.9 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| Housing | 7.1 | 5.3 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 14.8 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 7.2 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and services | 1.0 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 |
| Health | 3.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| Transport | -0.4 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.4 | -0.1 | -0.8 | -0.1 | 0.8 | -0.2 |
| Communication | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Recreation & culture | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 |
| Education | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 5.9 | 4.8 |
| Insurance & financial services | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
Quarterly data is now published in Tables 17 and 18. These tables will be included in every monthly publication going forward. Data for the most recent quarter will be added to the quarterly tables in every third monthly publication (i.e. March, June, September and December).
The quarterly CPI data has been re-referenced and aligned to the new monthly CPI series.
More information on re-referencing is available in Re-referencing the quarterly Consumer Price Index.
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Data explorer for the Consumer Price Index, Australia.
For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.
Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).
Use of Price Indexes in Contracts sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.
The Frequently Asked Questions page has answers to a number of common questions to do with price indexes and the Consumer Price Index in particular.
This release previously used catalogue number 6401.0.
The CPI is a general measure of price change for goods and services purchased by Australian households.
Monthly data is published at the national level, derived as a weighted average of the eight capital cities.
Prices are collected for a range of goods and services (the CPI basket) from a variety of retailers across the eight capital cities.
Prices are collected monthly using:
Information about the data sources and methods used to compile the CPI is contained in the Consumer Price Index: Concepts, Sources and Methods.