- This release contains additional graphs and content to highlight the main stories for the June quarter. The ABS plans to continue to provide similar analysis in the CPI release each quarter. Feedback is welcome via prices.statistics@abs.gov.au.
- International holiday travel and accommodation was measured in the CPI in the June 2021 quarter, having been imputed since the June 2020 quarter. Prices were used for travel to New Zealand following the commencement of quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand from April 2021. The International holiday travel and accommodation series has a weight of 0.08% of the CPI, following The 2020 annual re-weight of the CPI.
- A review of the seasonally adjusted series was conducted in the June quarter. An update of the changes is provided in this release under 'Seasonal adjustment review'.
- In May 2021 an article was published on Measuring Non-discretionary and Discretionary Inflation. These measures will be included in the CPI release each quarter, beginning the September 2021 quarter. For more information on these measures, refer to the article or contact prices.statistics@abs.gov.au.
- 19/10/2021 - Released additional information about the graph used to explain the impact of the housing construction grants on new dwelling prices. This update is included in the 'Overview' section.
Consumer Price Index, Australia
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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures household inflation and includes statistics about price change for categories of household expenditure
Reference period
June 2021
Released
28/07/2021
Key statistics
- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% this quarter.
- Over the twelve months to the June 2021 quarter, the CPI rose 3.8%.
- The most significant price rise was Automotive fuel (+6.5%).
What's new this quarter
Main features
| Mar Qtr 2021 to Jun Qtr 2021 | Jun Qtr 2020 to Jun Qtr 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| % change | % change | ||
| All groups CPI | 0.8 | 3.8 | |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 0.5 | 0.7 | |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 0.4 | 6.7 | |
| Clothing and footwear | 0.4 | 0.3 | |
| Housing | 0.3 | -0.2 | |
| Furnishings, household equipment and services | 1.1 | 16.9 | |
| Health | 1.5 | 4.8 | |
| Transport | 2.8 | 10.7 | |
| Communication | -0.6 | -1.3 | |
| Recreation and culture | -0.1 | 2.5 | |
| Education | 0.0 | 3.7 | |
| Insurance and financial services | 0.3 | 0.6 | |
| CPI analytical series | |||
| All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted | 0.8 | 3.7 | |
| Trimmed mean | 0.5 | 1.6 | |
| Weighted median | 0.5 | 1.7 | |
Overview
Annual CPI inflation increased to 3.8% in the June quarter
The increase in annual CPI inflation includes some 'base effects' following the introduction of free child care and a record fall in fuel prices in the June 2020 quarter. The Trimmed mean and Weighted median are measures of underlying inflation which exclude large, one-off price impacts. Trimmed mean annual inflation was 1.6% in the June quarter, which has increased from 1.1% in the March quarter.
Automotive fuel prices surpass March 2020 quarter pre-COVID levels
A resurgence in global demand for oil saw fuel prices rebound to above pre-COVID March 2020 quarter levels in the June 2021 quarter.
A feature article exploring the history of Automotive fuel in the CPI was recently released.
New dwelling prices continue to be impacted by housing grants
The Federal government's HomeBuilder and state-based housing construction grants in Western Australia and Tasmania continue to have a significant impact on the New dwelling purchase by owner occupier series.
Prices for new dwellings fell 0.1% in the June 2021 quarter. Excluding grants, the new dwellings series would have risen 1.9%, reflecting demand driven increases in materials and labour costs.
The following graph shows the effects of the housing construction grants on the new dwellings series for the June 2021 quarter. This graph presents the information differently to the graphs that were included in the March 2021 and December 2020 quarters.
The graph below shows the impact of the grants as the quarterly changes for two separate index series, one including and one excluding housing construction grants.
The graphs shown in the March 2021 and December 2020 quarter releases showed the impacts of the grants 'before' and 'after' the housing construction grants were applied. The key difference to the June quarter 2021 graph was that the comparison point for both these series was the previous quarter index series including the housing construction grants.
It is expected that these grants will continue to impact the measurement of new dwelling purchases over the next few quarters as applications are finalised and grants are paid.
Domestic airfare prices continue to fall
Following the announcement of the Federal government's half price airfares package coupled with increased airline competition, domestic airfare prices have continued to fall in the June 2021 quarter.
Domestic airfare prices have fallen 14.4% compared to the pre-COVID March 2020 quarter, while accommodation prices have risen 5.3% over the same period following increased demand.
Two speed rental market across capital cities
While rents for Sydney and Melbourne have fallen when compared to the pre-COVID March 2020 quarter, rents in most cities have increased, which reflects record low vacancy rates in those cities.
Main contributors to change
CPI groups
Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+0.5%)
Alcohol and tobacco group (+0.4%)
Clothing and footwear group (+0.4%)
Housing group (+0.3%)
Furnishings, household equipment and services group (+1.1%)
Health group (+1.5%)
Transport group (+2.8%)
Communication group (-0.6%)
Recreation and culture group (-0.1%)
Education group (0.0%)
Insurance and financial services group (+0.3%)
International trade exposure - tradable and non-tradables
Underlying inflation series
Seasonally adjusted analytical series
Capital cities comparison
All groups CPI
| Index number(a) | Percentage change | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun Qtr 2021 | Mar Qtr 2021 to Jun Qtr 2021 | Jun Qtr 2020 to Jun Qtr 2021 | |
| Sydney | 119.4 | 0.8 | 4.1 |
| Melbourne | 119.1 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
| Brisbane | 119.2 | 0.8 | 4.9 |
| Adelaide | 117.8 | 0.5 | 2.8 |
| Perth | 116.8 | 1.9 | 4.2 |
| Hobart | 119.8 | 1.1 | 3.6 |
| Darwin | 115.6 | 1.0 | 6.1 |
| Canberra | 118.2 | 0.8 | 4.8 |
| Weighted average of eight capital cities | 118.8 | 0.8 | 3.8 |
a. Index reference period: 2011-12 = 100.0.
In all capital cities:
- Automotive fuel rose, driven by the continued recovery of global oil prices following COVID-19 lockdowns. Automotive fuel price rises in the June quarter ranged from Adelaide (+3.0%) to Darwin (+10.1%).
- Medical and hospital services rose, due to the annual increase in private health insurance premiums.
- Fruit and vegetables rose in all capital cities ranging from Perth (+2.8%) to Sydney (+6.3%). Price rises were due to a shortage of pickers, extreme rainfall on the east coast of Australia and Cyclone Niran affecting banana crop yields.
Capital city highlights:
At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all eight capital cities, ranging from 0.3% in Melbourne to 1.9% in Perth. The differences across the capital cities at the All groups level was mainly due to the Housing group.
Sydney (+0.8%)
Melbourne (+0.3%)
Brisbane (+0.8%)
Adelaide (+0.5%)
Perth (+1.9%)
Hobart (+1.1%)
Darwin (+1.0%)
Canberra (+0.8%)
| Group | Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth | Hobart | Darwin | Canberra | Weighted average of eight capital cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All groups | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Food & non-alcoholic beverages | -0.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| Alcohol & tobacco | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Clothing & footwear | 0.9 | 1.2 | -0.8 | 1.0 | -0.9 | 1.3 | -2.0 | -0.4 | 0.4 |
| Housing | 0.2 | -1.3 | 0.5 | -0.4 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and services | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Health | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Transport | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Communication | -0.6 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.6 | -0.7 | -0.7 | -0.5 | -0.4 | -0.6 |
| Recreation & culture | -0.1 | -0.8 | 1.3 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 4.5 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Education | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Insurance & financial services | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | -0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
Seasonal adjustment review
In the June 2020 quarter release of the CPI, the ABS reviewed the method used to produce seasonally adjusted estimates for CPI series with significant and prolonged impacts from COVID-19. The ABS advised that the method for affected series had changed from the ‘concurrent’ method to the ‘forward factors’ method. This was outlined in Measuring the CPI during a time of COVID-19 under 'Seasonal Adjustment in the CPI'.
The ABS has since conducted an extensive review of the seasonally adjusted estimates in the CPI. The findings from the review have led to the following changes being implemented in the June 2021 quarter CPI release:
- The concurrent seasonal adjustment method will replace the use of forward factors, which has been in place since the June 2020 quarter. This affects three CPI series: Child care; Medical and hospital services; and Preschool and primary education.
- The 'Audio, visual and computing equipment and services' series will switch from non-seasonally adjusted to seasonally adjusted.
- The 'Accessories' series will switch from seasonally adjusted to non-seasonally adjusted.
Review of imputed series
In the June 2020 quarter, estimates for five series (Urban transport fares; Domestic holiday travel and accommodation; International holiday travel and accommodation; Sports participation; and Other recreational, sporting and cultural services) were imputed from the headline CPI. For the seasonally adjusted estimates, the same approach was used for the five series, which saw the quarterly movement imputed from the aggregate level seasonally adjusted CPI. This approach was used for all subsequent quarters wherever imputation was necessary.
Following the 2021 seasonal adjustment review, the approach for calculating the seasonally adjusted estimates from the June 2020 quarter for the five series has changed. To calculate the seasonally adjusted estimates, the usual method will be used where the seasonal adjustment factors for these series will now be applied to the original estimates for each series to derive a seasonally adjusted movement. This replaces the method of the quarterly movement being imputed from the aggregate level seasonally adjusted CPI.
As a result of these changes, there are larger than usual revisions in previous quarters for the affected seasonally adjusted series. Seasonal patterns can be significantly impacted by temporary shocks such as border closures and lockdowns. Caution should be used when interpreting seasonally adjusted estimates during this period.
These changes do not affect the seasonally adjusted estimates in the current quarter or future quarters. Nor do they impact any CPI series in original terms, including the headline CPI.
Selected tables - capital cities
All groups CPI, index numbers(a)
All groups CPI, percentage changes
Longer term series: all groups CPI, weighted average of eight capital cities, index numbers
Data downloads
Time Series Spreadsheets
Data files
TABLES 1 and 2. CPI: All Groups, Index Numbers and Percentage Changes
TABLES 3 and 4. CPI: Groups, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities, Index Numbers and Percentage Changes
TABLE 5. CPI: Groups, Index Numbers by Capital City
TABLE 6. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class Contribution to Change in All Groups Indexes, by Capital City
TABLE 7. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities
TABLE 8. CPI: Analytical Series, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities
TABLE 9. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Index Numbers by Capital City
TABLE 10. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Percentage change from corresponding quarter of previous year by Capital City
TABLE 11. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Percentage change from previous quarter by Capital City
TABLE 12. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Points Contribution, by Capital City
TABLE 13. CPI: Group, Expenditure Class and Selected Analytical Series Index Numbers, Seasonally adjusted, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities
TABLE 14. CPI: Expenditure Class, Combined seasonal adjustment factors, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities
Article archive
Response to COVID-19
CPIÂ feature articles
CPI enhancements
CPI 17th series review
Using price indexes
Price indexes in contracts
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 that 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.
Frequently asked questions
The Frequently Asked Questions page that has answers to a number of common questions to do with price indexes and the Consumer Price Index, in particular.
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6401.0.
Post release changes
19/10/2021 - Released additional information about the graph used to explain the impact of the housing construction grants on new dwelling prices. This update is included in the 'Overview' section.