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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 2022
Released
27/07/2022

Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.8% this quarter.

  • Over the twelve months to the June 2022 quarter, the CPI rose 6.1%.

  • The most significant price rises were New dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers (+5.6%), Automotive fuel (+4.2%) and Furniture (+7.0%).

What's new this quarter

  • 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'.
  • The ABS will release an information paper next month outlining methodology and plans for a new monthly CPI indicator. 

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities
 Mar Qtr 2022 to Jun Qtr 2022Jun Qtr 2021 to June Qtr 2022
% change% change
All groups CPI1.86.1
Food and non-alcoholic beverages2.05.9
Alcohol and tobacco0.82.2
Clothing and footwear3.51.6
Housing2.59.0
Furnishings, household equipment and services2.56.3
Health0.42.4
Transport2.313.1
Communication0.10.0
Recreation and culture1.44.5
Education0.04.7
Insurance and financial services1.13.4
CPI analytical series
 All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted1.76.1
 Trimmed mean1.54.9
 Weighted median1.44.2

Overview

Annual underlying inflation highest in history of series

Annual CPI inflation increased to 6.1 per cent in the June quarter, due to higher dwelling construction costs and automotive fuel prices.  Annual trimmed mean inflation, which excludes large price rises and falls, increased to 4.9 per cent, the highest since the ABS first published the series in 2003.

Goods continue to drive inflation

Goods accounted for 79% of the rise in the CPI this quarter, reflecting high freight costs, supply constraints and prolonged strong demand. 

Rising constructions costs continue to drive higher prices for new dwellings

New dwelling prices recorded their largest annual rise since the series commenced in the June 1999 quarter. Price rises continue to be driven by high levels of building construction activity combined with ongoing shortages of materials and labour.

Fewer payments of government construction grants compared to the previous quarter also contributed to the rise this quarter.  These grants have the effect of reducing out of pocket expenses for new dwelling purchases.

Automotive fuel prices continue to rise

Automotive fuel prices rose for the eighth consecutive quarter. Price pressures continued to flow through to consumers following an oil price shock caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine last quarter, coupled with ongoing easing of COVID-19 restrictions strengthening global demand. 

While a cut in the fuel excise of 22 cents per litre on 30 March 2022 resulted in fuel price falls in April, price rises were seen in May and June. The average unleaded fuel price in the month of June surpassed the previous record high monthly average seen in March. 

Grocery prices continue to rise

Price rises were seen across all food and non-food grocery products (excluding pork) in the June quarter, reflecting a range of price pressures including supply chain disruptions and increased transport and input costs.

Strong demand amid supply constraints drives price rises for durable goods

Through the year, high freight costs, supply constraints and strong demand have driven price rises for durable goods such as furniture and motor vehicles.

Rents in Sydney and Melbourne continue to recover

Rents in Sydney and Melbourne have recorded rises for the second consecutive quarter. Price rises this quarter were driven by both houses and other dwellings, which includes flats and townhouses.

Rents across the remaining capital cities have recorded a faster recovery in rental price growth compared to Sydney and Melbourne. These cities continued to record strong price rises in the June 2022 quarter, with increases in rents seen for both houses and other dwellings, reflecting historically low vacancy rates. 

Main contributors to change

CPI groups


 

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+2.0%)

Alcohol and tobacco group (+0.8%)

Clothing and footwear group (+3.5%)

Housing group (+2.5%)

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (+2.5%)

Health group (+0.4%)

Transport group (+2.3%)

Communication group (+0.1%)

Recreation and culture group (+1.4%)

Education group (+0.0%)

Insurance and financial services group (+1.1%)

International trade exposure - tradable and non-tradables

Discretionary and non-discretionary inflation

Underlying inflation series

Seasonally adjusted analytical series

Capital cities comparison

All groups CPI

All groups CPI, All groups index numbers and percentage changes
 Index number(a)Percentage change (%)
 Jun Qtr 2022Mar Qtr 2022 to Jun Qtr 2022Jun Qtr 2021 to Jun Qtr 2022
Sydney125.71.65.3
Melbourne126.41.86.1
Brisbane127.92.17.3
Adelaide125.32.16.4
Perth125.41.77.4
Hobart127.61.86.5
Darwin123.22.16.6
Canberra125.61.66.3
Weighted average of eight capital cities126.11.86.1

a. Index reference period: 2011-12 = 100.0.

In all capital cities:

  • New dwelling purchase by owner occupiers (+5.6%) rose. Shortages of building supplies and labour, high freight costs and ongoing high levels of construction activity continued to contribute to price rises for new dwellings. The largest rises were recorded in Brisbane (+7.0%), Melbourne (+6.9%) and Adelaide (+6.0%).
  • Automotive fuel (+4.2%) rose due to global sanctions on Russian oil, paired with ongoing easing of COVID–19 restrictions strengthening global demand. The largest rises were recorded in Darwin (+6.2%), followed by Canberra (+5.6%) and Adelaide (+4.9%).
  • Furniture (+7.0%) rose due to increased transport and manufacturing costs. The largest rises were recorded in Sydney (+8.9%), Hobart (+8.6%) and Melbourne (+7.1%).
  • Vegetables (+7.3%) rose due to heavy rain flooding events in Queensland and New South Wales damaging crops and farm infrastructure. The largest rises were recorded in Darwin (+9.0%), Sydney (+7.7%) and Melbourne (+7.7%).
  • Child care (-7.3%) partially offset the rises, reflecting increased child care subsidies for families with two or more children under the age of 6, which commenced on 7 March and flowed through into this quarter. The largest fall was recorded in Sydney (–9.4%), as the NSW Government's before and after school care vouchers further reduced out–of–pocket costs for families in Sydney.

Capital city highlights:

At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all eight capital cities, ranging from 1.6% in Sydney and Canberra to 2.1% in Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin.

 

Sydney (+1.6%)

Melbourne (+1.8%)

Brisbane (+2.1%)

Adelaide (+2.1%)

Perth (+1.7%)

Hobart (+1.8%)

Darwin (+2.1%)

Canberra (+1.6%)

Quarterly percentage change by capital city
GroupSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups1.61.82.12.11.71.82.11.61.8
Food & non-alcoholic beverages2.12.01.92.61.61.62.62.12.0
Alcohol & tobacco0.60.80.90.90.61.10.60.90.8
Clothing & footwear3.83.74.04.71.83.33.04.03.5
Housing2.12.63.32.72.52.31.71.92.5
Furnishings, household equipment and services2.32.62.62.72.22.92.21.92.5
Health0.30.7-0.20.41.20.30.4-0.30.4
Transport2.32.31.92.82.31.63.72.72.3
Communication0.00.00.10.10.00.10.00.00.1
Recreation & culture1.00.53.11.72.02.44.90.91.4
Education0.00.00.10.00.00.00.00.00.0
Insurance & financial services1.10.61.51.90.71.10.80.81.1

Seasonal adjustment review

Each year, the CPI reviews all 87 series which comprise the CPI to assess the seasonal adjustment settings used over the year. As of the June 2022 quarter, the CPI seasonally adjusts 55 out of the 87 series. The findings from the latest review have led to the following series being switched from non-seasonally adjusted to seasonally adjusted in the June 2022 quarter CPI release:

  • Footwear for men;
  • Tools and equipment for house and garden;
  • Poultry; and
  • Telecommunication equipment and services.

The changes will be reflected in the analytical series 'All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted', 'Trimmed mean' and 'Weighted median'. Changes to the seasonally adjusted series do not affect the original CPI series.

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

Article archive

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 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 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.

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