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 Quarter 2024
Released
31/07/2024

Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.0% this quarter.
  • Over the twelve months to the June 2024 quarter, the CPI rose 3.8%.
  • The most significant price rises this quarter were Housing (+1.1%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+1.2%), Clothing and footwear (+3.1%), and Alcohol and tobacco (+1.5%). 

What's new this quarter

Monthly CPI Indicator

Complete monthly measure of the CPI

  • The ABS will release a complete monthly CPI in late 2025, as part of its transformative program called Big Data, Timely Insights: Phase 2 (BDTI2). Information is available on the Complete monthly measure of the CPI.

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities
 Mar Qtr 2024 to Jun Qtr 2024 Jun Qtr 2023 to Jun Qtr 2024 
% change% change
All groups CPI1.03.8
Food and non-alcoholic beverages1.23.3
Alcohol and tobacco1.56.8
Clothing and footwear3.12.9
Housing1.15.2
Furnishings, household equipment and services0.8-1.1
Health1.55.7
Transport0.94.6
Communication-0.81.4
Recreation and culture0.50.9
Education0.25.6
Insurance and financial services1.26.4
CPI analytical series 
 All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted1.03.8
 Trimmed mean0.83.9
 Weighted median0.84.1

Overview

Annual CPI inflation increases

Annual CPI inflation increased to 3.8 per cent in the June quarter, up from 3.6 per cent in the March quarter. This is the first increase in annual CPI inflation since the December 2022 quarter. 

The Trimmed mean provides a view of underlying inflation by reducing the effect of irregular or temporary price changes that can impact the CPI. Trimmed mean annual inflation fell slightly to 3.9 per cent, down from 4.0 per cent in the March quarter. This is the sixth quarter in a row of lower annual trimmed mean inflation, down from the peak of 6.8 per cent in the December 2022 quarter.

Goods and Services annual inflation both higher

Both goods and services annual inflation ticked up this quarter. Prices continued to rise for goods such as tobacco, new dwellings and automotive fuel, while prices for fruit rose strongly this quarter.

Annual services inflation continued to be impacted by higher prices for rents and insurance. This quarter saw rises for private health insurance premiums, which are typically reviewed in April each year.

Non-tradables inflation remains higher than Tradables

Non-tradables includes goods and services that are mostly influenced by domestic factors. Annual inflation for Non-tradables was 5.0 per cent, unchanged from the March 2024 quarter. Price rises for new dwellings, rents, tobacco and insurance contributed to the annual rise.

Annual inflation for Tradables increased for the first time since the September 2022 quarter. Automotive fuel prices remained higher compared to 12 months ago, while fruit and vegetable and clothing and footwear prices also rose.

Rental price growth remains high due to tight rental markets

Rental prices rose 7.3 per cent over the 12 months to the June quarter, down from a 7.8 per cent in the March quarter. Rental price growth continues to reflect low vacancy rates and a tight rental market. 

The rate of growth in rental prices was moderated by changes to Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA), with rent assistance rates updated by CPI indexation on 20 March and 20 September each year. In addition to the usual updates, the maximum rate available for CRA was increased by 15 per cent in September last year. Increases to the CRA reduce the amount of rent payable by eligible recipients. Excluding these changes to CRA, rents would have increased by 9.1 per cent over the 12 months to the June 2024 quarter.

New dwellings annual price growth was steady at 5.1 per cent

Annual price growth for new dwellings at the national level remained steady at 5.1 per cent in the June quarter, however, there were some differences across the capital cities. Sydney and Melbourne prices were 3.5 per cent higher compared to 12 months ago, while annual price rises were larger in Perth, up by 18.1 per cent, and Adelaide, up by 7.4 per cent, due to strong demand and high labour and material costs in these cities.

Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates continued to reduce electricity bills

Electricity prices rose 2.1 per cent in the June quarter and have increased 6.0 per cent in the past 12 months, up from an annual rise of 2.0 per cent in the March quarter. 

The introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates from July 2023 has moderated the increase in electricity bills for households. However, these rebates are progressively being used up by eligible households, resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs for electricity in the June 2024 quarter. 

Excluding the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates, prices would have increased by 14.6 per cent in the 12 months to the June 2024 quarter. The following graph shows the impact of the rebates have had on the electricity series in the CPI since the September 2023 quarter.

Annual growth for insurance premiums remains high

Insurance prices continued to record strong growth, increasing by 14.0 per cent in the 12 months to the June quarter. Price growth eased from the 16.4 per cent annual rise in the March 2024 quarter but remained high. 

Higher reinsurance, natural disaster and claims costs continued to drive higher premiums for motor vehicle, house and home contents insurance.

Annual food inflation eases for the sixth quarter in a row

Annual food inflation eased to 3.3 per cent in the June quarter, down from 3.8 per cent in March quarter and the peak of 9.2 per cent in December 2022. Price rises were lower across most food categories, except for fruit and vegetable prices, which were 3.7 per cent higher compared to 12 months ago. Unfavourable growing conditions drove higher prices for grapes, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes and capsicums.

Meat and seafood prices fell 0.4 per cent in annual terms. Compared to 12 months ago, prices were lower for lamb, down by 10.9 per cent and beef, down by 3.6 per cent, while prices were higher for seafood, up by 5.6 per cent and pork, up by 4.7 per cent.

Main contributors to change

CPI groups

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+1.2%)

Alcohol and tobacco group (+1.5%)

Clothing and footwear group (+3.1%)

Housing group (+1.1%)

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (+0.8%)

Health group (+1.5%)

Transport group (+0.9%)

Communication group (-0.8%)

Recreation and culture group (+0.5%)

Education group (+0.2%)

Insurance and financial services group (+1.2%)

International trade exposure - tradables and non-tradables

Discretionary and non-discretionary inflation

Underlying inflation series

Seasonally adjusted analytical series

Capital cities comparison

All groups CPI

All groups CPI, index numbers and percentage changes
 Index number(a)Percentage change (%)
 Jun Qtr 2024Mar Qtr 2024 to Jun Qtr 2024Jun Qtr 2023 to Jun Qtr 2024
Sydney139.11.03.8
Melbourne138.40.73.7
Brisbane140.61.03.4
Adelaide139.91.34.5
Perth137.62.14.6
Hobart138.30.12.7
Darwin133.60.93.0
Canberra136.80.93.1
Weighted average of eight capital cities138.81.03.8

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

Capital city highlights:

At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all capital cities, ranging from 0.1% in Hobart to 2.1% in Perth.

Sydney (+1.0%)

Melbourne (+0.7%)

Brisbane (+1.0%)

Adelaide (+1.3%)

Perth (+2.1%)

Hobart (+0.1%)

Darwin (+0.9%)

Canberra (+0.9%)

Quarterly percentage change by capital city
GroupSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups1.00.71.01.32.10.10.90.91.0
Food & non-alcoholic beverages1.11.20.91.51.60.81.21.11.2
Alcohol & tobacco1.91.11.52.10.71.41.31.21.5
Clothing & footwear3.72.42.94.22.81.92.73.53.1
Housing0.50.60.91.56.2-1.80.20.11.1
Furnishings, household equipment and services0.90.90.31.11.10.20.61.20.8
Health1.51.01.32.42.21.60.90.71.5
Transport1.20.50.50.91.31.00.10.40.9
Communication-0.8-0.8-0.6-0.6-0.6-0.8-0.6-0.8-0.8
Recreation & culture0.9-0.31.10.30.2-0.72.51.40.5
Education0.50.1-0.20.00.00.00.10.10.2
Insurance & financial services1.60.52.10.11.31.90.93.11.2

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

CPI feature articles

Measuring Rents in the CPI

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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