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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
March Quarter 2024
Released
24/04/2024

Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.0% this quarter.
  • Over the twelve months to the March 2024 quarter, the CPI rose 3.6%.
  • The most significant price rises this quarter were Rents (+2.1%), Secondary education (+6.1%), Tertiary education (+6.5%) and Medical and hospital services (+2.3%).

What's new this quarter

Monthly CPI Indicator

Design of a complete monthly CPI

  • At the end of 2023, the ABS undertook a public consultation on the proposed complete monthly CPI publication design. The public consultation sought formal submissions on this proposed design covering key areas such as release timing, data requirements, publication specifics, and methodologies. A summary of submissions and the complete monthly CPI design are available on the ‘We asked, You said, We did’ page of the Consultation Hub.

Annual update to CPI weights

Private rent inflation: capital cities vs regions.

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities
 Dec Qtr 2023 to Mar Qtr 2024Mar Qtr 2023 to Mar Qtr 2024
% change% change
All groups CPI1.03.6
Food and non-alcoholic beverages0.93.8
Alcohol and tobacco0.96.3
Clothing and footwear-1.10.4
Housing0.74.9
Furnishings, household equipment and services-0.10.2
Health2.84.1
Transport0.53.6
Communication-0.31.8
Recreation and culture-0.10.2
Education5.95.2
Insurance and financial services2.08.2
CPI analytical series
 All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted0.93.6
 Trimmed mean1.04.0
 Weighted median1.14.4

Overview

Annual CPI inflation continues to ease in the March quarter

Annual CPI inflation was 3.6 per cent in the March 2024 quarter, lower than the 4.1 per cent annual rise in the previous quarter. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of lower annual inflation since the peak of 7.8 per cent in the December 2022 quarter. Trimmed mean annual inflation of 4.0 per cent was also lower in the March quarter compared to the previous quarter of 4.2 per cent and the peak in December 2022 of 6.8 per cent.

Goods and Services annual inflation both lower

Annual inflation for goods this quarter was 3.1 per cent. This is the sixth consecutive quarter of lower annual inflation for goods, down from the peak of 9.6 per cent in the September 2022 quarter. Annual inflation for most goods eased in the March 2024 quarter, with some goods, such as footwear, furniture, appliances and meat and seafood products seeing deflation, meaning their prices are lower compared to 12 months ago. Annual services inflation eased for the third consecutive quarter to 4.3 per cent, down from the peak of 6.3 per cent in the June 2023 quarter. 

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, down from 5.4 per cent in the December 2023 quarter. Price rises for rents, new dwelling purchases by owner occupiers, education, insurance and tobacco contributed to the annual rise.

Annual inflation for Tradables is significantly lower at 0.9 per cent, compared to a rise of 1.5 per cent in the December 2023 quarter and down from the peak of 8.7 per cent in 2022. Deflation, where prices are lower compared to 12 months ago, has been seen in imported goods including footwear, clothing accessories, furniture and household appliances.

Strongest annual rise in rental price growth since 2009

Rental prices rose 7.8 per cent annually, the strongest rise since the March 2009 quarter. Rental price growth continues to reflect low vacancy rates and a tight rental market. 

The rate of growth in rental prices is 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, last September significant changes were made to the CRA with the maximum rate available for CRA increasing by 15 per cent. Excluding these changes to CRA, rents would have increased by 9.5 per cent over the 12 months to the March 2024 quarter. 

Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates continue to reduce electricity bills

Electricity prices fell 1.7 per cent in the March 2024 quarter, following a rise of 1.4 per cent in the December 2023 quarter. Annually, electricity prices have increased 2.0 per cent, down from a 6.9 per cent increase in the 12 months to December 2023. 

The introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates from July 2023 has moderated the increase in electricity bills for households. Electricity prices have risen 3.9 per cent since the June 2023 quarter. Excluding the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates, prices would have increased by 17.0 per cent over this period. 

The following graph shows the introduction of various electricity rebates and the impact these changes had on the electricity series in the CPI. 

Strongest annual growth in insurance premiums in 23 years

Insurance prices rose 16.4 per cent annually, which is the strongest annual rise since 2001. 

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

Annual food inflation eases for the fifth consecutive quarter

Annual food inflation eased to 3.8 per cent in the March quarter, down from 4.5 per cent in the previous quarter and the peak of 9.2 per cent in December 2022. Over the past 12 months, prices have risen for bread and cereal products, dairy products and other food products such as condiments, albeit at a lower annual rate than in previous quarters.  

Meat and seafood prices fell 1.6 per cent compared to 12 months ago, which is the first annual fall in Meat and seafood since 2013. Price falls for lamb and goat (-16.8 per cent) and beef and veal (-5.8 per cent) offset price rises in pork, seafood and chicken.

Increase in education fees highest in 12 years

The Education group, which covers primary, secondary and tertiary education, recorded the largest rise since 2012. Fees are collected once a year at the beginning of the school year. The rise was driven by higher primary and secondary school fees, as well as tertiary education following the indexation of higher education course fees.

Main contributors to change

CPI groups

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+0.9%)

Alcohol and tobacco group (+0.9%)

Clothing and footwear group (-1.1%)

Housing group (+0.7%)

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (-0.1%)

Health group (+2.8%)

Transport group (+0.5%)

Communication group (-0.3%)

Recreation and culture group (-0.1%)

Education group (+5.9%)

Insurance and financial services group (+2.0%)

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 (%)
 Mar Qtr 2024Dec Qtr 2023 to Mar Qtr 2024Mar Qtr 2023 to Mar Qtr 2024
Sydney137.71.03.8
Melbourne137.51.03.6
Brisbane139.21.13.4
Adelaide138.10.74.3
Perth134.80.63.4
Hobart138.11.03.1
Darwin132.40.73.3
Canberra135.61.03.3
Weighted average of eight capital cities137.41.03.6

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 0.6% in Perth to 1.1% in Brisbane.

 

Sydney (+1.0%)

Melbourne (+1.0%)

Brisbane (+1.1%)

Adelaide (+0.7%)

Perth (+0.6%)

Hobart (+1.0%)

Darwin (+0.7%)

Canberra (+1.0%)

Quarterly percentage change by capital city
GroupSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups1.01.01.10.70.61.00.71.01.0
Food & non-alcoholic beverages0.81.00.90.80.90.91.11.20.9
Alcohol & tobacco1.10.41.30.41.21.60.81.20.9
Clothing & footwear-1.2-1.6-0.3-1.7-1.00.20.5-1.4-1.1
Housing0.70.71.41.20.01.10.90.50.7
Furnishings, household equipment and services-0.2-0.81.0-0.40.2-0.10.1-0.1-0.1
Health2.83.13.31.92.31.92.93.82.8
Transport0.90.80.70.0-0.70.7-0.80.80.5
Communication-0.3-0.3-0.4-0.4-0.4-0.3-0.4-0.3-0.3
Recreation & culture-0.20.5-0.6-0.3-0.30.1-1.5-0.6-0.1
Education6.26.25.44.35.06.17.77.65.9
Insurance & financial services2.12.01.32.92.30.91.90.12.0

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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