- Canberra had the second highest average household expenditure ($1,052 a week).
- Canberra also had the second highest level of gross household income ($1,399 a week).
- Between 1998-99 and 2003-04, total expenditure on goods and services in Canberra increased by 22%, a figure that was lower than the increase for Australia as a whole (26%).
- Comparing each broad category of goods and services expenditure, Canberra had the highest expenditures on:
- domestic fuel and power ($32 a week);
- clothing and footwear ($51 a week);
- medical care and health expenses ($61 a week);
- personal care ($21 a week);
- miscellaneous goods and services ($107 a week). Within this category, Canberra had relatively high expenditure on fees ($23 a week) such as union dues and education fees ($13 a week).
- Canberra recorded the highest expenditure on petrol ($37 a week).
- Canberra recorded the lowest expenditure on tobacco products ($9 a week).
- Significant increases in expenditure over the five years from 1998-99 were on pay TV (up 650%), mobile telephone charges (up 139%), health practitioners' fees (up 100%) and health and accident insurance (up 84%).
Differences in demographic characteristics of households help to explain Canberra's relatively high levels of expenditure. These factors include:
- The average number of employed people per household in Canberra was higher (1.4 per household).
- A relatively high percentage of households with wages and salaries income as the principal source of income (67%) and low percentage of households with the government pensions and allowances as the principal source of income (17%).
 | NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT | Aust. |
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| Average weekly expenditure ($) | 938 | 888 | 820 | 814 | 871 | 753 | 1,038 | 1,052 | 883 |
| Mean gross household income per week ($) | 1,212 | 1,134 | 1,036 | 1,033 | 1,098 | 897 | 1,401 | 1,399 | 1,128 |
Extract from Tables 25 and 26 of Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04 (cat. no. 6530.0).
This page last updated 3 July 2008
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