Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia

Latest release

Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) measures the price change of goods and services and its effect on living expenses of selected household types

Reference period

September 2025

Released

5/11/2025

Release date and time

05/11/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

The Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) recorded rises between 0.6% and 1.5% in the September 2025 quarter.
Housing and Recreation and culture were the main positive contributors across most LCIs.
In the twelve months to the September 2025 quarter, the LCIs rose between 2.6% and 3.9%.

Overview

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type and CPI, Australia, quarterly and annual movement (%)
	Change from previous quarter (%)	Annual change (%)
Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)	1.3	3.9
Employee LCI	0.6	2.6
Age pensioner LCI	1.5	3.9
Other government transfer recipient LCI	1.2	3.9
Self-funded retiree LCI	1.4	2.8
Consumer Price Index (CPI)	1.3	3.2

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type and CPI, Australia, quarterly and annual movement (%)

["","Change from previous quarter","Annual change"]

[["Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI","Consumer Price Index (CPI)"],[[1.3],[0.6],[1.5],[1.2],[1.4],[1.3]],[[3.9],[2.6],[3.9],[3.9],[2.8],[3.2]]]

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Quarterly living costs

All household types recorded larger rises in living costs compared to the previous quarter

All household types recorded larger increases in living costs this quarter, compared to the June 2025 quarter. Age pensioner households recorded the largest rise in living costs this quarter. Employee households recorded the smallest quarterly increase across the LCIs for the second consecutive quarter.

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, All groups, quarterly movement (%)
	Pensioner and Beneficiary LCI (PBLCI) (%)	Employee LCI (%)	Age pensioner LCI (%)	Other government transfer recipient LCI (%)	Self-funded retiree LCI (%)
Sep-19	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.9
Dec-19	0.7	0.4	0.5	0.9	0.5
Mar-20	0.8	0.1	0.8	0.7	0.2
Jun-20	-1.4	-2.6	-0.8	-1.9	-0.4
Sep-20	0.8	1.3	0.3	1.1	0.4
Dec-20	0.5	0.8	0.1	0.9	0.6
Mar-21	0.7	0.5	0.9	0.6	0.7
Jun-21	0.9	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.9
Sep-21	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.7
Dec-21	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.9
Mar-22	2.2	1.7	2.3	2.1	1.8
Jun-22	1.3	1.5	1.3	1.3	1.5
Sep-22	1.8	2.6	1.8	1.8	1.9
Dec-22	1.8	3.2	1.7	2.0	2.2
Mar-23	2.2	2.0	2.2	2.1	1.3
Jun-23	1.1	1.5	0.8	1.3	0.8
Sep-23	0.5	2.0	0.5	0.6	1.4
Dec-23	1.0	1.1	0.8	1.1	0.5
Mar-24	1.3	1.7	1.1	1.4	0.7
Jun-24	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.4	1.2
Sep-24	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.4	0.3
Dec-24	-0.1	0.4	-0.1	0.0	0.3
Mar-25	1.6	1.1	1.5	1.6	0.6
Jun-25	1.0	0.4	1.0	1.0	0.6
Sep-25	1.3	0.6	1.5	1.2	1.4

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, All groups, quarterly movement (%)

["","Pensioner and Beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"]

[["Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25"],[[0.3],[0.7],[0.8],[-1.4],[0.8],[0.5],[0.7],[0.9],[0.5],[0.8],[2.2],[1.3],[1.8],[1.8],[2.2],[1.1],[0.5],[1],[1.3],[1.3],[0.3],[-0.1],[1.6],[1],[1.3]],[[0.1],[0.4],[0.1],[-2.6],[1.3],[0.8],[0.5],[0.6],[0.6],[0.8],[1.7],[1.5],[2.6],[3.2],[2],[1.5],[2],[1.1],[1.7],[1.3],[0.6],[0.4],[1.1],[0.4],[0.6]],[[0.4],[0.5],[0.8],[-0.8],[0.3],[0.1],[0.9],[1],[0.6],[0.8],[2.3],[1.3],[1.8],[1.7],[2.2],[0.8],[0.5],[0.8],[1.1],[1.2],[0.3],[-0.1],[1.5],[1],[1.5]],[[0.3],[0.9],[0.7],[-1.9],[1.1],[0.9],[0.6],[0.8],[0.3],[0.9],[2.1],[1.3],[1.8],[2],[2.1],[1.3],[0.6],[1.1],[1.4],[1.4],[0.4],[0],[1.6],[1],[1.2]],[[0.9],[0.5],[0.2],[-0.4],[0.4],[0.6],[0.7],[0.9],[0.7],[0.9],[1.8],[1.5],[1.9],[2.2],[1.3],[0.8],[1.4],[0.5],[0.7],[1.2],[0.3],[0.3],[0.6],[0.6],[1.4]]]

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Housing and Recreation and culture were the main contributors to the rises in living costs across most household types this quarter. Rises in Transport, Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Alcohol and tobacco also contributed to increases in living costs. The main offsetting contributors were Health and Insurance and financial services, which fell for most LCIs.

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, main positive and offsetting contributors to the quarterly movement (%) (a)(b)
	Housing (a) (%)	Recreation and culture (%)	Transport (%)	Food and non-alcoholic beverages (%)	Alcohol and tobacco (%)	Health (%)	Insurance and financial services (b) (%)
Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)	3.8	1.8	1.2	0.7	2.0	-1.8	-0.4
Employee LCI	2.9	1.8	1.2	0.7	1.6	0.3	-2.5
Age pensioner LCI	4.9	2.1	1.2	0.7	1.7	-1.4	0.6
Other government transfer recipient LCI	3.1	1.6	1.2	0.6	2.2	-2.4	-1.3
Self-funded retiree LCI	4.6	2.1	1.2	0.7	1.5	-0.2	0.4

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, main positive and offsetting contributors to the quarterly movement (%) (a)(b)

["","Housing (a)","Recreation and culture","Transport","Food and non-alcoholic beverages","Alcohol and tobacco","Health","Insurance and financial services (b)"]

[["Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"],[[3.8],[2.9],[4.9],[3.1],[4.6]],[[1.8],[1.8],[2.1],[1.6],[2.1]],[[1.2],[1.2],[1.2],[1.2],[1.2]],[[0.7],[0.7],[0.7],[0.6],[0.7]],[[2],[1.6],[1.7],[2.2],[1.5]],[[-1.8],[0.3],[-1.4],[-2.4],[-0.2]],[[-0.4],[-2.5],[0.6],[-1.3],[0.4]]]

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Housing includes Rents, Utilities, and Other housing (Property rates and Maintenance and repair of the dwelling).
Mortgage interest charges is included in Insurance and financial services.

All household types recorded rises in Housing costs due to increases in Electricity costs and Property rates and charges. Out-of-pocket Electricity costs rose following annual price reviews in July and the timing of rebate payments for the extended 2024-25 Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund.

More details on the impact and timing of these rebates are provided in the latest Consumer Price Index publication.

Property rates and charges rose due to general council rate increases in all capital cities, as well as higher levies, such as waste disposal levies, charged by councils.

Recreation and culture rose across all household types. This is due to rises for Domestic holiday travel and accommodation, with higher demand during the school holiday periods in July and late September, and International holiday travel and accommodation, due to increased demand for holiday travel to Europe.

Transport contributed to rises across all household types, driven by a rise in Automotive fuel. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose, due to increases in Meals out and takeaway foods. Alcohol and tobacco rose due to the 5% excise increase and the biannual AWOTE indexation for tobacco, and the bi-annual increase in the excise tax for alcohol.

Living costs for households whose main source of income is government payments

Living costs for Age pensioner (+1.5%) and Other government transfer recipient (+1.2%) households and the Pensioner and Beneficiary LCI (PBLCI) (+1.3%) rose this quarter. Households represented by these indexes source their principal income from government payments.

The increase in living costs for these households was driven by an increase in Housing costs, due to rises in Electricity and Property rates and charges. Electricity and Property rates and charges make up a higher proportion of expenditure for these household types. Age pensioners, which recorded the highest quarterly rise, have the largest expenditure weight for Electricity and Property rates and charges across the LCIs.

The strong quarterly rise in electricity was driven by annual electricity price reviews which came into effect from July 2025 and increased electricity prices across all capital cities.

The timing of rebates also contributed to the large rise in electricity prices.

The Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund (EBRF) rebates were extended for 6 months from July 2025 to December 2025. However, households in NSW and ACT did not receive payments of the extended EBRF in July. Payment of rebates for households in NSW and ACT commenced in August. Households that did not receive the EBRF rebate in July will receive two payments in October 2025.

Additionally, these household types saw a larger impact from using up various rebates in the previous quarter. The final payment of the 2023-24 Energy Bill Relief Fund (EBRF) rebate in Tasmania, which was paid across two financial years, and the remainder of the $1,000 State Government electricity rebate in Queensland were both used up in the previous quarter. These household types have relatively smaller electricity bill sizes, which means falls in rebates or increases in prices have a proportionally bigger impact on their out-of-pocket electricity costs.

Government payment recipient households saw offsetting falls in Health, due to a cyclical increase in the proportion of these households reaching the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) safety net threshold this quarter, reducing their out-of-pocket expenses.

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Housing, quarterly movement (%) (a)
	Concession households (%)	Non-concession households (%)
Age pensioner LCI	4.9
Other government transfer recipient LCI	3.1
Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)	3.8
Employee LCI		2.9
Self-funded retiree LCI		4.6

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Housing, quarterly movement (%) (a)

["","Concession households","Non-concession households"]

[["Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"],[[4.9],[3.1],[3.8],[null],[null]],[[null],[null],[null],[2.9],[4.6]]]

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a. Housing includes Rents, Utilities, and Other housing (Property rates and Maintenance and repair of the dwelling).

Self-funded retiree households recorded a rise of 1.4% this quarter

Self-funded retiree households, whose primary source of income is superannuation or property income, rose 1.4% this quarter following a 0.6% rise in the June 2025 quarter.

The main contributors to the rise were Housing, followed by Recreation and culture. The rise in Recreation and culture had a larger impact on Self-funded retiree households, due to Holiday travel and accommodation making up a larger proportion of expenditure for these households compared to other household types.

Employee households recorded the smallest rise across all household types (+0.6%)

Living costs for Employee households, whose primary source of income is wages and salaries, rose 0.6% in September 2025 quarter, following a 0.4% rise in the June 2025 quarter.

This rise in living costs for Employee households was partially offset by falls in Mortgage interest charges, which make up a higher proportion of expenditure for these households. Mortgage interest charges fell 3.8% due to banks cutting interest rates for both variable and new fixed rate home loans following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to lower the cash rate target in May and August 2025.

Employee LCI and Mortgage interest charges, Australia, quarterly movement (%)
	Employee LCI (RHS) (%)	Mortgage interest charges (LHS) (%)
Sep-21	0.6	-1.6
Dec-21	0.8	-1.6
Mar-22	1.7	0.0
Jun-22	1.5	2.5
Sep-22	2.6	24.2
Dec-22	3.2	26.6
Mar-23	2.0	11.0
Jun-23	1.5	9.8
Sep-23	2.0	9.3
Dec-23	1.1	5.4
Mar-24	1.7	7.0
Jun-24	1.3	2.6
Sep-24	0.6	2.7
Dec-24	0.4	1.7
Mar-25	1.1	1.5
Jun-25	0.4	-1.4
Sep-25	0.6	-3.8

Employee LCI and Mortgage interest charges, Australia, quarterly movement (%)

["","Employee LCI (RHS)","Mortgage interest charges (LHS)"]

[["Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25"],[[0.6],[0.8],[1.7],[1.5],[2.6],[3.2],[2],[1.5],[2],[1.1],[1.7],[1.3],[0.6],[0.4],[1.1],[0.4],[0.6]],[[-1.6],[-1.6],[0],[2.5],[24.2],[26.6],[11],[9.8],[9.3],[5.4],[7],[2.6],[2.7],[1.7],[1.5],[-1.4],[-3.8]]]

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Annual living costs

All LCIs recorded annual rises in living costs

In the twelve months to the September 2025 quarter, all LCIs rose between 2.6% and 3.9%, compared to annual rises of between 1.7% and 3.1% to the June 2025 quarter.

Housing, Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Alcohol and tobacco were the main annual contributors to annual living cost increases across the household types.

Households whose main source of income is government payments recorded higher rises in annual living costs compared to the June 2025 quarter.

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type and Consumer Price Index (CPI), Australia, annual movement (%)
	Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI) (%)	Employee LCI (%)	Age pensioner LCI (%)	Other government transfer recipient LCI (%)	Self-funded retiree LCI (%)	Consumer Price Index (CPI) (%)
Sep-15	1.0	0.7	0.9	1.0	1.2	1.5
Dec-15	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.7
Mar-16	1.1	1.1	0.8	1.1	1.1	1.3
Jun-16	0.9	1.0	0.7	1.1	1.1	1.0
Sep-16	1.5	1.2	1.5	1.6	1.5	1.3
Dec-16	1.7	1.0	1.6	1.8	1.4	1.5
Mar-17	2.4	1.5	2.4	2.5	2.0	2.1
Jun-17	2.0	1.3	2.0	2.0	1.8	1.9
Sep-17	2.0	1.5	1.7	2.1	1.6	1.8
Dec-17	2.3	2.0	2.1	2.4	1.6	1.9
Mar-18	2.3	2.0	2.1	2.4	1.8	1.9
Jun-18	2.5	2.3	2.2	2.7	2.0	2.1
Sep-18	2.2	2.0	2.3	2.2	2.3	1.9
Dec-18	2.1	1.9	2.0	2.1	2.2	1.8
Mar-19	1.6	1.4	1.4	1.6	1.6	1.3
Jun-19	1.9	1.6	1.9	1.9	2.0	1.6
Sep-19	1.9	1.3	1.7	1.9	1.9	1.7
Dec-19	1.8	1.0	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.8
Mar-20	2.4	1.1	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.2
Jun-20	0.4	-2.1	1.0	0.0	1.1	-0.3
Sep-20	0.9	-0.9	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.7
Dec-20	0.7	-0.5	0.4	0.8	0.8	0.9
Mar-21	0.6	0.0	0.5	0.7	1.3	1.1
Jun-21	2.9	3.3	2.3	3.5	2.7	3.8
Sep-21	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.9	3.0
Dec-21	3.0	2.6	3.4	2.7	3.3	3.5
Mar-22	4.6	3.8	4.9	4.3	4.4	5.1
Jun-22	5.0	4.6	5.2	4.8	5.0	6.1
Sep-22	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.3	6.3	7.3
Dec-22	7.4	9.3	7.3	7.4	7.6	7.8
Mar-23	7.3	9.6	7.2	7.4	7.1	7.0
Jun-23	7.0	9.6	6.7	7.3	6.3	6.0
Sep-23	5.7	9.0	5.3	6.0	5.7	5.4
Dec-23	4.8	6.9	4.4	5.2	4.0	4.1
Mar-24	3.9	6.5	3.3	4.4	3.4	3.6
Jun-24	4.1	6.2	3.7	4.6	3.8	3.8
Sep-24	3.9	4.7	3.5	4.4	2.8	2.8
Dec-24	2.8	4.0	2.5	3.2	2.5	2.4
Mar-25	3.2	3.4	2.9	3.5	2.4	2.4
Jun-25	2.9	2.6	2.7	3.1	1.7	2.1
Sep-25	3.9	2.6	3.9	3.9	2.8	3.2

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type and Consumer Price Index (CPI), Australia, annual movement (%)

["","Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI","Consumer Price Index (CPI)"]

[["Sep-15","Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25"],[[1],[1.3],[1.1],[0.9],[1.5],[1.7],[2.4],[2],[2],[2.3],[2.3],[2.5],[2.2],[2.1],[1.6],[1.9],[1.9],[1.8],[2.4],[0.4],[0.9],[0.7],[0.6],[2.9],[2.7],[3],[4.6],[5],[6.4],[7.4],[7.3],[7],[5.7],[4.8],[3.9],[4.1],[3.9],[2.8],[3.2],[2.9],[3.9]],[[0.7],[1.1],[1.1],[1],[1.2],[1],[1.5],[1.3],[1.5],[2],[2],[2.3],[2],[1.9],[1.4],[1.6],[1.3],[1],[1.1],[-2.1],[-0.9],[-0.5],[0],[3.3],[2.6],[2.6],[3.8],[4.6],[6.7],[9.3],[9.6],[9.6],[9],[6.9],[6.5],[6.2],[4.7],[4],[3.4],[2.6],[2.6]],[[0.9],[1.2],[0.8],[0.7],[1.5],[1.6],[2.4],[2],[1.7],[2.1],[2.1],[2.2],[2.3],[2],[1.4],[1.9],[1.7],[1.8],[2.4],[1],[0.9],[0.4],[0.5],[2.3],[2.6],[3.4],[4.9],[5.2],[6.5],[7.3],[7.2],[6.7],[5.3],[4.4],[3.3],[3.7],[3.5],[2.5],[2.9],[2.7],[3.9]],[[1],[1.4],[1.1],[1.1],[1.6],[1.8],[2.5],[2],[2.1],[2.4],[2.4],[2.7],[2.2],[2.1],[1.6],[1.9],[1.9],[1.9],[2.4],[0],[0.8],[0.8],[0.7],[3.5],[2.7],[2.7],[4.3],[4.8],[6.3],[7.4],[7.4],[7.3],[6],[5.2],[4.4],[4.6],[4.4],[3.2],[3.5],[3.1],[3.9]],[[1.2],[1.6],[1.1],[1.1],[1.5],[1.4],[2],[1.8],[1.6],[1.6],[1.8],[2],[2.3],[2.2],[1.6],[2],[1.9],[1.9],[2.3],[1.1],[0.7],[0.8],[1.3],[2.7],[2.9],[3.3],[4.4],[5],[6.3],[7.6],[7.1],[6.3],[5.7],[4],[3.4],[3.8],[2.8],[2.5],[2.4],[1.7],[2.8]],[[1.5],[1.7],[1.3],[1],[1.3],[1.5],[2.1],[1.9],[1.8],[1.9],[1.9],[2.1],[1.9],[1.8],[1.3],[1.6],[1.7],[1.8],[2.2],[-0.3],[0.7],[0.9],[1.1],[3.8],[3],[3.5],[5.1],[6.1],[7.3],[7.8],[7],[6],[5.4],[4.1],[3.6],[3.8],[2.8],[2.4],[2.4],[2.1],[3.2]]]

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Government payment recipient households recorded the largest annual rises in living costs this quarter, driven by larger annual rises in electricity costs. These households saw a relatively larger impact on their out-of-pocket costs from the EBRF and state rebates being used up over the past year compared to other household types.

Strong annual price rises for Tobacco and Rents also contributed to the annual rises for Government payment recipient households. Tobacco makes up a higher proportion of expenditure for most of these household types. The annual rise in Rents reflects tight rental markets however, annual growth has been easing over the last twelve months.

Self-funded retiree households recorded an annual rise of 2.8%. Electricity, Rents and Tobacco, which all had strong annual price growth, make up a smaller proportion of expenditure for this household type.

Employee households recorded the smallest annual rise of 2.6%. Mortgage interest charges, which fell over the year, make up a higher proportion of expenditure for this household type. Mortgage interest charges fell 2.1% in the 12 months to September 2025 quarter, which is the first annual fall since June 2022 quarter. This household type also has one of the smallest proportions of expenditure for Electricity, Gas and Property rates, which all had strong annual price growth.

Main annual contributors to cost of living changes for each household type

Housing, Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Alcohol and tobacco were the main annual contributors across the household types.

Main annual contributors to cost of living changes
Household type	Main annual contributors
Pensioner and beneficiary (PBLCI)	Housing (a) (+7.7%) Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1%) Alcohol and tobacco (+8.0%) Health (+3.8%)
Employee	Housing (a) (+7.0%) Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1%) Alcohol and tobacco (+5.8%) Health (+4.4%)
Age pensioner	Housing (a) (+9.4%) Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1%) Health (+3.8%) Alcohol and tobacco (+6.2%)
Other government transfer recipient	Housing (a) (+6.8%) Alcohol and tobacco (+9.0%) Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1%) Education (+5.7%)
Self-funded retiree	Housing (a) (+6.5%) Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1%) Health (+3.6%) Recreation and culture (+2.2%)

Housing includes Rents, Utilities, and Other housing (Property rates and Maintenance and repair of the dwelling).

For information on the weighting pattern for the SLCIs, please see Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia methodology and the Annual weight update of the CPI and Living Cost Indexes, December 2024.

Contributors to quarterly change

Quarterly percentage change, Commodity group - June quarter 2025 to September quarter 2025
Weighted average of eight capital cities	Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (%)	Employee LCI (%)	Age pensioner LCI (%)	Other government transfer recipient LCI (%)	Self-funded retiree LCI (%)	Consumer Price Index (CPI) (%)
Food and non-alcoholic beverages	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7
Alcohol and tobacco	2.0	1.6	1.7	2.2	1.5	1.6
Clothing and footwear	-0.3	0.5	0.0	-0.5	0.4	0.5
Housing (a)	3.8	2.9	4.9	3.1	4.6	2.5
Furnishings, household equipment and services	0.8	1.1	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9
Health	-1.8	0.3	-1.4	-2.4	-0.2	0.0
Transport	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2
Communication	1.4	1.3	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.4
Recreation and culture	1.8	1.8	2.1	1.6	2.1	1.9
Education	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Insurance and financial services (b)	-0.4	-2.5	0.6	-1.3	0.4	0.8
All groups	1.3	0.6	1.5	1.2	1.4	1.3

New dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers are included in the CPI but excluded from the Selected Living Cost Indexes.
The Selected Living Cost Indexes includes interest charges and general insurance. Interest charges are excluded from the CPI and general insurance is calculated on a different basis.

For further analysis on commodity group contributors, please see the latest release of the Consumer Price Index.

Data downloads

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Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

Table 1. All groups, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type
Download xlsx [55.63 KB]
Table 2. Commodity groups, index numbers, percentage changes and points contributions, by household type
Download xlsx [163.48 KB]
Table 3. Gross insurance, mortgage interest and consumer credit, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type
Download xlsx [72.69 KB]

Use of 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 6467.0.

Methodology

Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia methodology, September 2025

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