Small rise for household spending in September
Household spending rose 0.2 per cent in September, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This follows a flat result in August and a 0.4 per cent rise in July.
Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said: ‘Spending on non-discretionary items drove the overall rise, as households spent more on food, health, and petrol.
‘Discretionary spending was flat for September, with higher spending on recreation and culture being offset by falls for air travel and accommodation.’
Four of the nine spending categories rose in September. The rises were led by Recreation and culture (+1.1 per cent), Health (+0.7 per cent) and Food (+0.6 per cent).
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco had the largest percentage fall (-0.8 per cent), noting this series captures legal purchases of cigarettes and tobacco products, and does not include purchases of illicit tobacco. For more information refer to the data note on the topics page.
In annual terms, Miscellaneous goods and services (+8.7 per cent) and Health (+8.1 per cent) had the largest growth rates in the 12 months to September.
Services spending was 7.2 per cent higher than September 2024, while Goods spending was up 3.4 per cent compared with last year.
Household spending grew in four of the eight states and territories in September.
New South Wales (+0.8 per cent) and South Australia (+0.6 per cent) recorded the largest growth rates, while the Australian Capital Territory (-2.4 per cent) had the biggest fall.
Household spending volumes rose 0.2 per cent
Today’s release also includes quarterly household spending volumes, which rose 0.2 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the September quarter 2025.
‘Household spending volumes rose for the fifth quarter in a row,’ Mr Lay said.
‘Non-discretionary categories such as Health and Food drove the rise, increasing by 1.8 per cent and 1.1 per cent in the September 2025 quarter.’
Household spending volumes rose 2.7 per cent compared to the September 2024 quarter, which is the strongest annual growth since the March 2024 quarter.
Media notes
- The indicator is produced using aggregated and de-identified card transactions from banks, supermarket scanner data, and motor vehicle sales data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Electric Vehicle Council.
- The indicator includes nine of the 13 key divisions which are classified according to the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP).
- Care should be given when comparing Household Spending Indicator estimates with other ABS products. See the Methodology page for further information.
- When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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