Transport costs fuel sharp rise in household spending
Household spending rose 1.6 per cent in March 2026, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This follows a rise of 0.3 per cent in February and a rise of 0.2 per cent in January.
Household spending remained high over the year in nominal terms, up 6.3 per cent compared to March 2025.
Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said: ‘Household spending rose strongly in March, driven by a 5.1 per cent rise in transport costs as fuel prices climbed in response to the conflict in the Middle East.’
Fuel prices spiked during the first week of March, with prices peaking at the end of March as motorists made smaller, more frequent trips to the petrol station. Strength in public transport spending also contributed to the rise in household spending, likely reflecting some households switching away from private vehicles in response to rising fuel costs.
Food spending was also strong, rising by 1.7 per cent. The rise reflects higher food prices and some households engaging in precautionary stockpiling in response to concerns for further potential disruptions to global supply chains.
The ABS has used the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) to create an experimental estimate of monthly household spending volumes on fuel for the first time. This suggests volumes of fuel purchased by households fell 1.3% in the March month driven by the 32.8% increase in monthly fuel prices.
Essential items drive growth in household spending volumes in the March quarter
The household spending volumes indicator rose 0.7 per cent in the March quarter 2026.
When the prices of goods and services change significantly, measures of the amount of goods and services that were purchased like the quarterly volumes indicator can give more insights into household spending trends.
‘Household spending volumes rose for the sixth quarter in a row,’ Mr Lay said.
‘Non-Discretionary categories such as health and food drove the rise up 1.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent in March.’
Household spending volumes rose 2.8 per cent compared to the March 2025 quarter, marking the strongest annual growth recorded since June quarter 2023
Media notes
- This indicator uses 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 thirteen key divisions which are classified according to the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP).
- Take care when comparing Household Spending Indicator estimates with other ABS products. See the Methodology page for further information.
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