Monthly Household Spending Indicator

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Monthly and quarterly estimates of household spending

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Reference period
August 2025
Released
2/10/2025
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Release date and time
02/10/2025 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

In August 2025, household spending:

  • Rose 0.1% month-on-month on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis.
  • Rose 5.0% compared with August 2024.

Total Household Spending

Household spending at current prices
 Aug-25 ($ millions)Jul-2025 to Aug-2025 (% change)Aug-2024 to Aug-2025 (% change)
Seasonally Adjusted77,431.60.15.0
Trend77,416.20.35.0

Household Spending by category

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms household spending increased for five of the nine spending categories. The largest increases were in:

  • transport (+0.8%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+0.8%)
  • clothing and footwear (+0.5%).

Goods and services spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on goods fell 0.2% month-on-month, driven by decreased spending on cigarettes and tobacco, motoring goods, and goods for recreation and culture.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on services rose 0.5% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on air passenger and sea transport, rail and road transport, and other services.

Discretionary and non-discretionary spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, discretionary spending rose 0.2% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on air passenger and sea transport, personal effects, and other services.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, non-discretionary spending fell 0.1% month-on-month, driven by decreased spending on motoring goods, motor vehicle repair, maintenance and miscellaneous expenditure, and total health services.

State and territory spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending increased for five of the eight states and territories. The strongest increases were in:

  • Australian Capital Territory (+2.9%)
  • Tasmania (+0.6%).

In the Australian Capital Territory, the household spending categories that drove the rise for the month were:

  • transport (+13.9%)
  • clothing and footwear (+3.7%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+2.8%).

In Tasmania, the household spending categories that drove the rise for the month were:

  • clothing and footwear (+1.7%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+1.7%)
  • health (+1.6%).
State household spending by category, percentage change from previous month, current price, seasonally adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Food0.00.4-0.20.10.70.0-0.3-0.9
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco-1.0-2.1-0.40.4-0.60.3-1.5-0.3
Clothing and footwear-0.41.10.82.30.11.70.23.7
Furnishings and household equipment-0.60.2-0.10.1-0.31.50.20.8
Health-0.41.2-0.8-0.3-0.11.6-2.71.7
Transport0.11.0-1.01.82.5-0.1-5.213.9
Recreation and culture-1.1-1.1-0.3-0.7-1.60.2-2.9-1.2
Hotels, cafes and restaurants0.20.50.40.6-0.90.51.12.8
Miscellaneous goods and services0.71.50.21.50.41.70.60.1
Total-0.20.4-0.30.50.30.6-1.22.9

 

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Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

For more information about Data Explorer, see the Data Explorer user guide.

Monthly Household Spending Indicator - Monthly and quarterly percentage changes and household spending estimates.

MHSI enhancements

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has collaborated with key data users to enhance the Monthly Household Spending Indicator (MHSI) and better address their needs. Based on user feedback, enhancements to MHSI have been progressively rolled out. These improvements provide a more comprehensive view of household consumption, including:

  • Moving to a ‘household consumption’ concept bringing MHSI closer to its predominant use. This includes updates to MHSI methods and data sources.
  • Monthly seasonally adjusted estimates by COICOP category and for the four analytical series (Goods, Services, Discretionary and Non-Discretionary), by State/territory.
  • Quarterly chain volume measures for the nine currently published COICOP categories, by State/territory. Seasonally adjusted chain volume measures are available for selected series.
  • Dollar levels for all series.
  • Back-casted estimates extending to 2012 for all current price series.

In March 2025 the ABS released an information paper, which provides guidance on using MHSI data: Interpreting the Monthly Household Spending Indicator.

The ABS ceased the Retail Trade publication on 31 July 2025. We will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to further enhance the MHSI and provide users with suitable timely data to support their needs. More Information about this transition can be found on the Cessation of the Retail Business Survey and Retail Trade Publication webpage or through contacting us at household.spending@abs.gov.au.

Acknowledgement

The ABS would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the participating banks that have enabled the ABS to produce these statistics.

Methodology

Scope

  • Final consumption of goods and services by Australian households
  • Guided by the UNSD’s COICOP classification and aligned with National Accounts HFCE categories and concepts 

Geography

Data is available for:

  • Australia Total
  • States and territories.

Source

Aggregated, de-identified bank card transactions data provided to the ABS from participating banks. Also collected are supermarket transactions and new vehicle sales data.

Collection method

Participating banks send transactions data soon after the end of each calendar month. Supermarkets send weekly transactions files, and VFACTS is received as a monthly delivery from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Concepts, sources and methods

Household consumption is categorised to COICOP Divisions. Outputs from 9 COICOPs and all states and territories are published. Data is benchmarked to annual HFCE and adjusted monthly to cover data gaps such as cash spending.

 

History of changes

July 2025: 

  • Back-casted estimates extending to 2012 are now available for all current price series.
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