Monthly Household Spending Indicator

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Monthly and quarterly estimates of household spending

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Reference period
August 2026
Released
29/09/2026
  • Next Release 4/11/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, September 2026
  • Next Release 3/12/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, October 2026
  • Next Release 12/01/2027
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, November 2026
  • View all releases
Release date and time
29/09/2026 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

In August 2026, household spending:

  • Remained flat at 0.0% month-on-month on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis.
  • rose 6.8% compared with August 2025.

Total household spending

Household spending at current prices
 Jul-26 ($ millions)Jun-2026 to Jul-2026 (% change)Jul-2025 to Jul-2026 (% change)
Seasonally Adjusted82,340.50.06.8
Trend82,163.40.56.3

Household spending by category

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

  • transport (+2.3%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+0.8%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+0.3%).

While the largest decreases were in:

  • recreation and culture (-1.4%)
  • clothing and footwear (-1.0%)
  • alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-1.0%).

Goods and services spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on goods rose 0.3% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on:

  • motoring goods
  • purchase of vehicles.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on services fell 0.3% month-on-month, driven by decreased spending on:

  • recreational and cultural services
  • total health services
  • personal care.

Discretionary and non-discretionary spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on discretionary goods and services fell 0.3% month-on-month, driven by decreased spending on:

  • recreational and cultural services
  • clothing and footwear
  • goods for recreation and culture.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on non discretionary goods and services rose 0.6% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on:

  • motoring goods
  • rail and road transport.

State and territory spending

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

  • New South Wales (+0.3%)
  • Queensland (+0.3%)

While the strongest decreases were in:

  • Australian Capital Territory (-0.5%)
  • Tasmania (-0.5%)

In New South Wales, the household spending categories that drove the rise for the month were:

  • transport (+3.4%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+1.6%)

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

  • transport (+1.9%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+1.7%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+1.0%).

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

  • health (-4.2%)
  • recreation and culture (-2.3%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (-1.8%).

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

  • clothing and footwear (-2.1%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (-1.7%)
  • food (-0.7%).
State household spending by category, percentage change from previous month, current price, seasonally adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Food-0.3-0.70.1-0.20.0-0.7-0.1-0.2
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco-0.2-1.3-1.8-0.6-1.70.1-1.9-1.0
Clothing and footwear-1.3-1.4-0.7-0.50.7-2.1-0.9-0.8
Furnishings and household equipment-0.4-1.3-0.3-0.6-0.10.1-1.6-1.5
Health-0.1-0.4-0.4-1.5-4.00.74.4-4.2
Transport3.40.91.93.62.6-0.61.14.2
Recreation and culture-1.9-1.1-0.7-2.0-1.5-0.4-2.9-2.3
Hotels, cafes and restaurants1.60.21.00.60.0-0.61.3-0.6
Miscellaneous goods and services-0.20.21.70.80.1-1.70.7-1.8
Total0.3-0.40.30.1-0.2-0.50.1-0.5

 

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

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

December 2025: 

  • Complete monthly CPI changes incorporated into the price deflators used to produce quarterly chain volume estimates of household spending
View full methodology

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