Monthly Household Spending Indicator

Latest release

Monthly and quarterly estimates of household spending

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Reference period
July 2026
Released
27/08/2026
  • Next Release 29/09/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, August 2026
  • Next Release 4/11/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, September 2026
  • Next Release 3/12/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, October 2026
  • View all releases
Release date and time
27/08/2026 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

In July 2026, household spending:

  • rose 1.1% month-on-month on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis.
  • rose 7.0% compared with July 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 Adjusted82,338.31.17.0
Trend81,681.40.66.2

Household spending by category

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

  • clothing and footwear (+1.6%)
  • recreation and culture (+1.5%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+1.3%).

Goods and services spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on goods rose 0.7% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on:

  • food
  • clothing and footwear 
  • medicines, medical aids and therapeutic appliances.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on services rose 1.5% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on:

  • recreational and cultural services
  • catering services
  • other services.

Discretionary and non-discretionary spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on discretionary goods and services rose 1.0% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on:

  • recreational and cultural services
  • catering services
  • other services.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on non discretionary goods and services rose 1.1% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on:

  • food
  • total health services
  • motor vehicle repair, maintenance and miscellaneous expenditure.

State and territory spending

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

  • Northern Territory (+2.2%)
  • Western Australia (+1.5%)
  • Victoria (+1.3%).

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

  • health (+10.9%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+3.4%)
  • transport (+2.1%).

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

  • health (+3.8%)
  • alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+2.3%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+2.0%).

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

  • clothing and footwear (+2.8%)
  • recreation and culture (+1.6%)
  • transport (+1.5%).

 

State household spending by category, percentage change from previous month, current price, seasonally adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Food1.01.20.91.00.81.01.3-0.3
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco0.6-0.32.10.32.31.20.00.3
Clothing and footwear1.82.80.91.6-0.30.30.02.4
Furnishings and household equipment0.20.70.50.30.50.60.0-0.6
Health1.10.60.41.83.8-0.110.92.0
Transport-0.51.51.1-2.51.22.92.11.8
Recreation and culture1.01.61.62.81.81.61.40.7
Hotels, cafes and restaurants0.70.71.60.72.01.31.72.3
Miscellaneous goods and services1.81.50.51.40.50.03.41.4
Total0.71.31.10.71.51.22.21.2

 

Data downloads

Monthly Household Spending Indicator Data Cubes

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Data Explorer datasets

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.

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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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