Monthly Household Spending Indicator

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Monthly and quarterly estimates of household spending

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Reference period
February 2026
Released
7/04/2026
  • Next Release 5/05/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, March 2026
  • Next Release 4/06/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, April 2026
  • Next Release 2/07/2026
    Monthly Household Spending Indicator, May 2026
  • View all releases
Release date and time
07/04/2026 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

In February 2026, household spending:

  • Rose 0.3% month-on-month on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis.
  • Rose 4.6% compared with February 2025.

Total Household Spending

Household spending at current prices
 Feb-26 ($ millions)Jan-2026 to Feb-2026 (% change)Feb-2025 to Feb-2026 (% change)
Seasonally Adjusted79,107.50.34.6
Trend79,147.50.24.7

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:

  • recreation and culture (+1.1%)
  • food (+1.0%)
  • hotels, cafes and restaurants (+0.4%).

Goods and services spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on goods rose 0.1% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on food, medicines, medical aids and therapeutic appliances, 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 recreational and cultural services, air passenger and sea transport, and accommodation services.

Discretionary and non-discretionary spending

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on discretionary goods and services rose 0.5% month-on-month, driven by increased spending on recreational and cultural services, air passenger and sea transport, and accommodation services.

In seasonally adjusted, current price terms, household spending on non discretionary goods and services stayed relatively unchanged month-on-month. Spending on motoring goods, motor vehicle repair, maintenance and miscellaneous expenditure, and total health services decreased, while spending on food, medicines, medical aids and therapeutic appliances, and rail and road transport increased.

State and territory spending

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

  • Northern Territory (+3.4%)
  • Western Australia (+0.9%)
  • South Australia (+0.6%).

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

  • furnishings and household equipment (+5.6%)
  • recreation and culture (+4.6%)
  • miscellaneous goods and services (+4.0%).

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

  • food (+2.2%)
  • clothing and footwear (+1.5%)
  • recreation and culture (+1.3%).

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

  • recreation and culture (+2.0%)
  • health (+1.5%)
  • clothing and footwear (+1.2%).
State household spending by category, percentage change from previous month, current price, seasonally adjusted (%)
 NSWVic.QldSAWATas.NTACT
Food0.90.70.90.72.21.02.70.4
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco-0.4-0.6-1.0-1.61.1-1.04.0-0.3
Clothing and footwear-0.90.21.01.21.5-0.72.0-0.4
Furnishings and household equipment-1.30.3-0.70.40.9-0.25.6-1.5
Health-0.20.20.21.50.3-1.43.4-1.0
Transport-1.0-0.4-0.2-0.30.6-1.92.60.6
Recreation and culture0.80.91.32.01.31.34.61.8
Hotels, cafes and restaurants0.10.90.60.10.4-0.82.50.5
Miscellaneous goods and services-1.40.50.4-0.5-0.20.74.0-0.6
Total-0.20.40.50.60.9-0.33.40.2

 

Data downloads

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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.

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 for all current price and volumes 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

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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