Consumer Price Index, Australia

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of household inflation and includes statistics about price change for categories of household expenditure

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Reference period
June 2020
Released
29/07/2020
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Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 1.9% this quarter.
  • Over the twelve months to the June 2020 quarter the CPI fell 0.3%.
  • Most significant price fall was Child care at-95.0%.
  • Most significant price rise was tobacco at +2.7%.

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital citiesMar Qtr 2020 to Jun Qtr 2020 % changeJun Qtr 2019 to Jun Qtr 2020 % change
All groups CPI-1.9-0.3
Food and non-alcoholic beverages0.54.1
Alcohol and tobacco1.58.4
Clothing and footwear0.10.5
Housing-0.70.1
Furnishings, household equipment and services-11.2-9.8
Health-0.20.9
Transport-6.8-7.5
Communication-1.3-3.6
Recreation and culture-1.0-0.3
Education-3.7-1.0
Insurance and financial services0.31.7
CPI analytical series
All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted-2.0-0.5
Trimmed mean-0.11.2
Weighted median0.11.3

What's new this quarter

Two spotlight articles are included in this release:

  • Spotlight: Underlying inflation measures looks at underlying inflation in the June 2020 quarter using alternative measurement approaches.
  • Spotlight: CPI exclusion-based measures examines the CPI in the June 2020 quarter excluding selected influential movements.


An article was published on 8 July 2020 explaining the impact of COVID-19 on the June quarter CPI.

Main contributors to change

CPI groups


 

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+0.5%)

  • Rises of 0.8% in take-away and fast foods, 3.8% in fish and other seafood, 2.0% in water, soft drinks and juices, and 6.1% in other cereal products, were the main contributors this quarter. High demand saw a reduction in specials and genuine price increases on a range of long-life products such as canned tuna and canned meat, rice and pasta.

  • Falls of 1.4% in vegetables and 1.1% in beef and veal partially offset the rise this quarter. Improved weather conditions saw a range of fresh produce return to typical seasonal prices, while mince meat saw temporary discounts.
  • Over the past twelve months the group rose 4.1%. This was the highest annual increase since 2011 due to price rises across all food categories, in particular meat and seafood (+6.1%) and fruit and vegetables (+5.8%).
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group rose +1.0%. The main contributors are other food products (+4.3%), fruit (+2.4%), fish and other seafood (+2.6%) and take-away and fast-foods (+0.8%).

Alcohol and tobacco group (+1.5%)

  • A rise of 2.7% in tobacco was the main contributor.
  • Over the past twelve months the group rose 8.4%. The main contributor was tobacco (+17.4%).
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group rose 2.0% this quarter. The main contributor was tobacco (+3.6%)

Clothing and footwear group (+0.1%)

  • A rise of 2.9% in garments for women was the main contributor, due to the return of winter stock.
  • Over the past twelve months, the group rose 0.5%. The main contributor to the rise was accessories (+3.3%) due to the pass through of gold price increases by jewellers.
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group fell 0.8% this quarter. The main contributor to the fall was footwear (-2.5%).

Housing group (-0.7%)

  • Falls of 1.3% in rents, 2.5% in electricity and 0.9% in gas and other household fuels were the main contributors.
  • Rents recorded the first quarterly fall since the series commenced in 1972. Weak rental market conditions as a result of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and rising vacancy rates saw rents fall in most capital cities in the June quarter.
  • The fall in electricity was mainly driven by utility rebates in some capital cities to support households from the impacts of COVID-19.
  • A slight rise in new dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (+0.1%) was driven by increases to base prices and partially offset by increases in the value of promotional offers.
  • Over the past twelve months the group rose 0.1%.
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group fell 0.4% this quarter. The main contributors were rents (-1.3%) and electricity (-0.9%).

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (-11.2%)

  • A fall of 95.0% in child care was the main contributor due to free child care during the quarter. For more information on child care see Measuring the Consumer Price Index during a time of COVID-19.
  • Excluding the impact of child care, this group would have risen 2.3%.
  • Rises of 3.8% in furniture and 3.0% in major household appliances partially offset the fall, due to strong demand for products such as home office furniture and fridges and freezers.
  • Rises of 4.5% in other non-durable household products and 6.2% in cleaning and maintenance products were seen due to a reduction in specials and genuine price increases for toilet paper and cleaning products.
  • Over the past twelve months the group fell 9.8%. The main contributor was child care (-94.8%).
  • In seasonally adjusted terms the group fell 11.8%. The main contributor was child care (-95.0%).

Health group (-0.2%)

  • Falls of 0.5% in pharmaceutical products and 0.2% in medical and hospital services were the main contributors.
  • The fall in pharmaceutical products was due to increases in the proportion of consumers who qualify for subsidies under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
  • The fall in medical and hospital services was due to a combination of increased bulk billing as well as a freeze on private health insurance premiums, which typically rise on 1 April each year.
  • Over the past twelve months the group rose 0.9%. Both pharmaceutical products (+2.2%) and medical and hospital services (+0.6%) contributed to the rise.
  • In seasonally adjusted terms the group fell 1.6%. The main contributor was medical and hospital services (-2.5%) due to the freeze on private health insurance premiums.

Transport group (-6.8%)

  • The main contributor was a 19.3% fall in automotive fuel due to low global demand resulting from COVID-19 restrictions. Automotive fuel fell in April (-15.9%), and rose in May (+0.9%) and June (+9.2%).
  • Over the past twelve months the group fell 7.5%. The main contributor was automotive fuel (-22.4%).
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group fell 6.8% this quarter. The main contributor was automotive fuel (-19.3%).


The following graph shows the pattern of the average daily prices for unleaded petrol for the eight capital cities over the past fifteen months.


 

Communication group (-1.3%)

  • A fall of 1.3% in telecommunication equipment and services was the main contributor.
  • Over the past twelve months the group fell -3.6%.
  • The communication group is not seasonally adjusted.

Recreation and culture group (-1.0%)

  • Falls of 2.0% in domestic holiday travel and accommodation and international holiday travel and accommodation, which were both imputed off All groups CPI. For more information see Measuring the Consumer Price Index during a time of COVID-19.
  • A rise of 1.8% in Audio, visual and computing equipment was due to strong demand for products such as TVs. This was the first quarterly rise in this series since 2015.
  • Over the past twelve months the group fell -0.3%. The main contributor was international holiday travel and accommodation (-2.1%).
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group fell -1.1%.

Education group (-3.7%)

  • A fall of 16.2% in preschool and primary education was the main contributor driven by free before and after school care and free preschool for term 2 in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
  • Over the past twelve months the group fell 1.0%. The main contributor was preschool and primary education (-13.4%).
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the group fell 3.0% this quarter. The main contributor was preschool and primary education (-15.7%).

Insurance and financial services group (+0.3%)

  • A 0.5% rise in other financial services was the main contributor.
  • Over the past twelve months the group rose 1.7%.
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the insurance and financial services group rose 0.4% this quarter.

International trade exposure - tradable and non-tradables

Tradables (-1.3% quarter, -0.5% annual):

  • Tradable goods component fell 1.3% mainly due to automotive fuel (-19.3%).
  • Tradable services component fell 1.9% due to international holiday travel and accommodation (-2.0%).

Non-tradables (-2.3% quarter, -0.2% annual):
  • Non-tradable goods component rose 0.2%, due to tobacco products (+2.7%).
  • Non-tradable services component fell 3.6%, due to child care (-95.0%).


In seasonally adjusted terms, the tradables component of the All groups CPI fell 1.3% and the non-tradables component fell 2.2%.

Seasonally adjusted analytical series

In the June 2020 quarter:

  • All groups CPI seasonally adjusted fell 2.0% for the quarter and 0.5% for the year.
  • Trimmed mean fell 0.1%, following a rise of 0.5% in the March 2020 quarter.
  • Over the twelve months to the June 2020 quarter, the trimmed mean rose 1.2%, following a rise of 1.8% over the twelve months to the March 2020 quarter.
  • Weighted median rose 0.1%, following a rise of 0.5% in the March 2020 quarter.
  • Over the twelve months, the weighted median rose 1.3%, following a rise of 1.6% over the twelve months to the March 2020 quarter.
OriginalSeasonally
Mar Qtr 2020 to Jun Qtr 2020Mar Qtr 2020 to Jun Qtr 2020
All groups CPI-1.9-2.0
Food and non-alcoholic beverages0.51.0
Alcohol and tobacco1.52.0
Clothing and footwear0.1-0.8
Housing-0.7-0.4
Furnishings, household equipment and services-11.2-11.8
Health-0.2-1.6
Transport-6.8-6.8
Communication (a)-1.3-1.3
Recreation and culture-1.0-1.1
Education-3.7-3.0
Insurance and financial services0.30.4
International trade exposure series
Tradables-1.3-1.3
Non-tradables-2.3-2.2

(a) not seasonally adjusted 


A detailed explanation of the seasonal adjustment of the All Groups CPI and calculation of the trimmed mean and weighted median measures is available in Information Paper: Seasonal Adjustment of Consumer Price Indexes, 2011 (cat. no. 6401.0.55.003) available on the ABS website. Revisions to the seasonally adjusted estimates can be the result of the application of concurrent seasonal adjustment, described on the methodology page.

Capital cities comparison

All groups CPI

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 1.9% in the June quarter in original terms and fell 2.0% in seasonally adjusted terms. Annually, the CPI fell 0.3%.

  • At the All groups level, all capital cities recorded a fall, ranging from Adelaide (-1.0%) to Darwin (-2.5%).
  • Furnishings, household equipment and services fell in all capital cities due to free child care, which recorded a fall of 95.0% in all cities. Differences in the capital city movements at the All groups level can largely be explained by the weight of child care in each city.
Weight of Child care to the CPI for each capital city
SydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of 8 capital cities
Child care weight (%)1.520.951.310.700.820.701.241.681.17
  • Transport fell in all capital cities due to price falls in automotive fuel with lower oil prices following a drop in global demand. Automotive fuel decreases ranged from -14.1% in Darwin to -20.1% in Perth.
  • Education fell in all capital cities due to price falls for preschool and primary education, due to the effect of free child care on before and after school care. This was combined with free preschool in term 2 for many schools in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, and a refund of compulsory school levies in Tasmania. Falls in preschool and primary education ranged from -2.8% in Perth to -22.6% in Sydney.
  • Housing fell in most capital cities due to rents, with falls ranging from -0.2% in Canberra to -2.0% in Sydney. Hobart and Adelaide were the only cities to record rises in rents, with increases of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.
  • Annually at the All groups level, there were four capital cities in the June quarter which saw falls ranging from Canberra (-0.6%) to Darwin (-1.8%). The offsetting cities saw rises ranging from Perth (+0.1%) to Hobart (+1.3%).
All Groups CPI, All groups index numbers and percentage changes
Jun Qtr 2020 Index number(a)Mar Qtr 2020 to Jun Qtr 2020 Percentage changeJun Qtr 2019 to Jun Qtr 2020 Percentage change
Sydney114.7-2.3-1.0
Melbourne115.7-1.80.3
Brisbane113.6-2.2-1.0
Adelaide114.6-1.00.8
Perth112.1-1.20.1
Hobart115.6-1.41.3
Darwin109.0-2.5-1.8
Canberra112.8-2.3-0.6
Weighted average of eight capital cities114.4-1.9-0.3

(a) Index reference period: 2011-12 = 100.0.

Capital city highlights:

Sydney (-2.3%)

  • Automotive fuel (-19.6%)
  • Preschool and primary education (-22.6%); which included free preschool in term 2
  • Rents (-2.0%) due to soft rental market conditions and high vacancy rates.

Melbourne (-1.8%)

  • Automotive fuel (-19.5%)
  • Preschool and primary education (-18.8%), which included free preschool in term 2
  • Rents (-1.1%).

Brisbane (-2.2%)

  • Automotive fuel (-19.2%)
  • Electricity (-14.8%); due to the Queensland Government's $200 utility rebate,
  • Preschool and primary education (-11.7%), which included free preschool in term 2.

Adelaide (-1.0%)

  • Automotive fuel (-19.0%)
  • Preschool and primary education (-7.9%).

Perth (-1.2%)

  • Automotive fuel (-20.1%)
  • Electricity (-4.3%).

The fall was partially offset by:

  • New dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (+1.8%); due to project house builders passing through input cost rises.

Hobart (-1.4%)

  • Automotive fuel (-17.4%)
  • Secondary education (-10.4%) which included a refund of all compulsory school levies for government schools
  • Preschool and primary education (-10.6%).

Darwin (-2.5%)

  • Maintenance and repair of the dwelling (-50.4%); due to the introduction of the Northern Territory Government's Home Improvement Scheme
  • Automotive fuel (-14.1%).

Canberra (-2.3%)

  • Automotive fuel (-19.3%)
  • Preschool and primary education (-15.1%).
Quarterly percentage change by capital city
IndexSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups-2.3-1.8-2.2-1.0-1.2-1.4-2.5-2.3-1.9
Food & non-alcoholic beverages0.50.40.21.00.80.30.30.40.5
Alcohol & tobacco1.61.41.91.71.51.81.81.31.5
Clothing & footwear0.5-0.50.70.4-0.80.11.70.50.1
Housing-1.0-0.6-1.3-0.20.10.2-6.00.0-0.7
Furnishings, household equipment and services-14.7-9.8-11.9-5.5-6.7-6.2-11.3-17.7-11.2
Health-0.1-0.4-0.20.2-0.3-0.91.1-0.7-0.2
Transport-5.9-7.0-7.7-7.4-7.1-6.6-4.5-6.7-6.8
Communication-1.3-1.4-1.3-1.3-1.3-1.3-1.3-1.3-1.3
Recreation & culture-1.3-0.9-1.2-0.3-0.6-0.8-1.2-1.4-1.0
Education-5.8-3.1-3.3-1.9-0.6-6.6-1.8-2.8-3.7
Insurance & financial services0.20.60.40.70.5-0.2-0.20.80.3

Spotlight: CPI exclusion-based measures

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) produces a range of Consumer Price Index exclusion-based measures, which remove selected components from the CPI basket. Typically, the removed components have volatile price change and/or a pronounced seasonal pattern. These exclusion-based measures can help distinguish short term price fluctuations that impact the quarterly CPI movement providing additional insighs into the general direction of medium-term inflation.

An example of a CPI exclusion-based measure is ‘CPI excluding alcohol and tobacco’, where annual increases in the federal excise tax has a significant effect on tobacco prices each year.

COVID-19 has brought about new challenges in measuring the CPI. For the June 2020 quarter CPI, additional CPI exclusion-based measures have been produced to those previously available in Table 8 of the CPI release. The additional exclusion-based measures, presented in table 1 of this article, help remove some of the temporary impacts of COVID-19 on the June quarter CPI.

Table 1: CPI exclusion-based measure, June 2020 quarter
Quarterly movement (%)Annual movement (%)
Headline CPI-1.9-0.3
CPI excluding child care-0.80.7
CPI excluding automotive fuel-1.30.5
CPI excluding child care and automotive fuel-0.11.6
CPI excluding child care, automotive fuel and preschool & primary education0.11.8

Table 1 shows both the quarterly and annual movements for selected exclusion-based measures and can be used to compare to the headline CPI. For example, when excluding child care and automotive fuel from the CPI, the quarterly movement is -0.1 per cent compared to -1.9 per cent for the headline CPI. This highlights the strong downward impact that free child care and price falls in automotive fuel has had on the June 2020 quarter CPI movement.

How to calculate exclusion-based series

Points contributions, available in table 12 of this release, can be used to calculate exclusion-based measures. The sum of the points contributions of all lower level components equals the overall CPI index value. The points contribution of selected components can then be excluded and the CPI re-calculated.

Measuring the quarterly price change that would occur when excluding a CPI component is calculated by subtracting the points contribution of the CPI component from the CPI index number in each quarter and then calculating the percentage change between the resulting index. ‘CPI excluding automotive fuel’ series has been used as an example in table 2.

Table 2: Calculating exclusion-based measure example
Jun-20Mar-20
All Groups index114.4116.6
Automotive fuel Points Contribution3.264.05
All Groups minus Automotive fuel111.14112.55
Quarterly movement (111.14-112.55)/112.55 *100 (%)-1.30

Table 2 shows that prices of all items other than automotive fuel decreased by 1.3 per cent on average between the March 2020 quarter and June 2020 quarter.

The June 2020 quarter saw COVID-19 have a significant impact on a range of CPI components. This article has demonstrated how excluding these components from the headline CPI provides new insights into the level of inflation in the Australian economy.

Spotlight: Underlying inflation measures

The Trimmed Mean and Weighted Median provide important insights into underlying inflation and the health of the Australian economy. These measures are derived from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by removing atypical movements from the quarterly CPI, and recalculating a quarterly movement. Full details of the methods can be found in Explaining the Trimmed Mean and Weighted Median.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some extremely large price changes, such as the significant fall in automotive fuel prices and the provision of free childcare for Australian families. The underlying inflation measures reduce the influence of these large price movements, and thereby provide a measure of medium-term inflation.

As discussed in Measuring the CPI during a time of COVID-19, in the June 2020 quarter, prices for five series were imputed to have a quarterly change equal to that of the headline CPI, rather than being measured. The five series were: Urban transport; Domestic holiday travel and accommodation; International holiday travel and accommodation; Sports participation; and Other recreational, sporting and cultural services. These five series contribute a weight of 9 per cent to the CPI.

Imputing price movements for these series presented the challenge of how they should contribute to the underlying inflation measures. The two options considered by the ABS were:

  1. Use all 87 CPI series, including the five imputed series, in the calculation of the Trimmed Mean and Weighted Median.
  2. Exclude the five imputed series and calculate the Trimmed Mean and Weighted Median using the remaining 82 CPI series.


In order to maintain consistency in the methods used, the ABS selected option 1 for the official measures presented on the Main Features page of the June quarter CPI release. In this article, table 1 presents the quarterly and annual movements for both options 1 and 2.

Table 1. June quarter 2020 Trimmed Mean and Weighted Median, including and excluding imputed series
Including imputed series (Option 1) Quarter (%)Including imputed series (Option 1) Annual (%)Excluding imputed series (Option 2) Quarter (%)Excluding imputed series (Option 2) Annual (%)
CPI-1.9-0.3-1.9-0.3
Trimmed Mean-0.11.20.11.5
Weighted Median0.11.30.21.5

By construction, the price change for the five imputed series is the same as for the headline CPI. As the headline CPI recorded a fall of -1.9 per cent in the quarter, including the five imputed series has a downward impact on the underlying inflation measures. Excluding these series from the calculation means the underlying inflation measures for option 2 are slightly higher.

Chart 1 shows that when included in the calculations, only one and a portion of another of the imputed series are trimmed from the Trimmed Mean, while the remaining imputed series contribute to the movement. Chart 2 shows the calculation of the two measures when the five imputed series are excluded.

Chart 1. June quarter Trimmed mean and Weighted median including imputed series (option 1)

Graph showing option one June quarter Trimmed mean and Weighted median including imputed series
Graph showing option one June quarter Trimmed mean and Weighted median including imputed series

Chart 2. June quarter Trimmed mean and Weighted median including imputed series (option 2)

Graph showing option two June quarter Trimmed mean and Weighted median including imputed series
Graph showing option two June quarter Trimmed mean and Weighted median including imputed series

Article archive

CPI enhancements

An update on the Annual Re-weighting of the Australian CPI and Living Cost Indexes, August 2018 (cat. no. 6401.0.60.006)

Towards an Australian Monthly CPI, June 2018 (Chief Economist Series)

An Implementation Plan to Annually Re-weight the Australian CPI, June 2017 (cat. no. 6401.0.60.005)

An Implementation Plan to Maximise the Use of Transactions Data in the CPI, June 2017 (cat. no. 6401.0.60.004)

Making Greater Use of Transactions Data to compile the Consumer Price Index, November 2016 (cat. no. 6401.0.60.003)

Increasing the Frequency of CPI Expenditure Class Weight Updates, July 2016 (cat. no. 6401.0.60.002)

Enhancing the Australian CPI: A roadmap, August 2015 (cat. no. 6401.0.60.001)

The Use of Transactions Data to Compile the Australian Consumer Price Index, September quarter 2013 (cat. no. 6401.0)

CPI feature articles

Measuring the Consumer Price Index during a time of COVID-19, July 2020 (cat no. 1359.0)

Web scraping in the Australian CPI, March quarter 2020 (6401.0)

Quality Change in the Australian CPI, December 2019 (cat. no. 6470.0.55.002)

Underlying Inflation Measures: Explaining the Trimmed Mean and Weighted Median, April 2019 (Chief Economist Series)

70 Years of Inflation in Australia, October 2018 (Chief Economist Series)

70 years of the Australian Consumer Price Index, September quarter 2018 (cat. no. 6401.0)

The Australian CPI: A Contemporary Measure of Household Inflation, September quarter 2017 (cat. no. 6401.0)

The average size and proportion of price changes in the CPI, September quarter 2017 (cat. no. 6401.0)

What role does housing play in the Consumer Price Index and Selected Living Cost Indexes?, March quarter 2017 (cat. no. 6467.0)

Potential Impact of Tropical Cyclone Debbie on the CPI, March quarter 2017 (cat. no. 6401.0)

Consumer spending patterns and price change: How does electricity compare?, March quarter 2017 (cat. no. 6401.0)

Measuring Price Change of Attached Dwellings in the CPI, December quarter 2016 (cat. no. 6401.0)

Review of the Consumer Price Index International Trade Exposure Series, September quarter 2016 (cat. no. 6401.0)

Australian Dietary Guidelines Price Indexes, December quarter 2015 (cat. no. 6401.0)

CPI 17th series review

Information Paper: Introduction of the Consumer Price Index Weight Update, December 2019  (cat no. 6470.0.55.002 )

Consumer Price Index: Correspondence with 2015-16 Household Expenditure Classification 2017, January 2018 (cat. no. 6446.0.55.001)

Consumer Price Index: Historical Weighting Patterns, 1948-2017, January 2018 (cat. no. 6431.0)

A Guide to the Consumer Price Index: 17th Series 2017, January 2018 (cat. no. 6440.0)

Consumer Price Index: 17th Series Weighting Pattern, November 2017 (cat. no. 6473.0)

Information Paper: Introduction of the 17th Series Australian Consumer Price Index, 2017, November 2017 (cat. no. 6470.0.55.001)

Selected tables - capital cities

1 All groups CPI, index numbers(a)

PeriodSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
2016-17111.1110.2110.4108.9108.9108.2108.7108.1110.2
2017-18113.4112.7112.3111.3109.9110.5109.7110.7112.3
2018-19115.2114.7114.1113.1111.3113.3110.7113.0114.1
2019-20116.4116.6115.4115.1112.8116.1110.9114.4115.7
2016 June109.3108.6109.0107.5108.2106.4108.3106.4108.6
2016 September110.4109.1109.7108.4108.6107.1108.7107.3109.4
2016 December110.9109.9110.2108.7109.0108.0108.6107.9110.0
2017 March111.3110.9110.5109.1109.0108.9108.5108.6110.5
2017 June111.7111.0111.0109.2109.0108.9108.8108.6110.7
2017 September112.5111.5111.4110.4109.5109.2109.4109.6111.4
2017 December113.3112.3112.3111.2109.9110.3109.7110.3112.1
2018 March113.6113.3112.4111.6110.0111.1109.7111.2112.6
2018 June114.0113.8112.9112.1110.2111.5110.1111.6113.0
2018 September114.7114.0113.4112.4110.8112.2110.8112.3113.5
2018 December115.2114.6114.0113.0111.3113.6111.0113.1114.1
2019 March115.1114.7114.1113.1111.2113.4110.1113.2114.1
2019 June115.9115.3114.8113.7112.0114.1111.0113.5114.8
2019 September116.5115.9115.5114.5112.6114.7111.3114.3115.4
2019 December117.1116.9116.3115.4113.1116.7111.5115.0116.2
2020 March117.4117.8116.2115.8113.5117.2111.8115.5116.6
2020 June114.7115.7113.6114.6112.1115.6109.0112.8114.4

(a) Unless otherwise specified, reference period of each index: 2011-12 = 100.0.

2 All groups CPI, percentage changes

Percentage Change (from Previous Financial Year)
PeriodSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
2016-172.01.91.71.50.61.80.11.91.7
2017-182.02.31.72.30.92.11.02.41.9
2018-191.71.71.61.51.32.50.92.11.6
2019-201.01.71.21.81.32.40.21.21.3
Percentage Change (from Corresponding Quarter of Previous Year)
PeriodSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
2016 June0.91.41.50.70.51.20.00.81.0
2016 September1.71.41.51.20.51.30.01.41.3
2016 December1.81.51.61.30.41.3-0.41.81.5
2017 March2.42.51.82.01.02.30.52.32.1
2017 June2.22.21.81.60.72.30.52.11.9
2017 September1.92.21.51.80.82.00.62.11.8
2017 December2.22.21.92.30.82.11.02.21.9
2018 March2.12.21.72.30.92.01.12.41.9
2018 June2.12.51.72.71.12.41.22.82.1
2018 September2.02.21.81.81.22.71.32.51.9
2018 December1.72.01.51.61.33.01.22.51.8
2019 March1.31.21.51.31.12.10.41.81.3
2019 June1.71.31.71.41.62.30.81.71.6
2019 September1.61.71.91.91.62.20.51.81.7
2019 December1.62.02.02.11.62.70.51.71.8
2020 March2.02.71.82.42.13.41.52.02.2
2020 June-1.00.3-1.00.80.11.3-1.8-0.6-0.3
Percentage Change (From Previous quarter)
PeriodSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
2016 June0.60.40.50.50.30.00.30.20.4
2016 September1.00.50.60.80.40.70.40.80.7
2016 December0.50.70.50.30.40.8-0.10.60.5
2017 March0.40.90.30.40.00.8-0.10.60.5
2017 June0.40.10.50.10.00.00.30.00.2
2017 September0.70.50.41.10.50.30.60.90.6
2017 December0.70.70.80.70.40.30.60.61.0
2018 March0.30.90.10.40.10.70.00.80.4
2018 June0.40.40.40.40.20.40.40.40.4
2018 September0.60.20.40.30.50.60.60.60.4
2018 December0.40.50.50.50.51.20.20.70.5
2019 March-0.10.10.10.1-0.1-0.2-0.80.10.0
2019 June0.70.50.60.50.70.60.80.30.6
2019 September0.50.50.60.70.50.50.30.70.5
2019 December0.50.90.70.80.41.70.20.60.7
2020 March0.30.8-0.10.30.40.40.30.40.3
2020 June-2.3-1.8-2.2-1-1.2-1.4-2.5-2.3-1.9

3 Longer term series: all groups CPI, weighted average of eight capital cities, index numbers

31 March no.30 June no.30 September no.31 December no.
1,98537.938.839.740.5
1,98641.442.143.244.4
1,98745.346.046.847.6
1,98848.449.350.251.2
1,98951.753.054.255.2
1,99056.257.157.559.0
1,99158.959.059.359.9
1,99259.959.759.860.1
1,99360.660.861.161.2
1,99461.561.962.362.8
1,99563.864.765.566.0
1,99666.266.766.967.0
1,99767.166.966.666.8
1,99867.067.467.567.8
1,99967.868.168.769.1
2,00069.770.272.973.1
2,00173.974.574.775.4
2,00276.176.677.177.6
2,00378.678.679.179.5
2,00480.280.680.981.5
2,00582.182.683.483.8
2,00684.585.986.786.6
2,00786.687.788.389.1
2,00890.391.692.792.4
2,00992.592.993.894.3
2,01095.295.896.596.9
2,01198.399.299.899.8
2,01299.9100.4101.8102.0
2,013102.4102.8104.0104.8
2,014105.4105.9106.4106.6
2,015106.8107.5108.0108.4
2,016108.2108.6109.4110.0
2,017110.5110.7111.4112.1
2,018112.6113.0113.5114.1
2,019114.1114.8115.4116.2
2,020116.6114.4

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Data Downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

  • TABLES 1 and 2. CPI: All Groups, Index Numbers and Percentage Changes

    Download xls [152.5 KB]

  • TABLES 3 and 4. CPI: Groups, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities, Index Numbers and Percentage Changes

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  • TABLE 5. CPI: Groups, Index Numbers by Capital City

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  • TABLE 6. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class Contribution to Change in All Groups Indexes, by Capital City

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  • TABLE 7. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

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  • TABLE 8. CPI: Analytical Series, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

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  • TABLE 9. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Index Numbers by Capital City

    Download xls [3.85 MB]

  • TABLE 10. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Percentage change from corresponding quarter of previous year by Capital City

    Download xls [2.82 MB]

  • TABLE 11. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Percentage change from previous quarter by Capital City

    Download xls [2.66 MB]

  • TABLE 12. CPI: Group, Sub-group and Expenditure Class, Points Contribution, by Capital City

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  • TABLE 13. CPI: Group, Expenditure Class and Selected Analytical Series Index Numbers, Seasonally adjusted, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

    Download xls [328.5 KB]

  • TABLE 14. CPI: Expenditure Class, Combined seasonal adjustment factors, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

    Download xls [364.5 KB]

All time series spreadsheets

Data files
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Use of price indexes in contracts

Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).

Use of Price Indexes in Contracts that sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

Frequently asked questions

The Frequently Asked Questions page that has answers to a number of common questions to do with price indexes and the Consumer Price Index, in particular.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6401.0.

Methodology

Consumer Price Index, Australia methodology, June 2020

Media releases