Consumer Price Index, Australia

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures household inflation and includes statistics about price change for categories of household expenditure.

Reference period
September Quarter 2023
Released
25/10/2023

Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.2% this quarter.

  • The most significant price rises were Automotive fuel (+7.2%), Rents (+2.2%), New dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (+1.3%) and Electricity (+4.2%).

  • Over the twelve months to the September 2023 quarter, the CPI rose 5.4%.

What's new this quarter

Partial update to the CPI weights

The CPI weights are typically updated each year in the December quarter. This is to ensure the weights used in the CPI basket reflect contemporary household spending patterns. With the continued increase in Australians holidaying overseas, a partial update of the CPI weights has been implemented in the September 2023 quarter. The partial update increases the weight for International holiday travel, with the weight for the other components in the basket adjusted to offset the increase in travel weights. The updated weights are available in Data downloads.

The comprehensive update to the CPI weights usually done in December quarter each year will instead be implemented in March 2024 quarter. The weights for the quarterly CPI will continue to be updated in March quarters in future years.

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities
 Jun Qtr 2023 to Sep Qtr 2023Sep Qtr 2022 to Sep Qtr 2023
% change% change
All groups CPI1.25.4
Food and non-alcoholic beverages0.64.8
Alcohol and tobacco1.44.9
Clothing and footwear0.40.9
Housing2.27.0
Furnishings, household equipment and services-0.82.5
Health0.8 5.4
Transport3.25.6
Communication2.11.3
Recreation and culture0.25.6
Education-0.44.8
Insurance and financial services1.48.6
CPI analytical series
 All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted1.05.3
 Trimmed mean1.25.2
 Weighted median1.35.2

Overview

Annual CPI inflation eases again in the September quarter

Annual CPI inflation was 5.4 per cent in the September 2023 quarter, lower than the 6.0 per cent annual rise in the June 2023 quarter. This marks the third consecutive quarter of lower annual inflation and down from the peak of 7.8 per cent in the December 2022 quarter. Trimmed mean annual inflation of 5.2 per cent was also lower in the September quarter, compared to June 2023 quarter inflation of 5.9 per cent and the peak in December 2022 quarter of 6.8 per cent.

Goods and Services annual inflation both lower

Prices for most goods continued to be higher than they were 12 months ago, albeit with smaller increases for a range of goods including food, furniture, and housing. 

Annual services inflation eased for the first time since December 2021. The main reasons for the lower annual inflation are price falls for holiday travel and accommodation and a decrease in the costs for child-care due to changes in the Child Care Subsidy.  

Annual services inflation remains elevated

Annual inflation remains elevated, for a range of services such as vets, restaurant meals and hairdressers. Annual inflation continues to rise for some service categories including rents, dental services and insurance, while inflation for holiday travel has more than halved in the past two quarters.

Rental price increases highest since 2009

Rental prices rose 7.6 per cent annually, the largest annual rise since 2009. This reflects low vacancy rates amid a tight rental market in capital cities across the country. 

Rental prices for the quarter rose 2.2 per cent following a 2.5 per cent increase in the June quarter. The increase in rents this quarter was moderated by increases in Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

Changes to Commonwealth Rent Assistance

From 20 September 2023, the maximum rate available for Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) increased by 15 per cent in addition to the biannual CPI indexation that applies in March and September each year. Given the timing of these changes, the September quarter results show a partial impact of the CRA changes. The remaining impact will be reflected in the December 2023 quarter.

Rents rose 2.2 per cent in the September 2023 quarter with the increase moderated by changes to Commonwealth Rental Assistance. Excluding the changes to rent assistance, rents would have increased by 2.5 per cent.

Impact of changes to the Child Care Subsidy

Commencing from 10 July, changes to the Child Care Subsidy raised the amount of subsidy received for families. These changes led to a quarterly fall of 13.2 per cent in child-care as the average increase in the amount of subsidy families received was larger than fee increases for the quarter, resulting in lower out-of-pocket costs. Excluding the change to the CCS, child care fees rose 6.7 per cent for the quarter.

Child care is measured through changes in the out-of-pocket costs for families. The chart shows the changes to various child-care support schemes over the years and the impact these changes had on the child-care series in the CPI.

CCB = Child Care Benefit

CCR = Child Care Rebate

CCS = Child Care Subsidy

Index, March 2012 = 102.3

Annual inflation for utilities remains elevated

Utilities prices rose 12.6 per cent in the 12 months to the September 2023 quarter due to price reviews by retailers for electricity, water and sewerage, and gas and other households fuels. 

Increases in electricity and gas prices reflect higher wholesale prices being passed on to customers, while higher operating costs contributed to the increases in water and sewerage prices. 

Electricity prices were partially offset by the introduction of Energy Bill Relief rebates from July 2023. The rebates reduced electricity bills for all households in Brisbane and Perth and for concession households in the remaining capital cities. 

Impact of the Energy Bill Relief Fund

The introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates from July 2023 reduced electricity bills for all households in Brisbane and Perth, and for concession households in the remaining states and territories. These rebates partially offset electricity price rises in the September 2023 quarter. 

Electricity prices rose 4.2 per cent in the September 2023 quarter reflecting higher wholesale prices being passed on to customers from annual price reviews in July. Excluding the rebates, electricity prices would have increased 18.6 per cent.

In addition to concession households, households newly eligible for the Energy Bill relief fund will receive rebates in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra. It is anticipated that rebates for these households will be reflected in electricity prices from the December 2023 quarter. 

The following graph shows the introduction of various electricity rebates and the impact these changes had on the electricity series in the CPI.

Index, June 2022 = 100

The Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates had different impacts on each capital city. The following graph shows the September 2023 quarter movements for electricity with and without the effects of the rebates.

Automotive fuel prices increase for both unleaded petrol and diesel

Automotive fuel prices rose 7.2 per cent in the September quarter, which is the highest quarterly rise since March 2022. Average prices for unleaded petrol increased to $1.97 per litre, which is 13.5 cents per litre higher than the June quarter. Average diesel prices increased to $2.06 per litre, which is 19 cents per litre higher than the June quarter.

New dwellings annual price growth continues to slow

The rate of annual growth in new dwelling prices continued to slow down in the September 2023 quarter, having peaked in September 2022 at 20.7 per cent. The moderation in price growth over the past 12 months reflects subdued new demand and costs for building materials easing. 

Annual food inflation eases for the third quarter in a row

Annual food inflation eased to 4.8 per cent in the September quarter, down from 7.5 per cent in June quarter and the peak of 9.2 per cent in December 2022. Price rises have been lower across all food categories, while fruit and vegetable prices fell 6.4 per cent compared to 12 months ago. 

Main contributors to change

CPI groups

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+0.6%)

Alcohol and tobacco group (+1.4%)

Clothing and footwear group (+0.4%)

Housing group (+2.2%)

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (-0.8%)

Health group (+0.8%)

Transport group (+3.2%)

Communication group (+2.1%)

Recreation and culture group (+0.2%)

Education group (-0.4%)

Insurance and financial services group (+1.4%)

International trade exposure - tradables and non-tradables

Discretionary and non-discretionary inflation

Underlying inflation series

Seasonally adjusted analytical series

Capital cities comparison

All groups CPI

All groups CPI, index numbers and percentage changes
 Index number(a)Percentage change (%)
 Sep Qtr 2023Jun Qtr 2023 to Sep Qtr 2023Sep Qtr 2022 to Sep Qtr 2023
Sydney135.81.35.6
Melbourne135.31.34.9
Brisbane137.00.75.2
Adelaide136.21.75.9
Perth132.00.45.8
Hobart135.80.94.1
Darwin130.90.94.3
Canberra133.70.84.5
Weighted average of eight capital cities135.31.25.4

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

Capital city highlights:

At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all capital cities, ranging from 0.4% in Perth to 1.7% in Adelaide.

 

Sydney (+1.3%)

Melbourne (+1.3%)

Brisbane (+0.7%)

Adelaide (+1.7%)

Perth (+0.4%)

Hobart (+0.9%)

Darwin (+0.9%)

Canberra (+0.8%)

Quarterly percentage change by capital city
GroupSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups1.31.30.71.70.40.90.90.81.2
Food & non-alcoholic beverages0.80.70.10.60.60.40.60.10.6
Alcohol & tobacco1.51.21.91.91.30.61.41.41.4
Clothing & footwear0.10.41.20.70.40.61.40.00.4
Housing3.32.40.64.3-2.42.11.41.52.2
Furnishings, household equipment and services-0.4-0.8-1.7-0.4-0.9-1.6-1.4-1.2-0.8
Health0.60.90.70.70.90.41.80.70.8
Transport3.13.23.23.03.73.52.62.83.2
Communication2.22.22.12.12.12.22.12.32.1
Recreation & culture0.20.30.2-0.40.1-0.7-0.3-0.20.2
Education-0.5-0.3-0.40.0-0.10.0-0.2-0.4-0.4
Insurance & financial services0.01.91.81.13.22.41.61.01.4

Selected tables - capital cities

All groups CPI, index numbers(a)

All groups CPI, percentage changes

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

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

Consumer Price Index - 2023 Weighting Pattern

Article archive

Measuring Rents in the CPI

Using price indexes

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 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 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.

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