Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator

Latest release

The monthly CPI indicator is a measure of inflation and includes statistics about prices for categories of households expenditure

Reference period
May 2025
Released
25/06/2025
  • Next Release 30/07/2025
    Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, June 2025
  • Next Release 27/08/2025
    Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, July 2025
  • Next Release 24/09/2025
    Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, August 2025
  • View all releases

Key statistics

  • The monthly CPI indicator rose 2.1% in the 12 months to May.
  • The largest contributors to the annual movement were Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+2.9%), Housing (+2.0%), and Alcohol and tobacco (+5.9%).  

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities, annual movement
 Mar 24 to Mar 25 % changeApr 24 to Apr 25 % changeMay 24 to May 25 % change
All groups monthly CPI2.42.42.1
Food and non-alcoholic beverages3.43.12.9
 Bread and cereal products2.52.62.0
 Meat and seafood3.72.53.1
 Dairy and related products0.10.10.1
 Fruit and vegetables7.66.12.8
 Food products n.e.c.3.33.63.7
 Non-alcoholic beverages4.03.95.2
Alcohol and tobacco6.75.75.9
 Alcohol4.22.93.3
 Tobacco12.212.011.5
Clothing and footwear0.70.81.3
 Garments-1.40.31.1
Housing1.82.22.0
 Rents5.25.04.5
 New dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers1.01.20.8
 Electricity-9.6-6.5-5.9
 Gas and other household fuels6.46.36.5
Furnishings, household equipment and services0.61.00.9
Health4.04.44.4
Transport-1.9-3.2-2.5
 Automotive fuel-7.6-12.0-10.0
Communications0.20.71.0
Recreation and culture2.73.61.4
 Holiday travel and accommodation3.95.30.6
Education5.75.75.7
Insurance and financial services3.94.03.1
CPI analytical series   
 Seasonally adjusted2.42.42.1
 CPI excluding volatile items* and holiday travel2.62.82.7
 Annual trimmed mean2.72.82.4

* = Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Monthly overview

The monthly CPI indicator rose 2.1% in the 12 months to May, following a 2.4% rise in the 12 months to April. 

The monthly CPI indicator excluding volatile items and holiday travel rose 2.7% in the 12 months to May following a 2.8% rise in the 12 months to April. This series excludes Automotive fuel, Fruit and vegetables, and Holiday travel and accommodation. 

The annual trimmed mean is an alternative measure of underlying inflation that reduces the impact of irregular or temporary price changes. Annual trimmed mean inflation, which this month excluded the annual falls in Automotive fuel and Electricity, alongside other large price rises and falls, was 2.4% in May, down from 2.8% in April. 

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Food and non-alcoholic beverages

Annual inflation for Food and non-alcoholic beverages was 2.9% in May, down from 3.1% in April. 

Fruit and vegetable prices rose 2.8% in the 12 months to May, down significantly from a 6.1% rise in the 12 months to April. Fruit fell 2.7% in the month of May with lower prices for mandarins, oranges, avocados and apples.

Food products n.e.c. rose 3.7% in the 12 months to May compared to a 3.6% rise in the 12 months to April. Higher cocoa bean prices and egg shortages have contributed to price rises for snacks and confectionary (+5.3%) and eggs (+19.3%) in the 12 months to May.

Non-alcoholic beverages rose 5.2% in the 12 months to May compared to a 3.9% rise in the 12 months to April. Coffee, tea and cocoa rose 8.3% over the year to May, reflecting higher coffee bean prices. 

Automotive fuel

Automotive fuel prices fell 10.0% in the 12 months to May, following a fall of 12.0% in the 12 months to April. In the month of May, Automotive fuel prices fell 2.9% due to lower global oil prices at that time.

Rents

Rents rose 4.5% in the 12 months to May, following a 5.0% rise in the 12 months to April. This is the lowest annual growth in rental prices since December 2022, consistent with smaller increases in advertised rents and stable vacancy rates across most capital cities. In monthly terms, rental prices rose 0.3%. 

  1. Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) maximum rates increased by 15% on top of the usual biannual CPI indexation from 20 September 2023.
  2. Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) maximum rates increased by 10% on top of the usual biannual CPI indexation from 20 September 2024. 

New dwellings

New dwelling prices, which capture new builds and major renovations, rose 0.8% in the 12 months to May, compared to a 1.2% rise in the 12 months to April. This is the smallest annual growth since April 2021 as project home builders offered discounts and promotional offers to entice business. In the month of May, new dwelling prices were unchanged (0.0%).

Electricity

Electricity fell 5.9% in the 12 months to May, compared to a 6.5% fall in the 12 months to April. 

The impact of the Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund (EBRF) rebates was lower in May than April due to the timing of payments in Victoria. Electricity bills received by Victorian households in May included only one instalment of the Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund rebate, whereas many bills received in April included two instalments. As a result, national electricity prices rose 2.0% in the month of May.

Commonwealth and State government electricity rebates
 
Commonwealth $300 rebate
QLD $1,000 State rebateTAS $60 State rebate (Renewable Energy Dividend)
Rebate methodApplied directly to electricity bills as four equal $75 quarterly instalments in the 2024-25 FY (a)Applied directly to electricity bills as a one-off $1,000 rebateApplied directly to electricity bills as a one-off $60 rebate
TimingFrom July 2024 for WA (b) and QLD. For all remaining States and Territories, from August 2024. (c) and (d)From July 2024From May 2025
  1. This applies to all States and Territories, except WA, where rebates have been applied directly to electricity bills as two equal $150 instalments from July 2024 and December 2024.
  2. In Western Australia, the first instalment of both Energy Bill Relief Fund 2024-25 and $400 Electricity Credit has been paid from 20 July 2024. The remaining proportion of households whose billing cycle is in July 2024 have received their first instalment in October 2024. The second instalment of rebates has been paid from 7 December 2024. The remaining proportion of households whose billing cycle is in December 2024 have received their second instalment in March 2025.
  3. For States and Territories receiving rebates from August, the households whose billing cycle is in July 2024 have received two instalments in October 2024.
  4. In New South Wales and Victoria, the first instalment of Energy Bill Relief Fund 2024-25 has been paid from part way through August 2024. The remaining proportion of households whose billing cycle is in August have received their first instalment in November 2024. In Victoria, the third instalment of Energy Bill Relief Fund 2024-25 has been paid from part way through January 2025. The remaining proportion of households whose billing cycle is in January have received their third instalment in April 2025.

The following graph shows the Electricity series including and excluding government electricity rebates. The EBRF rebates were first introduced in July 2023 and were expanded to all households in July 2024. These rebates have had the effect of reducing electricity prices for households. Including government electricity rebates, electricity prices for households have increased by 1.1% since June 2023. Excluding these rebates, electricity prices for households would have increased 17.7% since June 2023.    

June 2023, index = 100

a. Introduction of the 2023-24 Energy Bill Relief Fund (EBRF) rebates

b. Introduction of the first instalment of 2024-25 Commonwealth rebates for all households in QLD and WA, and State rebates in QLD, WA and TAS

c. Introduction of the first instalment of 2024-25 Commonwealth rebates for all households in NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, NT and ACT

d. Introduction of the second instalment of 2024-25 Commonwealth rebates for all households in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, NT and ACT

e. Introduction of the second instalment of 2024-25 Commonwealth rebates and State rebate for all households in WA

f. Introduction of the third instalment of 2024-25 Commonwealth rebates for all households in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, NT and ACT

g. Introduction of the fourth instalment of 2024-25 Commonwealth rebates for all households in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, NT and ACT

h. Introduction of the new State rebate for all households in TAS

Holiday travel and accommodation

Holiday travel and accommodation prices rose 0.6% rise in the 12 months to May, following a 5.3% rise in the 12 months to April. 

In monthly terms, Holiday travel and accommodation prices fell 7.0% in May, following a 6.0% rise in April. This was driven by Domestic holiday travel and accommodation with a fall in demand after the Easter and school holiday period.

Insurance

Insurance prices rose 3.9% in the 12 months to May, after a 7.6% rise in the 12 months to April. The decline in the annual growth rate was driven by house and motor vehicle insurance, which continue to slow. The 3.9% annual increase to May for insurance was well down from the peak of 16.5% to February 2024.

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Data explorer for the monthly CPI indicator.

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Detailed monthly data

Monthly Expenditure class data

About the monthly CPI indicator

What is the monthly CPI Indicator?

Introducing monthly indicators of underlying inflation

Articles

Measuring Rents in the CPI 

Using price indexes

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. 

Consistent with existing policy, the ABS does not comment on the use (or otherwise) of the price indexes we publish. However, it should be noted that the monthly CPI indicator may be routinely subject to revision, in contrast to the quarterly CPI which is only revised in exceptional circumstances.

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

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) specific to the monthly CPI indicator can be found in the Information paper: Introducing a monthly CPI indicator for Australia FAQs 

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

Methodology

Scope

The monthly CPI indicator is a general measure of price change for goods and services purchased by Australian households.

Geography

Monthly data is published at the national level, derived as a weighted average of the eight capital cities.

Source

Prices are collected for a range of goods and services (the CPI basket) from a variety of retailers across the eight capital cities.

Collection method

Prices are collected in a range of frequencies including monthly, quarterly, and annually using: 

  • web-scraping
  • online and telephone collections from retailers
  • administrative data, including supermarket scanner data.

Concepts, sources and methods

Information about the data sources and methods used to compile the CPI is contained in the Consumer Price Index: Concepts, Sources and Methods.

History of changes

  • Annual update of CPI weights January 2025.
  • Annual update of CPI weights January 2024.
  • Partial update of CPI weights July 2023.
  • Monthly Gas series included June 2023.
  • Annual trimmed mean included April 2023.
  • Monthly Electricity included February 2023.
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