Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia

Latest release

Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) measures the price change of goods and services and its effect on living expenses of selected household types

Reference period

December 2025

Released

4/02/2026

Release date and time

04/02/2026 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

The Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) recorded rises between 2.3% and 4.2% in the 12 months to the December 2025 quarter.
Housing, Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Recreation and culture were the main positive contributors across the LCIs.
In the December 2025 quarter, the LCIs rose between 0.1% and 0.7%.

What's new this quarter

Re-referencing the SLCI data

The previously published SLCI data has been re-referenced. The September 2025 quarter serves as the link period where the index equals 100.00, and the indexes are now published to two decimal places. While the level of the indexes have changed due to re-referencing, the percentage movements of the index have not been revised.

More information on re-referencing is available in Re-referencing the quarterly Consumer Price Index.

Postponing the annual SLCI weight update

Since 2018, the ABS has updated the SLCI weights annually, alongside the CPI weights. The updated weights are usually implemented in the SLCIs for the March quarter. With the introduction of the complete Monthly CPI in late 2025, the ABS has decided to postpone the next SLCI weight update to the March quarter 2027. The ABS will monitor household spending patterns throughout 2026 and consider a mid-year weight update if needed. The ABS will advise users in advance if a mid-year weight update is going to occur. Information on the 2025 weight update is available in Annual weight update of the CPI.

Overview

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Australia, quarterly and annual movement (%)
	Change from previous quarter (%)	Annual change (%)
Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)	0.1	4.1
Employee LCI	0.2	2.3
Age pensioner LCI	0.1	4.2
Other government transfer recipient LCI	0.1	4.0
Self-funded retiree LCI	0.7	3.3

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Australia, quarterly and annual movement (%)

["","Change from previous quarter","Annual change"]

[["Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"],[[0.1],[0.2],[0.1],[0.1],[0.7]],[[4.1],[2.3],[4.2],[4],[3.3]]]

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Annual living costs

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Australia, annual movement (%)
	Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI) (%)	Employee LCI (%)	Age pensioner LCI (%)	Other government transfer recipient LCI (%)	Self-funded retiree LCI (%)
Dec-15	1.4	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.6
Mar-16	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.2	1.1
Jun-16	0.9	1.0	0.7	1.1	1.1
Sep-16	1.5	1.2	1.5	1.6	1.5
Dec-16	1.7	1.0	1.6	1.8	1.4
Mar-17	2.4	1.5	2.4	2.4	2.0
Jun-17	2.1	1.3	2.0	2.1	1.7
Sep-17	2.0	1.6	1.7	2.2	1.6
Dec-17	2.3	2.0	2.1	2.4	1.7
Mar-18	2.3	2.0	2.1	2.5	1.8
Jun-18	2.5	2.2	2.2	2.7	2.1
Sep-18	2.2	1.9	2.2	2.3	2.3
Dec-18	2.0	1.8	2.0	2.1	2.1
Mar-19	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.6	1.6
Jun-19	1.9	1.6	1.8	1.9	1.9
Sep-19	1.8	1.3	1.7	1.9	1.9
Dec-19	1.9	1.0	1.8	1.9	1.9
Mar-20	2.4	1.1	2.4	2.5	2.3
Jun-20	0.5	-2.1	1.0	0.0	1.1
Sep-20	0.8	-0.9	0.9	0.8	0.8
Dec-20	0.6	-0.4	0.4	0.8	0.8
Mar-21	0.6	0.0	0.5	0.6	1.3
Jun-21	2.9	3.4	2.3	3.4	2.7
Sep-21	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.9
Dec-21	3.0	2.6	3.4	2.6	3.3
Mar-22	4.6	3.8	4.9	4.3	4.4
Jun-22	5.0	4.6	5.2	4.8	5.0
Sep-22	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.3	6.3
Dec-22	7.5	9.3	7.4	7.5	7.6
Mar-23	7.3	9.6	7.2	7.4	7.1
Jun-23	7.0	9.7	6.7	7.3	6.3
Sep-23	5.7	9.0	5.3	6.0	5.8
Dec-23	4.7	6.8	4.4	5.2	4.0
Mar-24	3.9	6.5	3.3	4.5	3.4
Jun-24	4.1	6.2	3.7	4.6	3.8
Sep-24	3.9	4.7	3.5	4.4	2.7
Dec-24	2.8	4.0	2.5	3.2	2.5
Mar-25	3.2	3.4	3.0	3.5	2.3
Jun-25	2.8	2.5	2.7	3.1	1.8
Sep-25	3.8	2.6	3.9	3.9	2.9
Dec-25	4.1	2.3	4.2	4.0	3.3

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Australia, annual movement (%)

["","Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"]

[["Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25"],[[1.4],[1],[0.9],[1.5],[1.7],[2.4],[2.1],[2],[2.3],[2.3],[2.5],[2.2],[2],[1.6],[1.9],[1.8],[1.9],[2.4],[0.5],[0.8],[0.6],[0.6],[2.9],[2.6],[3],[4.6],[5],[6.4],[7.5],[7.3],[7],[5.7],[4.7],[3.9],[4.1],[3.9],[2.8],[3.2],[2.8],[3.8],[4.1]],[[1.1],[1],[1],[1.2],[1],[1.5],[1.3],[1.6],[2],[2],[2.2],[1.9],[1.8],[1.4],[1.6],[1.3],[1],[1.1],[-2.1],[-0.9],[-0.4],[0],[3.4],[2.6],[2.6],[3.8],[4.6],[6.8],[9.3],[9.6],[9.7],[9],[6.8],[6.5],[6.2],[4.7],[4],[3.4],[2.5],[2.6],[2.3]],[[1.2],[0.8],[0.7],[1.5],[1.6],[2.4],[2],[1.7],[2.1],[2.1],[2.2],[2.2],[2],[1.5],[1.8],[1.7],[1.8],[2.4],[1],[0.9],[0.4],[0.5],[2.3],[2.6],[3.4],[4.9],[5.2],[6.4],[7.4],[7.2],[6.7],[5.3],[4.4],[3.3],[3.7],[3.5],[2.5],[3],[2.7],[3.9],[4.2]],[[1.4],[1.2],[1.1],[1.6],[1.8],[2.4],[2.1],[2.2],[2.4],[2.5],[2.7],[2.3],[2.1],[1.6],[1.9],[1.9],[1.9],[2.5],[0],[0.8],[0.8],[0.6],[3.4],[2.7],[2.6],[4.3],[4.8],[6.3],[7.5],[7.4],[7.3],[6],[5.2],[4.5],[4.6],[4.4],[3.2],[3.5],[3.1],[3.9],[4]],[[1.6],[1.1],[1.1],[1.5],[1.4],[2],[1.7],[1.6],[1.7],[1.8],[2.1],[2.3],[2.1],[1.6],[1.9],[1.9],[1.9],[2.3],[1.1],[0.8],[0.8],[1.3],[2.7],[2.9],[3.3],[4.4],[5],[6.3],[7.6],[7.1],[6.3],[5.8],[4],[3.4],[3.8],[2.7],[2.5],[2.3],[1.8],[2.9],[3.3]]]

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Increases in annual living costs across all household types

All LCIs rose between 2.3% and 4.2%, in the 12 months to the December 2025 quarter, compared to annual rises of between 2.6% and 3.9% to the September 2025 quarter.

Housing, Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Recreation and culture were the main contributors to annual living cost increases across the household types. The main offsetting contributor was Insurance and financial services, which fell for most LCIs.

Households whose main source of income is government payments recorded higher rises in annual living costs compared to Employee and Self-funded retiree households.

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, main positive and offsetting contributors to the annual movement (%) (a)(b)
	Housing (%)	Food and non-alcoholic beverages (%)	Recreation and Culture (%)	Insurance and financial services (%)
Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)	9.1	3.3	3.7	-0.7
Employee LCI	7.5	3.3	3.3	-4.1
Age pensioner LCI	10.9	3.3	4.0	1.1
Other government transfer recipient LCI	8.0	3.3	3.4	-2.1
Self-funded retiree LCI	8.9	3.5	3.4	0.6

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, main positive and offsetting contributors to the annual movement (%) (a)(b)

["","Housing","Food and non-alcoholic beverages","Recreation and Culture","Insurance and financial services"]

[["Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"],[[9.1],[7.5],[10.9],[8],[8.9]],[[3.3],[3.3],[3.3],[3.3],[3.5]],[[3.7],[3.3],[4],[3.4],[3.4]],[[-0.7],[-4.1],[1.1],[-2.1],[0.6]]]

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Housing includes Rents, Utilities, and Other housing (Property rates and Maintenance and repair of the dwelling).
Mortgage interest charges is included in Insurance and financial services.

Living costs for households whose main source of income are government payments

Living costs for Age pensioner (+4.2%), Other government transfer recipient (+4.0%) households and the Pensioner and Beneficiary LCI (PBLCI) (+4.1%) recorded the largest annual rises in living costs this quarter. Households represented by these indexes source their principal income from government payments.

These households recorded larger annual rises in electricity costs. These households saw a larger impact from State Government electricity rebates in Queensland and Western Australia being used up over the year compared to other household types, which meant a proportionally bigger impact on their out-of-pocket electricity costs.

Strong annual price rises for Tobacco and Rents also contributed to the annual rises for government payment recipient households. Tobacco and Rents make up a higher proportion of expenditure for most of these households. Tobacco rose over the 12 months to the December 2025 quarter due to the biannual AWOTE indexation in March and September, as well as the 5% excise increase in effect from 1 September 2025. The annual rise in Rents reflects tight rental markets consistent with low and stable vacancy rates.

Self-funded retiree households recorded an annual rise of 3.3% this quarter

Self-funded retiree households, whose primary source of income is superannuation or property income, recorded a 3.3% annual rise this quarter following a 2.9% annual rise in the September 2025 quarter.

Self-funded retirees recorded a rise in Recreation and culture due to Domestic holiday travel and accommodation, which rose over the year. The rise in Recreation and culture had a larger impact on Self-funded retiree households, due to Holiday travel and accommodation making up a larger proportion of expenditure for these households compared to other household types.

Electricity, Rents and Tobacco which all had strong annual price growth this quarter, make up a lower proportion of expenditure for this household type, contributing to a lower annual rise compared to Government payment recipient households.

Employee households recorded the smallest annual rise across all household types (+2.3%)

Living costs for Employee households, whose primary source of income is wages and salaries, rose 2.3% in the 12 months to the December 2025 quarter, following a 2.6% annual rise to the September 2025 quarter.

Mortgage interest charges, which fell over the year, make up a higher proportion of expenditure for this household type. Mortgage interest charges fell 6.4% in the 12 months to the December 2025 quarter, as banks cut interest rates for both variable and new fixed rate home loans following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to lower the cash rate target in February, May and August 2025.

Employee LCI and Mortgage interest charges, Australia, annual movement (%)
	Employee LCI (RHS) (%)	Mortgage interest charges (LHS) (%)
Dec-15	1.1	-4.0
Mar-16	1.0	-1.2
Jun-16	1.0	1.6
Sep-16	1.2	-0.3
Dec-16	1.0	-4.1
Mar-17	1.5	-5.3
Jun-17	1.3	-4.9
Sep-17	1.6	1.1
Dec-17	2.0	4.5
Mar-18	2.0	3.3
Jun-18	2.2	3.4
Sep-18	1.9	1.6
Dec-18	1.8	2.4
Mar-19	1.4	2.3
Jun-19	1.6	1.9
Sep-19	1.3	-5.9
Dec-19	1.0	-11.7
Mar-20	1.1	-14.2
Jun-20	-2.1	-18.4
Sep-20	-0.9	-17.6
Dec-20	-0.4	-15.2
Mar-21	0.0	-15.0
Jun-21	3.4	-12.7
Sep-21	2.6	-8.1
Dec-21	2.6	-7.6
Mar-22	3.8	-5.4
Jun-22	4.6	-0.7
Sep-22	6.8	25.3
Dec-22	9.3	61.4
Mar-23	9.6	79.0
Jun-23	9.7	91.7
Sep-23	9.0	68.7
Dec-23	6.8	40.3
Mar-24	6.5	35.3
Jun-24	6.2	26.4
Sep-24	4.7	18.9
Dec-24	4.0	14.7
Mar-25	3.4	8.7
Jun-25	2.5	4.5
Sep-25	2.6	-2.1
Dec-25	2.3	-6.4

Employee LCI and Mortgage interest charges, Australia, annual movement (%)

["","Employee LCI (RHS)","Mortgage interest charges (LHS)"]

[["Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25"],[[1.1],[1],[1],[1.2],[1],[1.5],[1.3],[1.6],[2],[2],[2.2],[1.9],[1.8],[1.4],[1.6],[1.3],[1],[1.1],[-2.1],[-0.9],[-0.4],[0],[3.4],[2.6],[2.6],[3.8],[4.6],[6.8],[9.3],[9.6],[9.7],[9],[6.8],[6.5],[6.2],[4.7],[4],[3.4],[2.5],[2.6],[2.3]],[[-4],[-1.2],[1.6],[-0.3],[-4.1],[-5.3],[-4.9],[1.1],[4.5],[3.3],[3.4],[1.6],[2.4],[2.3],[1.9],[-5.9],[-11.7],[-14.2],[-18.4],[-17.6],[-15.2],[-15],[-12.7],[-8.1],[-7.6],[-5.4],[-0.7],[25.3],[61.4],[79],[91.7],[68.7],[40.3],[35.3],[26.4],[18.9],[14.7],[8.7],[4.5],[-2.1],[-6.4]]]

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Quarterly living costs

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Australia, quarterly movement (%)
	Pensioner and Beneficiary LCI (PBLCI) (%)	Employee LCI (%)	Age pensioner LCI (%)	Other government transfer recipient LCI (%)	Self-funded retiree LCI (%)
Jun-19	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7
Sep-19	0.4	0.1	0.5	0.3	0.8
Dec-19	0.7	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.5
Mar-20	0.7	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.2
Jun-20	-1.4	-2.6	-0.8	-1.9	-0.5
Sep-20	0.8	1.3	0.4	1.1	0.5
Dec-20	0.5	0.9	0.0	0.9	0.5
Mar-21	0.7	0.5	0.9	0.5	0.7
Jun-21	0.9	0.7	1.0	0.8	0.9
Sep-21	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.7
Dec-21	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	1.0
Mar-22	2.3	1.7	2.4	2.2	1.8
Jun-22	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.5
Sep-22	1.8	2.7	1.8	1.9	1.9
Dec-22	1.9	3.2	1.7	2.0	2.2
Mar-23	2.1	1.9	2.2	2.0	1.3
Jun-23	1.1	1.6	0.9	1.3	0.7
Sep-23	0.5	2.0	0.4	0.6	1.4
Dec-23	1.0	1.2	0.8	1.2	0.5
Mar-24	1.3	1.7	1.1	1.4	0.7
Jun-24	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.2
Sep-24	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.3
Dec-24	-0.1	0.5	-0.2	0.0	0.3
Mar-25	1.6	1.1	1.6	1.6	0.6
Jun-25	1.0	0.5	1.0	1.0	0.6
Sep-25	1.3	0.6	1.5	1.2	1.4
Dec-25	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.7

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, Australia, quarterly movement (%)

["","Pensioner and Beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"]

[["Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25"],[[0.6],[0.4],[0.7],[0.7],[-1.4],[0.8],[0.5],[0.7],[0.9],[0.5],[0.8],[2.3],[1.3],[1.8],[1.9],[2.1],[1.1],[0.5],[1],[1.3],[1.3],[0.3],[-0.1],[1.6],[1],[1.3],[0.1]],[[0.6],[0.1],[0.3],[0.2],[-2.6],[1.3],[0.9],[0.5],[0.7],[0.6],[0.8],[1.7],[1.4],[2.7],[3.2],[1.9],[1.6],[2],[1.2],[1.7],[1.3],[0.5],[0.5],[1.1],[0.5],[0.6],[0.2]],[[0.6],[0.5],[0.5],[0.8],[-0.8],[0.4],[0],[0.9],[1],[0.6],[0.8],[2.4],[1.3],[1.8],[1.7],[2.2],[0.9],[0.4],[0.8],[1.1],[1.3],[0.3],[-0.2],[1.6],[1],[1.5],[0.1]],[[0.6],[0.3],[0.8],[0.7],[-1.9],[1.1],[0.9],[0.5],[0.8],[0.4],[0.8],[2.2],[1.3],[1.9],[2],[2],[1.3],[0.6],[1.2],[1.4],[1.4],[0.4],[0],[1.6],[1],[1.2],[0.1]],[[0.7],[0.8],[0.5],[0.2],[-0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.7],[0.9],[0.7],[1],[1.8],[1.5],[1.9],[2.2],[1.3],[0.7],[1.4],[0.5],[0.7],[1.2],[0.3],[0.3],[0.6],[0.6],[1.4],[0.7]]]

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All five LCIs recorded smaller rises in living costs compared to the previous quarter

All household types recorded smaller increases in living costs this quarter, compared to the September 2025 quarter. Self-funded retiree households recorded the largest rise in living costs this quarter. Households whose main source of income is Government payments recorded the smallest quarterly increases across the LCIs.

Recreation and culture, Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Transport were the main contributors to the rises in living costs across most household types this quarter. The main offsetting contributors for most LCIs were Health, due to falls in Pharmaceutical products and Medical and hospital services, and Insurance and financial services with falls in Mortgage interest charges.

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, main positive and offsetting contributors to the quarterly movement (%) (a)
	Recreation and culture (%)	Transport (%)	Food and non-alcoholic beverages (%)	Health (%)	Insurance and financial services (%)
Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)	2.5	0.6	0.3	-1.5	-0.4
Employee LCI	2.6	0.6	0.4	-0.4	-1.9
Age pensioner LCI	2.6	0.6	0.4	-1.3	0.3
Other government transfer recipient LCI	2.2	0.6	0.3	-1.9	-1.1
Self-funded retiree LCI	3.1	0.7	0.5	-0.6	0.5

Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) by household type, main positive and offsetting contributors to the quarterly movement (%) (a)

["","Recreation and culture","Transport","Food and non-alcoholic beverages","Health","Insurance and financial services"]

[["Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (PBLCI)","Employee LCI","Age pensioner LCI","Other government transfer recipient LCI","Self-funded retiree LCI"],[[2.5],[2.6],[2.6],[2.2],[3.1]],[[0.6],[0.6],[0.6],[0.6],[0.7]],[[0.3],[0.4],[0.4],[0.3],[0.5]],[[-1.5],[-0.4],[-1.3],[-1.9],[-0.6]],[[-0.4],[-1.9],[0.3],[-1.1],[0.5]]]

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Mortgage interest charges is included in Insurance and financial services.

Recreation and culture rose across all household types due to rises in Holiday travel and accommodation reflecting increased demand in the lead up to Christmas and the school holidays. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose due to price rises for Meals out and takeaway food and Meat and seafood. The rise in Transport costs was driven by a rise in Automotive fuel.

Self-funded retirees recorded the largest rise in living costs due to Holiday travel and accommodation making up a higher proportion of expenditure for these households compared to other household types.

Employees saw the second largest rise in living costs this quarter. The rise in living costs for Employee households was largely offset by falls in Mortgage interest charges, which make up a higher proportion of expenditure for these households. Mortgage interest charges fell due to banks cutting interest rates for variable and new fixed rate home loans following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to lower the cash rate target in August 2025.

Government payment recipient households recorded the smallest rises in living costs this quarter. These households recorded large falls in Pharmaceutical products due to an increase in the proportion of these households reaching the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) safety net threshold. Medical and hospital services also make up a higher proportion of expenditure for these households, which fell over the quarter due to the expansion of the Bulk billing incentive program. Both of these changes have reduced household out-of-pocket expenses.

For information on the weighting pattern for the SLCIs, please see Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia methodology and the Annual weight update of the CPI and Living Cost Indexes, December 2024.

Contributors to quarterly change

Quarterly percentage change, Commodity group - September quarter 2025 to December quarter 2025
Weighted average of eight capital cities	Pensioner and beneficiary LCI (%)	Employee LCI (%)	Age pensioner LCI (%)	Other government transfer recipient LCI (%)	Self-funded retiree LCI (%)
Food and non-alcoholic beverages	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.5
Alcohol and tobacco	2.0	0.8	1.0	2.6	-0.1
Clothing and footwear	-0.4	-0.1	-0.4	-0.4	-0.4
Housing	-0.8	0.0	-0.8	-0.7	0.1
Furnishings, household equipment and services	-0.3	0.2	-0.4	-0.1	-0.3
Health	-1.5	-0.4	-1.3	-1.9	-0.6
Transport	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7
Communication	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1
Recreation and culture	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.2	3.1
Education	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0
Insurance and financial services	-0.4	-1.9	0.3	-1.1	0.5
All groups	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.7

For further analysis on commodity group annual contributors, please refer to the latest release of the Consumer Price Index.

Data downloads

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Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

Table 1. All groups, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type
Download xlsx [56.48 KB]
Table 2. Commodity groups, index numbers, percentage changes and points contributions, by household type
Download xlsx [169.84 KB]
Table 3. Gross insurance, mortgage interest and consumer credit, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type
Download xlsx [75.52 KB]

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 6467.0.

Methodology

Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia methodology, December 2025

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APA

Citation

Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia

APA

Citation

Key statistics

What's new this quarter

Re-referencing the SLCI data

Postponing the annual SLCI weight update

Overview

Annual living costs

Increases in annual living costs across all household types

Living costs for households whose main source of income are government payments

Self-funded retiree households recorded an annual rise of 3.3% this quarter

Employee households recorded the smallest annual rise across all household types (+2.3%)

Quarterly living costs

All five LCIs recorded smaller rises in living costs compared to the previous quarter

Contributors to quarterly change

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Table 1. All groups, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type

Table 2. Commodity groups, index numbers, percentage changes and points contributions, by household type

Table 3. Gross insurance, mortgage interest and consumer credit, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type

Use of price indexes in contracts

Frequently asked questions

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder

Provide feedback

APA

Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia

APA

Key statistics

What's new this quarter

Re-referencing the SLCI data

Postponing the annual SLCI weight update

Overview

Annual living costs

Increases in annual living costs across all household types

Living costs for households whose main source of income are government payments

Self-funded retiree households recorded an annual rise of 3.3% this quarter

Employee households recorded the smallest annual rise across all household types (+2.3%)

Quarterly living costs

All five LCIs recorded smaller rises in living costs compared to the previous quarter

Contributors to quarterly change

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Table 1. All groups, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type

Table 2. Commodity groups, index numbers, percentage changes and points contributions, by household type

Table 3. Gross insurance, mortgage interest and consumer credit, index numbers and percentage changes, by household type

Use of price indexes in contracts

Frequently asked questions

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Living costs increase across all household types

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder