Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) measures the price change of goods and services and its effect on living expenses of selected household types
The Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) measures living costs for age pensioner and other government transfer recipient households.
Government pensions are indexed on 20 September and 20 March by the greater of the rise in the PBLCI and CPI over a six-month period. They are also benchmarked to Male Total Average Weekly Earnings.
Over the six months between the December 2025 quarter and June 2026 quarter, the CPI rose 2.0 per cent while the PBLCI rose 3.2 per cent.
All household types recorded increases in living costs this quarter.
Compared with the March quarter 2026, quarterly growth was lower for most household types.
Employee households recorded the largest rise in living costs this quarter of 1.5%. The rise in living costs was largely due to Insurance and financial services driven by an 8.2% increase in Mortgage interest charges, which make up a higher proportion of expenditure for these households. Mortgage interest charges rose due to banks passing on the RBA’s cash rate increases in February, March and May to both fixed and variable rate home loans. However, only part of the RBA’s cash rate hike in May was captured this quarter due to the timing of the change. The remaining impact will be seen in the September 2026 quarter.
Other government transfer recipient households recorded the second largest rise in living costs this quarter of 0.8%. These households have the next highest proportion of expenditure for mortgage interest charges. Differences in the proportion of household expenditure on mortgage interest charges was a key driver of differences in living costs growth across the household types this quarter.
All household types recorded rises in Food and non-alcoholic beverages, due to increases in Fruit and vegetables and Meals out and takeaway prices. Housing rose due to rises in Rents, Maintenance and repair of dwellings and Electricity.
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.
| 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 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Housing | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Furnishings, household equipment and services | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Health | -0.1 | 2.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 | 2.0 |
| Transport | -0.8 | -0.9 | -0.7 | -0.8 | -0.5 |
| Communication | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| Recreation and culture | -0.5 | -0.4 | -0.3 | -0.4 | -0.3 |
| Education | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Insurance and financial services | 3.6 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 2.1 |
| All groups | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
For further analysis on commodity group annual contributors, please refer to the latest release of the Consumer Price Index.
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.
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.
This release previously used catalogue number 6467.0.