Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator

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

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Reference period
August 2023
Released
27/09/2023
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Key statistics

  • The monthly CPI indicator rose 5.2% in the twelve months to August.

  • The most significant price rises were Housing (+6.6%), Transport (+7.4%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+4.4%) and Insurance and financial services (+8.8%).

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities, annual movement
 Jun 22 to Jun 23 % changeJul 22 to Jul 23 % changeAug 22 to Aug 23 % change
All groups monthly CPI5.44.95.2
Food and non-alcoholic beverages7.05.64.4
     Bread and cereal products10.99.910.4
     Meat & seafood2.72.42.6
     Dairy and related products15.012.710.1
     Fruit & vegetables1.0-5.4-8.3
     Food products n.e.c.10.58.36.9
     Non-alcoholic beverages6.86.85.0
Alcohol and tobacco4.64.54.4
     Alcohol5.15.04.7
     Tobacco3.83.63.7
Clothing and footwear-0.71.51.5
    Garments-1.20.40.4
Housing7.47.36.6
     Rents7.37.67.8
     New dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers6.65.94.8
     Electricity10.215.712.7
     Gas and other household fuels22.213.912.9
Furnishings, household equipment and services6.34.34.0
Health5.25.25.2
Transport-0.90.37.4
     Automotive fuel-10.6-7.613.9
Communications0.60.31.6
Recreation and culture6.84.13.9
     Holiday travel and accommodation12.95.36.6
Education5.25.25.5
Insurance and financial services8.58.58.8
CPI analytical series   
       Seasonally adjusted5.44.95.5
       CPI excluding volatile items** and holiday travel6.15.85.5
       Annual Trimmed mean6.05.65.6

** = Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Monthly Overview

The monthly CPI indicator rose 5.2% in the twelve months to August, up from a rise of 4.9% in July.

The annual movement for the monthly CPI indicator excluding volatile items and holiday travel rose 5.5% in August, down from the rise of 5.8% in July. This series excludes Fruit and vegetables, Automotive fuel, and Holiday travel and accommodation.

Annual trimmed mean inflation was 5.6% in August, in line with the rise of 5.6% in July.

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

New dwellings and Rents

New dwelling prices rose 4.8% in the twelve months to August, reflecting high labour and material costs. The rate of price growth has continued to ease reflecting improvements in the supply of materials and subdued new demand. The annual rise for New dwellings is the lowest since August 2021.

Rent prices increased 7.8% in the twelve months to August 2023, up from 7.6% in July, reflecting strong demand for rental properties and tight rental markets.

Electricity

Electricity prices rose 12.7% in the twelve months to August 2023, reflecting higher wholesale prices being passed on to customers via annual price reviews in July.

Electricity prices fell 1.3% in the month of August 2023. The fall was driven by the introduction of rebates from the Energy Bill Relief fund for concession households in Melbourne. Without the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates in Melbourne, electricity prices would have risen 0.5% for the month.

The Electricity series was updated with monthly prices from October 2021 onwards. Annual movements prior to October 2022 are calculated using base periods where electricity prices were updated quarterly in month 3, with carry forward imputation used in the months where prices were not updated.

Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates introduced in July 2023 continue to reduce electricity bills for concession households in Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra and for all households in Brisbane and Perth this month.

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

The following graph shows the Electricity series including and excluding government electricity rebates.

June 2022, index = 100

  • a) Introduction of the WA $400 household electricity credit
  • b) Introduction of the ACT $50 rebate for concession households
  • c) Introduction of the QLD $175 Cost of Living rebate
  • d) Introduction of the TAS $119 Winter Bill Buster electricity credit
  • e) Introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund for concession households in NSW, SA, TAS, NT and ACT, and for all households in QLD and WA. Introduction of additional ACT $50 rebate for concession households.
  • f) Introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund in August 2023 for concession households in VIC

Gas and other household fuels

Gas prices rose 12.9% in the twelve months to August, down from a rise of 13.9% in July. The increase in gas prices is due to price reviews in January 2023 and July 2023, reflecting higher wholesale gas prices. In monthly terms, Gas prices had a small rise of 0.4% in August.

The Gas series was updated with monthly prices from October 2021 onwards. Annual movements prior to October 2022 are calculated using base periods where gas prices were updated quarterly in month 3, with carry forward imputation used in the months where prices were not updated.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages

Annual prices for Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.4%, down from the rise of 5.6% in July.

The main contributors were Meals out and takeaway foods (+6.9%), Bread and cereal products (+10.4%), Food products n.e.c., (+6.9%) and Dairy and related products (+10.1%). Annual prices for Fruit and vegetables fell again this month (-8.3%) with improved weather conditions leading to increased supply.

In monthly terms, Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 0.9%. Prices for Bread and cereal products rose 1.8% and Meat and seafood prices rose 0.6%. These rises were partly offset by price falls for Fruit and vegetables (-1.3%).

Automotive fuel

Automotive fuel prices rose 13.9% in the twelve months to August. This is the highest annual movement since November 2022. The increase in the annual movement was driven by price rises this month, as well as base effects with the large monthly price fall in August 2022 no longer contributing to the annual movement.

In monthly terms, Automotive fuel prices rose 9.1% in August, following a fall of 0.2% in July. Diesel prices rose on average 26.6 cents per litre in August, while unleaded petrol prices increased on average by 17.0 cents per litre.

Holiday travel and accommodation

Holiday travel and accommodation prices rose 6.6% in the twelve months to August, up from 5.3% in July. Demand and prices remain elevated for both Domestic and International holiday travel and accommodation compared to twelve months ago.

In monthly terms, Holiday travel and accommodation prices fell 3.9%, following a fall of 3.3% in July. No school holidays in August saw lower demand for domestic airfares and prices continued to ease for international airfares, following strong rises in June due to the start of the European summer tourist season.

Insurance

In annual terms, Insurance prices rose 14.7% in August, up from 14.2% in July. This is the highest annual price movement since the beginning of the monthly CPI indicator. Higher reinsurance and natural disaster costs contributed to higher premiums for house, home contents and motor vehicle insurance.

Data downloads

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Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

  • TABLE 1. Monthly CPI Indicator: All groups, Groups, select Expenditure classes and Analytical series, Australia, Index Numbers and Percentage Change from Corresponding Month of Previous Year, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

    Download xlsx [81.2 KB]

  • TABLE 2. Monthly CPI Indicator: select Groups, select Expenditure classes and Analytical series, Australia, Percentage Change from previous period, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

    Download xlsx [53.02 KB]

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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

Monthly CPI indicator articles and related media

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

  • 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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