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
December Quarter 2022
Released
25/01/2023

Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9% this quarter.

  • Over the twelve months to the December 2022 quarter, the CPI rose 7.8%.

  • The most significant price rises were Domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+13.3%), Electricity (+8.6%), International holiday travel and accommodation (+7.6%) and New dwelling purchase by owner occupiers (+1.7%).

What's new this quarter

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities
 Sep Qtr 2022 to Dec Qtr 2022Dec Qtr 2021 to Dec Qtr 2022
% change% change
All groups CPI1.97.8
Food and non-alcoholic beverages0.99.2
Alcohol and tobacco1.24.4
Clothing and footwear2.65.3
Housing1.910.7
Furnishings, household equipment and services1.88.4
Health0.83.8
Transport1.78.0
Communication-0.51.3
Recreation and culture5.49.0
Education0.14.6
Insurance and financial services2.05.0
CPI analytical series
 All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted1.87.8
 Trimmed mean1.76.9
 Weighted median1.65.8

Overview

Annual CPI inflation the highest since 1990

The annual CPI movement of 7.8 per cent is the highest since 1990. The past four quarters have seen strong quarterly rises off the back of higher prices for food, automotive fuel and new dwelling construction. Trimmed mean annual inflation, which excludes large price rises and falls, increased to 6.9 per cent, the highest since the ABS first published the series in 2003.

Services annual inflation of 5.5% the highest since 2008

The services component of the CPI recorded its largest annual rise since 2008, driven by holiday travel and meals out and takeaway food. Annual inflation for goods saw little change from the previous quarter.

Rate of price growth for new dwellings starts to ease

High labour and materials costs continue to drive increases in prices for new dwellings. The rate of price growth has started to ease over recent quarters following a record annual rise in the September 2022 quarter. 

Fewer payments of government construction grants compared to the previous quarter also contributed to the rise this quarter. These grants have the effect of reducing out-of-pocket expenses for new dwelling purchases.

Rent prices continue to rise across the capital cities

Rental price growth in Sydney and Melbourne has continued to increase this quarter, with both cities recording their strongest annual rises since 2014 and 2015 respectively, reflecting a tight rental market. 

Annual growth in rent prices for the remaining capital cities continues to outpace price growth in Sydney and Melbourne, reflecting lower vacancy rates in those cities.

Grocery prices rise further, offset by fruit and vegetables

Strong price rises were seen across most food and non-food grocery products in the December quarter. These increases reflected elevated input costs for farmers and producers of packaged goods, as well as strong Christmas demand. Fruit and vegetables experienced the strongest quarterly fall since 2012, however prices remain elevated compared to 12 months ago.

Fuel prices remain high despite recent falls

Automotive fuel prices rose 2.2% in the December quarter. The Federal Government restored the full fuel-excise on 30 September, from 22 cents per litre to 46 cents per litre, which drove growth in the first two months of the quarter, before lower wholesale prices flowed through in December. For the December quarter, automotive fuel prices remain 13.2% higher compared to 12 months ago. 

Higher Discretionary inflation in the December quarter

Discretionary inflation increased 2.6% in the December quarter following higher prices for holiday travel and meals out and takeaway. The annual movement reached a new high of 7.1%, while non-discretionary inflation remained stable at 8.4%.

Main contributors to change

CPI groups


 

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+0.9%)

Alcohol and tobacco group (+1.2%)

Clothing and footwear group (+2.6%)

Housing group (+1.9%)

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (+1.8%)

Health group (+0.8%)

Transport group (+1.7%)

Communication group (-0.5%)

Recreation and culture group (+5.4%)

Education group (+0.1%)

Insurance and financial services group (+2.0%)

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, All groups index numbers and percentage changes
 Index number(a)Percentage change (%)
 Dec Qtr 2022Sep Qtr 2022 to Dec Qtr 2022Dec Qtr 2021 to Dec Qtr 2022
Sydney130.91.87.6
Melbourne131.11.68.0
Brisbane132.11.57.7
Adelaide130.81.78.6
Perth129.33.68.3
Hobart132.41.57.7
Darwin126.60.97.1
Canberra129.51.27.1
Weighted average of eight capital cities130.81.97.8

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

Capital city highlights:

At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all eight capital cities, ranging from 0.9% in Darwin to 3.6% in Perth.

 

Sydney (+1.8%)

Melbourne (+1.6%)

Brisbane (+1.5%)

Adelaide (+1.7%)

Perth (+3.6%)

Hobart (+1.5%)

Darwin (+0.9%)

Canberra (+1.2%)

Quarterly percentage change by capital city
GroupSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups1.81.61.51.73.61.50.91.21.9
Food & non-alcoholic beverages0.81.01.11.00.70.7-0.10.80.9
Alcohol & tobacco1.11.31.21.21.30.91.30.81.2
Clothing & footwear2.82.32.61.33.02.63.11.92.6
Housing1.30.9-0.41.411.60.00.70.61.9
Furnishings, household equipment and services1.71.41.91.62.51.31.21.31.8
Health1.10.61.10.90.10.81.30.50.8
Transport2.01.32.12.31.90.30.5-0.61.7
Communication-0.5-0.4-0.4-0.4-0.5-0.5-0.4-0.5-0.5
Recreation & culture5.66.14.95.04.67.22.24.75.4
Education0.20.10.20.10.00.00.10.10.1
Insurance & financial services2.61.71.42.01.72.41.03.62.0

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

Post-release changes

1 March 2023 - The "Average price of unleaded petrol (91 octane), cents per litre" graph in Overview was updated to show correct figures and axis labels for the December 2019 Quarter. Previously, the December 2021 Quarter figures were shown for this time period. No change was made to the December 2019 Quarter figures.

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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