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
September 2021
Released
27/10/2021

Key statistics

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% this quarter.
  • Over the twelve months to the September 2021 quarter, the CPI rose 3.0%.
  • The most significant price rise were for New dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (+3.3%) and Automotive fuel (+7.1%).

What's new this quarter

  • An article was published on 12 October 2021 explaining the impact of lockdowns on the September 2021 quarter: Update to measuring the CPI in the September 2021 quarter.

  • This quarter's release includes the following article:
    Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the measurement of housing in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Selected Living Cost Indexes (SLCIs)

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities
 Jun Qtr 2021 to Sep Qtr 2021Sep Qtr 2020 to Sep Qtr 2021
% change% change
All groups CPI0.83.0
Food and non-alcoholic beverages0.31.3
Alcohol and tobacco-0.54.4
Clothing and footwear-3.8-3.9
Housing1.71.6
Furnishings, household equipment and services1.66.0
Health0.04.9
Transport3.210.4
Communication-0.5-1.0
Recreation and culture0.92.3
Education0.11.7
Insurance and financial services0.61.1
CPI analytical series
 All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted0.83.0
 Trimmed mean0.72.1
 Weighted median0.72.1

Overview

Trimmed mean inflation highest in over five years

Annual CPI inflation was 3.0 per cent in the September quarter, with the unwinding of free childcare in 2020 continuing to have an effect. The September quarter saw Trimmed mean inflation increase from 1.6 per cent to 2.1 per cent. The Trimmed mean and Weighted median are measures of underlying inflation which exclude large, one-off price impacts such as free childcare. Both measures recorded their first annual movements above 2 per cent since the September 2015 quarter.

Rising construction costs drive new dwelling prices

High levels of building construction activity combined with shortages of materials and supply disruptions have contributed to the largest rise in new dwelling prices since September 2000 when the GST was introduced. Government housing construction grants had a smaller impact on new dwelling prices this quarter due to fewer grant payments compared to last quarter.

Automotive fuel prices at record levels

The Automotive fuel series reached a record level in the September 2021 quarter, due to higher global oil prices amid economic recovery and supply disruptions. The national average quarterly price for unleaded petrol, which is the highest weighted fuel type within the series, neared the record high seen in the March 2014 quarter. The maximum average daily unleaded petrol price for Australia reached a record high of $1.65 per litre during the September 2021 quarter.

Durable goods in demand as price pressures rise amid supply disruptions

Strong demand and supply disruptions have put upward pressure on prices for durable goods such as furniture and motor vehicles since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two speed rental market continues across capital cities

Rents for Sydney and Melbourne fell again in the September quarter. This is the third consecutive quarterly fall for Sydney, and the second consecutive quarterly fall for Melbourne. Rents across the other capital cities continue to rise, reflecting low vacancy rates in those cities.

Main contributors to change

CPI groups


 

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group (+0.3%)

Alcohol and tobacco group (-0.5%)

Clothing and footwear group (-3.8%)

Housing group (+1.7%)

Furnishings, household equipment and services group (+1.6%)

Health group (0.0%)

Transport group (+3.2%)

Communication group (-0.5%)

Recreation and culture group (+0.9%)

Education group (+0.1%)

Insurance and financial services group (+0.6%)

International trade exposure - tradable and non-tradables

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
 Sep Qtr 2021Jun Qtr 2021 to Sep Qtr 2021Sep Qtr 2020 to Sep Qtr 2021
Sydney120.20.72.9
Melbourne120.10.82.9
Brisbane120.71.33.9
Adelaide118.60.72.5
Perth117.70.83.2
Hobart120.20.33.0
Darwin117.31.55.9
Canberra119.71.33.7
Weighted average of eight capital cities119.70.83.0

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

In all capital cities:

  • Automotive fuel increased with the CPI series reaching record levels in Sydney and Melbourne and near record levels in Brisbane. The movements this quarter ranged from +6.3% in Hobart to +8.3% in Canberra.

  • New dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers rose in all capital cities except Perth, due to strong demand allowing builders to pass through increases in materials and labour costs.

  • Furniture rose due to supply shortages and elevated demand.

  • Property rates and charges rose due to council rate rises following lower than usual increases in 2020.

  • Fruit fell due to price falls in berries, citrus and avocados as plentiful supply led to lower prices for households.

Capital city highlights:

At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all eight capital cities, ranging from 0.3% in Hobart to 1.5% in Darwin. The differences across the capital cities at the All groups level were mainly due to the Housing group.

Sydney (+0.7%)

Melbourne (+0.8%)

Brisbane (+1.3%)

Adelaide (+0.7%)

Perth (+0.8%)

Hobart (+0.3%)

Darwin (+1.5%)

Canberra (+1.3%)

Quarterly percentage change by capital city
GroupSydneyMelbourneBrisbaneAdelaidePerthHobartDarwinCanberraWeighted average of eight capital cities
All groups0.70.81.30.70.80.31.51.30.8
Food & non-alcoholic beverages0.70.3-0.30.3-0.1-0.20.0-0.30.3
Alcohol & tobacco-0.8-0.3-0.9-0.4-0.20.0-0.4-0.5-0.5
Clothing & footwear-4.2-3.7-3.2-4.7-3.5-5.0-2.2-3.2-3.8
Housing1.11.53.80.91.6-0.23.53.51.7
Furnishings, household equipment and services1.61.41.81.81.60.80.91.71.6
Health0.10.0-0.20.00.10.1-0.10.80.0
Transport2.83.33.13.43.23.13.63.53.2
Communication-0.5-0.7-0.7-0.5-0.5-0.5-0.7-0.6-0.5
Recreation & culture0.80.71.31.30.91.60.21.10.9
Education0.10.10.10.10.10.00.00.10.1
Insurance & financial services0.60.40.80.70.11.07.9-1.10.6

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

Article archive

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 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 6401.0.

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