New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals that Australia's inflation rate stood at 2.1% over the past 12 months, with significant price increases in clothing, healthcare, and food driving the cost of living crisis. The June 2025 quarter consumer price index (CPI) figures show uneven price changes across capital cities and goods categories.
Clothing and footwear prices rose 2.6% in the quarter, driven by a 3.5% increase in garments and a 5.7% jump in footwear. The ABS attributed this to new season stock and items returning from sale price after new year promotional activity in the March quarter.
Medical and hospital services increased by 2.3%, following the annual rise in private health insurance premiums on 1 April 2025. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 1%, primarily due to a 4.3% surge in fruit and vegetable costs.
The ABS data explorer tracks price index changes, converting costs to a base year value of 100 to allow comparison across items. For example, an item costing $3 in the base year that now costs $3.50 would show an index change from 100 to 116.
While national inflation remains moderate, the uneven impact across cities and categories highlights ongoing pressures on household budgets, particularly for essentials like rent, healthcare, and fresh produce.
