Australia’s Cost-of-Living Crisis

Niyas Thekkath (4128965)

Introduction

Australia’s CPI surged post‑pandemic, then moderated—yet some components remain elevated.
This presentation identifies which categories are holding inflation above the RBA’s target.

Data Source & Scope

  • ABS Catalogue 6401.0 – Consumer Price Index (2011 = 100), quarterly
  • Sheet: “Data6” (Index series)
  • Period: 2011 Q1 – 2025 Qq
  • Licence: CC BY 4.0

Methodology

  1. Parse Excel: extract descriptive labels, skip metadata.
  2. Tidy with pivot_longer().
  3. Compute Year‑on‑Year % (lag‑4).
  4. Core CPI proxy: 2‑quarter rolling mean.
  5. Visuals via ggplot2 and Plotly.

Headline CPI vs. RBA Bands

Top YoY Movers (Latest Quarter)

Five-Year Inflation Comparison

  • Rent prices have averaged 18.4% inflation over five years, with the most recent quarter reaching 4.4%. This reflects Australia’s ongoing rental housing shortage.

  • Utility costs (electricity, gas, water) surged in 2022–23, averaging 5.9% YoY. Although growth has slowed, costs remain elevated.

  • Food and non-alcoholic beverages saw consistent pressure, with average inflation of % and a current YoY of %. Supply disruptions and input costs likely contributed.

  • Insurance and financial services steadily increased, averaging -3.5% YoY. Recent rises in premiums are pushing this category upward.

  • Across these essential categories, inflation has remained stubbornly high. This continues to affect lower-income households most, particularly renters and families with high food and utility needs.

Rent vs. Household Utilities Inflation

Key Insights

  • Core CPI remains above the RBA’s 2–3 % bands despite headline cooling.
  • Rents are the single largest upward driver; Utilities have peaked and are decelerating.
  • Policy relief requires easing housing supply constraints and managing wage growth.

Ethics & Reflections

  • Data are open, verifiable, and fully reproducible.
  • Core CPI proxy is transparent but not an official RBA measure.
  • Visuals use consistent scales and colourblind‑safe palettes.
  • Inflation impacts low‑income renters most; an equity lens is essential.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2025, April 30). Consumer Price Index, Australia: March quarter 2025 (Cat. No. 6401.0).
Reserve Bank of Australia. (2025, May). Statement on Monetary Policy – May 2025.
R Core Team. (2024). R: A language & environment for statistical computing.
Wickham, H. et al. (2019). Welcome to the tidyverse. JOSS, 4(43).