Australia CPI, August 2026 — Annual Inflation 4.0% (Up from 3.5%), Trimmed Mean Steady at 3.6%
ABS (30 Sept.): Australia's CPI rose 4.0% in the year to August 2026, up from 3.5% in July; trimmed mean 3.6%, unchanged. Fuel rose 14.8% in the month; electricity is up 13.2% on the year.
Key figures (August 2026, released 30 September 2026)
Annual CPI inflation (12 months to August 2026): 4.0%, up from 3.5% in the 12 months to July 2026.[1]
Monthly change (July to August 2026): +0.4% original; +0.7% seasonally adjusted.[1]
Trimmed mean (annual): 3.6%, unchanged. Weighted median: 3.6%. CPI excluding volatile items: 3.7%.[1]
Largest annual group rises: Housing +5.7%, Transport +5.6%, Alcohol and tobacco +4.8%, Education +4.7%. Next release: September 2026 CPI on 28 October 2026.[1]
Terms: annual = change from the same month a year earlier (August 2025); monthly = change from July 2026; original = not seasonally adjusted. Monthly data are a weighted average of the eight capital cities. Volatile items are, per the ABS, "Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel".[1]
What moved the rate from 3.5% to 4.0%
Fuel: Automotive fuel prices rose 14.8% in August and 13.5% over the year. The ABS attributes the monthly jump to higher world oil prices and the unwinding of the remainder of the federal government's fuel excise relief measures in August.[1]
Electricity: +13.2% over the year, up from +6.1% to July. The ABS: "The annual rise of 13.2% in electricity costs is largely due to the ending of Commonwealth electricity rebates."[1][2]
By this page's calculation from the ABS contribution table, Transport's contribution to the annual rate rose by about 0.45 percentage points and Housing's by about 0.14, while the ABS's 'Other' grouping contributed about 0.11 less than in July. In the ABS chart, 'Other' covers Clothing and footwear; Furnishings, household equipment and services; Communication; and Insurance and financial services.[1]
Monthly price movements (July to August 2026, original)
Transport rose 4.2% in the month, led by Automotive fuel (+14.8%). Recreation and culture fell 1.0%, driven by Domestic holiday travel and accommodation (-4.9%) after the school holidays; Clothing and footwear fell 0.9%.[1]
These are monthly movements. Recreation and culture's contribution to the annual rate still rose, from 0.3234 to 0.3564 percentage points.[1]
CPI groups (August 2026, % change)
Columns: monthly original / annual original / monthly seasonally adjusted / annual seasonally adjusted.[1]
All groups: 0.4 / 4.0 / 0.7 / 3.9[1]
Food and non-alcoholic beverages: -0.1 / 3.0 / 0.0 / 3.0 — meals out and takeaway food +4.1% over the year.[1]
Alcohol and tobacco: 0.5 / 4.8 / 0.4 / 4.9 — Tobacco +11.5%.[1]
Clothing and footwear: -0.9 / 2.6 / -1.0 / 2.0[1]
Housing: 0.2 / 5.7 / 0.4 / 5.7 — New dwellings +5.4%, Electricity +13.2%, Rents +3.6% (unchanged since May 2026).[1]
Furnishings, household equipment and services: 0.2 / 1.0 / -0.2 / 1.0 — Child care +3.5% over the year, down from 7.3% to July.[1]
Health: 0.1 / 3.9 / 0.4 / 3.9 — Medical and hospital services +5.1%.[1]
Transport: 4.2 / 5.6 / 4.3 / 5.6 — Automotive fuel +13.5%, Maintenance and repair of vehicles +6.2%.[1]
Communication: -0.2 / 1.6 / 0.1 / 1.6[1]
Recreation and culture: -1.0 / 2.9 / 0.5 / 2.9 — Games, toys and hobbies +12.7%, which the ABS links to memory and storage component price increases being passed on to consumers.[1]
Education: 0.1 / 4.7 / 0.4 / 4.7 — Secondary education +6.6%.[1]
Insurance and financial services: 0.2 / 3.5 / 0.4 / 3.5 — Insurance +5.6%.[1]
Underlying and analytical measures (August 2026, % change monthly / annual)
Trimmed mean: 0.2 / 3.6. Weighted median: 0.3 / 3.6. CPI excluding volatile items: 0.0 / 3.7. Excluding volatile items and holiday travel: 0.2 / 3.9.[1]
Goods: 1.0 / 4.2. Services: -0.2 / 3.7. Tradables: 1.3 / 2.9. Non-tradables: 0.0 / 4.5. Discretionary: -0.2 / 3.0. Non-discretionary: 0.9 / 4.7.[1]
The ABS describes tradables as goods and services "highly exposed to international trade influence (such as automotive fuel and most food items)" and non-tradables as those "most influenced by domestic factors (such as housing and education)".[1]
Capital cities (annual % change to August 2026)
Hobart 4.8 · Adelaide 4.7 · Darwin 4.5 · Perth 4.3 · Brisbane 4.1 · Canberra 4.1 · Sydney 3.9 · Melbourne 3.5 · Weighted average of eight capitals 4.0.[1]
Index levels for August 2026 (September 2025 = 100.0): Sydney 103.61, Melbourne 103.04, Brisbane 103.33, Adelaide 104.24, Perth 103.89, Hobart 104.17, Darwin 103.99, Canberra 103.63; weighted average 103.50.[1]
About this series
This is the ABS's complete monthly CPI. The ABS lists "First complete Monthly CPI publication, October 2025" in its history of changes; the ABS article archive lists the earlier "Monthly CPI indicator" with the label September 2022 to September 2025. Quarterly CPI data are published in Tables 17 and 18 of the monthly release.[1]
In the release's historical comparison charts, annual movements before April 2025 compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier; from April 2025 they compare each month with the same month a year earlier.[1]
Upcoming changes: release on the fourth Wednesday of each month from February 2027, and a weight update for January 2027. The ABS says it "determined a mid-2026 update is not needed."[1]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
Australia's Consumer Price Index rose 4.0% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.5% in the 12 months to July 2026; in the month of August the CPI rose 0.4% in original terms and 0.7% seasonally adjusted.[1][2] 1 source · authoritative record
Trimmed mean inflation was 3.6% in the 12 months to August 2026, unchanged from July; the weighted median was also 3.6% and the seasonally adjusted all groups CPI rose 3.9% over the year.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Housing rose 5.7% over the year (up from 5.0% in July), with New dwellings +5.4%, Electricity +13.2% and Rents +3.6% as the main contributors; the ABS attributes the electricity rise largely to the ending of Commonwealth electricity rebates.[1][2] 1 source · authoritative record
Transport rose 5.6% over the year; Automotive fuel was up 13.5% annually and 14.8% in the month of August, which the ABS attributes to higher world oil prices and the unwinding of the remainder of the federal government's fuel excise relief measures.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Among the eight capital cities, annual inflation ranged from 3.5% in Melbourne to 4.8% in Hobart; the weighted average index was 103.50 (September 2025 = 100.0).[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The headline 4.0% is the original (not seasonally adjusted) annual movement; the seasonally adjusted annual movement is 3.9%.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Goods prices rose 4.2% and services 3.7% over the year; tradables rose 2.9% and non-tradables 4.5%.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The September 2026 CPI is scheduled for 28 October 2026. From February 2027 the CPI will be published on the fourth Wednesday of each month instead of the final Wednesday, and CPI weights will be updated for January 2027 (release scheduled for 24 February 2027).[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
Annual CPI inflation rose 0.5 percentage points between July and August. Transport's contribution to the annual rate rose by about 0.45 points (0.1841 to 0.6385) and Housing's by about 0.14 points (1.0997 to 1.2392), while the contribution of the ABS's 'Other' grouping (Clothing and footwear; Furnishings, household equipment and services; Communication; Insurance and financial services) fell by about 0.11 points (0.5086 to 0.3942).[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's calculation from the ABS contribution table
Headline annual CPI (4.0%) is 0.4 percentage points above the trimmed mean (3.6%), and the trimmed mean did not move between July and August while the headline rose.[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's reading of the release
Timeline
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- The September 2026 monthly CPI and the September quarter 2026 figures
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 10/05/2026, 12:00
- Body characters
- 4,616
- Sources
- 2 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/05/2026, 10:10
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 10/05/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 10/05/2026 | First version. Read the ABS August 2026 and July 2026 CPI releases in full, including group commentary, analytical series, capital city tables and methodology notes; quotations, table rows and figures machine-matched against the release text. | Updated |
| 10/05/2026 | Independent pre-publication review (ChatGPT) against the sources; findings confirmed by the source text were applied. | Updated |
Frequently asked
What is Australia's inflation rate right now?
As of the August 2026 release (30 September 2026), annual CPI inflation is 4.0%, up from 3.5% in July.[1]
What is the trimmed mean inflation rate in Australia?
3.6% in the 12 months to August 2026, unchanged from July.[1]
Why did petrol prices jump in August 2026?
Automotive fuel rose 14.8% in the month; the ABS cites higher world oil prices and the unwinding of the remainder of the federal fuel excise relief measures.[1]
Why are electricity prices up 13.2%?
The ABS says the annual rise is largely due to the ending of Commonwealth electricity rebates.[1]
Which capital city has the highest inflation?
Hobart, at 4.8% over the year to August 2026; Melbourne was lowest at 3.5%.[1]
How much did rents rise in Australia?
Rents rose 3.6% in the 12 months to August 2026, unchanged since May 2026.[1]
Is this the old monthly CPI indicator?
No. It is the complete monthly CPI; the ABS article archive lists the older Monthly CPI indicator separately, labelled September 2022 to September 2025.[1]
When is the next Australian CPI release?
The September 2026 CPI is scheduled for 28 October 2026.[1]