5 Things Getting More Expensive in Australia Right Now — And What the Data Says

If your money feels like it is not going as far as it used to, that is because it is not. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that living costs rose for every household type in Australia in the year to December 2025 — with annual increases ranging from 2.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent depending on your circumstances.

Here are five things that are getting more expensive right now, and what the official numbers actually show.

Electricity Bills

According to the ABS March 2026 CPI, electricity costs are 25.4 per cent higher than 12 months ago. The honest context: most of that rise reflects the expiry of government rebate programs — the $75 quarterly credits that appeared automatically on household electricity accounts throughout 2024 and 2025 are gone. Excluding the rebate effect, the underlying electricity price rise was approximately 4.9 per cent. That is still ahead of wage growth of 3.4 per cent — meaning your power bill is taking a larger share of your income than it was a year ago.

For a full breakdown of what is driving electricity costs, see our electricity prices in 2026.

Petrol

Transport costs surged 8.9 per cent in the 12 months to March 2026 — the biggest annual jump of any major CPI category and the primary driver behind the March headline inflation shock. Retail petrol prices jumped approximately 50 cents per litre in under a month following the escalation of the Middle East conflict on 28 February 2026, rising from around $1.69 to $2.19 per litre on average before the federal government’s fuel excise cut provided partial relief from 1 April.

The federal government halved the fuel excise from 52.6 cents to 26.3 cents per litre from 1 April to 30 June 2026, delivering approximately $19 of savings per 65-litre tank. But prices remain well above pre-conflict levels, and the excise cut is temporary.

For the full state-by-state breakdown, see our petrol prices guide.

Rent

Rent rose 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026 according to the ABS, with housing overall up 6.5 per cent in the year to March 2026. The national rental vacancy rate sits at approximately 1.0 per cent as of March 2026 — one of the tightest on record and far below the 4 to 5 per cent considered a balanced market.

The number that puts it in perspective: the average new renter in Australia is now spending 33.4 per cent of their gross income on rent. The standard measure of housing stress is 30 per cent. Most new renters are already beyond it.

National rents have surged approximately 44 per cent over the past five years — adding around $204 per week to the median rental value compared to 2020.

For a full breakdown, see our Australia’s rent crisis in 2026.

Groceries

The average Australian household is now spending $178 per week on groceries — up 11 per cent from 2024 and nearly $3,000 more per year than in 2021, according to Canstar Blue research from July 2025.

The ABS records food and non-alcoholic beverages rising 3.1 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026. Meat prices have been particularly sharp — beef and veal rose 13 per cent annually, and lamb and goat rose 13.4 per cent, according to ABS data cited by SBS News.

A family of four is now spending approximately $240 per week — or $12,480 per year — on groceries alone.

For the full picture, see our Australia’s grocery bill in 2026.

Insurance

Car insurance premiums are rising across Australia, with increases of approximately 8 per cent projected for 2026. Home and contents insurance has also been climbing, driven by higher rebuild costs, extreme weather events, and reinsurance cost pressures flowing from global climate-related losses.

Insurance is one of the costs that rises quietly — it comes out of a direct debit once a year, and many households do not notice the increase until they check their policy renewal letter. Financial counsellors increasingly flag insurance as one of the “invisible” cost increases squeezing household budgets.

Mortgage Repayments

For the roughly one-third of Australian households with a mortgage, interest rate rises are the sixth major cost pressure of 2026. The RBA has raised the cash rate three times this year — in February, March and May — bringing it from 3.60 per cent to 4.35 per cent. All three hikes were passed on in full by the major banks.

On a $600,000 variable-rate mortgage, three hikes add approximately $275 per month in additional repayments compared to January 2026. For a $1,000,000 loan, the increase is approximately $459 per month. An estimated 1.6 million Australian mortgage holders are now considered at risk of mortgage stress, according to Roy Morgan Research.

For the full repayment breakdown, see our mortgage repayments guide.

Eating Out

Meals out and takeaway rose 3.7 per cent in the 12 months to February 2026, according to the ABS. The increase is driven by higher wages for hospitality workers and higher ingredient costs flowing from the same food inflation hitting supermarket shelves.

For many households, eating out has shifted from a regular habit to an occasional treat. The data reflects this — 71 per cent of Australian shoppers now pay attention to supermarket specials, up from 63 per cent in 2024, as more people shift spending from restaurants back to home cooking to manage costs.

What the Data Tells Us

The ABS March 2026 CPI confirmed what most Australians already feel: headline inflation is running at 4.6 per cent annually — more than double the top of the RBA’s 2–3 per cent target band and the highest reading since September 2023. Transport costs (fuel) were up 8.9 per cent, electricity up 25.4 per cent, housing up 6.5 per cent, and food up 3.1 per cent.

The households feeling the most pressure are those on fixed or lower incomes, where essentials take up a larger share of total spending. As the Australian Council of Social Service noted in February 2026, people on the lowest incomes are bearing the brunt — with some forced to skip meals or go without medication as a direct result of cost pressures.

Wages grew 3.4 per cent in the year to December 2025. Most of these cost categories are growing faster. In real terms, the average Australian household has less purchasing power today than it did a year ago. The data is clear on that.

Fenro will continue reporting on these numbers as new ABS data is released. For the full picture across all cost categories, see our wages guide.

This article is for general informational purposes only and reflects the author’s own research and understanding of publicly available data. It does not constitute financial advice. Updated 7 May 2026 to reflect March 2026 ABS CPI data.