Australia is set to come into line with all other G20 countries and report inflation on a monthly basis.
Australian Statistician David Gruen said the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was on track to transition from the quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI) to a complete monthly measure of the CPI by November.
“Publishing a complete CPI monthly will bring Australia in line with all other G20 countries,” Dr Gruen said.
“This will make it easier to compare Australia’s inflation trends with those of other advanced economies and provide the community with detailed inflation data every month.”
He said the first publication would be on Wednesday November 26, with the ABS using the October 2025 reference month.
“This publication will mark the transition from the quarterly CPI to the Monthly CPI as Australia’s primary measure of headline inflation.
Dr Gruen said from that time, the Monthly CPI Indicator would no longer be produced.
“Since its introduction in 2022, the Monthly CPI Indicator has provided a helpful earlier read on inflation.
“The transition to a complete, internationally comparable Monthly CPI as Australia’s primary measure of headline inflation will provide better information for monetary and fiscal policy decisions that have a direct impact on all Australians.”
He said the ABS had worked closely with the RBA, Treasury, other federal and state government agencies, academics, financial market participants and international experts to ensure the complete monthly CPI met the needs of users across the economy.
To support these needs:
- The Monthly CPI data series and the new monthly analytical series will go back to April 2024 (when the ABS increased the frequency of data collection).
- The ABS will continue to produce a quarterly CPI data series (calculated as the average of the three relevant Monthly CPIs) to support those needing quarterly CPI figures for indexation, contracts or other purposes.
- For at least 18 months, the ABS will continue to produce the CPI quarterly seasonally adjusted series, including the Trimmed mean, based on current methods. This will provide sufficient time to identify seasonal patterns for the new monthly data series.
