Consumer prices · CPI
—Cumulative change over selected period
A CPI-indexed A$100 at the start is about —
A short economics lesson on price changes
How much more expensive is the basket?
Have wage prices kept up?
Compare two national quarterly indices over the same period: one tracks prices paid by households, the other tracks wage prices for a comparable mix of jobs. Rebase each series to 100 at the starting quarter, then see where they go.
Same quarters · original (not seasonally adjusted) series
Start together, then follow each quarter
Choose a start and end quarter. Both lines are rebased to 100 at the start.
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CPI · consumer prices
WPI · wage prices
Swipe sideways to see later quarters
Wage prices · WPI
—Cumulative change over selected period
A wage price index for a fixed mix of jobs; it is not an individual's take-home pay.
Difference over this period
Waiting for data
Compare the cumulative change in the two national indices.
A$100 illustration = A$100 × ending CPI ÷ starting CPI. It is an index-linked amount, not a household's actual spending or a fixed shopping basket.
Read the indices as economics
The two lines answer different questions
Household prices 01
How much more do household purchases cost overall?
The CPI summarises price changes for goods and services households commonly buy, weighted by their importance in household spending. The Australian national series is a weighted average of the eight capital cities. Every household has a different basket, so the CPI is not your personal bill.
Read the ABS CPI methodologyWages 02
How have wage prices changed for similar jobs?
The WPI tracks wage price changes for a comparable mix of jobs, aiming to exclude changes in job content, quantity and quality. This chart uses the original index for total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses. It does not describe any person's pay, hours, bonuses or after-tax income.
Read the ABS WPI methodologyWhy rebase first? 03
Different reference periods: compare percentage changes
An index reference period is just the starting point for its scale. We set both selected starting quarters to 100; later values show each series' change from that point. The gap between the lines is the difference in cumulative index growth, not a difference in any person's purchasing power.
The comparable measures are trends and changes over the selected period.Sources and coverage
Official quarterly tables from the ABS
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Consumer Price Index, Australia
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Table 17 · All groups · Australia · Original quarterly index
Wage Price Index, Australia
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Table 1 · Private and Public · All industries · Original index, excluding bonuses
From the December 2025 release, the original CPI series is rebased to September 2025 = 100. The two chart lines are separately rebased to 100 at your selected start. The snapshot date and each table's release date are shown separately.
World Bank · annual data · local currency
How far did prices rise, and did income per person keep up?
Choose a start and end year. CPI and nominal GDP per capita (current local currency) are both rebased to 100 in the start year.
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CPI · consumer prices
Nominal GDP per capita · current local currency
Swipe sideways to see later years
Consumer prices · CPI
—Cumulative change over selected period
— —
Nominal GDP per capita
—Cumulative change over selected period
Output per person at current prices; not anyone's wage or take-home pay
GDP per capita after CPI inflation
Waiting for data
Nominal GDP per capita multiple ÷ CPI multiple.
Change after CPI inflation = (end ÷ start nominal GDP per capita) ÷ (end ÷ start CPI) − 1. Over long periods this differs a lot from the percentage-point gap: if prices double and nominal income triples, the gap is 100 points, but income after inflation is only 50% higher.
Household prices 01
Annual CPI (2010 = 100)
The World Bank republishes consumer price indices from the IMF's International Financial Statistics as annual averages, all set to 2010 = 100. Each country builds its own basket and method, so compare each country's changes rather than index points.
Income side 02
Nominal GDP per capita (current local currency)
All final goods and services produced in a year, valued at that year's prices and divided by the population. Like CPI it is not adjusted for inflation, so the two can be compared; but it includes company profits and government revenue, so it is not household wages or disposable income.
Reading this economy 03
What to keep in mind here
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Consumer price index (2010 = 100) · FP.CPI.TOTL
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World Bank WDI · original source: IMF International Financial Statistics
GDP per capita (current LCU) · NY.GDP.PCAP.CN
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World Bank WDI · national statistical agencies, OECD national accounts and World Bank estimates
Same years · six economies · each in local currency
Over the same years, how far did prices and income per person rise in each economy?
Each economy's changes are measured in its own currency, so the percentages are comparable; the GDP per capita levels are not converted to a common currency and cannot be compared directly.
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CPI · consumer prices
Nominal GDP per capita · current local currency
| Economy | Cumulative change | After inflation |
|---|
Bars share one scale across the table; the vertical rule marks 0. “After inflation” = nominal GDP per capita multiple ÷ CPI multiple − 1.
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