Markets and economists are tipping a double interest rate cut at next month’s board meeting at the Reserve Bank of Australia, with inflation continuing to ease and the Trump tariffs roiling markets.
But while prices are not rising as fast as they once were, Australians are still burdened with the increases over the past two years. And for many, the increases in the price of housing, food and healthcare have risen much more than their wages.
Wages for public and private employees rose just over 10% between March 2022 and December 2024 – the latest data available. Over the same period the cost of the basket of goods used to calculate inflation has risen more than 12%.
Many goods, including essentials such as insurance, housing, transportation and food, have increased even more than this.
The average weekly rent for a house in an Australian capital city has risen from $500 in March 2022 to $650 in 2025, according to real estate website Domain. Petrol hit $1.79 a litre on average last week, up from $1.38 in May 2022. And hospital-only insurance cover has risen between 7.5% and 39% according to Canstar, depending on the tier of cover.
You can explore rising prices over the past decade in much finer detail using our inflation explorer.
