Why the ABS reweights Australia's inflation rate in January
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will reweight the CPI basket in January to reflect how Australians actually spend their money.
Australia's annual inflation rate jumped to 4.3 per cent in September, up from 4 per cent in August. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will reweight its CPI basket in January.
The CPI basket is the collection of goods and services used to measure inflation and needs to be reweighted to show how Australians actually spend their money now. Housing costs rose 5.2 per cent, alcohol and tobacco 4.3 per cent, and health 3.7 per cent.
In 2025, education, health and food saw the biggest weight increases. Furnishings and housing fell.
The reweight ensures that inflation measures accurately capture price pressures ordinary households face.
- 4.3 per cent
- Inflation rate
- 5.2 per cent
- Housing cost rise
- January
- Reweight timing
- Education, health, food
- Category
Why it mattersHow inflation is measured shapes interest-rate decisions that flow through mortgages and wages; an accurate basket matters for your cost of living.
AustraliaThe reweighting affects how the RBA reads inflation and sets interest rates; changes here ripple through mortgages, rent, and household budgets.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
