NATSEM household budget report: cost of living and standard of living indexes for Australia, June 2013

Abstract

Abstract NATSEM’s quarterly Household Budget Report introduces new national measures of cost of living and standard of living for Australian households. The report broadens the cost of living debate by the inclusion of household incomes into a new standard of living index. This new quarterly report provides new insights into the movement of the cost of living, incomes and the related standard of living for a range of different household types, including income levels, main source of income, renters, mortgagors, family type and states. The report finds that cost of living increases in Australia are benign and that household incomes have increased strongly, with household disposable incomes increasing by $15,861 per year compared with 1988 after accounting for cost of living increases