Australia household spending: the indicator that replaced retail sales, and the Aussie

Australia household spending is the Monthly Household Spending Indicator from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the monthly measure of what households spend on goods and services. It took over from the retail sales report, which ended in July 2025. It moves the Aussie because it is the earliest broad monthly read on how households respond to the RBA's rate.

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By Mike. Explanation updated 2 Oct 2026; the dates and moves below update with the research.

Australia household spending in short

Next release: Not on our calendar yet. It appears once the date is confirmed.
Published by: Australian Bureau of Statistics
When: Monthly, a month or a little more after the month it covers, at 11:30 in the morning Canberra time. That is 03:30 in Amsterdam for most of the European summer and 01:30 in the European winter. In October, and for about a week around the start of April, both countries are on summer time and it is 02:30.
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Impact: Medium: it moves the currency when it surprises
The line read first: Total household spending, change on the month, seasonally adjusted, in current prices
Replaced: Retail Trade, Australia, last published on 31 July 2025 for June 2025
Built from: De-identified bank and card transactions, supermarket scanner data and new vehicle sales
Covers: Around 60% of household consumption, against about a third for the old retail survey

What is in the Australia household spending indicator

The ABS builds it from aggregated, de-identified card and bank transactions, with supermarket scanner data and new vehicle sales added. It records spending at the moment of the transaction, in every industry that sells to households, not only in shops.

It covers around 60% of household consumption as the national accounts count it. The retail survey it replaced covered about a third.

Spending is split into nine categories, such as food, transport, health, and hotels, cafes and restaurants. It is also split into goods and services, and into discretionary and non-discretionary spending, with figures for each state and territory.

Why household spending moves the Australian dollar

Higher rates work in large part by making households spend less. This indicator is the first broad monthly check on whether that is happening.

Spending that keeps beating the forecast suggests demand is still strong. That argues for a higher cash rate and tends to lift the Aussie. Weak spending argues the other way.

How to read the household spending figure against the forecast

The monthly headline is in current prices, so it includes inflation. A rise in a month when prices rose by the same amount means households did not buy more.

Look at discretionary spending, the part households can put off. It shows best how households respond to rates and to their own confidence.

Many calendars still list this release as retail sales. Its figures are not comparable with the old retail series, because the coverage and the method are different. The ABS says revisions are usually small, within 0.1 percentage points.

What the Australian dollar did on the last release days

Measured on our own prices: the Australian dollar against the basket of the eight majors, from the London opening before the release to the one after it, so the release sits inside the window. Anything else that came out between those two openings is in it too, so a day with more news says less about this release alone.

Release	Amsterdam	Measured	AUD vs basket
29 Sept 2026	03:30	28 Sept to 29 Sept	-0.21%

For scale: on an ordinary day the Australian dollar moves 0.22% against the basket from one London opening to the next, either way, on average over the 250 trading days since 14 Oct 2025.

The forecast, the figure itself and what it changed in our view of the currency are in the app, next to the research.

Questions about Australia household spending

Does Australia still publish retail sales?

No. The ABS published Retail Trade, Australia for the last time on 31 July 2025, for June 2025. The Monthly Household Spending Indicator took its place, and many economic calendars still call it AU retail sales.

What time is the household spending indicator released?

At 11:30 in the morning Canberra time. In Amsterdam that is 03:30 for most of the European summer and 01:30 in the winter, with 02:30 in October and around the start of April, when both countries are on summer time.

Is household spending adjusted for inflation?

The monthly headline is not: it is in current prices, so higher prices alone push it up. The ABS publishes inflation-adjusted volumes once a quarter.

Where do the household spending figures come from?

Mostly from aggregated, de-identified card and bank transactions supplied by banks and other financial institutions. Supermarket scanner data and new vehicle sales fill in the rest.