New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals a widening gap in the financial pressures facing Australian homes, with living costs rising across all household types in the year leading to the December 2025 quarter.
Annual increases ranged from 2.3% to 4.2%, driven primarily by surges in housing, food, and recreation.
Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, noted that households relying on government payments were hit hardest.
These families saw the steepest annual climb due to skyrocketing electricity costs, particularly as state-based energy rebates in Queensland and Western Australia were exhausted.
Conversely, employee households recorded the lowest annual increase at 2.3%, largely shielded by a cooling housing market.
