Direct Answer

Australia economic indicators come mainly from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The releases that most often move rate expectations and the Australian dollar are the monthly Consumer Price Index with its trimmed mean, the monthly Labour Force survey, and the quarterly Wage Price Index and National Accounts. The RBA announces its cash rate decision at 2:30pm after each of its eight meetings a year.

By Swoopr Editorial Team

Published September 21, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

AI-assisted content · Swoopr Investment is responsible for the final published article.

Australia Economic Indicators: Investor Reference

This hub covers the major economic indicators released for this country. Each linked indicator page explains what the measure tracks, how it is calculated, when it is released, and how investors interpret changes in the data.

See the international indicators hub for other countries, or the full economic indicators hub for all 15 categories.

Who publishes Australia's economic data?

The ABS publishes the economic statistics, usually at 11:30am AEST. Prices: the monthly Consumer Price Index (a complete monthly measure since October 2025, with quarterly data added to the tables each March, June, September and December) and the quarterly Wage Price Index. Labour: the monthly Labour Force survey. Activity: quarterly National Accounts for GDP, the monthly Household Spending Indicator, monthly Building Approvals and monthly International Trade in Goods. The RBA sets the cash rate target.

Australia indicators at a glance

Indicator	What it measures	Published by	Frequency
Australia Building Approvals	approvals for new dwellings and other building work in Australia	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia CPI	consumer price inflation in Australia	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia Employment Change	the monthly change in the number of employed people in Australia	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia GDP	inflation-adjusted output of the Australian economy	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Quarterly
Australia Retail Sales	household spending in Australia	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia Trade Balance	the gap between the value of Australia's goods exports and goods imports	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia Trimmed Mean CPI	underlying consumer price inflation in Australia	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia Unemployment	the share of Australia's labor force without work and seeking it	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Monthly
Australia Wage Price Index	changes in hourly pay rates for a fixed set of Australian jobs	Australian Bureau of Statistics	Quarterly
RBA Cash Rate	the Reserve Bank of Australia's target for the overnight interbank cash rate	Reserve Bank of Australia	Irregular

Each row comes from the same source file as the indicator page it links, so the publisher and frequency here match that page.

How does Australia's central bank set policy?

The Reserve Bank of Australia conducts monetary policy through its Monetary Policy Board, which sets the cash rate target, the market interest rate on overnight funds. Under the Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy (10 July 2025), the Board aims to contribute to both price stability and full employment, with an inflation goal of consumer price inflation between 2 and 3 per cent and a return of expected inflation to the midpoint. The Board meets eight times a year and publishes each decision on the RBA website at 2:30pm, followed by the Governor's media conference.

What is different about Australia's data?

The ABS began publishing a complete monthly CPI in October 2025, after a monthly CPI indicator that ran from September 2022 to September 2025. Monthly data are national figures, a weighted average of the eight capital cities. Quarterly figures are still shown in the tables, so a quarterly and a monthly annual rate can be quoted for the same period.
Trimmed mean ranks expenditure classes by seasonally adjusted price movement, removes the top and bottom 15 per cent by weight and averages the middle 70 per cent. The monthly version trims monthly movements. The ABS also keeps publishing the older quarterly trimmed mean on pre-October 2025 methods, and the two can differ by a few tenths of a point.
Seasonally adjusted series, including the trimmed mean, are revised as seasonal factors update. Treat the first print of an underlying inflation figure as provisional, and note which basis (monthly or quarterly, original or seasonally adjusted) a quoted figure uses before comparing it with the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent goal.
The Labour Force survey is a monthly survey, and the ABS says trend data give the best measure of underlying labour market behaviour. The seasonally adjusted series can move more sharply, and the ABS rebenchmarks the series quarterly to updated population estimates, so past months can change.
Retail Trade, Australia ended with its June 2025 issue. The ABS now publishes the Monthly Household Spending Indicator, a current-price (nominal) measure built from de-identified bank card, supermarket and new vehicle sales data. Monthly trade data now cover goods only, because services trade has not been produced monthly since September 2023.

Which Australia releases should you read first?

A common reading order: the monthly CPI and trimmed mean, because they speak most directly to the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent inflation goal; the Labour Force survey for employment and unemployment; then the quarterly Wage Price Index and National Accounts for labour costs and output; and the Household Spending Indicator and Building Approvals for monthly demand. The RBA decision statement then shows how the Board weighed them.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Australia release its CPI figures?

The ABS publishes a complete monthly CPI, normally at 11:30am AEST, and adds quarterly data to the tables in the March, June, September and December releases. From February 2027 the ABS says the CPI will be published on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

How often does the RBA set the cash rate target?

The Monetary Policy Board meets eight times a year. Each decision is published on the RBA website at 2:30pm after the meeting, with a media release, and the Governor then holds a media conference to explain it.

What is trimmed mean inflation in Australia?

Trimmed mean is an underlying inflation measure from the ABS. Expenditure classes are ranked by seasonally adjusted price change, the top and bottom 15 per cent by weight are removed, and the middle 70 per cent is averaged.

References

Swoopr Editorial Team

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