Australia data questions answered
The 15 questions people search most about Australia's official figures, each answered from the body that publishes them, with a link to check the latest number yourself.
What is the inflation rate in Australia?
Australia's Consumer Price Index rose 4.0% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.5% in the year to July, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Consumer Price Index, Australia, released on 30 September 2026. Trimmed mean inflation, a measure of underlying inflation, was 3.6%. Rents rose 3.6% over the year.
The ABS now publishes a complete monthly CPI; quarterly figures are added to tables 17 and 18 of the data downloads after each March, June, September and December month. The trimmed mean removes the largest price rises and falls each period. The ABS lists the next CPI release, covering September 2026 and the September quarter, for 28 October 2026.
What is the population of Australia?
Australia's population was 27,921,150 at 31 March 2026, according to the ABS release National, state and territory population, published on 17 September 2026. The population grew by 392,700 people (1.4%) over the year, made up of natural increase of 100,600 and net overseas migration of 292,100.
These are estimated resident population figures, built from the 2021 Census and updated each quarter with births, deaths and migration. Recent quarters are preliminary and revised, and the series will be revised once 2026 Census results are available. The ABS lists the next quarterly update, for June 2026, for 17 December 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Australia?
Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.6% in August 2026, up 0.2 percentage points from July, according to the ABS Labour Force, Australia release of 24 September 2026. 722,900 people were unemployed and 14,836,600 employed, and the participation rate was 67.1%.
The figures come from a monthly household survey. The ABS also publishes trend estimates, which smooth out sampling noise (4.6% in August as well), and the underemployment rate, 6.2%, for people who want more hours. The ABS lists the September 2026 release for 15 October 2026.
What is Australia's GDP growth?
Australia's economy grew 0.4% in the June quarter 2026 in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, according to the ABS Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, released on 2 September 2026. GDP in volume terms was $699.5 billion for the quarter, 2.1% higher than a year earlier, and $742.5 billion in current prices.
The ABS reports quarterly growth as a change on the previous quarter, not annualised. Real GDP per capita was $24,971 in the quarter, 0.7% higher than a year earlier, because population growth accounted for much of the increase. The ABS lists the September quarter release for 2 December 2026.
What is the average salary in Australia?
Full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings in Australia were $2,083.70 in May 2026, up 3.7% over the year (seasonally adjusted), according to the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, released on 13 August 2026. That is about $108,000 a year before tax. Average weekly total earnings for all employees, including part-time workers, were $1,579.40 (trend).
These are means, so a small number of very high earners pull them above what a typical worker earns. Ordinary time earnings exclude overtime. The survey is run twice a year, for May and November, and the ABS lists the next release for 25 February 2027. For median earnings, use the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours or Characteristics of Employment releases.
What is the RBA cash rate?
The Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate target is 4.60%, effective 30 September 2026, according to the RBA cash rate target page. That was a 0.25 percentage point increase, the fourth in 2026 after rises in February, March and May, according to the RBA's cash rate history. The RBA lists its next decision for 2.30 pm on 3 November 2026.
The cash rate is the interest rate banks pay to borrow from each other overnight. It feeds through to variable mortgage and deposit rates, but each lender sets its own rates. Each decision is announced with a statement, and minutes follow; both are linked from the cash rate history.
What is the Australian dollar exchange rate?
One Australian dollar was worth 0.6961 US dollars on 13 October 2026, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia's historical daily exchange rates table (F11.1). On the same day it bought 0.6231 euros and 0.5267 pounds sterling, and the trade-weighted index stood at 64.70.
The AUD/USD rate in this table is sourced from WM/Reuters and the other rates are compiled by the RBA; they are reference rates for one point in each business day and differ from rates offered by banks and money changers. The exchange rates page links to current and historical tables in CSV and Excel.
What is the minimum wage in Australia?
The National Minimum Wage in Australia is $1,004.90 a week, or $26.44 an hour, from 1 July 2026, according to the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review 2026 decision announcement. The Commission also increased modern award wage rates by 4.75%, with a larger adjustment to the lowest-paid award classifications.
The National Minimum Wage applies only to employees in the national system who are not covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement; the Commission says its practical effect is very limited, and it estimates that about 21.1% of employees are paid at a modern award minimum rate. Rates are reviewed each year, with changes from 1 July. The decision and orders are on the Annual Wage Review 2026 page.
What is the average house price in Australia?
The mean price of residential dwellings in Australia was $1,100,400 in the June quarter 2026, down $8,200 on the March quarter, according to the ABS Total Value of Dwellings release of 8 September 2026. The total value of Australia's 11,531,100 dwellings fell by $34.1 billion to $12,688.9 billion.
The mean is the total value of the dwelling stock divided by the number of dwellings, so it covers all homes, not just those sold, and is pulled up by high-value properties. It is not a median sale price. Figures for each state and territory are in the same release.
How much have rents risen in Australia?
Rents in Australia rose 3.6% in the 12 months to August 2026, unchanged since May 2026, according to the ABS Consumer Price Index, Australia, released on 30 September 2026. All-items CPI inflation was 4.0% over the same period.
The CPI rent series measures rents paid by tenants, including those in existing leases, so it moves more slowly than advertised rents for new leases. State governments publish median rents from bond lodgement data for their own areas.
What is life expectancy in Australia?
Life expectancy at birth in Australia was 81.1 years for males and 85.1 years for females in 2022–2024, unchanged from 2021–2023, according to the ABS Life expectancy release of 11 November 2025. It was highest in the Australian Capital Territory (82.0 years for males, 85.8 for females) and lowest in the Northern Territory (77.0 and 80.7).
The ABS calculates life expectancy over three years of deaths to smooth year-to-year changes. It is the average number of years a person could expect to live if current death rates stayed the same, not a forecast. The ABS lists the next release, for 2023–2025, for 10 December 2026.
What is the birth rate in Australia?
There were 292,318 registered births in Australia in 2024, 1.9% more than in 2023, and the total fertility rate was 1.481 births per woman, according to the ABS Births, Australia release of 15 October 2025. The crude birth rate was 10.7 per 1,000 people, and the median age of mothers was 32.1 years.
The total fertility rate is the average number of babies a woman would have at current age-specific rates; Australia's was 1.795 in 2014, and about 2.1 is the level usually cited for a population to replace itself without migration. Counts are by year of registration. The ABS lists the 2025 release for 6 November 2026.
What is net overseas migration to Australia?
Net overseas migration added 292,100 people to Australia's population in the year to 31 March 2026, according to the ABS release National, state and territory population, published on 17 September 2026. It accounted for about three-quarters of total population growth of 392,700; natural increase made up the other 100,600.
Net overseas migration is the number of long-term arrivals minus long-term departures, so it includes students and temporary workers as well as permanent migrants. Recent quarters are preliminary and are revised once the ABS can see how long travellers actually stayed.
When will 2026 Census results be released in Australia?
The 2026 Census was held on Tuesday 11 August 2026, according to the ABS Census website, and the ABS says it will release the data in three phases: a first release in June 2027, a second in October 2027 and a third in early to mid-2028, according to its 2026 Census topics and data release plan.
The first release will cover most topics, including age, country of birth, income and housing, for nearly all areas. Employment-related topics follow in October 2027, and complex outputs such as the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas in 2028. Until then, the 2021 Census and the quarterly population estimates are the latest official counts.
What is the crime rate in Australia?
Police in Australia recorded 435 victims of homicide in 2025, 3% fewer than in 2024, according to the ABS Recorded Crime – Victims release of 3 September 2026; the ABS says the rate has been stable at 2 victims per 100,000 people since 2022. Robbery victims fell 8% to 10,591, while motor vehicle theft rose 2% to 66,625, the highest level in 17 years.
These figures count victims of crimes reported to and recorded by police in each state and territory, so they depend on reporting and recording practices. The ABS also runs household surveys on crime victimisation that capture incidents not reported to police.
Source guides
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
- Fair Work Commission (Annual Wage Review)
- Federal Register of Legislation and FOI
Questions were chosen from the searches people make most about this country's figures, and each answer was written from the official page it links to, read on 14 October 2026. These answers give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.