Cost of Living Crisis Calculator
See exactly how rising prices are hitting your household — and how long your savings will last at the new burn rate.
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Price Increase Assumptions
Drag the sliders to match your situation. Defaults reflect current Australian trends.
Australia's cost of living crisis — what the numbers mean
Australia has experienced significant cost of living pressures since 2022. Inflation peaked at 7.8% in late 2022 — the highest in over 30 years — driven by global supply chain disruptions, the energy price shock from the Ukraine war, and domestic housing market pressures. While headline inflation has moderated, many everyday costs remain persistently elevated.
- Groceries: Australian grocery prices rose 7–9% per year at peak, driven by energy costs, transport, labour, and drought. The Coles/Woolworths duopoly controls about 67% of the grocery market, which has limited competitive pressure on prices.
- Housing: Australia's housing affordability crisis predates 2022. Median house prices in Sydney and Melbourne are among the highest relative to incomes in the world. Renters have been particularly hard hit — national median rents rose 12–15% in 2023–24 as vacancy rates hit record lows.
- Electricity: Australia's electricity transition is expensive. While renewables are getting cheaper, the cost of upgrading the grid, replacing coal plants, and managing the energy mix has pushed retail electricity prices up significantly. The AER's default market offer (DMO) has risen substantially since 2021.
- Mortgages: The RBA raised the cash rate 13 times between May 2022 and November 2023, from a record-low 0.10% to 4.35%. A typical $500,000 mortgage saw repayments increase by roughly $1,500/month over that period. Cuts have begun, but rates remain well above the 2020–2022 lows.
- What helps: Stage 3 tax cuts (from July 2024) provided some relief. Energy rebates have been extended. But for many households — particularly renters and those with large mortgages — the cumulative impact of 3 years of price increases has been severe.
🦘 Fun fact: Australia's Gini coefficient (income inequality measure) has actually declined slightly in recent years — but asset wealth inequality has increased dramatically, driven by the housing market. Put simply: if you own property, you've probably been insulated. If you don't, the cost of living crisis has been much more acute.