Household spending in Australia rose by 0.5% in July, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday.
The increase follows gains of 0.3% in June and 1.0% in May, marking the third straight month of growth.
Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: “Household spending rose for the third month in a row in July, and has now gone up nine times in the last 10 months.
“Household spending is 5.1% higher than the same time last year. This is the highest annual growth since November 2023.
“Households spent more on health services, hotel accommodation, air travel, and dining out during July. This contributed to a 1.6% rise for Services spending.
“In contrast, Goods spending fell 0.3% after mid-year sales boosted spending by 0.9% in June.”
Spending increased in five of the nine ABS categories. Health recorded the sharpest rise at 1.8%, followed by Transport and Miscellaneous goods and services, both up 1.5%.
The largest declines were seen in Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which dropped 1.9%, and Furnishings and household equipment, down 1.4%.
On a yearly basis, Miscellaneous goods and services surged 8.8%, while Recreation and culture climbed 8.2%.
Services spending overall was 8.0% higher than July 2024, compared with a 2.7% rise for Goods spending.
Growth was recorded across most of the country, with household spending rising in seven of the eight states and territories.
The Northern Territory led with a 2.2% increase, driven by higher health spending (+4.4%), hospitality (+3.4%) and transport (+3.4%).
Western Australia followed with a 1.6% rise, supported by hospitality (+3.1%), transport (+2.9%) and miscellaneous goods and services (+2.2%).
New South Wales was the only state to record a decline, with spending slipping 0.3%.
