Australia Household Spending Falls For First Time Since 2024

(RTTNews) - Australia household spending dropped for the first time since 2024 as consumers brought forward purchases to sales events in October and November, official data showed on Monday.

Household spending declined 0.4 percent month-on-month in December, in contrast to the 1.0 percent increase in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. This was the first fall since March 2024.

"We saw high spending in October and November, which had major sales and cultural events boost spending," ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said.

"The fall in December indicates that households brought forward purchases during sales events in October and November," Lay added.

There were decreases in spending, especially on discretionary items and on essential items like healthcare. Clothing and footwear showed the biggest fall of 2.4 percent and furnishing and household equipment slid 1.7 percent.

On a yearly basis, household spending advanced 5.0 percent in December after rising 6.0 percent in the previous month.

In the December quarter, the household spending volumes indicator rose 0.9 percent from the prior quarter. Spending grew for the sixth straight quarter in a row.

Further, data showed that household spending volumes rose 2.4 percent compared to the previous year, marking the strongest annual growth recorded in 2025.