Inflation’s hit on households: the biggest price rises in three years

Living costs have surged since Labor took power three years ago. See the list of what has increased the most.

Eggs, insurance, cooking oils and gas have been among the biggest cost-of-living culprits hitting households under the Albanese government.

An analysis by The Australian of official inflation data over the past three years has found these everyday items – along with tobacco – has surged by more than twice the rate of the Consumer Price Index’s 13.6 per cent jump.

New CPI numbers show egg prices surged 37.3 per cent between March 2022 and March 2025, insurance jumped 36.3 per cent, oils and fats 35.1 per cent and household gas 30.9 per cent.

Household staples that have increased more than 20 per cent in price include bread (26%), cheese (22.2%) and breakfast cereals (21.8%).

While Labor inherited inflation pressure as Australia emerged from the pandemic, with annual CPI sitting at 5.1 per cent when it took office, some economists say high government spending has helped fuel higher prices.

KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said while Labor inherited rising inflation from pandemic-related global supply issues they have also payled a part in stoking it.

“My argument is they have contributed to it because they have continued to raise government spending as a proportion of GDP,” Dr Rynne said.

He said the job of getting annual inflation back down to current level of 2.4 per cent fell to the Reserve Bank’s string of interest rate rises in recent years.

“There has been a dependence on monetary policy to help bring inflation down, because fiscal policy was working in the opposite direction.”

While household gas costs surged by almost one-third in three years (electricity was up just 4.2 per cent), it would have jumped by 14.2 per cent without the benefits of federal and state government bill rebates.

The CPI analysis shows the biggest price increase of the past three years was not a household staple, but international travel, which surged 39.5 per cent amid a weaker Aussie dollar and white-hot global demand for travel after the pandemic.

Our currency has dropped 14 per cent in value against the US dollar and 15 per cent against the euro, and Dr Rynne said popular destinations had experienced higher inflation. “We are paying for higher-cost holidays on a lower-value Australian dollar,” he said.

BetaShares chief economist David Bassanese said airlines had “jacked up their prices because everyone wanted to go on holiday after three years” as the world emerged from Covid.

He said central banks in Australia and elsewhere had done well to stop high inflation becoming entrenched.

“Things have sorted themselves out,” Mr Bassanese said.

He said he expected to RBA to consider a 0.25 or 0.35 percentage point rate cut at is meeting later this month.

“Barring a US recession, I think the RBA can cut rates maybe twice more this year – that would take rates close to 3 per cent, which would be considered normal.”

HSBC Australia chief economist Paul Bloxham said this week’s s CPI data – slightly above market expectations but within the RBA’s own forecasts – left the RBA with the option of either cutting or pausing this month.

“However, we see recent global developments as likely to tip the balance if favour of a cut in May,” he said.

Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana said the higher-than-expected CPI “reinforces that we’re not past the inflation problem yet – especially with tariff risks still looming globally”.

“The RBA will have to remain cautious,” she said.

Originally published as Inflation’s hit on households: the biggest price rises in three years