Australia Household Spending Slips 0.4% in December

Australia's household spending fell 0.4% month-on-month in December 2025, with six of the nine spending categories declining. The largest drops were in clothing and footwear (-2.4%), furnishings and household equipment (-1.7%), and health (-1.3%). In volume terms, however, household spending rose 0.9% in the December quarter, led by increases in clothing and footwear (+4.1%) and furnishings and household equipment (+3.6%). The decrease in spending was widespread across states, with Victoria (-1.0%) and New South Wales (-0.6%) recording the strongest falls. Western Australia (+1.7%) and Queensland (+1.0%) were among the states with increased spending in volume terms. Overall, household spending grew 5.0% year-on-year in December, with total spending reaching $78.9 billion.