Economic Dashboard

ACT State Final Demand totalled $21.1bn in the June quarter and $84.4bn over the rolling year. Annual growth was 2.5%, down from 2.8% a quarter earlier and 3.7% a year earlier, below the 3.8% ten-year average. In the latest quarter, demand rose 0.7%, after falling 1.6% in March.

Annual State Final Demand per capita was $172,308 in June, up 1.2% over the year, compared with headline growth of 2.5%. That per-capita growth was below the 1.6% national rate and the 1.3% population growth in the year to March. The quarterly per-capita figure fell 0.2%, while quarterly per-capita demand rose 0.2%.

ACT’s annual State Final Demand growth was 2.5%, 0.6 percentage points slower than Australia’s 3.1%, and the third-slowest of the eight states and territories. South Australia led at 3.7%, while the Northern Territory recorded -1.9%. Per-capita growth was also the third-slowest, at 1.2% against Australia’s 1.6%.

ACT population reached 489.7k in March, up 1.3% over the year, slightly below Australia’s 1.4% and below the 2.0% ten-year average. Growth was unchanged from a year earlier and up from 1.2% in the prior quarter. The latest quarterly increase was 0.5%, compared with the usual March-quarter rise of 0.6%.

Overseas migration was 4.8k in the year to March, 31.3% above its 3.7k ten-year average; its annual growth picked up to 17.8% from 9.7% a quarter earlier. Natural increase was 2.8k, below its 3.2k average, and fell 1.6% over the year. Interstate migration recorded a net loss of 1.4k, against a 1.4k ten-year average gain.

Population growth was mid-pack among the eight states and territories and 0.1 percentage points below Australia’s 1.4%. Western Australia led at 2.1%, while Tasmania recorded 0.6%. ACT’s net interstate migration was -2.9 per 1,000 residents, the second-lowest of the eight states and territories; Western Australia recorded 3.3 and the Northern Territory -5.9 per 1,000.

ACT recorded 3,751 dwelling approvals in the year to August, 23.5% below the 4.9k ten-year average. Approvals per 1,000 people were 7.7, below the average of 11.0. The rolling approvals total fell 17.3% in the August quarter; despite annual growth of 7.8%, that annual rate was down from 100.6% a quarter earlier.

The pipeline was uneven: commencements reached 4.9k in the year to June, 2.9% above the 4.8k average, while completions were 3.8k, 16.7% below the 4.6k average. Approvals were 23.5% below average. Annual house approvals were 811 and attached approvals 2.9k; their supplied figures do not include a type share, so no split is stated.

Approvals per 1,000 people were 7.7, 0.2 above Australia’s 7.5, but annual growth of 6.9% was 1.8 percentage points slower than the national 8.7%. The level ranked mid-pack among the eight states and territories, while approvals growth was the third-slowest. Commercial approvals value was 1,304 in August: office value grew 127.8% over the year, retail 185.3%, while industrial fell 49.1%.

The median ACT capital-city house price was $1.03m in June, up 3.0% over the year against average annual growth of 5.2%. Prices fell 4.6% in the June quarter, after rising 0.9% in March; the annual rate had been 10.8% a quarter earlier. No comparable ACT regional house-price series is available.

Capital-city houses were priced at 8.49 times annual household income in June, 9.5% below the ten-year average of 9.38 times. That multiple is in the seriously unaffordable range. Attached homes were at 5.07 times income, also seriously unaffordable, and 12.6% below their 5.80 average. Regional affordability cannot be compared because ACT has no reporting series.

ACT house prices grew 3.0% over the year, 2.5 percentage points slower than Australia’s 5.5%, and the third-slowest of the eight states and territories. The Northern Territory led at 21.4%, while New South Wales fell 2.1%. House sales rose 9.8% over the year to June, above the 0.8% ten-year average growth rate; attached sales grew 16.0%, above their 1.9% average.

Housing finance commitments totalled $2.0bn in June, up 13.1% over the year and 24.4% above the $1.6bn ten-year average level. The annual growth rate was down from 21.8% a quarter earlier, although commitments rose 8.2% in the June quarter. This was a strong annual rate relative to the 5.3% decade average growth.

Owner-occupier lending was $1.5bn, 72.6% of total lending versus 72.5% a year earlier; investor lending was $551m, or 27.4% versus 27.5%. Owner-occupier lending grew 13.3%, above its 5.5% average growth, while investor lending grew 12.5%, above 4.8%. The investor share was below its 29.2% ten-year average.

New-build lending was $314m and lending for existing dwellings $1.7bn. New builds made up 15.6% of purchase lending, below the average since 2019 of 16.71% and Australia’s 18.2%; the share rose 3.8 percentage points over the year. New-build lending grew 49.1% over the year, against 8.2% for existing dwellings. This credit mix sits alongside the recent fall in house prices and the decline in dwelling approvals in the latest quarter.

ACT job advertisements totalled 13,526 in September, 24.0% below the 17.8k ten-year average and 43.1% below the five-year peak of 23.8k in June 2022. Ads rose 1.8% in the September quarter, but fell 1.8% over the year. Annual growth improved from -9.8% in the previous quarter and remained below the -1.3% ten-year average growth rate.

Professional ads numbered 5.2k, 25.9% below their 7.0k average, and fell 4.3% over the year. Industrial ads were 1.7k, 16.1% below their 2.0k average, though they grew 2.0% annually. Sales ads were 544, 15.7% below their 645 average and fell 15.7% over the year, the largest annual decline among the listed categories.

ACT job ads fell 1.8% over the year, 2.1 percentage points below Australia’s 0.3% growth and the second-slowest of the eight states and territories. Western Australia led at 6.8%, while the Northern Territory recorded -6.9%. The latest quarter’s rise in total ads contrasts with ongoing annual declines in professional and sales advertising.

Wages grew 3.3% over the year to June 2026, as measured by the Wage Price Index, above the 2.7% ten-year average. The annual rate was down from 3.6% a year earlier; the latest quarter’s WPI rise of 0.9% matched the usual June-quarter movement.

Average full-time weekly earnings were $2,332 in May, or $120,058 annually. Over the year to June, WPI growth was 3.3%, while inflation over the same twelve months was 3.8%, so real wages fell 0.5 percentage points.

ACT WPI growth was 3.3%, 0.1 percentage points faster than Australia’s 3.2%, and equal third-fastest among the eight states and territories, level with Western Australia. South Australia led at 3.6% and the Northern Territory was at 2.8%. Full-time weekly earnings were 8.1% above Australia’s $2,156, although annual growth of 3.2% was 0.3 percentage points slower than the national 3.5%.

ACT household consumption totalled $6.7bn in the June quarter, up 2.3% over the year, slightly below the 2.4% ten-year average growth rate. Per-capita consumption was $13,625, up 1.0% annually and 2.9% above its $13,246 average level. This quarterly National Accounts measure covers household expenditure comprehensively.

Among essentials, food grew 0.6% over the year, below its 1.5% average; rent and dwellings rose 1.3%, below 2.4%; utilities grew 1.8%, above -0.8%, despite a 7.9% quarterly fall; health rose 3.4%, below 4.6%; and transport fell 0.5%, near its -0.6% average. Discretionary recreation grew 1.9% versus 3.0%, cafes and restaurants 3.6% versus 3.2%, clothing 1.7% versus 1.9%, while alcohol and tobacco fell 1.9% against 1.4% average growth.

ACT per-capita consumption grew 1.0% over the year, the third-fastest of the eight states and territories; Tasmania led at 1.5%, while Victoria recorded 0.0%. No meaningful national comparator is supplied for this National Accounts measure. Within the ACT, the latest quarter included falls in utilities, transport, and alcohol and tobacco, while total consumption rose 0.8%.

Household spending in the ACT totalled $4.5bn in the three months to September 2026, up 4.8% compared to a year ago, matching average growth of 4.8%. Single-month spending was $3,048 per person in September 2026, while annual per-capita spending was $36,278. Per-capita spending over the three months was $9,150, 18.7% above its 10-year average of $7,710; annual per-capita spending was 18.1% above its average of $30,729.

Spending rose broadly across categories over the latest three months. Essential spending was mixed: food rose 0.8% and transport 7.4%, while health fell 1.0%; over the year, they grew 4.2%, 8.1% and 2.9%, respectively. Food growth exceeded its 3.6% 10-year average, transport was 2.8 percentage points above its 5.3% average, and health was 4.7 points below its 7.6% average. Discretionary spending also varied: recreation rose 0.7%, hotels and restaurants 2.3%, and clothing 1.6% over the latest three months. Over the year they grew 4.8%, 5.0% and 4.3%; clothing was 2.4 points above its 1.9% average, while hotels and restaurants grew below their 6.2% average.

ACT per-capita spending over the three months was $9,150, 3.5% above Australia's $8,841, but annual growth of 4.1% trailed the national 5.9% by 1.8 percentage points. It was the slowest growth of the eight states and territories; the Northern Territory recorded 10.7%, while Victoria was next slowest at 4.9%. The figures provided do not include wage growth, inflation or consumer confidence data, so they do not establish the real-income effect or a confidence link.

Inflation in the ACT was 4.7% in the year to September, above the 3.2% ten-year average and the RBA’s 2–3% target band. The annual rate rose from 4.1% in August. Prices increased 1.0% in September, while the three-month change was 2.6%. The five-year annual-rate range runs from 1.4% in June 2025 to 7.1% in December 2022.

Transport inflation was 10.4%, well above its 4.0% ten-year average; recreation and culture rose 4.1% against 2.4%, while education increased 5.9% versus 5.0%. Housing inflation was 5.1%, above its 4.2% average. Food rose 2.7%, below its 2.9% average, and clothing and footwear rose 0.6%, equal to its 0.6% average, after a 2.8% monthly fall.

ACT inflation of 4.7% was 0.4 percentage points faster than Australia’s 4.3%, placing it mid-pack among the eight states and territories. Tasmania recorded 5.3%, the highest, and Victoria 4.0%, the lowest. Housing inflation was 5.1%, 0.1 percentage points slower than the national 5.2%, and the third-slowest of the eight states and territories. Over the year to June, wages grew 3.3% while inflation was 3.8%, so real wages fell 0.5 percentage points.