ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence has lifted by 1.3 points to 83.8.
The lift came ahead of the cash rate hold announced earlier this week, and follows a week after the Albanese Government revealed more about the Stage 3 tax cut changes.
The increase followed a fall last week as discussion of changes to the tax cuts - without the full details - entered the public arena.
Despite the increase, consumer confidence has now spent a record 53 straight weeks below the mark of 85. It is also now 0.2 points above the same week a year ago, but 5.8 points above the 2023 weekly average of 78.
ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said the rise was driven by a boost in confidence about the future of the economy.
“Future financial confidence also rose, perhaps influenced by the change to Stage 3 tax cuts, which reduce taxes compared to the original cuts for all employees earning under AUD150,000 a year,” Timbrell said.
Timbrell added that the cash rate hold by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should help improve confidence for indebted homeowners, who on average now have higher confidence than renters for the first time since mid-2022.
Inflation expectations are also down to their lowest four-week average since February 2022.
ANZ-Roy Morgan data now shows that 21% (up 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to 52% (up 2ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’.
Looking forward, a third of Australians (33% - down 1ppt) expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year while a similar 33% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’.
Just over one in ten Australians (11% - up 2ppts) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to 30% (down 1ppt) that expect ‘bad times’.
Meanwhile, 14% (up 3ppts) of Australians are expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years, compared to 19% (down 2ppts) expecting ‘bad times’.
Buying intentions were virtually unchanged this week with 23% (up 1ppt) of Australians saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items while 49% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.