Confidence among Australian consumers have swung up over the last week ahead in the lead up to the Federal Election.
New data from Roy Morgan and ANZ bank show consumer confidence lifted 4.1 points to 87.5 as Australians voted in last week’s Federal Election. The vast majority of interviewing was down before the result of the Federal Election on Saturday night last weekend.
Consumer confidence is now 7 points above the same week a year ago and 1.3 points above the 2025 weekly average of 86.2.
Lifts were most notable in current financial status among families and medium-term economic confidence.
Almost a fifth of Australians (19 per cent - up 4ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to 42 per cent (down 5ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’. This is the lowest figure for this indicator for over two years since September 2022.
Meanwhile, net sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer-term improved this week with 13 per cent (up 2ppts) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 19 per cent (down 4ppts) expecting ‘bad times’.
There was also an improved view on personal finances over the next year, with 28 per cent (up 2ppts) of respondents expecting their family will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year while 27 per cent (down 3ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’.
The overall confidence lift was offset by a slip in buying intentions, with 20 per cent (down 2ppts) of Australians saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items compared to 38 per cent (unchanged) that say now is a ‘bad time to buy major household items’.
Views on the economy over the next year were virtually unchanged this week with 10 per cent (unchanged) expecting ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to 27 per cent (down 2ppts) that expect ‘bad times’.
“Households are feeling more confident in their personal finances and economic conditions, which may reflect the improvement in market sentiment,” ANZ economist Sophia Angala said.
“Solid US personal spending data in Q1 has helped global sentiment, and market reactions to global uncertainty have eased overall a month after US tariff announcements.”
Angala added that the decline in weekly inflation expectations follows last week’s inflation print, which showed that, on an annual basis, Australia’s trimmed mean inflation – the RBA’s preferred measure of core inflation – eased to its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2021.
“Given moderating inflation over the past two quarters and the downside risks to domestic growth from trade uncertainty, we expect the RBA to cut the cash rate by 25bp at its May meeting,” Angala said.