Consumer confidence across Australia has fallen to an all-time low, according to data from ANZ and Roy Morgan, off the back of stubborn inflation that’s causing interest rates to rise again and a conflict in the Middle East that is causing issues with the local supply and cost of oil.
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 5.4 points to 63.1 in the last week, driven by falling confidence about personal finances and whether now is a good or bad time to buy major household items.
Consumer confidence is now a large 21.1 points lower than a year ago, and 13.7 points below the 2026 weekly average of 76.8.
This is a record low level for consumer confidence in the index, stretching back over 50 years since 1972. This is even below the COVID-19 pandemic low of 65.3 reached six years ago on March 28/29, 2020.
Fewer than one-in-seven Australians (14 per cent – down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, compared to a majority of 57 per cent (up 5ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’. This is a record low net result of minus 43 per cent for this indicator overall.
Meanwhile, 18 per cent (down 3ppts) of respondents expect their family will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while nearly half (49 per cent – up 6ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Both of these are record extremes.
Net sentiment regarding the economy over the next year deteriorated again this week with only 6 per cent (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months, compared to 54 per cent (up 5ppts) that expect ‘bad times’. This is the highest figure for this indicator for over five years since August 2020.
Views regarding the Australian economy over the next five years were virtually unchanged this week, with 9 per cent (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 31 per cent (unchanged) expecting ‘bad times’.
As for buying intentions, these also fell, with only 14 per cent (down 2ppts) of respondents saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items compared to 55 per cent (up 8ppts) that say now is a ‘bad time to buy major household items’. The former is the lowest figure for that indicator for six years since March 2020, with the latter being the highest figure for over two years since November 2023.
ANZ economist Sophia Angala said the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision last week to increase the cash rate to 4.1 per cent also likely drove confidence down.
This also comes as Roy Morgan inflation expectations rose to an all-time high last week, now at 6.9 per cent for the week of March 16-22, 2026, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the month of February.
“Household confidence in their current and future finances weakened sharply, as did the ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex, which is at its lowest since late March 2020 when pandemic lockdowns were announced,” Angala said.
“Concerns around upside inflation risks and urgency to keep inflation expectations anchored are likely to support a final 25bp rate hike by the RBA in May, taking the cash rate to 4.35 per cent.”
An analysis by state shows consumer confidence falling in across most of the country, including in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia, but up slightly in South Australia in the week Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas secured an easy re-election victory.