The table compares monthly expenses across six categories (food, electricity and power, clothing, housing, transport, and other goods and services) for an average Australian household in 1991 and 2001.
Overall, the cost of living in Australia rose over the decade, with most categories showing increased spending. However, clothing and transport were the only categories with decreased expenditures.
Expenditures on non-essential goods and services accounted for the largest portion of monthly spending, at $250 in 1991 and rising to $270 in 2001. Food was the second-highest category, increasing slightly from $155 in 1991 to $160 in 2001, while housing also showed a modest increase from $95 to $100.
Electricity and power saw the most significant growth, nearly doubling from $75 in 1991 to $120 in 2001. In contrast, transport expenses decreased from $70 to $45, and clothing, the category with the lowest expenditure, dropped from $30 to $20 over the same period.
Overall, the monthly expenditure increased by $40 over the decade, driven primarily by higher costs in essential services like electricity and housing.