Australian Grocery Prices Over Time
Move the year slider to compare 15 grocery items from 2000 to 2026. Earlier prices are back-cast from current Woolworths prices using ABS CPI expenditure classes.
What the CPI back-cast shows
This basket totals $45.88 in 2000 and $85.31 in 2026, an increase of 85.9% over 26 years.
The largest percentage increases from 2000 to 2026 in this basket are Woolworths Essentials Salted Butter 250g (+187.7%), Woolworths Beef Mince 500g (+183.1%), Woolworths Cavendish Banana, each (+153.1%).
From 2020 to 2022, Woolworths 12 Pack X Large Free Range Eggs 700g increases from $4.74 to $5.22, or 10.1%. The basket increases by 12.6% over that period.
The basket is 5.88% of average weekly earnings in 2000, 3.96% in 2020, 4.32% in 2022 and 4.09% in 2026. These ratios describe the selected basket, not household food spending.
Method: 2026 prices are Woolworths online prices checked in October 2026. Earlier years are back-cast with the ABS Consumer Price Index for each item's expenditure class (September quarter, weighted average of eight capital cities). Each price is the current anchor multiplied by that year's index divided by the 2026 index, rounded to cents. Wages are ABS Average Weekly Earnings, full-time adult ordinary time earnings, persons, Australia, seasonally adjusted, May each year.
Prices cover the named quantities, with chicken priced per kilogram and bananas per piece. Earlier prices estimate the cost of those quantities using class-level price changes. The adjusted wage series changes in 2012 when ABS moved to half-yearly collection. The series before and after that change are not directly comparable.
Sources: ABS, Consumer Price Index, Sep 2026; ABS, Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026; ABS, historical earnings table, May 2012; ABS, earnings frequency change; Woolworths product pages, accessed Oct 2026: Woolworths Full Cream Milk 2L; Woolworths White Sandwich Bread Loaf 650g; Woolworths 12 Pack X Large Free Range Eggs 700g; Woolworths RSPCA Approved Chicken Breast Fillet, per kg; Woolworths Beef Mince 500g; Woolworths Jasmine Rice 1kg; Woolworths Pasta Spaghetti 500g; Woolworths Essentials Salted Butter 250g; Woolworths Tasty Cheese Block 500g; Woolworths Cavendish Banana, each; Woolworths Brown Onions Bag 2kg; Kleenex Complete Clean Double Length Toilet Paper 12 pack; Woolworths Essentials Instant Coffee Granulated 200g; Arnott's Tim Tam Original Chocolate Biscuits 200g; Vegemite Spread 380g.