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Consumer confidence in Australia has dropped significantly since the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates for a fourth time this year. The Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index fell by about 4.7% to 80.4%, reaching its lowest point since early April due to the rate hike announcement on September 29, with confidence among those surveyed post-announcement plummeting to just 67.2%. This downturn reflects severe concerns over family finances and buyer sentiment amid rising costs, particularly for petrol, which has increased by about $20 per week for a typical household compared to the start of the year.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Australian consumer confidence plunged to its lowest level since the early 1990s recession after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised interest rates by 0.3% in September. According to the Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index, confidence dropped about 20% since the rate rise, reaching a low of 80.4% in October and dropping further to 67.2% among respondents surveyed immediately after the RBA decision. This marks the weakest sentiment level since the Middle East conflict began in early April. The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer survey also showed a decline to 67.1 points, aligning with the Westpac findings. Matthew Hassan, head of Australian macro-forecasting at Westpac, noted that such prolonged pessimism had not been seen since the "disastrous" recession of the early 1990s, highlighting consumers' ongoing struggle with cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
Written for “Australian Consumer Confidence Plunges” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 59336: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-06
Confidence among Australian consumers has plunged about 20% since the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates to the highest levels since 2011, according to the Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index.
uncertain
Bank → plunge → index
The survey, conducted between 28 September and 1 October, showed the confidence index dropped by 4.7% to 80.4% in October – the worst level since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in early April.
asserted
index → conduct → April
But for respondents surveyed after the RBA call on 29 September, the index dropped to 67.2% – the lowest level since the late 1990s.
asserted
index → survey → 1990s
That was broadly in line with the weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer survey, which fell about 5% to 67.1 points.
asserted
which → fall → points
Westpac’s head of Australian macro-forecasting, Matthew Hassan, said sentiment had been extremely weak for the longest period since the “disastrous” recession of the early 1990s.
asserted
sentiment → say → 1990s
“Australian consumers remain stuck in a cost-of-living nightmare that seems to have no end in sight,” Hassan said.
“
asserted
Hassan → seem → sight
The latest RBA move looks to have badly rattled consumers.
asserted
move → look → consumers
Responses over the course of the survey week show a very sharp deterioration after the decision was announced.”
asserted
decision → show → deterioration
Assessments of family finances and buyer sentiment were the biggest categories affected.
asserted
Assessments → affect → finances
Expectations about the economic outlook fell less sharply, but assessments about the economy in the next five years were back to lows not seen since August 2020, shortly after Melbourne’s second lockdown and before jobkeeper subsidies were expanded.
asserted
subsidies → fall → lockdown
AMP economist My Bui said the decline was unsurprising given the September rate hike and rising fuel prices.
asserted
decline → say → hike
“On our calculation the weekly petrol bill for a typical Australian household has gone up by $20 versus the beginning of the year,” Bui said.
asserted
Bui → go → year
“The worry with declining confidence is that it tends to correlate with household spending on a per capita basis: the downtrend in confidence over the past 12 months suggests consumption per person will likely fall further into contraction this year.”
uncertain
consumption → decline → contraction
Mortgage holders were the most pessimistic home ownership subgroup given rising borrowing costs at 77 index points.
asserted
holders → give → points
Those who own their home outright experienced the largest decline in sentiment in the month, as the housing market downturn extended for a sixth month.
Renters were the most optimistic, unchanged at 84.8 points.
asserted
Renters → own → points
Hassan said fears of job losses were rising, with unemployment expectations ticking up 1.9% higher.
asserted
expectations → say → losses
But there are still signs the labour market is holding strong.
asserted
market → be → ?
Citi analysts Josh Williamson and Faraz Syed said “job vacancies have increased to a two-year high of 122 points, which accords with business sentiment expectations of positive employment growth”.
asserted
which → say → growth
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