How much do Australians spend on bills each month?

Average household bills in Australia: what families pay each month

The average Australian household spent $674 a month on essential bills in 2025, covering electricity and gas, water, phone and internet, and home and contents insurance. That was 51% higher than in 2015, when the same bills cost $447 per month. For owner-occupiers with an average new mortgage, monthly repayments of about $4,237 lifted the combined monthly cost to about $4,911.

Average energy bills fell to $195 a month in 2025

The average Australian household spent $195 per month on electricity and gas in 2025, down from a peak of $208 in 2024. The reduction partly reflected Commonwealth and state energy rebates, which reduced reported household electricity costs for eligible households.

Electricity prices later rose as earlier rebate effects were unwound or used up. ABS data showed electricity prices rising by 25.4% in the year to March 2026, but this figure reflected the changing effect of rebates as well as underlying retail prices.

Bills climbed from $127 a month in 2015 to $145 in 2017, partly following the closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power station in Victoria. By 2021, average monthly costs had fallen to $135, helped by the 2019 introduction of the Default Market Offer. Average monthly energy bills then rose to $190 by 2023 and reached $208 in 2024 alongside higher global gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Government rebate programmes contributed to the reported fall in household bills to $195 in 2025.

Bills vary noticeably between states. Queensland recorded the highest average quarterly electricity bills in 2024 and 2025, ranging from $432 to $499, partly reflecting high summer air-conditioning demand. Victoria's quarterly bills were generally lower, averaging around $368.

Average water bill fixed service fees shape monthly costs

Average monthly water costs reached $110 in 2025, up 57% from $70 in 2015. Fixed service fees account for a large share of each quarterly invoice, which means lower household water use may not reduce the total bill by the same proportion.

Bills rose fastest in 2018 and 2019, climbing from $78 to $84 a month, during a period of severe drought when dam storage fell and reliance on more expensive desalination plants increased. Average monthly water bills dipped to $85 in 2022 following three consecutive La Niña wet years. As drier conditions returned in 2023 and 2024, household water use climbed back to 174 kilolitres per household and average bills reached $105 a month in 2024 and $110 in 2025.

Average phone and internet bill remained stable

Phone and internet costs averaged $125 a month in 2025, compared with $130 in 2015. This makes phone and internet the only major household bill in this article to record a lower nominal monthly cost over the decade. After accounting for general price inflation, the real cost was lower than in 2015.

In the 12 months to March 2026, phone and internet prices rose by 1.4%, compared with headline inflation of 4.6%. While monthly costs have stayed close to their 2015 level, the service being purchased has changed. Internet speeds, mobile data allowances and overall data use have increased substantially. National data use reached approximately 13.9 million terabytes in the final three months of 2023.

The relatively stable price trend may reflect competition across the telecommunications market. Smaller providers that rent network access from major carriers have added price pressure, particularly in mobile plans. Costs edged up between 2015 and 2017 as the NBN rollout moved more households onto faster, higher-tier plans. Some price rises returned in 2024 and 2025 as major carriers increased rates on home internet and mobile plans, partly linked to 5G network investment.

Average home insurance bill reaches $244 a month

Home and contents insurance recorded the largest proportionate increase of any bill category over the decade. The average annual home and contents insurance premium reached $2,938 in 2025, equivalent to about $244 per month. This was 103% higher than in 2015 and 51% higher than in 2020, making insurance the fastest-rising bill category in this comparison.

Premiums rose from $120 a month in 2015 to $161 by 2020, a 34% increase over five years. Major flooding across northern New South Wales and South East Queensland in 2021 and 2022 coincided with another rise, with the average monthly premium increasing from $175 to $190. International reinsurers, which provide financial backing to insurance companies, also raised rates or reduced exposure in some higher-risk areas.

The average monthly premium reached $210 in 2023 and $233 in 2024, partly driven by rising building costs. Material and labour shortages during and after the COVID-19 pandemic made rebuilding homes more expensive. Because home insurance covers the full cost of rebuilding, higher construction costs flow directly into higher premiums. Rising premiums have also been linked to underinsurance: some households reduce their level of cover or cancel policies when premiums become less affordable.

Average new mortgage repayment increased after 2021

Estimated monthly repayments on the average new owner-occupier loan reached about $4,237 in 2025, up about 75% from $2,416 in 2021 and about 90% above the 2015 figure of $2,233. This figure applies only to owner-occupiers with a home loan and is separate from the $674 monthly average for other household bills.

Monthly repayments started at $2,233 in 2015, reached $2,580 in 2018, then fell to $2,416 in 2021. This occurred even as average loan sizes grew from $389,000 to $600,000. The cash rate, the key interest rate set by the Reserve Bank of Australia, rose from 0.10% to 3.10% during 2022, then reached 4.35% in late 2023. Home loan rates followed, reaching around 6.42% by 2024.

On an average loan of around $700,000, higher rates were associated with a sharp rise in monthly repayments. Average repayments increased from $2,416 in 2021 to $4,200 in 2023 and $4,613 in 2024. Rate cuts in 2025 brought the cash rate down to 4.10%, and average monthly repayments fell to $4,237 — still higher than any figure recorded before 2022.

Real wages fell as inflation outpaced pay growth

Real wages, which measure wage growth after inflation, fell by 4.4% in 2022. This was the largest annual fall in the available series. Prices rose by 7.8% that year, while wages grew by 3.4%. This means the same level of income bought less than it did a year earlier.

Wages grew by 2.4% in 2021 as prices began to rise, and by 3.4% in 2022 when prices rose by 7.8%. Australian wages are set through a mix of enterprise agreements, individual arrangements and annual wage decisions. These processes can respond more slowly than sudden price increases, which means wage growth may lag inflation during periods of rapid price change.

Wages grew by 4.2% in 2023, slightly above price growth of 4.1%. Real wage growth then remained positive but small, at +0.1% in 2023, +0.4% in 2024 and +0.2% in 2025. These gains did not fully reverse the earlier decline. Essential bills reached $674 a month in 2025, compared with $447 in 2015, meaning essential costs accounted for a larger share of household income than earlier in the decade.

Wages are now growing slightly faster than prices, but essential bills remain well above pre-surge levels. A larger share of household income now goes toward essential costs than a decade ago.

References

1. 1.ABS Consumer Price Index: Quarterly CPI releases 2015–2025; December 2025 released 28 Jan 2026; March 2026 released 29 Apr 2026.
2. 2.ABS Lending Indicators: Monthly and quarterly lending series 2015–2025; December quarter 2025 released 11 Feb 2026.
3. 3.ABS Wage Price Index: Quarterly wage growth series 2015–2025; December quarter 2025 released 18 Feb 2026.
4. 4.ABS Water Account: Household water use data; 2023–24 financial year released 11 Dec 2025.
5. 5.RBA Interest Rates: Cash Rate Target and lenders' interest rates series, 2015–2025.
6. 6.AER State of the Energy Market 2025: Released 26 August 2025.
7. 7.ACCC National Electricity Market Inquiry: December 2025 report, published 22 Dec 2025.
8. 8.BOM Annual Climate Statement 2019: Bureau of Meteorology climate summary and rainfall.
9. 9.BOM ENSO history: ENSO climate history and La Niña sequence.
10. 10.Finity Consulting: Home insurance premium data: national and regional figures, 2020–2025.
11. 11.ACMA Telecommunications trends 2023–24: Released 12 December 2024.
12. Methodology: Monthly bill estimates are modelled national averages. Baseline dollar amounts were adjusted using relevant ABS CPI sub-indices for each bill category and cross-checked against regulator, utility and industry data. Figures should be read as broad national estimates rather than direct household survey results. Mortgage repayments are modelled separately using average new owner-occupier loan sizes, a 30-year principal-and-interest term and average standard variable owner-occupier lending rates.