Consumer confidence in Australia fell sharply in the week leading up to the federal election, with the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index dropping 2.1 points to 83.4—its lowest level in more than six months.
The decline coincided with the start of early voting.
Although the current reading is 2.2 points higher than the same week in 2024, it remains 2.7 points below the 2025 weekly average of 86.1.
The drop in consumer confidence comes amid softening business conditions, with NAB’s latest quarterly survey reporting declines across profitability, trading, and employment.
The fall was driven by weaker sentiment in Victoria and Queensland, while confidence held steady in New South Wales and Western Australia. South Australia recorded a slight uptick.
The most significant drop came from consumers’ views of their personal finances over the next 12 months. Only 26% (down three percentage points) of Australians expect to be better off financially next year—the lowest since April 2020. Meanwhile, 30% (up four points) expect to be worse off.
Current financial sentiment also weakened, with just 15% (down one point) saying they are better off than a year ago, while 47% (up one point) reported being worse off—the lowest result for this measure since June 2023.
While short-term views of the economy were unchanged, longer-term confidence declined. Only 11% (down one point) expect good times for the economy over the next five years, while 23% (up one point) foresee bad times.
Net sentiment around purchasing big-ticket items also declined. Just 22% of Australians said now is a good time to buy a major household item, while 38% (down two points) said it’s a bad time.
“ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.1pts last week to 83.4pts,” said ANZ economist Sophia Angala (pictured). “There was a particularly sharp fall in households’ confidence about their financial conditions over the next year. The subindex is now sitting at its lowest level since mid-July 2024. Households are also feeling less confident in the economic outlook.”
Angala warned that global uncertainty, including slowing growth in the US and China and rising trade tensions, may further erode domestic sentiment and household financial outlooks.
“It appears that the upward trend in the ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence series from rising disposable incomes has been weakened by global uncertainty,” she said.
