The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index, a monthly survey of how Australian households feel about their finances and the economy, fell 4.7% to 80.4 in October 2026, from 84.4 in September. Westpac, which publishes it, says the October read is amongst the forty worst since the monthly survey began in the early 1970s. Two others in that group came earlier in 2026, in April and June.
Updated 27 October 2026.
What are the latest consumer sentiment figures?
These are the October 2026 readings from Westpac's bulletin of 6 October 2026, the latest release as at 27 October. The long-run average is the average over the full history of the survey.
| Index | October 2026 | Change on September | Long-run average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Sentiment Index | 80.4 | -4.7% | 100.2 |
| Family finances compared with a year ago | 66.9 | -8.0% | 87.7 |
| Family finances over the next 12 months | 88.4 | -6.4% | 106.4 |
| Economic conditions over the next 12 months | 78.3 | -1.6% | 90.5 |
| Economic conditions over the next 5 years | 85.5 | -0.4% | 92.1 |
| Time to buy a major household item | 83.0 | -7.1% | 123.0 |
| Time to buy a dwelling | 88.4 | +3.4% | 119.1 |
| Unemployment Expectations Index | 142.1 | +1.9% | 129.3 |
| House Price Expectations Index | 115.1 | +4.3% | 130.2 |
| Interest Rate Expectations Index | 179.7 | +5.5% | 141.6 |
A higher reading on the unemployment and interest rate expectations indexes means more people expect unemployment or rates to rise, so for those two a rise is bad news.
What is the consumer sentiment index?
It is a survey of 1,200 adults aged 18 and over across Australia, selected at random, with the results weighted to match the population. The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research holds the copyright and Westpac publishes the results each month. The October 2026 survey ran from 28 September to 1 October.
According to Westpac, the headline index combines five sub-indexes:
- family finances compared with a year ago
- family finances over the next year
- the economy over the next year
- the economy over the next five years
- whether now is a good time to buy a major household item
The same survey feeds separate indexes for unemployment expectations, house price expectations and mortgage rate expectations, which Westpac reports alongside the headline number.
Is consumer sentiment the same as consumer confidence?
The two names describe the same idea: how optimistic people feel about their money and the economy. Several surveys measure it, and each uses its own scale. Compare a reading only with earlier readings of the same survey and with that survey's long-run average.
Why did consumer sentiment fall in September and October 2026?
In September the index fell 5.2% to 84.4, from 88.9 in August. Westpac put the fall down to fuel and interest rates. Pump prices had gone back above $2 a litre for the first time since April, after the temporary halving of fuel excise ended. A stronger than expected monthly inflation figure for July had also raised fears of a rate rise.
The Reserve Bank then lifted the cash rate target by 0.25 percentage points to 4.60%, effective 30 September 2026. Westpac says that is the highest since 2011, with the standard variable mortgage rate set to go above 9% for the first time since 2008. Fuel kept climbing too. Average weekly pump prices pushed back over $2.30 a litre nationally, near the April peaks and up nearly 25% since the start of the year.
The October survey caught the decision in the middle of survey week:
- The 60% of people surveyed before the announcement gave a reading of 86.9.
- The 40% surveyed after it gave 67.2. Westpac says a read that low has only been registered, for complete surveys, during the depths of the early 1990s recession.
- Just over 80% of those surveyed after the decision expect mortgage rates to rise again over the next 12 months, up from 63% in September.
- Pessimists outnumber optimists in 102 of the 106 groups Westpac tracks.
Flat White's 6 October 2026 edition added falling house prices to the list, with Sydney down almost 9% from its peak.
What does low consumer sentiment mean for jobs?
The survey's Unemployment Expectations Index rose 1.9% to 142.1 in October. A higher reading means more people expect unemployment to rise over the year ahead. The long-run average is 129, so the October reading sits well above it. Westpac describes consumers as "on edge".
Job loss fears are highest among people working in construction, hospitality, food services and transport, which Westpac calls cyclical and fuel-cost-exposed sectors.
Spending plans are weak too. The "time to buy a major household item" sub-index fell 7.1% to 83 in October, 40 points below its long-run average of 123.
Westpac's reading is that the worry for now is mostly prices and rates. In its words, "consumer concerns are still primarily about the cost-of-living and high interest rates than the more acute job and insolvency problems that arise during a recession."
The official jobs figures have moved in the same direction. The ABS Labour Force release of 24 September 2026 put unemployment at 4.6% in August, up 0.2 percentage points from July. The release of 15 October 2026 put it at 4.7% in September. Our explainer on the job market in Australia has the detail.
Where can you find the latest reading?
Westpac posts each month's result on Westpac IQ, with a full report that lists every sub-index against its long-run average.
What is the consumer sentiment index in Australia right now?
80.4 for October 2026, published by Westpac on 6 October 2026 and still the latest reading as at 27 October. The next monthly reading, for November, is published on Westpac IQ in November.
What is consumer confidence in Australia?
Consumer confidence is another name for consumer sentiment, how optimistic households feel about their own finances and the economy. On the Westpac-Melbourne Institute measure it is 80.4 in October 2026, against a long-run average of 100.2.
Is consumer sentiment in Australia low?
Yes. Westpac puts the October 2026 read amongst the forty worst since the monthly survey began in the early 1970s, and pessimists outnumber optimists in 102 of the 106 groups it tracks. Every sub-index in the table above sits below its long-run average, apart from the two where a high reading means more worry.
How is the consumer sentiment index measured?
By a monthly survey of 1,200 adults aged 18 and over across Australia, with the results weighted to match the population. The headline index combines five questions, on family finances compared with a year ago and over the next year, the economy over the next year and the next five years, and whether now is a good time to buy a major household item.
From Flat White: What your industry isn't telling you about your pay
Sources
Every page below was read on 8 October 2026, and the Westpac and ABS pages again on 27 October 2026.
- Westpac IQ, Sentiment hit again by fuel and interest rate rises, 6 October 2026 (80.4, the forty worst reads, the before and after split, 102 of 106 groups, pump prices, the cash rate and mortgage rate points, still the latest release on 27 October 2026)
- Westpac-MI Consumer Sentiment October 2026, full report (PDF) (survey method and dates, unemployment expectations 142.1 and its average of 129, time to buy a major item 83 and its average of 123, mortgage rate expectations, the recession quote, and the table of every sub-index with its monthly change and long-run average, read again 27 October 2026)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, September 2026, released 15 October 2026 (unemployment 4.7%, read 27 October 2026)
- Westpac IQ, Consumer sentiment sinks back to lows, 8 September 2026 (84.4 from 88.9, fuel and the July inflation figure, the five sub-indexes)
- Reserve Bank of Australia, Cash rate target (up 0.25 to 4.60%, effective 30 September 2026)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, August 2026, released 24 September 2026 (unemployment 4.6%)
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