The state of Australia

House prices, wages and consumer prices

Three ABS series on one chart, each set to 100 in the June quarter 2012. A line that climbs faster than the others is the one that outran the rest — nothing is interpolated between published points.

Sources: ABS Total Value of Dwellings (mean price), Wage Price Index (total hourly rates excluding bonuses, seasonally adjusted), Consumer Price Index (all groups, quarterly). Retrieved 26 August 2026. Vertical marks are the dates a new prime minister took office.

Migration and dwellings completed

Net overseas migration for each financial year (ABS), beside new residential dwellings completed in the same year (ABS Building Activity, sum of four quarters). They measure different things; they are shown together because both describe how the housing stock and the population moved.

Sources: ABS Overseas Migration (NOM, year ending 30 June); ABS Building Activity (dwelling units completed, new residential, seasonally adjusted, summed to financial years). NOM is a net flow — arrivals minus departures — not permanent migration alone.

Tax as a share of the economy

All-levels tax includes Commonwealth, state and local. Company tax and GST are in the Commonwealth total; payroll tax and stamp duty are in the state total. A rise in the all-levels line is not the same as a rise in personal income tax.

Source: Taxation Revenue, Australia, 2024-25, released 21 April 2026. Dollar columns from workbook table 1; % of GDP from the all-Australia table on the release page. The all-levels total is the ABS published figure and is not the arithmetic sum of the three levels where intergovernmental taxes are netted out.

Capital gains tax settings

International CGT league tables mix nominal and real rates and are not published here. Treasury's own Budget explainer says those comparisons are not direct. What follows is the law as dated — not an effective rate for any taxpayer.

1. 50% CGT discountin force

   Applies from 21 September 1999 to 30 June 2027.

   Australian resident individuals and trusts discount a capital gain by 50% after a 12-month holding period. Companies have no discount. Complying super funds keep a one-third discount.

2. CPI cost-base indexation and 30% minimum taxlegislated, not yet in force

   Applies from 1 July 2027 onwards.

   For CGT events on or after 1 July 2027, the 50% discount is replaced by CPI cost-base indexation for assets held at least 12 months, with a 30% minimum tax on the post-1 July 2027 portion of the real gain. Gains accrued before that date keep the old treatment. New residential builds may elect to keep the 50% discount. Complying super funds keep the one-third discount. Main residence exemption unchanged.

   Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, royal assent 26 June 2026.

Sources: Budget 2026–27 tax reform; Parliamentary Library digest of Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026. As of 26 August 2026, the 50% discount still applies; the replacement regime starts 1 July 2027.