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NewsHow expensive is it in Australia?
How expensive is it in Australia?

How expensive is it in Australia?

Tags: Cost of Living
Last updated by Kayley Harris on

 

I have a Swedish friend I met when our kids started Day Care about 17 years ago. Elisabeth had moved from Sweden with her Australian husband to raise their twins in Australia. 

Our kids are now 19 and Elisabeth’s boys are living in Europe, enjoying the benefits of dual citizenship.

Over coffee last weekend, Elisabeth shared with me that she is considering a move to Germany. One of the reasons for the move is money, not her salary but the cost of living in Australia.

Australians pay some of the highest prices in the world for everyday necessities such as food, clothing, school fees and utilities, according to a new international survey.

The Economist magazine has been undertaking an extensive cost of living survey twice each year for more than 30 years.

Jan Davis (former chief executive of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association) writing in the Hobart Mercury this week observed that "Sydney is now the 14th most expensive city in the survey, up from 20th last year; Melbourne jumped from 21st to 15th. Brisbane (31), Adelaide (35) and Perth (49) also made the list of 133 cities."

Be grateful at least that you don’t live in Singapore which claimed topped the most expensive list, followed by Hong Kong (2), the Japanese cities of Tokyo (4) and Osaka (5), and the South Korean capital Seoul (6).

This data was reinforced by a study released at the same time by. Recently we spoke to Martin Fahy, the head of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia,  who confirmed a spike in the cost of basic necessities over the past 10 years. The ASFA study also included data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that electricity costs surged by 124 per cent between June 2006 and March 2017.

The price of other basic necessities doubled (or almost doubled) over that period, including water and sewerage up 101%, property rates and charges up 83%, health costs up 60% and food up 24%.

Back to Elisabeth who’s sons are living it up in Spain at the moment where they are paying $AU2.96 for a pint of beer compared to $5 or $6 we pay here. I don’t think they will be home anytime soon…..

Originally posted on .

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Karen
Karen from NSW commented:

This is the Australia tax we all pay just because 'they' can charge what they like. In the past 'they' claimed it was because the costs of getting products here were high. Today though that is not the case. Consider digital products. We pay more here for downloads, software, access than just about anywhere else. Why? Because we just cop it and pay up. Maybe we get what we deserve! Unless we are prepared to fight for better treatment nothing will change. One reason for the rise in internet shopping. The discounts are far greater than the GST 'lost'. 

Fui Kiew
Fui Kiew from VIC commented:

Do you think that the majority of Australian residents consider cost of living as a top priority issue ? I feel that the majority is more concern with finding a higher income so that they can afford the higher cost of living... Higher income leads to higher cost of production/service and in turn, higher prices for consumers... Can this process be reversed ? Yes, but with gutsy politicians who knows what is good for the country... 

George
George from NSW commented:

So, shutting down most industries and outsourcing work to China, etc, destroying 100s of thousands of jobs here, didn't bring down prices here as the pollies of both major parties predicted? 

barbara
barbara from NSW commented:

My son cannot justify coming back to Australia with his Family to live. He's on very good wages, that undoubtedly would be the same here, however would not be able to make ends meet in Sydney. He tried in 2010 but returned to The Netherlands where they have a good life. 

Gertraud
Gertraud from ACT commented:

What needs to be taken into consideration is the high wages in Australia! Australia has always been an expensive country with high wages, this was the case when I emigrated from Austria in 1969 and is still the case today. And yes, I am a frequent visitor to not only Austria, but other European countries as well and am very familiar with the cost of living there as well as here. 

Brian
Brian from NSW replied to Gertraud:

Just how low would you like wages to be ? Perhaps a bowl of rice and a grass mat would be enough for the peasants ! 

Fui Kiew
Fui Kiew from VIC replied to Brian:

Lower wages must be matched with lower prices for good and services... But politicians know that such strategies will not yield benefits within their 3 year term... So, they concentrate on some other quick fixes to secure their job as MP's... 

Gertraud
Gertraud from ACT replied to Brian:

Just stating a fact that in countries with lower living expenses, wages are also lower. 

Anne
Anne from SA commented:

Gone are the days of the "lucky country". We were in Europe last year and visited several countries and did find that we could buy groceries and clothing cheaper than in Australia. We do pay exorbitant prices here, that's why so many people buy products online from overseas. That, plus our tax creep really does put our cost of living so high. Do something pollies! 

Brian
Brian from NSW commented:

Just looked up International Living ( no I'm not pushing it ). Plenty of very attractive places to live other than this rip off country. Well done pollies !! 

Karen
Karen from NSW replied to Brian:

Just be careful of believing everything you read on International Living. Most of it does not live up to the hype. 

Brian
Brian from NSW replied to Karen:

Yes thank you for the tip Karen. I am usually very sceptical as they usually are just trying to sell you something, but it does give me incentive to go and check some of the places for myself or is it just an excuse for a holiday......perhaps. 

Trevor
Trevor from VIC commented:

Australia is just a big rip off. I am going to germany for 3 months where the cost of living is far cheaper. 

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