Australia's Rental Burden Index (RBI)

% of income - Source frequency: quarterly · Methodology · Corrections

Long-termGetting Worse

Recent (12mo)Getting Worse

Source data through: Not yet ingested

CSV

Source frequency: Quarterly (displayed monthly)Data available from 2004-12

Labor (ALP)Coalition

How is this calculated?

Median weekly rent as a percentage of average weekly earnings.

Both rent and earnings are national averages. Weekly values are used directly (the 4.333 monthly conversion cancels out in the ratio).

Input metrics: Median weekly rent (ABS/Domain, quarterly) · Average weekly earnings (ABS AWE, semiannual)

Source frequency: Mixed (quarterly output from inputs at various frequencies, carried forward to monthly display)

What it is

Percentage of average gross weekly earnings required to pay the national median weekly rent. A transparent proxy for rental affordability.

Why it matters

Rental affordability directly affects younger Australians and those who cannot access home ownership. A rising burden indicates worsening rental conditions.

Better when

Lower is better

Source: Derived: ABS Cat. 4130.0 (median rent) + ABS AWE (earnings)

How is this score determined?

Traffic light:

Getting Worse

Trend window: 60 months

Baseline: Last 10 years average

GREEN = favourable trend within acceptable band of baseline. AMBER = flat or mild change. RED = unfavourable trend beyond threshold.

Download monthly data (Excel)Download native observations (Excel)