Inflation Record$100 in 1989 → Today (Australia)
Official data verified · CPI (ABS) · Annual average · Not seasonally adjusted · Data through September 2026 (fetched 2026-11-02) · All groups CPI, weighted average of eight capital cities (6401.0)
$275.89
+175.9% cumulative inflation · 1989–2026
Your $100 in 1989 would have the purchasing power of $275.89 in Australia today.
What this means
- Purchasing power: $100 in 1989 had the same average buying power as $275.89 in 2026.
- Price level change: the overall consumer price level rose by 175.9% across this 37-year span; the purchasing power of a dollar changed by -63.8%.
- This measures the broad basket of consumer goods and services (CPI (ABS)). Individual expenses moved at different rates.
What this means in other amounts
| In 1989 | Worth in 2026 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $2.76 |
| $5 | $13.79 |
| $10 | $27.59 |
| $20 | $55.18 |
| $50 | $137.95 |
| $100 | $275.89 |
| $500 | $1,379.46 |
| $1,000 | $2,758.92 |
| $10,000 | $27,589.21 |
| $100,000 | $275,892.12 |
Key facts about 1989
- Consumer prices rose 7.5% in 1989 — the 17th-largest annual increase in the 1949–2026 record.
- 1989 is in the quarterly-CPI era: its annual average is the mean of the year's four quarterly indexes.
- In the decade after 1989, prices rose 27.8% in total.
$100 in 1989, decade by decade
| Year | Worth | Cumulative price change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | $127.84 | +27.8% |
| 2009 | $174.45 | +74.5% |
| 2019 | $215.09 | +115.1% |
| 2026 | $275.89 | +175.9% |
Quarterly CPI in 1989
| Period | Index | Change vs same period, prior year |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 51.7 | 6.8% |
| Q2 | 53.0 | 7.5% |
| Q3 | 54.2 | 8.0% |
| Q4 | 55.2 | 7.8% |
Annual average for 1989: 53.525
Verify this calculation
Series: All groups CPI, weighted average of eight capital cities (6401.0); base 2011-12=100; not seasonally adjusted.
Index (1989 annual average): 53.525 · Index (2026 annual average): 147.671 · Ratio: 2.7589
Formula: amount × (indexend / indexstart). Formula v1.0 — annual-average CPI, NSA (per-country basis on each methodology page). Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.