Australia

Annual Australian GDP Growth Fastest in 2 Years, Despite Missing Quarterly Forecast

Is Australia's economy thriving with strong investment growth, or failing with stagnant living standards?

Published DEC 3 2025

Annual Australian GDP Growth Fastest in 2 Years, Despite Missing Quarterly Forecast

Story

Above: The Sydney, Australia, city center and central business district skyline on Feb. 6, 2025. Image credit: Martin Berry/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

The Facts

Australia's economy grew at its fastest annual rate since 2023 after recording 2.1% year-on-year growth in the September quarter, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday.
CNBC
Australian Financial Review
On the other hand, the figures showed that quarter-on-quarter growth in the country slowed from 0.7% in Q2 2025 to 0.4% in Q3 2025, missing market expectations for growth in the third quarter by 0.3 percentage points.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
XINHUA
Sky News Australia
ABS data revealed that quarterly growth was driven primarily by domestic final demand, which contributed 1.1 percentage points, resulting from increased private sector investment and household consumption.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Private investment grew by 2.9% as a result of "major data centre investment" in Victoria and New South Wales, which doubled to AU$2.8 billion ($1.8 billion) in the quarter. Household consumption, meanwhile, was spearheaded by increased spending on essentials, which grew by 1%.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Epoch Times
The Conversation
Elsewhere, government spending and investment contributed a combined 0.4 percentage points to quarterly GDP growth, with public investment rising 3%. By contrast, net trade detracted 0.1 percentage points as the growth of imports (1.5%) outpaced that of exports (1%).
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The ABS also reported a 0.4% rise in the household saving-to-income ratio, from 6% in the June quarter to 6.4% in the September quarter, as disposable income outpaced nominal spending by 0.3% due to a 1.7% rise in the compensation of employees.
Australian Bureau of Statistics

Sources Split

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The Spin

Australian Labor Party narrative

Under the prudent economic management of the Albanese government, the economy delivered its fastest annual rate of growth since 2023 at 2.1%, accompanied by the most significant surge in private investment in nearly five years. The outcome of the National Accounts is a promising result that shows that the best is yet to come under this Labor government.

Jim Chalmers on X

Liberal/National Coalition narrative

The ABS' latest statistics on the Australian economy are not all that the Labor government makes them out to be. Once again, the National Accounts showed no growth in GDP per capita, which has been either flat or in decline for the last 13 quarters. This is a damning indictment of the Labor government, which has overseen a decline in living standards.