Key facts
- The sentiment index was down almost 25% from a year earlier, with pessimists outnumbering optimists by a wide margin.
- The survey's measure of the economic outlook over the next 12 months fell 10.2%.
- A sub-index measuring whether it was a good time to buy a major household item fell 3.7%.
- Matthew Hassan, Westpac's head of Australian macro-forecasting, said consumers are bracing for more rate rises.
Australian consumer sentiment fell for a third month in November to its lowest level in four years, according to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey released on November 10, 2026. The main index dropped 2.7% to 78.2, after declines of 4.7% in October and 5.2% in September. The index was down almost 25% from a year earlier, with pessimists outnumbering optimists by a wide margin.
The survey was taken as the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates for the fifth time this year, taking them to an 18-year high of 4.85% to fight inflation. The impact of the rate rise was seen in a 10.2% fall in the survey's measure of the economic outlook over the next 12 months. Another sub-index, measuring whether it was a good time to buy a major household item, fell 3.7%.
"Australian consumers remain deeply pessimistic, sentiment continuing to plumb extreme lows," said Matthew Hassan, Westpac's head of Australian macro-forecasting. "Consumers are bracing for more rate rises."