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3 Sep Which political party is best for business investment? 3 Sep How Australia’s economy has changed 2 Sep Australia’s $288 billion-a-day financial plumbing

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Which political party is best for business investment?

Private sector business investment is one of the hardest economic indicators to fake. Surveys can tell us how businesses say they feel, but investment tells us what firms actually do with their money. When businesses spend on machinery, buildings, engineering work and intellectual property, they are making a concrete judgement

How Australia’s economy has changed

Australia’s economy today looks markedly different from the economy of two decades ago. Gross value added measures the value an industry creates after subtracting the goods and services it uses in production. Comparing each industry’s gross value added with the total therefore provides a simple measure of its

RBA

Australia’s $288 billion-a-day financial plumbing

The RBA’s RTGS system settles about $288 billion per business day. This explainer shows what that figure means, why it is so large, and how it compares with NPP payments, card spending, wages and GDP.

GDP

GDP Released: Australian productivity has barely increased in a decade

Australia's economy grew 0.4% in the June quarter, but hours worked increased by exactly the same amount. GDP per hour worked remains only around 1% above its June 2016 level.

Australian Economy

Australia is borrowing from abroad to pay higher fuel prices

Australia is paying substantially more overseas for imported fuel. The fuel is quickly consumed, but the foreign liabilities used to help finance Australia’s external deficit can remain.

Benchmark Indicators

Australian economy at a glance

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Banking

Could Macquarie become Australia’s fourth-largest mortgage bank by 2030?

Macquarie Bank is growing its Australian mortgage and deposit books at more than 20 per cent a year. APRA data suggest that, if recent percentage growth rates persist, it could overtake ANZ’s principal banking entity around 2030.

Housing

Victoria is approving more homes than NSW despite having 1.5 million fewer people

Victoria approved more dwellings than New South Wales in July despite having around 1.5 million fewer residents. On a per-capita basis, its approval rate is approximately 25 per cent higher.

Queensland

Queensland's government budget starting to get out of control

Queensland recorded an $8.4 billion operating deficit and $19.1 billion of net borrowing in 2025–26, giving it the largest borrowing requirement relative to revenue of any Australian state or territory.

Investor housing credit hits the brakes as tax and rate changes bite

The first clear signs of Australia's investor housing slowdown are now appearing in the stock of mortgage credit. Reserve Bank of Australia data released on 31 August show investor housing credit grew just 0.46% in July, around 0.3 percentage points slower than in June and the

Economy

Australia's two-speed business economy: mining profits surge while retail profits slump

Australian company profits rose in the June quarter, but the headline disguises a sharp divide: mining profits surged 6.8% while retail profits slumped 5.2%.

Australian Mortgage Market

Macquarie's housing loan book just grew 25.9% in 12 months

Macquarie added $38.2 billion to its housing loan book over the year to July 2026, accounting for almost a quarter of the increase across Australia's banking system.

Australian Economy

Household spending rebound makes the RBA’s job harder

Household spending has risen strongly for three consecutive months, with discretionary expenditure now growing faster than spending on essentials.

Australian Economy

Labor’s investment boom survives a data-centre hangover

Private capital expenditure fell in June, but the headline masks strong annual growth, rising investment intentions and an extraordinary data-centre investment cycle.

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Australian economy at a glance

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