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Transport prices were the third-largest contributor to inflation in the 12 months to November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics's (ABS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) released on Wednesday showed, with petrol and vehicle maintenance seeing the highest price-hikes in the category.
After a 3.8 per cent increase in the year to October, the CPI rose by 3.4 per cent in the 12 months to October. It was an unexpected yet welcome outcome for many – particularly mortgage holders – as the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decisions are heavily influenced by rate of inflation.
Though overall inflation has slightly eased, those bemoaning their car costs (petrol and maintenance in particular) may not be so enthused.
Transport costs, which include public transport fees and all costs related to owning a car except insurance, saw a 2.7 per cent increase in the year to November 2025. Though unchanged from the October period, it was still one of the largest contributors to inflation (using weighted averages) behind food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.3 per cent and housing at 5.2 per cent.
Within the transport category, petrol saw the steepest price increases, rising 3.5 per cent in the 12 months to November up from a 1.9 per cent jump in the same period to October.
Fuel prices saw their largest monthly increase since June last year – up 2.5 per cent to the month compared with a 0.9 per cent decline in October.
Despite the increase, petrol prices have been on a downward trajectory for about three years, Commonwealth Bank economist Harry Ottley told Drive.
"Petrol prices in Australia are largely driven by global oil prices and the strength of the Australian dollar. Oil prices have been trending lower since late 2023 and so petrol prices have eased over this period," Ottley said.
He said the price of fuel was not the only way inflation affected car owners.
"Petrol prices of course are a key and highly salient cost for car owners, but these costs are exogenous to domestic conditions as discussed above," he said.
"When inflation is high, and especially when there is a tight labour market as there is now, wage costs for businesses will often increase quickly. This impacts services industries such as mechanics, for example, where labour is a major cost for businesses."
Case in point, the ABS noted maintenance and repair of vehicles rose 5.1 per cent in the 12 months to November 2025, which reflected "elevated levels of wages and operating costs".
"There are also some costs to car owners that are loosely indexed to inflation," Ottley said.
"Insurance is also inflation sensitive, so when inflation is high across the economy, a key way people feel it is through their vehicle. Tolls are also often explicitly linked to CPI."
Still, the recent uptick in petrol prices is bound to hit many motorists' hip pockets, with average costs clocking $1.83 per litre in November – a monthly increase of five cents per litre and the highest since March 2025 – ANZ and Roy Morgan analysis of Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) data shows.
"Looking longer-term, average retail petrol prices have now been at, or above, $1.70 per litre for a record 172 straight weeks, equivalent to over three years uninterrupted, since mid-September 2022," the most recent ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations report stated.
Jemimah is Drive's Consumer Editor. She has more than a decade of editorial experience and has previously worked in property and lifestyle journalism for Domain, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and REA Group, among many other publications.
