ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence in mid-2026 is lower than after any previous Federal Budget
By Gary Morgan, Michele Levine & Julian McCrann
Last week a majority of 62.5% of Australians told Roy Morgan the country is ‘going in the wrong direction’ compared to only 24% that say the country is ‘going in the right direction’. These results lead to a Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating of only 61.5 – almost 40 points below the neutral level of 100. See full details in Roy Morgan Chief Executive Officer Michele Levine’s weekly video update.
In August 1975, Labor Treasurer Bill Hayden (in the Whitlam Government) handed down a Federal Budget which led to a decline in ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence – down 3.4pts to 100.8 (September 1975), and subsequently the fall of the Whitlam Government a few months later.
In 1989-90, ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence hit record lows in June 1989 (72.8), and then again a year later in October 1990 (71.4). In November 1990 then Treasurer Paul Keating said “Well, I’ll just give you a few comments on the national accounts. The first thing to say is that the accounts do show that Australia is in a recession. The most important thing about that is… this is the recession that Australia had to have.”and ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence hit another record low of 71.3 in December 1990 the following month.
It was later confirmed Australia entered recession in July 1990 which lasted for over a year until September 1991.
Unfortunately, ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence is again at record lows (both monthly and weekly) in the last few months leading into and following Treasurer Jim Chalmer’s 2026 Federal Budget.
In the first week of June (June 1-7, 2026) – ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence is only 70.8 – this is well below the neutral level of 100 – and near the record lows reached in April and May this year.
All key indicators are in negative territory with more Australians expecting to be ‘Worse Off’ than ‘Better Off’, and more Australians expecting ‘Bad Times’ rather than ‘Good Times’ for the economy.
Latest figures for Consumer Confidence (June 1-7, 2026)
Question 1: Family Financials Compared to a Year Ago.
- ‘Worse Off’ – 55%
Question 2: Family Financials in 12 Months.
- ‘Worse Off’ – 43%
Question 3: Australian Economy in 12 Months.
- ‘Bad Times’ – 45%
Question 4: Australian Economy in 5 Years.
- ‘Bad Times’ – 28%
Question 5: Good/Bad Time to Buy.
- ‘Bad Time to Buy’ – 45%
We continue to hold the same view we expressed before the last Reserve Bank meeting early last month (Reserve Bank should not raise interest rates tomorrow with Business Confidence and Consumer Confidence at, or near, record lows and real unemployment near a record high – May 4, 2026). The Reserve Bank should not raise interest rates this week with a weak economy and low Consumer Confidence and Business Confidence.
10 Lowest Monthly ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence readings on record (1973 – 2026):
- April 2026 (63.6)
- May 2026 (66.0)
- March 2026 (70.5)
- December 1990 (71.3)
- October 1990 (71.4)
- June 1989 (72.8)
- July 1989 (73.0)
- November 1990 (73.1)
- July 2023 (73.8)
- June 2023 (73.9)
June 1-7, 2026 (70.8).
This is lower than any monthly figure prior to 2026.
About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
