Four sleeps to 30 June. The Australian Bureau of Statistics dropped the May CPI print this week and the read is split. Headline inflation eased to 4.0 per cent, helped by an 11.9 per cent slide in petrol, but the RBA’s preferred core measure (trimmed mean) climbed from 3.4 to 3.6 per cent, the highest since September 2024. The Reserve Bank held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent earlier this month but kept the tightening bias live. Consumer confidence has lifted to a three-month high of 72.8, yet mortgage households are still going backwards. Layer in the Australian Retail Council’s $10.7 billion EOFY forecast with growth at just 1.9 per cent (less than half the inflation rate) and the message for the household budget is sharp. The next 96 hours are the last chance this calendar year to claim work deductions and to make the markdown count.
The May CPI Print: Petrol Down, Groceries And Power Still Climbing
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the May 2026 Monthly CPI Indicator on 24 June. The headline rate eased to 4.0 per cent year on year, down from 4.2 per cent in April, with a 11.9 per cent fall in automotive fuel doing most of the heavy lifting. The number that matters more to the Reserve Bank, the trimmed mean (which strips out volatile items like fuel and fresh fruit), moved the other way and rose to 3.6 per cent, up from 3.4 per cent the previous month and the highest core read since September 2024. Gareth Hutchens at ABC News reported the split print on the day it landed, quoting Stephen Smith, partner at Deloitte Access Economics, who said “today’s CPI data serves as an unwelcome reminder that Australia’s inflation challenges remain unresolved”. Electricity prices rose 21.1 per cent in the twelve months to May, new dwellings rose 5.6 per cent and insurance and financial services remain elevated.
For Australian households the consumer translation is direct. Cheaper petrol at the bowser is welcome, but the weekly grocery shop, the electricity account, the housing bill and the insurance renewal are still climbing faster than the Fair Work minimum wage adjustment due on 1 July. A dollar spent at full price in July buys 3.6 per cent less in services and 4 per cent less in goods than it did in May 2025, and the markdown window between now and 30 June is the last chance this calendar year to claw any of that purchasing power back before EOFY pricing resets to RRP. The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent at its 16 June meeting, the first hold of 2026, but Governor Bullock retained an explicit tightening bias and the bond market is now pricing one more rate rise before year end (Westpac IQ, 22 June 2026). Mortgage holders have a breath, but no all clear.
$10.7 Billion EOFY, 1.9 Per Cent Growth: Real Spending Is Going Backwards
The Australian Retail Council and Roy Morgan released the 2026 EOFY spending forecast on 19 June. Total spending across the period is tipped at $10.7 billion, with 6.1 million Australians (26 per cent of the population) expected to shop the sales and average spend of around $593 per shopper (Compare the Market, 19 June 2026). The headline that matters: spending growth is forecast at just 1.9 per cent year on year, well below the 4.0 per cent CPI print confirmed five days later. In real terms, EOFY 2026 spending will fall by roughly 2 percentage points, the first negative real EOFY result since the 2020 pandemic year. Retail Asia reported the figures, citing Fleur Brown of the Australian Retail Council who said consumers “are still attracted to discounts, but remain cautious” and are “carefully managing every dollar”.
The category mix tells the same story. Clothing, footwear and accessories will absorb 34 per cent of EOFY spend, smartphones 21 per cent, kitchenware 19 per cent. Online accounts for 44 per cent of total EOFY spending, unchanged from 2025. There is one piece of brighter news for the discretionary categories: ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.1 points to 72.8 in late June, a three-month high, with buying intentions for major household items improving for the sixth straight week (The Weekly Times, 23 June 2026, citing ANZ economist Sophia Angala). Even so, mortgage holders are still the only cohort whose confidence is going backwards. The deals strategy this week, accordingly, has to be ruthlessly selective: spend on the items that compound (a winter coat that outlasts the next three seasons, gym kit that replaces a 12 month membership, a school holiday gift that was already on the list) and skip the discretionary impulse buys that read like value at 60 per cent off but were not on the list yesterday.
EOFY Tax Deductions: Four Days To Buy, Twelve Months To Claim
The other clock is the work-related deduction window. Any uniform, tool, computer accessory, briefcase, professional library item or sun protection gear purchased and paid for on or before 30 June 2026 can be claimed in the 2025-26 return, lodged from 1 July. After Tuesday at midnight, the same purchase rolls into the 2026-27 return and the refund sits in the system for a further twelve months. For a marginal-rate worker on the 32.5 per cent bracket, a $400 work bag purchased on 30 June returns roughly $130 in July, a $400 bag bought on 1 July returns the same $130 in July 2027. The Australian Taxation Office’s myDeductions tool inside the ATO app remains the simplest record-keeping path for receipts collected over the next four days, and TechRadar’s EOFY 2026 live blog updated 25 June is tracking the deepest current discounts on laptops, monitors, headphones and home-office furniture that meet the work-related test.
The ACCC has also tightened its online safety priorities for 2026-27, with a sharper focus on digital marketplaces and cross-border unsafe goods (KWM Pulse, 22 June 2026). The strengthened Australian Product Safety Pledge has already seen 31,000 plus unsafe listings removed in 2024-25, and the ACCC issued takedown requests this month to Amazon, eBay, Kogan and Fruugo for banned high-powered magnetic toys (ACCC Product Safety). For Australian shoppers the read is simple: a $200 bargain on an unregulated overseas marketplace can carry recall risk and zero local consumer guarantee, while the same $200 spent at an Australian-owned, locally fulfilled store carries full ACL protection. Every retailer featured on It’s On Sale is Australian-owned with local fulfilment.
Five Fresh Australian Stores For The Last EOFY Sleep
Five stores. Five categories. The deepest headline discounts surfaced from a sweep of every retailer on It’s On Sale, audited at dawn.
Discount
SportsgirlWomens FashionUp to 90 per cent off Sportsgirl’s full sale section: dresses, knits, denim, outerwear, tops and accessories from the Australian-owned Melbourne women’s brand founded in 1948, with free standard shipping over $80, free returns nationwide and Afterpay across the sale collection through 30 June.90%OFF2
Colette HaymanBags & AccessoriesUp to 86 per cent off Colette by Colette Hayman’s bags and accessories clearance: handbags, totes, crossbodies, wallets, jewellery and hair pieces from the Australian-owned accessories label founded in Sydney in 2010, with free shipping over $50, free click-and-collect from 70 plus stores and 30 day returns.86%OFF3
Rebel SportSport & FitnessUp to 85 per cent off Rebel Sport’s mid-year sale: running shoes, training apparel, gym equipment, team jerseys and recovery gear from the largest Australian-owned sport retailer (founded in Sydney in 1985), with click-and-collect from 160 plus stores nationwide and free shipping over $150.85%OFF4
Kick Push SkateSkate & WheelsUp to 82 per cent off Kick Push Skate’s clearance: complete skateboards, decks, trucks, wheels, helmets, pads and apparel from the Australian-owned skate specialist based in Wollongong, with free shipping over $99, expert build assembly and free returns within 30 days.82%OFF5
Elite SupplementsHealth & WellnessUp to 80 per cent off Elite Supplements end of financial year sale: whey protein, pre-workout, creatine, vitamins, weight management, hydration mixes and bars from the Australian-owned specialist founded in Brisbane, with free shipping over $99 and same day Brisbane dispatch through 30 June.80%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Other Deals Worth A Look
Beyond the Top 5, four other Australian-owned stores are running headline EOFY discounts above 65 per cent and are worth a scan before 30 June. Showpo is at up to 80 per cent off dresses, going-out tops and resortwear from the Sydney-based women’s brand. Eckersleys Art and Craft is at up to 70 per cent off paints, brushes, canvases and craft kits with click-and-collect from 13 stores. Grahams Jewellers is at up to 70 per cent off select rings, pendants and watches from the family-owned Australian jeweller. Decjuba is at up to 70 per cent off the women’s clearance range from the Melbourne-based label, and Glassons is at up to 67 per cent off basics and going-out fashion. None are featured in the Top 5 today but each clears the 65 per cent threshold and runs through the long weekend.
Our Take
The May CPI print is a useful frame for the last four days of EOFY. With core inflation at 3.6 per cent and EOFY spending growth at 1.9 per cent, the average Australian household is making roughly 1.7 percentage points less progress on real consumption every month than the headline economy suggests. The deals that close that gap are the ones with two characteristics: a genuine percentage discount above 50 per cent (so the saving outpaces the inflation drag) and a product on the household priority list that would have been bought eventually at full price. Layer the work-related deduction window on top (any uniform, computer, briefcase or tool purchased before 30 June rolls into the 2025-26 return) and the next 96 hours carry the year’s last compounding return on a single decision.
The shoppable side of It’s On Sale is built exactly for this read. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned and locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. Our AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try “queen mattress under 1000” or “winter jacket under 100”). You will never find Temu, Shein, AliExpress or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand here. The 30 June clock is now four sleeps away. Browse Today’s Sales before the markdown window closes.