Frequently Asked Questions

Historical Value of the Australian Dollar

Print Source

Yearbook Australia. ABS. Retail Price Index Numbers. Giblin Library Reference Collection ABS 1301.0 AUST

WWW Source

Australia Now. ABS. CPI-Long-term price series.

To calculate past money values in terms of today's dollar, use the Retail Price Index Numbers table;
Take the index number of the latest year
Divide by index number of year in question
Remember before 1966 - 10 shillings (1/2 pound) = $1

For example,
2289 (2000 index) / 53 (1850 index) = 43.19
2289 (2000 index) / 313 (1970 index) = 7.31

Therefore :
10 shillings ($1) in 1850 was worth $43.19 in 2000
One pound in 1850 was worth $86.38 in 2000
One dollar in 1970 was worth $7.31 in 2000

You needed $43.19 in 2000 for what you could have bought for $1 in 1850
You needed $86.38 in 2000 for what you could have bought for £1 in 1850
You needed $7.31 in 2000 for what you could have bought for $1 in 1970

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