$100 in 1979 is worth $594 today
What Australian dollars from 1979 are worth in 2025 money, adjusted for inflation with the official price index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
1979 money in 2025 money
- Prices since
- +493.5%
- Per year
- +3.95% compounded
- Multiplier
- ×5.935
| In 1979 | Worth in 2025 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $5.94 |
| $5 | $29.68 |
| $10 | $59.35 |
| $20 | $119 |
| $50 | $297 |
| $100 | $594 |
| $1,000 | $5,935 |
| $10,000 | $59,352 |
Australian Bureau of Statistics — CPI, all groups, weighted average of eight capital cities, 2011-12 = 100. Retrieved 2026-08-06. 2025 figures are the the first three quarters average so far and will shift slightly as the year completes. Open in the calculator to compare any two years.
Inflation in 1979
Prices in Australia rose 9.1% during 1979 — a higher rate than most years in this series, 11th highest of 76. Across the 1970s, prices rose an average of 9.8% a year, peaking at 15.4% in 1974.
| Year | Rate | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +3.4% | |
| 1971 | +6.1% | |
| 1972 | +6.0% | |
| 1973 | +9.1% | |
| 1974 | +15.4% | |
| 1975 | +15.2% | |
| 1976 | +13.3% | |
| 1977 | +12.3% | |
| 1978 | +8.0% | |
| 1979 | +9.1% |
How far the Australian dollar has fallen since 1979
An Australian dollar in 2025 buys about 16.8% of what one bought in 1979, a loss of 83.2% of its buying power. Prices had doubled from their 1979 level by 1988, 9 years later. Read the other way, here is what today's money would have been in 1979:
| In 2025 | Same as, in 1979 |
|---|---|
| $10 | $1.68 |
| $20 | $3.37 |
| $50 | $8.42 |
| $100 | $16.85 |
| $1,000 | $168 |
| $10,000 | $1,685 |
What these numbers can and cannot tell you
The figures compare the price index in 1979 with 2025: the cost of the same broad basket of goods and services, averaged across each year. That is the right measure for "what would this amount be in today's money" — a wage, a price, an inheritance. It is not a measure of what any particular thing cost: housing, education, and healthcare have mostly risen faster than the average, while electronics and clothing have risen far slower or fallen. And it says nothing about exchange rates, so it cannot turn 1979 Australian dollars into another currency.
Common questions
How much is $100 from 1979 worth today?
$100 in 1979 is worth about $594 in 2025 money, adjusted with the official price index published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Prices have risen 493.5% over that span, an average of 3.95% a year compounded. 2025 figures are the the first three quarters average so far and will shift slightly as the year completes.
What was the inflation rate in 1979?
Prices in Australia rose 9.1% during 1979 — a higher rate than most years in this series, 11th highest of 76. That is the change in the annual average of the index from 1978 to 1979, which is the basis statistics agencies use for long-run comparison; a news headline quoting a twelve-month change at a particular point in 1979 may differ.
How much buying power has the Australian dollar lost since 1979?
About 83.2%. Put the other way round, $100 in 2025 would have bought what $16.85 bought in 1979. Prices had doubled from their 1979 level by 1988, 9 years later.
1979 in other countries: United States , United Kingdom , Canada , New Zealand .