AHI Public Data API

Overview — v3.0 (effective April 2026)

The AHI public API provides programmatic access to the Australian Household Index composite score under the v3.0 three-tier model. The composite applies primary weight to structural cost pressures (Tier 1), moderate weight to cyclical stress outcomes (Tier 2), and a smaller weight to behavioural leading indicators (Tier 3), with a continuous amplifier component calibrated to empirical stress regimes. Scores are reported to one decimal place. Data is computed server-side from live upstream sources including the RBA, ABS, AER, APRA, and AFSA, with hardcoded fallbacks ensuring the endpoint always returns valid data.

The API is designed for media organisations, financial services platforms, government dashboards, and developers who want to embed authoritative cost-of-living data into their own products. There is no authentication required and no rate limits for reasonable use. We ask only for attribution.

• No API key required
• CORS enabled — call directly from browser or server
• Response cached for up to 1 hour at the CDN layer
• Always returns valid JSON — fallback values used if live fetch fails
• Licence: CC BY 4.0 — free to use with attribution

Endpoint

GET https://australianhouseholdindex.com.au/.netlify/functions/ahi-score

# Returns: application/json, HTTP 200
# Cache-Control: public, max-age=3600
# CORS: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *

No parameters, headers or authentication required. The endpoint always returns HTTP 200 — check the data_status field on each category to distinguish live from fallback data.

Response schema

The API returns AHI Score v3.0 — a three-tier weighted composite. The root response object:

Each Tier 1 category object (within tier1_detail):

Score labels — v3.0

Scores 72+ indicate severe household stress. The composite reflects weighted aggregation across structural, cyclical, and behavioural tiers with a continuous amplifier component calibrated to empirical stress regimes. Scores are reported to one decimal place.

Tier 1 categories

The eight Tier 1 cost pressure categories, their weights within Tier 1, and their data sources. Tier 1 carries the primary weight in the composite.

Category weights are derived from the ABS Household Expenditure Survey 2022–23 and ABS CPI basket weights (January 2025 update). The per-category scoring formula is clamp(value / ceiling × 100, 0, 100) with baseline = 0 (2019-Q2 conditions). The eight category scores are combined as a weighted sum to produce tier1_score.

Housing stress calibrated across three tenure contexts — mortgage holders (rate-sensitive), renters (exposed to cumulative rent inflation), outright owners (exposed to cumulative non-mortgage housing costs). Tenure-specific stress ceilings calibrated against historical crisis episodes.

Tier 2 — Stress outcome signals

Tier 2 combines formal household stress measurements with forward-looking vulnerability indicators. Weighted composition shifts based on classified macroeconomic regime. Available in tier2_detail.

Tier 3 — Leading indicator signals

Four empirically weighted signals, each z-scored from its historical distribution and combined to produce tier3_score (0–100). All four signals are live. Available in tier3_detail.

Each signal is z-scored using its full historical distribution and combined into a weighted composite, scaled to 0–100. Active weights reported in tier3_detail.weights_applied. Weights validated against historical household stress episodes.

Signals removed 2026-04-07: consumer_confidence (ANZ-Roy Morgan — contemporaneous sentiment, not leading); labour_market (structurally misaligned — inflationary stress at record-low unemployment); retail_compression reclassified to Tier 2 based on empirical correlation with established stress outcomes.

Live demo

Code examples

const AHI_URL = 'https://australianhouseholdindex.com.au/.netlify/functions/ahi-score';

fetch(AHI_URL)
  .then(r => r.json())
  .then(data => {
    // Composite score
    console.log(`AHI Score: ${data.score}/100 (${data.label})`);

    // Housing category
    const h = data.categories.housing;
    console.log(`RBA rate: ${h.value}% — category score: ${h.score.toFixed(1)}/100`);

    // Check if live data
    const isLive = Object.values(data.categories)
      .every(c => c.data_status === 'live');
    console.log(`Data is ${isLive ? 'live' : 'partly static'}`);
  });

import requests

AHI_URL = "https://australianhouseholdindex.com.au/.netlify/functions/ahi-score"

response = requests.get(AHI_URL, timeout=10)
data = response.json()

print(f"AHI Score: {data['score']}/100 ({data['label']})")
print(f"Generated: {data['generated']}")

for cat_id, cat in data['categories'].items():
    print(f"  {cat['label']:20s} score={cat['score']:5.1f}  weight={cat['weight_pct']}%")
    print(f"    {cat['value']} {cat['unit']} — {cat['data_status']}")

# Attribution required by CC BY 4.0
print(f"\nSource: {data['attribution']}")

curl -s https://australianhouseholdindex.com.au/.netlify/functions/ahi-score \
  | python3 -m json.tool

# Or just the score:
curl -s https://australianhouseholdindex.com.au/.netlify/functions/ahi-score \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(f'{d[\"score\"]}/100 ({d[\"label\"]})')"

<!-- AHI Score Widget — embed anywhere -->
<div id="ahi-widget" style="font-family:system-ui;padding:16px;background:#0D1B2A;color:#F5F0E8;border-radius:8px;display:inline-block">
  <div style="font-size:11px;opacity:.6;margin-bottom:4px">AHI Cost-of-Living Score</div>
  <div id="ahi-widget-score" style="font-size:36px;font-weight:700">—</div>
  <div id="ahi-widget-label" style="font-size:12px;margin-top:4px;opacity:.7">Loading…</div>
  <div style="font-size:10px;margin-top:8px;opacity:.4">Source: australianhouseholdindex.com.au</div>
</div>
<script>
fetch('https://australianhouseholdindex.com.au/.netlify/functions/ahi-score')
  .then(r=>r.json())
  .then(d=>{
    document.getElementById('ahi-widget-score').textContent = parseFloat(d.score).toFixed(1)+'/100';
    document.getElementById('ahi-widget-label').textContent = d.label+' — '+d.generated.slice(0,10);
  });
</script>

Behaviour Index API

A second endpoint returns ABS Retail Trade data showing what households are actually spending — the behavioural complement to the price-based AHI score.

GET /.netlify/functions/behaviour-index

# Returns monthly retail turnover by category (ABS 8501.0)
# with YoY change and a derived stress signal (compressing / cautious / resilient / neutral)
# Cache-Control: public, max-age=14400 (4 hours)

Key fields in the response:

• categories — each retail category with value ($M turnover), yoy_pct, mom_pct, and type (essential / discretionary / mixed)
• summary.stress_signal — compressing / cautious / resilient / neutral
• summary.essential_yoy_avg — average YoY growth of essential spending
• summary.discretionary_yoy_avg — average YoY growth of discretionary spending

When essential spending grows materially faster than discretionary, households are compressing — the most reliable leading indicator of financial stress in the retail data.

Attribution & usage

The AHI API is published under CC BY 4.0. You are free to use the data in any product, commercial or otherwise, with the following attribution text:

Source: Australian Household Index (australianhouseholdindex.com.au)

For commercial use — financial services platforms, media white-label, government dashboards — we offer a commercial data agreement that includes SLA guarantees, a dedicated data feed, and co-branding rights. Contact data@australianhouseholdindex.com.au.

The API does not require registration for reasonable use. If you are making high-volume requests (more than 1,000 per day) or embedding the data in a commercial product, please reach out so we can ensure service quality for all users.