The cost of a standard basket of goods has been recorded at each supermarket store, providing consumers in the electorate of Leichhardt with independent information on how their local supermarkets compare.

It is based on Treasurer of Australia Wayne Swan's scheme which has been successfully operating in Brisbane for approximately 10 years.

Which supermarkets were surveyed?

A total 21 supermarkets in the region, from Cairns to Thursday Island.

The three major supermarket brands in the Tropical North were surveyed - Coles, Woolworths and Supa IGA.

Remote supermarkets including IBIS on Thursday Island and Bamaga, and community stores in Umagico and Seisa, have also been surveyed.

Smaller/convenience stores were not surveyed - their buying and advertising power often puts them at a cost disadvantage.

Which products have been surveyed?

44 grocery items of the same brand and size were surveyed at each store.

Included are items typically purchased by Australian households, for example, toiletries, dairy goods, bread, pet food, tinned goods and washing powder.

Fresh fruit & vegetables were not included in the survey due to seasonal and climatic variations. This would lead to substantial swings from survey to survey and furthermore, quality would vary from survey to survey and even vary between stores in the same survey. Similarly, fresh meat and deli products were not surveyed.

The basket of goods is restricted to national proprietary brands and excludes house or generic brands.

The product list has not been published to prevent price manipulation by the supermarkets involved in the survey.

How are items that are marked down or on special accounted for?

Two prices are recorded:

1. Every Day Price

The regular price of an item (the price of the item when it is not on special).

2. Check Out Price

The price of the item on the day of the survey (includes specials and mark down prices).

For example - if toothpaste is normally $3.50 and on the day of the survey it is on special or marked down to $2.50, the Every Day Price is $3.50 and the Check Out Price is $2.50.

Timing

As advertised specials run from Monday to Sunday, all surveys were completed within the same weekly cycle.

The survey will take place on a quarterly basis.