Australians are spending an average of $254 on Easter this year, up from previous years, as families juggle rising chocolate prices with the pull of traditions that show no sign of fading.
Easter Sunday falls today, April 5, giving most of the country a four-day long weekend stretching from Good Friday through to Easter Monday.
For millions of households, the weekend means egg hunts in suburban backyards, church services at sunrise, hot cross buns on the kitchen bench and a fridge stocked with seafood and roast lamb.
The cost of those traditions is climbing. Consumer group CHOICE found that shoppers could expect to pay up to 33% more per 100 grams of Easter chocolate compared with last year.
Cadbury’s 15-pack of hollow hunting eggs now contains three fewer eggs and costs $1.50 more than the same box did in 2025.
. Compare the Market research published last month showed nine of twelve popular Easter treats analysed had risen in price, with increases ranging from about 7% to nearly 29%.
Global cocoa prices drove much of the squeeze. Futures prices briefly surged above US$12,000 per tonne in 2024 and early 2025 before falling back to around US$3,000 to US$4,000 per tonne by early 2026.
That drop has not yet reached supermarket shelves. ANZ agribusiness analyst Michael Whitehead explained that most Easter eggs on sale this week were manufactured months ago using cocoa purchased at far higher prices.
Packaging, dairy, sugar and freight costs all add to the final price, and for seasonal moulded products like Easter eggs, packaging can sometimes cost more than the chocolate inside.
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John Dumay, a business expert at Macquarie University, said families were unlikely to abandon the ritual. “I don’t think people will stop buying Easter chocolate altogether, which is exactly what companies count on,” he told Macquarie’s Lighthouse publication.
Beyond the chocolate aisle, the Sydney Royal Easter Show opened on Thursday at Sydney Olympic Park for its 12-day run. Organisers expect more than 850,000 visitors before the event wraps up on April 13.
New attractions this year include the Yum Yum Noodle Market, serving Asian street food from stalls alongside daily oyster masterclasses and a hot cross bun workshop.
The show remains the country’s largest ticketed annual event and a centrepiece of the Easter calendar in New South Wales.
Across the rest of Australia, the long weekend is playing out in familiar fashion. Coastal and rural destinations are popular getaway spots, with the holiday falling in early autumn when the weather is still mild enough for camping, hiking and beach trips.
Good Friday and Easter Monday are national public holidays, though trading restrictions vary by state. Most major retailers will open on Easter Monday with reduced hours.
One distinctly Australian tradition continues to hold its own against the imported bunny. Adelaide chocolatier Haigh’s confirmed its Easter Bilby range is back for 2026, marking 33 years of support for the Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia.
A portion of every bilby sold goes toward conservation of the endangered marsupial, a quiet counterpoint to the commercial frenzy elsewhere in the confectionery aisle.
Orthodox Easter falls a week later, on April 12, giving Greek, Russian, Serbian and other Orthodox communities across the country their own celebration the following Sunday.
