SYDNEY/CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared that the worst of the country's inflation crisis is over.

Speaking at an event in South Australia on Sunday, Anthony Albanese said Australians have reason for optimism with new data showing inflation is at its lowest level over three years.

According to official figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, the consumer price index (CPI), the headline measure of inflation in Australia, rose by 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2024, spanning from the start of July through the end of September.

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It marked the lowest quarterly CPI increase since the three-month period ending in June 2020.

"I know workers, families and small businesses have all done it hard, but while there are still challenges to meet, still problems to solve, still people under pressure who need our help, when we look at the economy today, we can see new reasons for optimism and new proof the worst is behind us," Albanese said on Sunday.

"Together, we have faced a global storm, and we have navigated it the Australian way."

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The CPI rose by 2.8 percent in the 12-month period to the end of September, the lowest annual figure at the end of a quarter since March 2021.

Australia's annual rate of inflation peaked at a 32-year high of 7.8 percent in the 12 months ending in December 2022.

Meanwhile, Albanese said that his government planned to cut student loans for around three million Australians by 20 percent, wiping off around A$16 billion ($10 billion) in debts.

The move builds on May's budget, which attacked cost of living pressures in Australia and gave debt relief for students, as well as more investment to make medicines cheaper, and a boost to a rent assistance programme.

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"This will help everyone with a student debt right now, whilst we work hard to deliver a better deal for every student in the years ahead," Albanese said in a statement announcing the cut to student loans for tertiary education.

The changes would mean the average graduate with a loan of A$27,600 would have A$5,520 wiped, the government said, adding that they would take effect from June 1, 2025.

The government said it already planned to cut the amount that Australians with a student debt have to repay per year and raise the threshold to start repayments.

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If reelected at the next general election, due in 2025, Labor would also legislate to guarantee 100,000 free places each year at the country's Technical and Further Education institutes, Albanese said.

"This is a time for building, building better education for all," he said in a speech to supporters in South Australia state capital Adelaide.