The annual rate of inflation remained above the Reserve Bank's two to three per cent target in the last financial year - the 3.6 per cent figure its fastest growth since late 2008.
It compared with 3.3 per cent in the year to March.
The Reserve, which sits down for its monthly board meeting next Tuesday, will draw little comfort that the consumer price index (CPI) grew 0.9 per cent in the June quarter after a solid 1.6 per cent rise in the previous three months.
Economists' forecasts had centred on a 0.8 per cent increase in the quarter for an annual rate of 3.5 per cent.
In the minutes of its July board meeting, the central bank said these inflation numbers would help "shape views about inflation, and therefore the future path of interest rates".
The risk of an interest rate rise down the track lifted the Australian dollar above 110 US cents, and to its highest level since it was floated on the foreign exchange market in December 1983.
Because of the ongoing uncertainties in the global economy, other financial markets are now less confident the next move in Australian rates will be down.
The most significant price increase in the quarter was a 26.9 per cent jump in fruit as a flow-on from this summer's natural disasters.
At the same time, petrol rose 4.0 per cent and hospital and medical services were up 3.4 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
Offsetting these were a 10.3 per cent fall in vegetables prices while audio, visual and computing equipment declined 6.3 per cent, and electricity prices fell 1.5 per cent.
Crucial underlying measures of inflation, that smooth out volatile moves in prices, also continued to accelerate, albeit annually remaining within the target for now.
On average they grew by a solid 0.9 per cent in the quarter for an annual rate of 2.7 per cent.
This was up from 2.25 per cent annually in the year to March.
Forecasts here had centred on a 0.7 per cent increase for 2.5 per cent annually.
