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After 37 years the final episode of Australia's longest-running TV soap opera, Neighbours, is going to air.

"I'm absolutely thrilled that we're not a show limping to the end, we're going out on an enormous high," executive producer Jason Herbison told AAP.

Some of its biggest stars including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan have returned to the fictional suburb of Erinsborough for the three-episode finale, airing back-to-back on Thursday.

To get a sense of just how long the show has been around, that would be episodes 8901, 8902 and 8903.

The production team worked hard to ensure the finale has something for every generation of Ramsay Street fans, from 1985 onwards, Herbison said.

"I really hope people watch and take a minute to think about what Neighbours has meant to them, and when the curtain has come down, hold a piece of it in their hearts," he said.

The show has been a cultural export for decades and has a large audience in the UK, where the cul-de-sac cricket, backyard pools and sunny weather that feature in the show's opening credits have come to represent an Australian lifestyle.

One of the show's most iconic moments was the wedding of Donovan's Scott Mitchell and Minogue's Charlene Robinson, which aired in 1987.

Two million Australians and almost 20 million British viewers tuned in.

The wedding scene, complete with Minogue's lacy dress, Donovan's mullet, coral-coloured bridesmaids' outfits and an Angry Anderson soundtrack, became a touchstone of '80s television in Australia.

It was thrilling to work with the show's biggest stars on their return for the finale, Herbison said.

"They definitely didn't want it to be all about them, they wanted to be part of the celebration and to say 'thank you' for what the show has done for them."

The show announced its cancellation in March following the loss of its main UK broadcast partner, Channel 5.

© AAP 2022

Fans of TV soapie Neighbours have braved the Melbourne cold to watch the finale of Neighbours at Federation Square.

Riya Patel and Josephine Crawford arrived two hours before the broadcast to score beanbags in the front row.

Ms Patel, who began watching the show after emigrating from India in 2018, and has streamed episodes back to 2012, said she would miss the nightly adventures of Ramsay St residents.

"Most definitely, I don't know what I am going to do at 6.30pm. It's just going to be an automatic thing to go in front of the TV," she said.

Steve Psaila, a viewer since the beginning of Neighbours 37 years ago, was wrapped up under a blanket clutching a mask of Paul Robinson.

He told AAP he used to watch the show alongside his late mother Mary.

"The last two weeks I've really wanted to watch it... I'm curious to see how it's all going to finish," he said.

About 100 fans arrived to watch the finale despite showers and a temperature of eight degrees.

Some of the show's biggest stars, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Margot Robbie have returned to the fictional suburb of Erinsborough for the three-episode ending.

To get a sense of just how long the show has been around, that would be episodes 8901, 8902 and 8903.

The plot device that has brought them back is the wedding of Jarrod 'Toadfish' Rebecchi - his fourth time tying the knot on the program.

"I'm absolutely thrilled that we're not a show limping to the end, we're going out on an enormous high," executive producer Jason Herbison told AAP.

He said it was thrilling to work with the show's biggest stars on their return for the finale.

"They definitely didn't want it to be all about them, they wanted to be part of the celebration and to say 'thank you' for what the show has done for them."

The production team worked hard to ensure the finale has something for every generation of Ramsay Street fans, from 1985 onwards, Herbison said.

"I really hope people watch and take a minute to think about what Neighbours has meant to them, and when the curtain has come down, hold a piece of it in their hearts," he said.

One of the show's most iconic moments was the wedding of Donovan's Scott Mitchell and Minogue's Charlene Robinson, which aired in 1987.

Two million Australians and almost 20 million British viewers tuned in.

The wedding scene, complete with Minogue's lacy dress, Donovan's mullet, coral-coloured bridesmaids' outfits and an Angry Anderson soundtrack, became a touchstone of '80s television in Australia.

The show announced its cancellation in March following the loss of its main UK broadcast partner, Channel 5.

© AAP 2022

Inflation is likely to get worse before it gets better, prolonging the cost of living burden for debt-heavy and low-income households.

But Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who's due to deliver a "confronting" economic statement to the nation on Thursday, has promised Australians the government is on the case.

Dr Chalmers was on Wednesday responding to a sharp jump in inflation to a new 21-year high in the 2021/22 financial year.

The consumer price index rose by 1.8 per cent in the June quarter, for an annual rate of 6.1 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.

This means domestic inflation has soared by 100 basis points since the end of the March quarter when the annual rate was 5.1 per cent.

It was also the largest rise in the annual rate since the introduction of the GST, the bureau noted.

"We are not surprised to see inflation north of six per cent, but it's still confronting," Dr Chalmers said in Canberra on Wednesday.

"This inflation outcome today mirrors the lived experience of Australians who are doing it tough right now."

Dr Chalmers warned the June quarter data does not include the rises in household and business energy bills that came into effect in July.

"Inflation is high and rising. It will get tougher before it gets easier," he said.

The outcome on Wednesday was driven by the rising cost of fuel, food and groceries, housing and furnishings.

The pace of price growth in the food and non-alcoholic beverages segment was 5.9 per cent over the year.

Automotive fuel costs rose 32.1 per cent over the year, housing by nine per cent while furnishings, household equipment and services costs were up 6.3 per cent.

Within the housing segment, the cost for new owner-occupied dwellings was up 20.3 per cent over the year - the highest since the data series began in 1999.

Inflation is rising all over the world following the outbreak of war in Ukraine on the back of rising commodity and oil prices, which in turn is hitting manufacturing, transport and freight costs.

But Dr Chalmers said domestic factors were definitely in play, including supply chain bottlenecks.

"That's why we are focused, as a government, in dealing with some of the supply chain issues which are pushing up inflation here in Australia, whether it be the issues around labour shortages or ... the issues about a lack of resilience in our supply chains," he said.

But Dr Chalmers again warned the government will not be able to afford to extend a temporary cut to the fuel excise past September, saying a six-month extension would cost about $3 billion.

"It is not possible, without budget constraints, to fund every good idea that people might have about cost of living relief," he said.

"We need to tread a pretty careful path here when it comes to the budget."

Dr Chalmers will update federal parliament on Thursday about the outlook for inflation.

Meanwhile, all eyes are now on the Reserve Bank of Australia and its meeting next Tuesday to discuss lifting the 1.35 per cent cash interest rate.

The market consensus is for a 50 basis point rise, which would take the cash rate to 1.85 per cent and prompt lenders to lift their variable mortgage and other rates.

The central bank is trying to crack down on domestic price pressures and return inflation to its two to three per cent target range.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said the government had promised cost of living relief but was now telling Australians they would have to wait.

"It's only getting harder for Australian households and the government has offered no real plan to address these challenges," he said.

© AAP 2022