The results of the survey by the University of Canberra's national centre for social and economic modelling go much of the way to answering the question Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has asked repeatedly throughout the election campaign: ''Are we better off than we were six years ago?''

The answer, at least in terms of family incomes, is an emphatic ''yes'' according to the centre's research. Since Labor took power, the ''standard of living'' - the centre's term for rises in disposable income subtracted by cost of living increases - has risen 2.6 per cent a year, the exact same average annual increase as during the 11 years of the Howard government.

During the first Rudd term, the cost of living rose 3.3 per cent each year but disposable incomes were up almost 6 per cent over the same period. During Ms Gillard's term, from 2010 to June 2013 (when the latest data was available), the cost of living rose 1.6 per cent while disposable income rose 4.2 per cent.

Treasurer Chris Bowen said: "Labor's world-recognised management of the economy through the GFC has flowed through to households.''

The Coalition has made easing cost of living pressures a central theme of the election campaign, with Mr Abbott, his senior colleagues and Coalition candidates regularly mentioning their determination to remove the carbon tax as a boon for families. The tax's axing will raise annual family incomes by as much as $500, the Coalition says.