Indigenous Expenditure Report 2014

• This Report provides estimates of government expenditure across 159 expenditure categories, mapped to the COAG National Indigenous Reform Agreement building blocks. When combined with other information, the estimates contribute to a better understanding of the adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of government expenditure on services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
• Some national level data are summarised here. There are significant variations across service categories and across states and territories (more information is available from this project website).
• Total direct expenditure on services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2012-13 was estimated to be $30.3 billion, accounting for 6.1 per cent of total direct general government expenditure. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians made up 3.0 per cent of the population in 2013.
• Indigenous expenditure increased in real terms by $5.0 billion (19.9 per cent) from 2008-09 to 2012-13, while non-Indigenous expenditure increased by 9.0 per cent. Expenditure per Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person increased by 10.3 per cent, and expenditure per non Indigenous person increased by 2.2 per cent.
• Estimated expenditure per person in 2012-13 was $43 449 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, compared with $20 900 for other Australians (a ratio of 2.08 to 1 - an increase from a ratio of 1.93 to 1 in 2008-09). The $22 550 per person difference in 2012-13 reflected the combined effects of:
  • greater intensity of service use ($15 438 or 68.5 per cent) - because of greater need, and because of the younger age profile of the population
  • higher cost of providing services ($7112 or 31.5 per cent) - for example, because of location, or because targeted services are provided in addition to mainstream services (for example, Indigenous liaison officers in hospitals).
• Total direct expenditure on services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2012-13 was made up of:
  • $24.7 billion (or $35 313 per person) on services where expenditure is directly related to service use (a proxy for 'on the ground' services)
  • $5.7 billion (or $8137 per person) on services where expenditure is attributed on the basis of their share of the population (expenditure in areas such as defence, foreign affairs and industry assistance, which benefits all Australians equally).
• The Australian Government accounted for $14.1 billion (46.6 per cent) of direct Indigenous expenditure in 2012-13 (an increase of $2.4 billion (20.3 per cent) in real terms from 2008-09) with the remaining $16.2 billion (53.4 per cent) provided by State and Territory governments (an increase of $2.6 billion (19.5 per cent) in real terms from 2008-09).
• Mainstream services accounted for $24.7 billion (81.4 per cent) of direct Indigenous expenditure in 2012-13 (a real increase of $5.1 billion (26.0 per cent) from 2008-09) with the remaining $5.6 billion (18.6 per cent) provided through Indigenous specific (targeted) services (a real decrease of $0.1 billion (1.2 per cent) from 2008-09).
• For information on a wide range of outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, see the Steering Committee's report Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2014.

2014 Indigenous Expenditure Report

The 2014 Indigenous Expenditure Report was released on 12 December 2014. Total direct expenditure on services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2012-13 was estimated to be $30.3 billion, accounting for 6.1 per cent of total direct general government expenditure. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians made up 3.0 per cent of the population in 2013.

Total estimated expenditure per person across all government programs in 2012-13 was $43 449 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, compared with $20 900 for other Australians (a ratio of 2.08 to 1 - an increase from a ratio of 1.93 to 1 in 2008-09).

It is important to note that the report does not assess the adequacy, effectiveness or efficiency of government spending.

While the estimates in the Report represent the best collective effort of the jurisdictions, identifying the Indigenous component of expenditure is difficult and the estimates should be used with care.

This is the third in a series of biennial reports, produced by the Productivity Commission for a Steering Committee of senior officials for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

A broad range of information on this report is available from the project website, including fact sheets for each jurisdiction.

• Frequently Asked Questions (PDF - 323 Kb)
• Frequently Asked Questions (Word - 51 Kb)

• All States and Territories (PDF - 421 Kb)
• All States and Territories (Word - 91 Kb)

• New South Wales (PDF - 423 Kb)
• New South Wales (Word - 89 Kb)

• Victoria (PDF - 419 Kb)
• Victoria (Word - 89 Kb)

• Queensland (PDF - 419 Kb)
• Queensland (Word - 88 Kb)

• Western Australia (PDF - 359 Kb)
• Western Australia (Word - 88 Kb)

• South Australia (PDF - 358 Kb)
• South Australia (Word - 88 Kb)

• Tasmania (PDF - 193 Kb)
• Tasmania (Word - 88 Kb)

• Australian Capital Territory (PDF - 421 Kb)
• Australian Capital Territory (Word - 87 Kb)

• Northern Territory (PDF - 50 Kb)
• Northern Territory (Word - 87 Kb)

• Early child development, and education and training (PDF - 307 Kb)
• Early child development, and education and training (Word - 69 Kb)

• Healthy lives (PDF - 351 Kb)
• Healthy lives (Word - 70 Kb)

• Economic participation (PDF - 307 Kb)
• Economic participation (Word - 66 Kb)

• Home environment (PDF - 238 Kb)
• Home environment (Word - 69 Kb)

• Safe and supportive communities (PDF - 312 Kb)
• Safe and supportive communities (Word - 71 Kb)

• Other government services (PDF - 249 Kb)
• Other government services (Word - 65 Kb)

• Description of expenditure categories (PDF - 206 Kb)
• Description of expenditure categories (Word - 46 Kb)