4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Mar 2008  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/03/2008   
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CULTURAL FUNDING BY GOVERNMENT

In November 2007, the NCCRS of the ABS prepared the annual cultural funding report, Cultural Funding in Australia Three Tiers of Government 2005-06, for the Cultural Ministers Council Statistics Working Group (CMC SWG).

The report includes estimates of Australian public funding of heritage and the arts at each level of government. Using the same data sources and administrative data as the ABS publication Cultural Funding by Government, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4183.0), the report provides more commentary on cultural funding by the Australian Government, State and Territory Governments and Local Governments, as well as time series data for each state and territory. However, the 2005-06 CMC SWG report contains updated data that does not correspond with the previously published data in the ABS pubilcation as updated data for Tasmania was received after the release of the ABS publication.

The data in the report have been aligned, where possible, with the Industry classification of the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications (ACLC), 2001 (cat. no. 4902.0), which was released by the ABS in 2001.

    Some key findings for 2005–06 include:
    • Total government funding for cultural activities was $5.5 billion ($5,454.9m). The Australian Government contributed $1,878.4m (34%) to total cultural funding while the state and territory governments contributed $2,602.4m (48%) and local governments provided $973.2m (18%).
    • Total government funding for cultural activities increased between 2004–05 and 2005–06 (up $456.8m or 9%). The Australian Government’s contribution rose by $117.5m (7%), while cultural funding by state and territory governments increased by $263.8m (11%), and local government cultural funding rose by $75.5m (8%) during this time.
    • Per person, the Australian Government contribution to cultural funding increased by $6.96 between 2004–05 and 2005–06 to $95.10, the state and territory governments' contribution increased by $14.70 to $131.75 in 2005–06, and local governments contribution increased by $4.34 to $49.27.
    • In 2005–06, capital expenditure accounted for 12% of total government cultural funding.

    This report is available for download from the CMC SWG website www.culturaldata.gov.au.