4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Mar 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/03/2007   
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CULTURAL FUNDING BY GOVERNMENT

In December 2006, NCCRS prepared a report, entitled Cultural Funding in Australia – Three Tiers of Government 2004–05, for CMC SWG.

The report includes estimates of Australian public funding of heritage and the arts at each of the three levels of government. Using the same data sources as the ABS publication Cultural Funding by Government, 2004–05 (cat. no. 4183.0), the report provides more detailed commentary, as well as time series data for each state and territory. The data have been aligned, where possible, with the Industry classification of the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications (ACLC) (cat. no. 4902.0), which was released by the ABS in 2001.

Some key findings for 2004–05 include:

  • Total government funding for cultural activities was $5 billion ($5,014.9m). The Australian Government contributed $1,760.9m (35%) to this figure, while state and territory governments contributed $2,356.3m (47%) and local government provided $897.7m (18%).
  • Total government funding for cultural activities increased slightly over the year (by $7.7m). The Australian Government’s contribution rose by $61.5m (4%), while funding by state and territory governments decreased by $6.4m and local government funding fell $47.4m (5%).
  • The Australian Government's contribution to cultural funding increased by $2.08 per person to be $87.14 in 2004–05. Over the same period, the contribution of state and territory governments decreased by $1.64 per person to $116.61. For local government, cultural funding decreased by $2.88 per person to $44.42.
  • In 2004–05, the Australian Government allocated the majority of its cultural funding to support arts activities ($1,329.4m or 75.5%), while heritage activities received $431.5m (24.5%). The state and territory governments traditionally direct the majority of their funds towards heritage activities. In 2004–05, they allocated $1,940.2m (82.3%) to heritage activities and $416.1m (17.7%) to the arts.

This report is available for download on the CMC SWG web site at http://www.culturaldata.gov.au/publications/statistics_working_group.

On 26 October 2006, a revised issue of Cultural Funding by Government, 2004–05 (cat. no. 4183.0) was released, replacing the issue released on 24 August. The reissue includes amended data for state and territory government expenditure on nature parks and reserves for 2002–03 and 2003–04. There are no amendments for 2004–05.