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MAIN FEATURES

This release contains statistics on expenditure on education by the general government sector for the period 2001-02 to 2006-07. These data are presented on an accrual accounting basis and are taken from the system of Government Finance Statistics (GFS).

Government expenditure on education refers to expenditure on all levels of education, such as pre-school, primary, secondary, university, and technical and further education (TAFE), by the general government sector. It excludes expenditure on courses provided by non-educational institutions, such as the vocational training programs of private businesses.

The summary tables below present government operating expenses on education by level of government, by purpose (i.e. by type of education), and by economic transaction (i.e. by type of expenditure) for the period 2001-02 to 2006-07.

Expenditure on education by all levels of general government increased by $2,095 million (4.2%), from $49,788 million in 2005-06 to $51,883 million in 2006-07. Total expenditure on education by the Commonwealth Government reached $16,321 million, with expenditure by the state and local governments totalling $37,357.

Of the total expenditure on education, $28,653 million was spent on primary and secondary education and a further $19,152 million on tertiary education (universities and TAFE). Employee expenses of $28,368 million accounted for 54.7% of total educational expenses with the remaining 45.3% being on non-employee expenses ($12,234 million), depreciation ($2,114 million), and transfer expenses ($9,166 m).

GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, BY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT
	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Commonwealth Government	12 253	12 599	13 523	14 319	15 807	16 321
State and Local Governments	27 441	29 247	30 963	33 556	35 547	37 357
Multi-jurisdictional (a)	10 028	10 990	11 738	12 640	13 873	14 414
Less: Intra-sector transfers	11 654	12 066	12 949	13 800	15 439	16 209
All Levels of Government	38 068	40 769	43 276	46 714	49 788	51 883

GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, BY PURPOSE, ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Primary and secondary education	21 017	22 485	23 867	25 754	27 449	28 653
Tertiary education	14 235	15 118	16 005	17 089	18 479	19 152
Pre-school & education not definable by level	1 430	1 609	1 816	2 038	2 151	2 341
Transportation of students	815	868	900	1 074	1 062	1 029
Education n.e.c.	571	690	688	759	648	708
Total	38 068	40 769	43 276	46 714	49 788	51 883

GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, BY ECONOMIC TRANSACTION, ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Employee expenses	20 841	22 649	23 772	25 511	27 363	28 368
Non-employee expenses	9 072	9 558	10 248	10 951	11 441	12 234
Depreciation of fixed assets	1 669	1 818	1 859	1 966	2 019	2 114
Current transfer expenses	6 318	6 559	7 158	7 999	8 620	8 903
Capital transfer expenses	168	186	239	287	345	263
Total	38 068	40 769	43 276	46 714	49 788	51 883