MAIN FEATURES
This release contains statistics on expenditure on education by the general government sector for the period 1999-00 to 2008-09. 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 2003-04 to 2008-09.
Expenditure on education by all levels of general government increased by $6,968 million (12.6%), from $55,362 million in 2007-08 to $62,330 million in 2008-09. Total expenditure on education by the Commonwealth Government reached $21,905 million, with expenditure by the state and local governments totalling $43,313 million.
Of the total expenditure on education, $33,217 million was spent on primary and secondary education and a further $22,933 million on tertiary education (universities and TAFE). Employee expenses of $32,897 million accounted for 52.8% of total educational expenses with the remaining 47.2% being on non-employee expenses ($14,837 million), depreciation ($2,443 million), and transfer expenses ($12,153 million).
GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, BY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT |
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m |
|
Commonwealth Government | 13 523 | 14 319 | 15 813 | 16 416 | 18 694 | 21 905 |
State and Local Governments | 31 023 | 33 581 | 35 463 | 37 267 | 39 579 | 43 313 |
Multi-jurisdictional (a) | 11 738 | 12 589 | 13 745 | 14 114 | 15 467 | 17 721 |
Less: Intra-sector transfers | 12 960 | 13 794 | 15 297 | 16 043 | 18 379 | 20 609 |
All Levels of Government | 43 325 | 46 695 | 49 723 | 51 754 | 55 362 | 62 330 |
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(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or the classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. For education the only type of units falling into this category are public universities.
GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, BY PURPOSE, ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
|
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m |
|
Primary and secondary education | 23 900 | 25 843 | 27 501 | 28 960 | 30 534 | 33 217 |
Tertiary education | 16 020 | 17 000 | 18 301 | 18 675 | 20 387 | 22 933 |
Pre-school & education not definable by level | 1 817 | 2 038 | 2 151 | 2 317 | 2 439 | 2 983 |
Transportation of students | 900 | 1 055 | 1 124 | 1 095 | 1 239 | 1 273 |
Education n.e.c. | 688 | 759 | 647 | 707 | 763 | 1 924 |
Total | 43 325 | 46 695 | 49 723 | 51 754 | 55 362 | 62 330 |
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GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, BY ECONOMIC TRANSACTION, ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
|
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m |
|
Employee expenses | 23 834 | 25 486 | 27 276 | 28 147 | 30 021 | 32 897 |
Non-employee expenses | 10 249 | 10 847 | 11 413 | 12 194 | 13 140 | 14 837 |
Depreciation of fixed assets | 1 858 | 1 969 | 2 009 | 2 095 | 2 259 | 2 443 |
Current transfer expenses | 7 145 | 8 105 | 8 675 | 9 041 | 9 612 | 11 637 |
Capital transfer expenses | 239 | 288 | 350 | 277 | 330 | 516 |
Total | 43 325 | 46 695 | 49 723 | 51 754 | 55 362 | 62 330 |
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For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, email <client.services@abs.gov.au> or Glynis Orrell on Canberra (02) 6252 5735, email <public.finance@abs.gov.au>.