HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE

Expenditure on culture

Many factors influence household spending on culture, including:

• the size of the household as more people generally equate to higher expenditures
• the location of the household e.g. some cultural performances may only be staged in larger cities
• the income of the household as expenditure on most goods and services is related to the household's income
• the composition of the household as cultural interests vary according to the age and sex of individuals in a household which, in turn, influences where their cultural dollars are spent.

The Household Expenditure Survey, conducted by the ABS, collects detailed information at the household rather than the personal level because some expenditures (e.g. DVD players) benefit the whole family and cannot be meaningfully attributed to an individual within a household.


According to the 2009-10 Household Expenditure Survey, Australia, there were an estimated 8.4 million households in Australia, each spending an average of $45.39 per week on culture - equivalent to a total annual expenditure of $19,876m by all households. Australian households spent 4% of their total expenditure on cultural goods and services. The largest amounts were spent on televisions ($3,350m), pay TV fees ($2,295m), books ($2,032m), and newspapers ($1,178m). The datacube for the 2009-10 Household expenditure survey (found under the Downloads tab) includes additional breakdown of the cultural categories listed in the table below.

	Average household expenditure	Total household expenditure
	$/week	$m/year
Literature	9.38	4 107.5
Music	0.92	402.9
Performing arts	2.93	1 283.0
Visual arts and crafts	2.38	1 042.2
Broadcasting, electronic media and film	10.86	4 755.6
Other arts	2.53	1 107.9
Heritage	0.43	188.3
Other culture	15.96	6 988.8
Total expenditure on culture	45.39	19 876.2

Source: Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2009-10 (cat. no. 6530.0).

Changes in spending patterns

Between 2003-04 and 2009-10, average household expenditure on cultural goods and services rose from $36.40 to $45.39 per week, an increase of 25%. Over the same time, prices as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), increased by 19%.

	1984	1988-89	1993-94	1998-99	2003-04	2009-10
	$/week	$/week	$/week	$/week	$/week	$/week
Literature	4.16	5.82	7.54	7.56	8.43	9.38
Music	0.68	1.21	1.29	2.07	1.65	0.92
Performing arts(b)	0.81	0.92	1.92	1.48	1.59	2.93
Visual arts and crafts(c)	0.42	0.58	0.72	1.09	1.66	2.38
Broadcasting, electronic media and film(d)	1.28	2.01	3.13	4.13	7.87	10.86
Other arts(e)	0.95	1.22	1.41	1.28	1.86	2.53
Heritage	0.09	0.13	0.25	0.17	0.39	0.43
Other culture(f)(g)	6.94	7.94	9.13	8.90	12.94	15.96
Total(c)(e)	15.33	19.83	25.39	26.74	36.40	45.39

(a) Not adjusted for inflation.
(b) Comprises Live theatre fees and charges and Music concert fees and charges.
(c) Excludes Art and craft materials which were allocated to a category that was not predominantly cultural prior to 1998-99.
(d) Excludes the hire of TV games for surveys prior to 1998-99.
(e) For 1998-99, includes Cultural fees and charges nec which were included in other cultural categories in previous surveys.
(f) Includes the Hire of TV games for surveys prior to 1998-99.
(g) For 1998-99 and 2003-04, includes Other audiovisual equipment and parts which were included in other cultural categories in previous surveys.
Source: Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2009-10 (cat. no. 6530.0).


The graph below shows the change in expenditure on selected cultural goods or services between 2003-04 and 2009-10. With the exception of Pre-recorded CDs and records and Home entertainment systems, householders spent more in 2009-10 than they did in 2003-04. Expenditure on Televisions rose from an average of $3.41 per week in 2003-04 to $7.65 in 2009-10 while expenditure on Pay TV fees rose from $2.69 per week to $5.24 per week over the same period.

Useful links
Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2009-10 (cat. no. 6530.0)