Cultural Funding by Government, Australia

In 2012-13, the estimate of total expenditure funded by the three tiers of government was $7,050.5m for cultural activities. This comprised:

• $2,361.2m (33% of total) from the Australian Government
• $3,291.6m (47%) from state and territory governments
• $1,397.6m (20%) from local government.

Total expenditure funded by government for cultural activities rose by 1% in 2012-13, following a rise of 5% in 2011-12.

In 2012-13 recurrent expenditure was $6,010.8m, a rise of 2% from 2011-12 ($5,894.8m). Recurrent expenditure as a proportion of total cultural expenditure (85%) remained at a similar level to 2011-12 (84%).

The estimate of recurrent expenditure by state and territory governments was $2,634.6m in 2012-13. In dollar terms this was the largest amount of the three levels of government although it represented only 80% of total cultural expenditure by state and territory governments. In contrast, the proportion of expenditure by the Australian Government and local government was higher for recurrent activities: 94% and 83% respectively.

The estimate of capital expenditure by all levels of government was $1,039.7m in 2012-13, a decrease of 4% from 2011-12 ($1,082.7m). In general, capital expenditure fluctuates more than recurrent expenditure due to its project based nature.

The majority of capital expenditure was by the state and territory governments at $657.1m (63% of total capital expenditure) while the Australian Government spent $147.4m and local government outlaid $235.2m in 2012-13 (14% and 23% of total capital expenditure respectively).

Data on cultural expenditure are aligned, where possible, with the categories specified in the Industry Classification of the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications, Australia, 2008 (Second Edition) (ACLC), (cat. no. 4902.0). This allows for division into Heritage and Arts with a further detailed division into 19 major categories.

The two categories with the highest expenditure funded by the Australian Government in 2012-13 were:

• Radio and television services ($1,281.1m)
• Other museums and cultural heritage ($285.9m).
   

The two categories with the highest expenditure funded by state and territory governments in 2012-13 were:

• Environmental heritage ($1,281.8m)
• Other museums and cultural heritage ($550.6m).
   

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure by the three tiers of government averaged $307.60 per person in Australia, a fall from $309.90 per person in 2011-12.

Cultural expenditure funded by the Australian Government in 2012-13 was $103.00 per person which was similar to expenditure of $104.60 per person in 2011-12. Expenditure in 2012-13 for Heritage activities was $26.40 per person, while for Arts it was $76.60 per person.

The estimate of expenditure by state and territory governments was $143.60 per person in 2012-13, comprising $106.80 per person for Heritage and $36.80 per person for Arts. This was a 1% decrease on the 2011-12 figure of $145.70 per person, however, it still represented a 4% increase over the $138.20 per person reported in 2010-11.

The estimate of expenditure on cultural activities by local government was $61.00 per person in 2012-13, a 2% increase from $59.60 per person in 2011-12. South Australia ($78.40), Victoria ($66.50) and Western Australia ($62.50) had the highest local government per person expenditure in 2012-13.

In 2012-13 the estimate of expenditure funded by the Australian Government on Heritage activities was $605.1m, similar to the $610.5m reported in 2011-12.

The estimate of expenditure funded by the Australian Government was highest for Other museums and cultural heritage at $285.9m which represented an increase of 15% over the value reported in 2011-12 ($248.8m). Expenditure on Libraries, which does not include funding for special libraries (e.g. parliamentary libraries) or libraries in educational institutions such as schools and universities, increased by less than 1% to be $61.8m in 2012-13.

Offsetting these increases was a sizeable fall in funded expenditure on Environmental heritage from $123.1m in 2011-12 to $87.1m in 2012-13, a drop of 29%. Expenditure on Archives fell 6% to $106.3m over the same period.

In 2012-13 the estimate of Australian Government funded expenditure on Arts activities was $1,756.2m. This was similar to the $1,744.5m reported in 2011-12 and accounted for 74% of the total cultural expenditure funded by the Australian Government.

The Arts categories with the highest reported expenditure were Radio and television services ($1,281.1m), Other arts ($146.1m) and Film and video production and distribution ($100.4m). The Other arts category comprises activities and services such as administration, maintenance and operation that cannot be assigned to a specific category. Together these three categories account for 87% of all funded expenditure on Arts activities undertaken by the Australian Government.

In 2012-13 the estimate of recurrent expenditure funded by the Australian Government was $2,213.8m (94% of total Australian Government cultural expenditure). Of this recurrent expenditure, $1,679.7m was for Arts activities and $534.1m for Heritage activities.

Categories with the highest recurrent expenditure reflected the categories with the highest overall expenditure. For Arts activities, this was Radio and television services ($1,214.5m), Other arts ($145.4m) and Film and video production and distribution ($100.4m). For Heritage activities, the categories with the highest recurrent expenditure were Other museums and cultural heritage ($255.3m) and Archives ($98.5m).

The estimate of capital expenditure in 2012-13 funded by the Australian Government was $147.4m or 6% of all cultural expenditure. However, this was a decrease of $18.3m from the $165.7m reported in 2011-12. The majority (52%) of Australian Government funded capital expenditure was for Arts activities in 2012-13. This was a decrease from 2011-12 where 61% of capital expenditure was for Arts activities.

The category with the highest capital expenditure in 2012-13 was Radio and television services ($66.6m).

Throughout this publication, it is important to note that different administrative arrangements and responsibilities exist in each of the states and territories and this influences the distribution of cultural funding to the various Arts and Heritage categories.

Similarly, fluctuations in the different types of expenditure are also to be expected. Funding of recurrent expenditure may vary due to one-off allocations for particular organisations and projects while expenditure of funding for capital projects may extend over several years. According to the level of activities, different amounts may be expended on a yearly basis.

As a result, caution should be exercised when comparing expenditure of funding between any of the state and territory jurisdictions.

In 2012-13 the estimate of expenditure on cultural activities, funded by state and territory governments, was $3,291.6m a rise of $11.4m from 2011-12. Whilst there was a $32.0m rise in Heritage expenditure, this was partially offset by a $20.6m fall in Arts expenditure.

Individual state and territory government's expenditure on cultural activities closely reflected population size, with the more populous states of New South Wales ($899.8m), Victoria ($629.1m), Queensland ($534.8m) and Western Australia ($581.1m) spending more funds in 2012-13 than South Australia ($261.5m), Tasmania ($133.6m), the Australian Capital Territory ($147.3m), and the Northern Territory ($104.4m).

Heritage categories, with $2,447.8m in 2012-13, accounted for the majority of state and territory government expenditure (74%), the same proportion of expenditure as 2011-12. Expenditure on Other museums and cultural heritage rose by $36.4m, and Libraries rose by $11.6m. Conversely, the largest decrease was in the category of Environmental heritage, falling $13.6m.

In 2012-13 the category with the highest heritage expenditure, funded by state and territory governments, was Environmental heritage ($1,281.8m or 52%). These funds were provided to assist the operation of sites, collections and areas such as national parks, flora and fauna reserves, zoological parks, aquaria and botanic gardens. All state and territory governments excluding New South Wales directed more money to Environmental heritage than any other category. The Australian Capital Territory allocated three quarters (75%) of heritage expenditure funding to Environmental heritage, representing 59% of the Australian Capital Territory's cultural expenditure.

The category with the next highest expenditure was Other museums and cultural heritage ($550.6m), followed by Libraries ($367.3m) and Art museums ($191.8m). The New South Wales Government was the largest contributor to Other museums and cultural heritage accounting for $268.5m (49%) of total state and territory government expenditure on this category. Victoria (16%) was the next highest contributor with $89.7m.

In dollar terms, the New South Wales Government spent the most on Libraries with an estimate of $89.1m, followed by Victoria ($77.6m) and Queensland ($55.7m). Of all states and territories, the Tasmanian Government spent the largest proportion of its total expenditure (31%) on Libraries. This reflects the fact that libraries are mainly or solely funded by the Tasmanian Government whereas in the other states and the Northern Territory, local governments also contribute significantly to the funding of libraries.

The estimate of expenditure on Arts activities, funded by the state and territory governments, fell 2% in 2012-13 to $843.8m and was 26% of the total state and territory government expenditure on cultural activities. The fall was largely the result of decreases in expenditure for Performing arts venues (down $24.2m) and Film and video production and distribution (down $11.2m). Conversely, some categories increased expenditure, including Other arts (up $10.2m), Drama (up $5.3m) and Other performing arts (up $4.4m).

The Governments of New South Wales (29%), Victoria, (23%) and Queensland (16%) accounted for over two thirds (67%) of all Arts expenditure in 2012-13. Performing arts venues accounted for the highest amount of state and territory Arts expenditure ($270.1m) in 2012-13. The New South Wales Government provided 51% and the Victorian Government contributed 20% of the estimate of expenditure in this category.

Other arts and Film and video production and distribution were also major components of Arts expenditure, accounting for $225.6m and $92.0m respectively. The Victorian Government accounted for $42.1m (46%) of the estimate of expenditure on Film and video production and distribution.

In 2012-13 the estimate of expenditure funded by state and territory government on recurrent cultural activities was 80% of total expenditure, which was an increase from 2011-12 (78%).

Across all state and territory governments, the proportion of recurrent expenditure of total expenditure ranged from 68% by the Australian Capital Territory Government to 94% by the Queensland Government.

Of all recurrent expenditure, $1,076.8m (41%) was allocated to the Environmental heritage category. This was followed by Other museums and cultural heritage $345.7m (13%), Libraries $319.6m (12%), Other arts $205.8m (8%) and Art museums $170.3m (6%).

Of all the state and territory governments, the New South Wales Government had the highest estimate for recurrent expenditure on Heritage activities ($482.5m) and the Victorian Government had the highest estimate for recurrent expenditure on Arts activities ($156.7m).

In 2012-13, the estimate of capital expenditure accounted for 20% of all state and territory funded cultural expenditure and is lower than the proportion of expenditure in 2011-12 (22%). The governments of the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales allocated the highest proportions of total cultural expenditure to capital projects in 2012-13 with 32% and 30% respectively.

In 2012-13 Environmental heritage ($205.1m) and Other museums and cultural heritage ($204.9m) accounted for 62% of total capital expenditure while Performing arts venues ($124.9m) accounted for 19%. Since 2011-12, fluctuations in capital expenditure were experienced in specific categories. In particular, the estimate of capital expenditure on Environmental heritage and Performing arts venues fell $57.6m and $20.8m respectively. This was partially offset by expenditure increases on Other museums and cultural heritage ($35.7m) and Libraries ($6.4m).

In dollar terms, of all the state and territory governments, the New South Wales Government had the highest estimate for capital expenditure on Heritage activities ($174.9m) and the highest estimate for capital expenditure on Arts activities ($95.3m).

In dollar terms, of all the state and territory governments, the New South Wales Government had the highest estimate for capital expenditure on Heritage activities ($174.9m) and the highest estimate for capital expenditure on Arts activities ($95.3m).

In 2012-13 the estimate of cultural expenditure per person, funded by state and territory governments, was $143.60, a decrease from expenditure per person in 2011-12 ($145.70). In 2012-13 expenditure per person for Environmental heritage and Performing arts venues fell by $1.60 (down 3%) and $1.30 (down 10%) respectively, but rose $1.20 (up 5%) for Other museums and cultural heritage from $22.80 to $24.00.

Total expenditure on cultural activities by individual state and territory governments generally reflects population size with the more highly populated states spending the most in absolute terms. However, on a per person basis, the smaller states and territories had relatively higher levels of expenditure.

In 2012-13 the highest estimate of cultural expenditure per person was in the Northern Territory ($438.60) followed by the Australian Capital Territory ($389.80), Tasmania ($260.70) and Western Australia ($234.50). Victoria had the lowest estimate at $110.70 per person.

Refer to paragraphs 14 and 15 of the Explanatory notes for information regarding the population estimates used in the calculation of per person expenditure.

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the New South Wales Government was $899.8m or 27% of the cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. This was an increase of 10% from $815.2m in 2011-12. Recurrent expenses accounted for 70% of New South Wales Government cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the New South Wales Government was $122.30.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of New South Wales Government funds on Heritage activities increased 7% to $657.4m. This increase was largely attributable to increases in expenditure on Environmental heritage, and Other museums and cultural heritage up $20.6m and $19.6m respectively.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of New South Wales Government funds for Arts activities increased by 19% to $242.4m. The main contributor to this increase was Performing arts venues where government funded expenditure rose by $35.7m (35%) due primarily to capital investment. Smaller increases were also reported for Drama and Music performance up $3.4m and $3.2m respectively. Partially offsetting this was a fall in Film and video production and distribution with the estimate of expenditure for 2012-13 being $6.0m (34%) lower than 2011-12.

The estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the Victorian Government was $629.1m in 2012-13 which represented 19% of the cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. Recurrent expenses accounted for 80% of Victorian Government cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the Victorian Government was $110.70.

The estimate of expenditure of Victorian Government funds on Heritage activities rose from $405.1m in 2011-12 to $437.0m in 2012-13, an increase of 8%. The main drivers of this increase were Environmental heritage, and Other museums and cultural heritage with increases of $23.2m (13%) and $8.7m (11%) respectively. Victorian Government expenditure in all other Heritage categories remained relatively stable.

In 2012-13 the estimate of expenditure of Victorian Government funds on Arts activities fell 18% to $192.1m. Driving this fall was a reduction in funded expenditure on Performing arts venues of $48.5m (down 48%) due primarily to the completion of capital projects. Despite the reduction, this category still accounts for the largest proportion (27%) of funded expenditure by the Victorian Government on Arts activities. Partially offsetting this was an increase in expenditure on Other Arts which rose by $8.5m (up 27%).

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the Queensland Government was $534.8m or 16% of the cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. This was a fall of 12% from $608.2m in 2011-12. Recurrent expenses accounted for 94% of Queensland Government cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the Queensland Government was $115.90.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of Queensland Government funds on Heritage activities fell to $401.2m, a drop of 14%. Contributing to this movement were reductions in the categories of Environmental heritage, Other museums and cultural heritage, and Art museums with falls of $42.5m, $14.2m and $6.6m respectively. Reduced expenditure on capital projects accounted for more than two thirds (69%) of the decreased expenditure on Heritage activities.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of Queensland Government funds on Arts activities was $133.6m, a fall of 7% from 2011-12. The category reporting the largest decrease in expenditure was Performing arts venues with a fall of $6.3m (down 30%). Most of this fall was due to the completion of capital projects. Expenditure in the category of Music performance rose $0.8m (up 12%) in 2012-13.

Despite a fall of $3.1m (down 4%) in 2012-13, Other arts accounted for more than half (53%) of all expenditure funded by the Queensland Government on Arts activities.

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the South Australian Government was $261.5m or 8% of the cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. This estimate is similar to that reported in 2011-12 ($262.1m). Recurrent expenses accounted for 90% of South Australian Government funded cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the South Australian Government was $157.30.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of South Australian Government funds on Heritage activities was $168.7m. Whilst this remained similar to the level of funded expenditure on Heritage activities in 2011-12, there were some changes to the distribution of cultural expenditure in 2012-13. Expenditure on Art museums, Other museums and cultural heritage, Libraries and Archives rose by $13.1m collectively to be 19% higher than 2011-12. However, this increase was offset by a fall in expenditure on Environmental heritage of $13.3m (down 13%). Despite this fall, Environmental heritage still accounted for more than half (52%) of expenditure funded by the South Australian Government on heritage activities.

In 2012-13 the estimate of expenditure of South Australian Government funds for Arts activities was $92.8m which was similar to Arts expenditure in 2011-12 ($93.3m). Funding for Film and video production and distribution fell $12.0m (down 39%) in 2012-13 due primarily to the completion of capital projects. Offsetting this was increased expenditure in the categories of Other arts ($2.3m), Performing arts venues ($1.6m), Design ($1.6m) and Music performance ($1.3m). With the exception of Design, most of these movements were the result of increased recurrent expenses.

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the Western Australian Government was $581.1m, a fall of 5% from 2011-12. The 2012-13 estimate represented 18% of the cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. Recurrent expenses accounted for 78% of Western Australian Government funded cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the Western Australian Government was $234.50.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of Western Australian Government funds on Heritage activities was $453.0m, a fall of 6% from 2011-12. This fall was largely attributable to reductions in expenditure on Environmental heritage and Art museums with falls of $43.7m and $4.9m respectively. Partially offsetting these falls were increases in expenditure on Other museums and cultural heritage and Libraries with rises of $14.2m and $3.9m respectively.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of Western Australian Government funds for Arts activities fell 2% to $128.1m. The largest reductions in expenditure were in the categories of Performing arts venues and Design with falls of $6.3m (down 17%) and $4.3m (down 78%) respectively. Some of these falls were offset by an increase in expenditure for Other performing arts which increased by $3.2m (up 33%), and Film and video production and distribution (up $1.8m or 10%).

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the Tasmanian Government rose 3% to $133.6m which represented 4% of the total cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. Recurrent expenses accounted for 90% of Tasmanian Government cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure by the Tasmanian Government was $260.70.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of Tasmanian Government funds for Heritage activities rose 3% to $121.6m. Driving this movement were increases in the categories of Other museums and cultural heritage, Environmental heritage and Art museums, up $3.0m, $2.7m and $2.5m respectively. Partially offsetting these increases was a reduction in expenditure on Libraries, down $4.3m. Expenditure on Environmental heritage accounted for almost half (49%) of all Tasmanian Government funded Heritage expenditure.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure by the Tasmanian Government for Arts activities was $12.0m which was similar to Arts expenditure in 2011-12 despite fluctuations at the category level. Expenditure on Music performance rose $0.8m (26%) between 2011-12 and 2012-13, however this was offset by a reduction in expenditure on Visual arts and crafts, down $0.7m (44%) over the same period. For the remaining funding categories, fluctuations in expenditure were relatively small.

Music performance and Other arts were the two largest categories for Arts expenditure, accounting for 66% of all funded expenditure by the Tasmanian Government on Arts activities.

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the Northern Territory Government was $104.4m, an increase of 19% from 2011-12. The 2012-13 estimate was 3% of the total of state and territory government funded expenditure on cultural activities. Recurrent expenses accounted for 88% of Northern Territory Government cultural expenditure. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the Northern Territory Government was $438.60.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure funded by the Northern Territory Government on Heritage activities rose by 25% to $92.7m. This rise was largely attributable to increases in expenditure on Environmental heritage and Art museums up $13.7m and $4.9m respectively. Environmental heritage accounted for 61% of Northern Territory funded Heritage expenditure in 2012-13.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure of Northern Territory Government funds for Arts activities fell 15% to $11.8m. Whilst decreased expenditure was reported in the majority of funding categories between 2011-12 and 2012-13, the largest contributors to this movement were Music performance, Music composition and publishing, and Performing arts venues with falls of $1.5m, $1.3m and $1.2m respectively. Conversely, the category with the largest increase in expenditure was Other performing arts rising $1.8m. Expenditure on Other arts accounted for more than one third (38%) of all Arts expenditure funded by the Northern Territory Government in 2012-13.

In 2012-13, the estimate of cultural expenditure funded by the Australian Capital Territory Government increased by 20% to $147.3m, which was 4% of the total cultural expenditure funded by state and territory governments. Over two-thirds (68%) of cultural expenditure funded by the Australian Capital Territory Government was for recurrent activities. The estimate of per person expenditure funded by the Australian Capital Territory Government was $389.80.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure funded by the Australian Capital Territory Government on Heritage activities rose by 28% to $116.3m. Driving this increase was expenditure on Environmental heritage which rose by $25.6m (up 42%) to $86.8m and accounted for 75% of the expenditure of Heritage funds.

In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure funded by Australian Capital Territory Government on Arts activities fell by 3% to $31.1m. Driving the fall in expenditure were the categories of Visual arts and crafts, and Music theatre and opera falling by $3.5m (down 55%) and $1.2m (down 91%) respectively. Partially offsetting this fall were relatively small increases in expenditure across a number of Arts categories. Performing arts venues accounted for 35% of all Arts expenditure funded by the Australian Capital Territory Government.

In 2012-13, local government contributed $1,397.6m (20%) to the estimate of total government funded expenditure on cultural activities. Expenditure levels on cultural activities generally reflect the size of the population, with the highly populated states spending more funds on cultural activities. In 2012-13, the estimate of expenditure by local government authorities on cultural activities in New South Wales was $435.7m, in Victoria $377.7m and $269.7m in Queensland. The combined expenditure of these states on cultural activities represented 77% of total local government funded expenditure on cultural activities.

Note, the Australian Capital Territory does not have a local government and as such is not discussed here. Local government functions are instead carried out by the Australian Capital Territory Government whose cultural funding expenditure is discussed in the Australian Capital Territory section.

In 2012-13, 83% of the estimate of total local government funded expenditure on cultural activities was for recurrent expenses, compared to 85% in 2011-12. New South Wales had the largest amount of recurrent expenditure at $372.7m, followed by Victoria ($292.7m) and Queensland ($210.6m).

The estimate of capital expenditure by local government in 2012-13 was $235.2m. This was an increase of 15% from 2011-12. Victoria had the largest amount of capital expenditure at $85.0m, followed by New South Wales ($62.9m) and Queensland ($59.1m).

Local government expenditure estimates are obtained from state and territory Local Government Grants Commission's data, or equivalent. Since 2010-11, figures were sourced at the 'total' level for Local governments in Australia. This is less detail than in previous years, where figures were provided for a number of arts and culture categories.

In 2012-13, the estimate of the expenditure by local government on cultural activities was $61.00 per person, up 2% from 2011-12. In 2012-13, South Australia had the highest per person expenditure at $78.40 followed by Victoria with $66.50 and Western Australia with $62.50. In 2012-13 Tasmania had the largest increase from 2011-12 ($11.60), followed by Queensland ($5.40) and the Northern Territory ($5.20).

Refer to paragraphs 14 and 15 of the Explanatory notes for information regarding the population estimates used in the calculation of per person expenditure.

This release previously used catalogue number 4183.0