INTRODUCTION
According to the most recent ABS Household Expenditure Survey (2003-04) there were an estimated 7.7 million households in Australia, each spending an average of $36.40 per week on culture - equivalent to a total annual expenditure of $14,694m by all households. The Household Expenditure Survey collected detailed information at the household rather than personal level because some expenditures (e.g. DVD players) benefit the whole family and cannot be meaningfully attributed to an individual within a household.
Many factors influence household spending on culture, including:
- the size of the household - more people generally equates 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 - expenditure on most goods and services is related to the household's income
- the composition of the household - cultural interests vary according to the age and sex of individuals in a household which in turn influences where their cultural dollars are spent.