1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2007   
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Contents >> Education and Training >> Expenditure on education

EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION

NATIONAL FUNDING

Total expenditure on education has two components - public and private. In this chapter, the data for the public component is compiled in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Government Finance Statistics (GFS) framework, while the private component is sourced from the Australian System of National Accounts.

The GFS data presented here are for the general government sector only, rather than the total public sector, and therefore do not cover expenditure on education by other sectors of the government. Also, the Australian (Commonwealth) Government records expenses when supplying grants to private schools which in turn spend these grant amounts, thus producing two expenditure transactions. For these reasons, the public and private expenditure data presented here, cannot be added to derive total expenditure on education.

Data for individual time periods are expressed 'in current prices', or in terms of prices at a given time. Consequently, changes over time in, for example, operating expenses may be affected by price changes.

General government expenditure

The GFS provides a framework for measuring and analysing the financial activities of government. The GFS data presented in this chapter is recorded on an accrual accounting basis. This means that transactions are recorded in the period in which income is earned or expenses incurred, regardless of when a cash payment is made.

Operating expenses for all levels of government, classified by purpose, are shown in graph 10.33 and table 10.34. Operating expenses on education include: employee expenses; non-employee expenses; depreciation of fixed assets; and current and capital transfer expenses. Between 1998-99 and 2004-05, operating expenses increased by 51% overall, with increases of 51% in primary and secondary education, and 45% in tertiary education. Operating expenditure in 2004-05 was $47,217 million (m), an increase of $3,816m (9%) from the previous year. This largely reflects increases in expenditure on primary and secondary education of $2,261m (9%) and tertiary education of $1,111m (7%) over the same period.

10.33 OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, All levels of government 10.33 OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, All levels of government

10.34 GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION(a)

2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

Primary and secondary education
19,576
20,902
22,377
23,971
26,232
Tertiary education
12,945
13,939
15,102
15,975
17,086
Preschool and education not definable by level
1,356
1,427
1,598
1,797
1,978
Transportation of students
827
900
1,137
949
1,145
Education n.e.c.
590
732
709
709
776
Total
35,294
37,899
40,924
43,401
47,217

(a) All levels of government.
Source: Government Finance Statistics, Education, Australia, Electronic delivery, 2004-05 (5518.0.55.001).


Graph 10.35 summarises operating expenses on education for each level of government from 1998-99 to 2004-05. Over this period, total operating expenses of state and local government increased by 51%, while expenses for the Australian Government increased by 49%. Intra-sector transfers are transfers or transactions that occur between different levels of government for the purposes of education, the net effect of which is to reduce total government operating expenses on education.

10.35 OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, By level of government 10.35 OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, By level of government

10.36 GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, By level of government

2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

Commonwealth Government
10,971
11,770
12,110
13,398
14,382
State and local government
25,332
27,252
29,419
31,089
34,077
Multi-jurisdictional(a)
9,361
10,016
10,974
11,738
12,671
less Intra-sector transfers
10,369
11,139
11,579
12,825
13,913
Total
35,294
37,899
40,924
43,401
47,217

(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector currently contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or the classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. The main type of units falling into this category are public universities.
Source: Government Finance Statistics, Education, Australia, Electronic delivery, 2004-05 (5518.0.55.001).


General government revenue

Sales of goods and services (graph 10.37, table 10.38), from a GFS perspective, is defined as the revenue from the direct provision of goods and services by general government. In the context of education, this would include fees paid by students (domestic and overseas) for the provision of education services. Tertiary education has by far the highest value for sales of goods and services at $7,366m in 2004-05, and accounts for 90% of the total of goods and services across all levels of education within the general government sector. Sales of goods and services from tertiary education institutions increased by $192m (nearly 3%) from 2003-04 to 2004-05. Primary and secondary education institutions had sales of goods and services of $738m in 2004-05, an increase of 19% on the previous year.

10.37 SALES OF GOODS AND SERVICES, By level of education 10.37 SALES OF GOODS AND SERVICES, By level of education

10.38 SALES OF GOODS AND SERVICES

2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

Primary and secondary education
452
549
635
623
738
Tertiary education
5,347
6,121
6,924
7,174
7,366
Preschool and education not definable by level
49
39
32
18
5
Transportation of students
1
1
2
2
2
Education n.e.c.
8
14
17
25
49
Total
5,856
6,723
7,610
7,843
8,160

Source: Government Finance Statistics, Education, Australia, Electronic delivery, 2004-05 (5518.0.55.001).


Table 10.39 shows Australian (Commonwealth) Government grants to different levels of government by level of education. Primary and secondary education was the major recipient of Government grants at $7,268m in 2004-05, while the universities (within the multi-jurisdictional sector) received a total of $4,693m in the same period. These represented increases of 11% and 7% respectively from 2003-04.


10.39 COMMONWEALTH GRANTS TO OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, By level of education - 2004-05

Primary and
secondary
education
Technical and
further
education
Universities
Other
Total
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

State and local government
New South Wales
2,416
390
1
2,808
Victoria
1,833
278
1
2,112
Queensland
1,377
195
22
1,594
South Australia
564
95
5
664
Western Australia
703
114
1
818
Tasmania
165
30
3
198
Northern Territory
80
16
9
105
Australian Capital Territory
130
26
1
156
Total
7,268
1,144
42
8,454
Multi-jurisdictional(a)
4,693
4,693
Total
7,268
1,144
4,693
42
13,147

(a) The multi-jurisdictional sector currently contains units where jurisdiction is shared between two or more governments, or the classification of a unit to a jurisdiction is otherwise unclear. The main type of units falling into this category are public universities.
Source: Government Finance Statistics, Education, Australia, Electronic delivery, 2004-05 (5518.0.55.001).


Private expenditure

Private sector expenditure on education (sourced from the Australian National Accounts) consists of gross fixed capital formation by private educational institutions and household final consumption expenditure on education services.

Gross fixed capital formation in the field of education is estimated from statistics of the value of work done on new building and major additions to buildings of private educational institutions.

Household final consumption expenditure on education services is estimated as: fees paid by persons to government schools (including technical and agricultural colleges); fees (other than boarding fees) and gifts to universities, independent schools, business colleges, etc; plus current expenditure of non-profit educational institutions (net of fees and other current receipts). Expenditure on such items as school books, uniforms, fares for students' travel, etc. and expenditure by parents' associations on school equipment are not included.

Table 10.41 provides data for private sector expenditure on education. Both gross fixed capital formation and household final consumption expenditure increased every year between 1998-99 and 2003-04. For 2004-05, gross fixed capital formation fell 6% on the previous year, while household final consumption expenditure rose by 11%. Of the total private expenditure on education ($19,719m), household final consumption expenditure comprised $18,271m (or 93%).


10.40 PRIVATE EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION

2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

Gross fixed capital formation
1,013
1,184
1,310
1,544
1,448
Household final consumption expenditure
12,914
13,969
15,117
16,445
18,271
Total
13,927
15,153
16,427
17,989
19,719

Source: ABS data available on request, Australian System of National Accounts.


FUNDING BY EDUCATION SECTOR

Schools

The primary and secondary education operating expenses of all levels of government totalled $26,232m in 2004-05 (table 10.34). Operating expenses associated with preschool, special, and other education were $1,978m. Preschool, primary, secondary, special school and other education expenses were largely met by state and territory governments. State and territory governments also contributed funds to the transportation of students, totalling $1,145m in 2004-05.

While primary and secondary education is free in government schools in all states and territories, fees may be charged for the hire of text books and other school equipment (particularly in secondary schools). Voluntary contributions may also be sought from parents.

In addition to funding schools directly, most state and territory governments provide financial assistance to parents (under specified conditions) for educational expenses of school children. Assistance includes scholarships, bursaries, and transport and boarding allowances, many of which are intended to assist low-income families. The Australian Government also provides a number of assistance schemes to facilitate access to education.

Vocational education and training (VET)

Recurrent revenue comprises revenues appropriated by the Australian Government and state and territory governments to fund the normally occurring business activities of the sector and specifically excludes funds for capital asset construction, improvement or replacement. The Australian Apprenticeship Scheme received an additional $729m in 2005.

Information supplied by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research shows that VET providers in receipt of public funds primarily receive recurrent revenue from the state and territory governments (48% or $2,758m, in 2005) with additional funds being provided by the Australian Government (33% or $1,897m). The remaining 19% ($1,106m) is made up of on-going (recurrent) revenue earned by the sector from fees and charges arising from fee-for-service activities (11%), student fees and charges (4%) and other ordinary operating activities (4%).

Most providers charge students fees for the administration of VET courses, for tuition, for materials or for student amenities. These fees vary according to the type of course and its duration.

Higher education

Most higher education institutions are funded by the Australian Government under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cwlth). In 2005 the operating revenue (before extraordinary items) of these institutions amounted to $13,904m, 42% of which came from Australian Government grants, including those provided by the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

In addition to government funding, institutions receive revenue from students who are required to contribute to the cost of their education through the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), and from other fee-paying students. Higher education fees and charges have increased in importance in recent years. In 2005, 15% of operating revenue was raised from HECS, including 'up-front' student payments. Other fees and charges accounted for a further 23% of operating revenue. These fees and charges included $2,140m from fee-paying overseas students, representing 67% of other fees and charges - a rise of 10% since 2004.

Some institutions rely more heavily than others on fees paid by overseas students. For example, the Central Queensland University, Macquarie University, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology received 46%, 27% and 25% respectively of their revenue from fee-paying overseas students. This is well above the overall national average of 15%.

Adult and community education (ACE)

ACE programs are typically provided by adult migrant education centres, evening colleges, language centres, welfare organisations and other community-based organisations. Educational institutions including universities and TAFE may also offer ACE programs. ACE complements the formal programs and qualification pathways provided by the schools, VET and higher education sectors. However, separate funding information for ACE is not available.



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