GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA


This release contains statistics on expenditure on education by the general government sector for the period 2005-06 to 2014-15. 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 2009-10 to 2014-15.

Operating expenditure on education by all levels of general government increased by $3,030m (3.7%), from $81,540m in 2013-14 to $84,570m in 2014-15. Total expenditure on education by the Commonwealth Government was $31,375m, with expenditure by the state and local governments totalling $56,191m. Intra-sector transfers were $28,604m.

Of the total operating expenditure on education in 2014-15, $43,270m (51.2%) was spent on primary and secondary education and $30,624m (36.2%) on tertiary education (universities and TAFEs). Employee expenses of $43,306m accounted for 51.2% of total educational expenses with the remaining 48.8% being on non-employee expenses ($19,350m), depreciation ($3,815m), and transfer expenses ($18,098m).

GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, By Level of Government
	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Commonwealth Government	35 709	33 794	28 728	29 334	30 049	31 375
State and local governments	49 117	49 958	51 017	52 695	54 507	56 191
Multi-jurisdictional (a)	18 515	19 976	21 302	22 941	23 628	25 607
Less: Intra-sector transfers	31 854	28 052	25 188	25 465	26 643	28 604
All levels of government	71 486	75 677	75 859	79 506	81 540	84 570
(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
	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Primary and secondary education	39 101	40 166	38 736	40 645	41 785	43 270
Tertiary education	24 215	26 195	27 446	29 015	29 326	30 624
Pre-school & education not definable by level	3 089	3 325	4 216	4 454	4 786	5 091
Transportation of students	1 352	1 381	1 401	1 354	1 547	1 575
Education n.e.c.	3 729	4 610	4 060	4 036	4 097	4 010
Total by purpose	71 486	75 677	75 859	79 506	81 540	84 570

GOVERNMENT OPERATING EXPENSES ON EDUCATION, By Economic Transaction, All Levels of Government
	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Employee expenses	35 050	37 233	39 131	41 009	41 848	43 306
Non-employee expenses	15 811	16 305	17 544	18 131	18 679	19 350
Depreciation of fixed assets	2 657	2 892	3 233	3 523	3 668	3 815
Current transfer expenses	15 573	16 992	15 592	16 395	16 867	17 847
Capital transfer expenses	2 396	2 255	359	447	478	251
Total by economic transactions	71 486	75 677	75 859	79 506	81 540	84 570

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