Appendix A: Spatial Reporting
The Government agreed to deliver a stronger governance and accountability framework for regional Australia in its agreement with the independent Members of Parliament (the Agreement). In the 2011‑12 Budget, the Government provided the first instalment of enhanced information on government spending in regional Australia.
In the 2012‑13 Budget, the Government will implement further improvements to the reporting of regional expenditure through the introduction of a refined spatial reporting framework that builds on the foundations of the first year of spatial reporting.
In particular, this year's report is based on a common classification of regional Australia for spatial reporting purposes. That classification is all of Australia except for areas classified as Major Cities under the established Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure available at:
http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/remoteness+structure.
Interpreting Spatial Reporting Information
Under the refined spatial reporting framework for the 2012‑13 Budget, expenditure is disaggregated by material program between Major Cities and Regional Australia for the Budget Year (2012‑13) and forward estimates (2013‑14 to 2015-16). Information is presented for selected portfolios that deliver major services across Australia who incur expenditure in regional Australia or have a presence in regional Australia.
A category of non-specific location has been used in cases where expenditure cannot be analysed for various reasons including expenditure of a discretionary nature subject to future competitive processes or where geographical data is not available for particular expenditure programs. The allocation for some programs may be based on signed agreements, or historical patterns presumed to continue into the future.
Each portfolio has prepared its information based on existing systems, a common classification and available data. There may be limitations to the accuracy of the data being prepared as reliable data of expenditure by geographical location is not readily available for all portfolios. For example, the billing address has been used in some cases rather than the location of activity.
Further information on each portfolio is available in the respective section of this document and in their respective Portfolio Budget Statements.
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