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Australian Government Coat of Arms

Budget | 2015-16

Budget 2015-16
Australian Government Coat of Arms, Budget 2015-16

Statement 1 (continued)

Appendix A: Expense by function and sub‑function

Table A1: Estimates of expenses by function and sub‑function
  Actuals   Estimates   Projections
  2013‑14
$m
  2014‑15
$m
2015‑16
$m
2016‑17
$m
  2017‑18
$m
2018-19
$m
General public services                
Legislative and executive affairs 1,401   1,165 1,058 1,234   1,054 1,069
Financial and fiscal affairs 16,995   7,763 7,934 8,532   8,430 8,533
Foreign affairs and economic aid 6,011   6,324 5,422 5,663   5,573 5,740
General research 2,717   2,847 2,716 2,674   2,534 2,627
General services 684   860 913 877   888 906
Government superannuation benefits 5,834   6,208 4,119 3,956   3,745 3,667
Total general public services 33,642   25,169 22,162 22,936   22,224 22,543
Defence 22,113   24,612 26,348 26,106   27,631 28,783
Public order and safety                
Courts and legal services 1,089   1,063 1,198 1,169   1,111 1,096
Other public order and safety 3,280   3,518 3,687 3,682   3,625 3,711
Total public order and safety 4,368   4,580 4,885 4,851   4,735 4,806
Education                
Higher education 8,970   9,133 9,304 8,920   9,142 9,280
Vocational and other education 1,760   1,823 1,833 1,996   1,504 1,529
Schools 13,531   14,664 15,743 17,012   18,031 18,760
Non-government schools 8,741   9,417 9,997 10,653   11,179 11,620
Government schools 4,790   5,247 5,746 6,359   6,852 7,140
School education - specific funding 965   928 700 620   465 92
Student assistance 4,157   4,403 3,987 4,304   4,634 5,167
General administration 286   251 286 281   280 286
Total education 29,669   31,202 31,854 33,133   34,055 35,115
Health                
Medical services and benefits 26,360   28,195 29,502 30,735   31,844 33,608
Pharmaceutical benefits and services 10,351   10,607 11,138 11,667   12,081 12,439
Assistance to the States for public hospitals 13,841   15,459 16,441 17,382   18,103 18,873
Hospital services(a) 3,004   2,019 1,787 1,706   1,716 1,725
Health services 6,571   6,796 6,660 6,353   6,462 6,489
General administration 3,100   3,220 3,110 2,982   2,977 2,923
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health 756   740 743 809   893 931
Total health 63,983   67,037 69,381 71,634   74,076 76,987
Social security and welfare                
Assistance to the aged 54,587   57,637 60,734 63,057   65,538 69,400
Assistance to veterans and dependants 6,950   6,790 6,592 6,405   6,193 6,016
Assistance to people with disabilities 25,839   27,724 29,545 34,157   42,950 53,067
Assistance to families with children 36,352   38,808 38,143 37,084   38,152 39,856
Assistance to the unemployed and the sick 10,050   10,810 11,515 11,591   11,445 12,048
Other welfare programmes 1,190   1,527 1,494 1,529   897 1,017
Assistance for Indigenous Australians nec 1,691   2,148 2,112 2,161   2,151 2,105
General administration 3,907   3,662 3,865 3,671   3,394 3,360
Total social security and welfare 140,566   149,107 154,000 159,654   170,719 186,869
Housing and community amenities                
Housing 3,221   3,348 3,276 3,524   3,440 2,794
Urban and regional development 620   734 1,009 609   451 436
Environment protection 4,515   858 1,045 1,110   1,150 1,323
Total housing and community amenities 8,355   4,940 5,329 5,242   5,041 4,553
Recreation and culture                
Broadcasting 1,526   1,538 1,524 1,473   1,495 1,500
Arts and cultural heritage 1,236   1,187 1,302 1,199   1,154 1,157
Sport and recreation 511   404 345 337   304 300
National estate and parks 476   390 359 341   341 330
Total recreation and culture 3,749   3,520 3,530 3,350   3,294 3,287
Fuel and energy 6,749   6,986 6,706 6,705   6,895 7,237
Agriculture, forestry and fishing                
Wool industry 56   55 55 55   55 55
Grains industry 164   219 220 218   210 211
Dairy industry 53   55 56 57   58 59
Cattle, sheep and pig industry 194   200 181 181   183 186
Fishing, horticulture and other agriculture 261   298 293 291   281 268
General assistance not allocated to specific industries 26   26 26 26   27 27
Rural assistance 127   199 205 240   224 216
Natural resources development 869   1,011 1,346 1,194   1,079 741
General administration 634   669 681 667   663 646
Total agriculture, forestry and fishing 2,385   2,731 3,063 2,930   2,780 2,408
Mining, manufacturing and construction 3,451   3,218 3,142 3,129   3,082 3,092
Transport and communication                
Communication 701   643 640 633   603 563
Rail transport 1,648   740 1,079 1,303   954 674
Air transport 208   210 245 212   212 203
Road transport 5,305   4,214 5,935 8,402   6,899 4,236
Sea transport 335   351 382 425   429 442
Other transport and communication 211   345 295 222   206 197
Total transport and communication 8,407   6,504 8,575 11,198   9,304 6,315
Other economic affairs                
Tourism and area promotion 188   172 177 176   175 166
Total labour and employment affairs 3,879   3,903 3,963 4,296   4,326 4,358
Vocational and industry training 1,625   1,446 1,484 1,427   1,463 1,490
Labour market assistance to job seekers and industry 1,568   1,694 1,792 2,190   2,195 2,199
Industrial relations 686   763 687 679   668 669
Immigration 4,404   4,459 3,622 2,451   2,356 2,416
Other economic affairs nec 2,367   2,146 2,030 1,994   1,992 2,010
Total other economic affairs 10,838   10,680 9,792 8,918   8,850 8,950
Other purposes                
Public debt interest 13,414   14,468 15,561 16,455   16,846 17,364
Interest on Commonwealth Government's behalf 13,414   14,468 15,561 16,455   16,846 17,364
Nominal superannuation interest 8,214   8,989 9,869 10,259   10,648 11,034
General purpose inter-government transactions 53,563   57,467 60,038 63,949   67,534 71,232
General revenue assistance - States and Territories 52,391   55,178 57,749 61,660   65,149 68,745
Local government assistance 1,173   2,289 2,289 2,289   2,386 2,487
Natural disaster relief(b) 377   36 33 5   -1 -1
Contingency reserve 0   -911 201 2,201   4,104 8,854
Total other purposes 75,568   80,049 85,701 92,869   99,131 108,483
Total expenses 413,845   420,335 434,469 452,654   471,816 499,428

(a) The hospital services sub‑function includes payments from the Commonwealth to the states and territories for specific hospital improvement initiatives and is in addition to the bulk of hospital funding provided under the 'Assistance to the States for public hospitals' sub‑function.

(b) Amounts for the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) reflect expenses being recorded in the year in which the disaster occurs rather than when payments are made to state or territory governments in relation to Australian Government financial obligations under the NDRRA. The Natural Disaster Relief estimates do not include the recent NSW storms.