Government at a Glance 2015

Country Fact Sheetwww.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm

Australian Public finances are deteriorating

In 2013, Australia reported a deficit of 2.6% as a share of GDP and a structurally adjusted deficit of 1.4 as a share of po-tential GDP. Since 2007, debt levels (according to the System of National Accounts definition) have consistently increased (21 percentage points), reaching 41.4% as a share of GDP in 2014. Compared to other OECD countries, Australia was not as severely affected by the global economic crisis. Nonetheless, the budget is highly volatile as revenues rely heavily on natural mining resources that have recently experienced diminishing prices.

Chapter 2: Public finance and economicsGeneral government fiscal balance as a percentage of GDPGeneral government gross debt as a percentage of GDPBreakdown of tax revenue as a percentage of total taxationGeneral government structural balance as a percentage of potential GDP

The size of government has moderately increased, but remains below the OECD average

Australia was one of the few OECD countries where employment levels in the public administration experienced a moder-ate increase between 2008 and 2014. The share of public employment as a percentage of total employment reached 18.4% in 2013, still below the OECD average of 21.3%; similarly, government expenditures were below OECD average (36.6% as a share of GDP in Australia vs 41.9% in the OECD). However, during the same period, a remuneration reform occurred with the intention of attaining cost control and limiting wage growth.

Chapter 2: Public finance and economicsGeneral government expenditures as a percentage of GDPChapter 3: Public employment and compensationPublic sector employment as a percentage of total employmentChapter 6: Human Resources ManagementCompensation reforms implemented since 2008Employment reforms in select OECD countries’ central public administration

Australian society is becoming more equal

The tax system in Australia plays an important role in income redistribution. Australia’s Gini coefficient changes from 0.46 before taxes and transfers, to 0.32 after taxes and transfers. Moreover between 2011 and 2007, the disposable income of the bottom 10% of the population increased annually by 1.6%, while it decreased by 0.8% for the top 10%. In contrast, on average, for OECD member countries disposable income decreased at a higher annual pace for the bottom 10% (1.6%) than for the top 10% (0.8%).

Chapter 11: Core Government resultsAnnual percentage changes in household disposable income

Australia combines higher household expenditure on tertiary education with high entry rates

The share of private expenditure on tertiary education institutions reached 54.3% and is significantly above OECD average (30.8%). However, in 2012, the entry rate to tertiary type A education amounted to 102% in Australia (76% when excluding international students). This figure has increased by 43 percentage points since 2000, the highest increase across OECD countries. Overall the satisfaction with the general education system is 67%, a similar figure to the OECD average.

Chapter 12: Serving citizensShare of private expenditure on educational institutionsEntry rates into tertiary-type A education (university)

Australia

Government revenues(2013)

Government expenditures(2013)

Government gross debt *(2013, 2014)

% of GDP % of GDP % of GDP

Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts

G@G /dataG@G /data

-15% -10% 0%-5% +5% +10% +15%-2.6%

Australia

-4.2%

Fiscal balance *(2013)% of GDP

Public investment(2013)

% of of total govt. expenditures

How to read the figures:

Australia

Country value in blue (not represented if not available)

Average of OECD countries in green

Range of OECD country values in grey

Values have been rounded. n.a. refers to

data not available

Public Finance & Economics Public Employment & Compensation

Public Finance and Economics

GOVERNMENT INPUTS: FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES

29.3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

17.2%Australia

20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

41.9%36.6%

Australia

7.8%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

9.5%

Australia

37.4%

2013

41.4% 100%

0%2014

109.3%100%

0% 2013

0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250%

Australia

Source: OECD National Accounts* SNA definition, see Notes

Source: OECD National Accounts. * See Notes

Public Employment and Compensation

G@G /data

58.0%

57.5%Australia

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Public sector employment filled by women (2013)

Source: International Labour Organization (database)

Share of women ministers(2015)

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union Parline Database

Public sector employmentas % of total employment (2013)

Source: International Labour Organization (database)

21.3%

18.4%Australia

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

37.7%34.0%

Australia

GOVERNMENT PROCESSES

Institutions Regulatory Governance Public Procurement Public Sector Integrity Digital Government

Digital Gov.

High Moderate Low

30%59%11%

ModerateAustralia

G@G /data

Level ofinfluence of the

Centre of Governmentover line ministries

(2013)

Institutions

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Centre of Government

Women in Government

Primary lawsSubordinateregulations

Stakeholder engagement to inform o�cials about the problem and

possible solutions

Primary lawsSubordinateregulations

Consultation on draft regulations or proposed rules

For major primary laws

For major subordinate regulations

For allprimary laws

For all primary laws /subordinate regulations

For major primary laws /subordinate regulations

For some primary laws /subordinate regulations

NeverNotapplicable

For major subordinate regulations

3%15%65%15%2%

6%9%

62%23%0%

68%6%

18%6%2%

53%18%24%5%0%

Australia

G@G /data

Source: OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook (forthcoming)

Stakeholder engagement and consultation (2014)

Regulatory Governance

Strategic public procurement - Objectives(2014)

G@G /data

Public Procurement

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

29.0%

50%

33.9%

Australia

Source: OECD National Accounts

Procurement expenditure(2013)

% of government expenditures

Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Public Procurement

Public Sector Integrity

2632

6444

Judicial Branch “At risk” areasLegislative BranchExecutive Branch

Low level

Medium level

High level

38

AustraliaAustraliaAustraliaAustralia

75

1525

Level of disclosure of private interestsacross branches of government

(2014)

Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Managing Conflict of Interest in the Executive Branch and Whistleblower Protection

0.58

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0.81Australia

OURdata Index:Open, Useful, ReusableGovernment Data (2014)

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest

Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Open Government Data

Support for greenpublic procurement

A strategy / policy has been developed by some procuring entities

A strategy / policy has been developed at a central level

Support forSMEs

Support for innovativegoods and services

13 26 1

A strategy / policy has been rescinded

A strategy / policy has never been developed

2 10 25 0 3 10 23 0 3

Australia

GOVERNMENT OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES

Notes Fiscal balance as reported in the System of National Accounts (SNA) framework, also referred to as net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of government, is calculated as total government revenues minus total government expenditures. Structural fiscal balance, or underlying balance, represents the fiscal balance adjusted for the state of the economic cycle (as measured by the output gap which resulted as the dif ference between actual and potential GDP) and one-off fiscal operations. Government gross debt is reported according to the SNA definition, which dif fers from the definition applied under the Maastricht Treaty. It is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. All debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt. Government gross debt for Australia is reported on an adjusted basis (i.e. excluding unfunded pension liabilities).

Core Government Results and Service Delivery

Out of pocket expenditure as a % of final household consumption Access to healthcare (2012)

Source: OECD Health Statistics 2014

Satisfaction and confidence across public services (2014)

71%

Judicial system

Education system

80%

20

40

60

80

100

Health care

67%67%

54%60%

National government42%45%

Australia

Average

Range

Source: Gallup World Poll

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

AustraliaTop10%

1.6%

Bottom10%

-0.5%

Top10%

Bottom10%

-1.6% -0.8%

Changes in household disposable income,by income group (2007-2011)

Source: OECD Income Distribution Database

Limited government powers(2015)

Australia0.83

0.76

[0.37-0.92]

Source: The World Justice Project

Equity in learning outcomes (2012)PISA mathematics score variance by socio economic background

14.8%

5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

12.3%Australia

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 results: Excellence through equity, 2013

% of citizens expressing confidence/satisfaction

Government at a Glance 2015With a focus on public administration, OECD Government at a Glance 2015 provides readers with a dashboard of key indicators assembled with the

goal of contributing to the analysis and international comparison of public sector performance across OECD countries. Indicators on public finances

and employment are provided alongside composite indexes summarising aspects of public management policies, and indicators on services to

citizens in health care, education, and justice. Government at a Glance 2015 also includes indicators on key governance and public management

issues, such as regulatory management, budgeting practices and procedures, public sector integrity, public procurement and core government

results in terms of trust in institutions, income redistribution and efficiency and cost-effectiveness of governments.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2015-en

The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance 2015 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication:

For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes)and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: www.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm

2.8%

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%

3.1%Australia