Where Australia's money is going · daily average

—average daily federal outlay

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Weekly Wrap

This Week in Australia's Money

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Where does YOUR tax money go?

Enter your income — see exactly how many dollars flow to health, defence, pensions and debt interest.

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What's getting the most public money

Sorted by total spend

Funding river

Where the money flows, sector by sector

Animated flow of $555.26B in tracked federal spend. Thicker = more money. Click a stream to dive in.

Live • Budget Papers

Spending impactReference fact

Inland Rail's estimated cost has risen from the original ~$8.4B (2017) to $31.4B (ARTC review, 2023) — a near-tripling over the life of the program.

Why this matters

Inland Rail is the largest rail project in Australian history. Cost growth on this scale shifts billions away from other transport priorities.

vs normalEquivalent to more than double the cumulative real cost escalation of any other Commonwealth megaproject this decade.

impact≈ $880 per Australian over the life of the program, in nominal terms.

Worth a closer lookReference fact

The AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine program is estimated at $268–368B over three decades (2023 Optimal Pathway announcement).

Why this matters

This is the single largest defence commitment in Australian history and reshapes the long-term federal expenditure profile.

vs normalRepresents roughly 0.15% of GDP per year over the program's life — comparable to total Commonwealth spending on higher education.

Spending impactReference fact

Government spending on aged-care services reached $36.4B in 2023-24, up 64% from $22.1B in 2017-18 (AIHW).

Why this matters

Aged care is the fastest-growing major Commonwealth program. The trajectory drives a large share of long-run budget pressure.

vs normalResidential care accounts for ~59% of aged-care outlays; home care ~32%.

Where your tax money goes

Federal spending, by sector

Tap a slice to see what's inside. Totals are annualised from the latest budget papers.

Total tracked

$555.26B

Sources: Federal Budget Papers · Department of Finance · data.gov.au. Percentages are share of tracked spend, not total government outlays.

Where parties prioritise spending

Derived from current budget allocations, bills sponsored and public positioning. Darker = stronger backing for that sector.

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Health Defence Transport Education Fuel Environment

ALP

LNP

GRN

IND

Sources: Federal Budget Papers, House of Representatives bill register, party platforms. Updated each sitting fortnight.

Geography · Live

Where Australia's money is going

Live federal contract allocation by state and territory — switch between total dollars, per-resident spend, and contract count.

All electorates →

Federal contracts pay for hospitals, roads, defence, IT systems and consultants in every state. This map is built from a pilot sample of AusTender contract notices joined to ABS population data. It does not represent total federal expenditure in each state — only contracts currently ingested. Full coverage is in progress.

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Colour intensity = total contract dollars awarded with a delivery address in that state.

WA1 electorate
$0 total
NT0 electorates
$0 total
SA0 electorates
$0 total
QLD4 electorates
$0 total
NSW4 electorates
$0 total
ACT1 electorate
$0 total
VIC2 electorates
$0 total
TAS0 electorates
$0 total

Source: AusTender + ABS · updated live