The Western Australian Aboriginal Expenditure Review (AER) is an annual overview of all State Government expenditure on programs and services for Aboriginal people.
The release of the AER is part of Western Australia’s commitment to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (clause 113), which requires governments to report on current spending on programs and services for Aboriginal people and to identify opportunities to reprioritise funding to Aboriginal Organisations, particularly Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs).
The Department of Treasury and Finance’s (DTF) Aboriginal Affairs Coordination Unit (AACU) has worked with government agencies to collect expenditure data and formulate the report. The AER reports data from 23 government agencies who recorded expenditure on programs and services that are specifically for or are predominantly used by Aboriginal people and communities. This data included information about whether Aboriginal organisations were involved in the delivery of programs and services, the delivery location, and alignment with specific Closing the Gap outcomes.
The reporting years for this AER are 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 with the focus year of the report being 2022-23.
Key findings:
- Aboriginal expenditure increased by 22.8% between 2021-22 and 2022-23 to a total of $759.4 million and is budgeted to increase by a further 34.4% in 2023-24.
- Aboriginal organisations were involved in 53.2% of Aboriginal expenditure, where they were either one of several parties involved or were the sole provider of a program or service.
- Six agencies accounted for 80% of Aboriginal expenditure, being the Department of Communities, WA Health, Departments of Education; Justice; and Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions; and the Mental Health Commission.
- The Department of Communities continues to have the highest total direct Aboriginal expenditure at $208.9 million in 2022-23, followed by WA health at $127.6 million.
For the first time, DTF has produced a Community Guide to provide an overview of the AER’s findings in an accessible format that can be shared with community members.
This AER also includes a Program List highlighting all the programs and services that have been included in the AER across the reporting years.
Next steps
DTF is committed to the continuous improvement of AER reporting. In the next AER and subsequent iterations, the AACU will work to maximise the utility of the AER for agencies, peak bodies, and ACCOs to ensure investment translates to meaningful change for Aboriginal people and communities in WA. This includes working with agencies to improve the quality and level of detail in AER reporting data, and explore opportunities to increase the AER’s alignment with the whole-of-government policies and strategies that seek to deliver positive outcomes for Aboriginal people and communities. Data collection for the third AER will commence soon.
We encourage everyone to engage with the report and share it with your networks.
If you have any questions about this or future iterations of the AER, please contact DTF’s Aboriginal Affairs Coordination Unit tsy-aacu@treasury.wa.gov.au
Print this page
