Fed: Australians spent $13.7 billion on welfare last year
CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP - Australians forked out an average $710 per person on welfarelast year, spending a total of $13.7 billion to help the elderly, disabled, disadvantagedfamilies and children.
Welfare spending last financial year equated to two per cent of Gross Domestic Product,a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) showed.
It found real growth in welfare expenditure between 1998-99 and 2000-01 averaged 5.9per cent each year.
The spending analysed in the report was on services provided mostly to older people,people with disabilities, families and children.
It did not include estimated $48 billion in social security payments, such as age pensions,disability support pensions and Newstart allowances.
The AIHW report found $9.6 billion, or about 70 per cent of the funding for welfareservices, was provided by the government sector.
The remaining $4.1 billion was contributed by non-government sources.
The federal government spent $4.3 billion in 2000-01, an average of $222 per Australian,with the greatest areas of spending on services for older people (38 per cent) and familyand child welfare services (33 per cent).
Report co-author Tony Hynes said funding by state and territory governments averaged$258 per person.
"Three states - Victoria, NSW and Western Australia - had per capita spending ratesthat were more than 10 per cent above the national average," he said.
"And South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland were all well below that average."
Mr Hynes said the report highlighted the vital role non-government community serviceorganisations played in providing welfare services.
"In 2000-01 over half the funding - $6.9 billion - was for services provided by thoseorganisations," he said.
The AIHW report found concessions on council rates, electricity, water, sewerage andpublic transport were valued at $821 million in 2000-01.
ABout 70 per cent of those concessions, or $651 million, benefited older Australiansand people with disabilities.
The report estimated welfare-related tax expenditures directed at welfare service providerorganisations cost governments about $836 million in 2000-01.
AAP sm/sb/ph/de
KEYWORD: WELFARE
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