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Budget priorities

New in 2019

In 2019, 81% of Australians would increase spending for health if they were making up the budget for the federal government.

Question Budget priorities

Now about the federal budget. If you were making up the budget for the federal government this year, would you personally increase spending, decrease spending or keep spending about the same for:

Responses from 2019.

  1. 0%
  2. 25%
  3. 50%
  4. 75%
  5. 100%
Health
81
16
3
Education
74
23
3
Social welfare
47
37
16
Border protection
32
52
16
Defence
31
47
21
Foreign aid
17
36
47
  • Increase spending
  • Keep spending about the same
  • Decrease spending
Total
All groups

2023 observation

This year, Australians were asked whether they think the government should increase, decrease, or keep spending the same for a range of budget priorities. As in previous years, most Australians support an increase in spending on health (85%) and education (73%). Across all other areas, the 2023 survey shows a drop, to varying degrees, in the number of Australians who believe spending should be increased.

The largest shift in opinion relates to defence spending. In 2022, 51% of Australians supported an increase in defence spending, a 20-point rise on the last time the question about budget priorities was asked in 2019. This year, however, support for increasing defence spending has fallen ten points to 41%. An almost equal number of Australians (39%) think defence spending should remain about the same, while 20% think it should be decreased.

In 2023, most Australians would keep foreign aid spending the same (43%). However, in a seven-point drop from last year, only 17% now support an increase in foreign aid spending. And more than double this number would reduce the aid budget (40%), a rise of six points on last year.

Support for increasing social welfare declined five points to 51% in 2023. Support for increasing spending on border protection dropped six points to 33%.

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