28
March 2019
PDF version [356KB]
Daniel Weight
and Phillip Hawkins
Economic Policy Section
The Commonwealth Budget is typically the
most important annual policy statement by the Government.
This Quick Guide identifies information and key concepts
that are used in the Budget Papers and related materials.
Contents
What is the Budget?
What occurs on Budget night?
What is in the Budget Papers and
related materials?
Budget Speech
Budget Overview
Budget Paper No. 1: Budget Strategy and
Outlook
Budget Paper No. 2: Budget Measures
Budget Paper No. 3: Federal Financial
Relations
Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing
Portfolio Budget Statements
Ministerial Statements
What occurs after Budget night?
Legislation relating to the financial
management of the Commonwealth
Charter of Budget Honesty
Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013
Other Budget-related reports not
released on Budget night
Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Final Budget Outcome
Intergenerational Report
Pre-election Economic and Fiscal
Outlook
Post-election Report
Key concepts used in the Budget Papers
Accrual accounting and cash accounting
Timeframes and terminology
Net operating balance, fiscal balance
and underlying cash balance
Parameter variations and
policy decisions
Outcomes and programs
Administered and departmental items
General Government Sector, Public
Non-financial Corporations sector and Public Financial Corporations sector
entities
Consolidated Revenue Fund and
appropriations
Annual Appropriation Bills
Special appropriations
Retained revenue receipts
Special Accounts
Appendix: Details of prior Commonwealth
Budgets
What is the
Budget?
The Budget is a series of documents, known as papers, tabled
by the Australian Government with the Annual Appropriation Bills. The Budget
Papers serve several purposes:
- They are a statement to the Parliament, and through the
Parliament the broader Australian community, of the current and forecast
economic and fiscal position (including both revenues and expenditures) of the
Commonwealth.
- They outline the policy priorities of the Australian Government,
and are used by the Government to announce new policies and the estimated
fiscal impact of those policies.
- They outline the estimated resourcing of Australian Government
departments and agencies, and the costs of the programs they administer.
What occurs on Budget night?
On Budget night the Treasurer tables the annual
Appropriation Bills for the forthcoming year in the House of Representatives,
and delivers the second reading speech on Appropriation Bill (No. 1). This
speech is also referred to as the Budget Speech. In recent years, the second
reading speech on Appropriation Bill (No. 1) has commenced at 7.30
pm.
Since 1994, the Appropriation Bills have typically been
tabled on the second Tuesday in May. The Appendix shows the dates of all
Commonwealth Budgets since 1901.
Along with the Appropriation Bills, the Government also tables
the Budget Papers and related materials. The Budget Papers and related
materials are made available on the internet at www.budget.gov.au when the Treasurer
commences the second reading speech on Appropriation Bill (No. 1).
Increasingly, detailed tables and budget data are also
released on data.gov.au shortly after the
Budget Papers are tabled.
What is in the Budget
Papers and related materials?
The Budget Papers comprise:
- the Budget Speech
- the Budget Overview
- Budget Paper No. 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook
- Budget Paper No. 2: Budget Measures
- Budget Paper No. 3: Federal Financial Relations and
- Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing.
Additionally, for each portfolio, the Government produces a
Portfolio Budget Statement. The Government may also table one or more
Ministerial Statements with the Budget Papers.
Budget Speech
The Budget Speech is a copy of the second reading
speech for the Appropriation Bill (No. 1). The Treasurer will use the second
reading speech to set out the reasons why the annual Appropriation Bills should
be passed by the Parliament. Treasurers have used the second reading speech to
update the Parliament about the prevailing economic circumstances, and to
announce important or major policy decisions that the Government has made.
Budget Overview
The Budget Overview provides a summary of what the
Government considers to be the main or important aspects of the Budget.
Budget Paper No. 1:
Budget Strategy and Outlook
Budget Paper No. 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook provides
high-level information about the overall economic outlook, and the
Commonwealth’s fiscal position. Specifically, it provides:
-
information about the international and domestic economic
outlook, including numerical forecasts of key economic parameters such as gross
domestic product (GDP) growth, employment and unemployment, and the consumer
price index (CPI)
-
a statement of the Government’s fiscal strategy and the fiscal
outlook of the Commonwealth
- estimates of the revenues and expenditures of the Commonwealth, and
their composition
- information on the proposed capital investment of the
Commonwealth
-
information on the assets, liabilities—including contingent
liabilities, or ‘risks’—and debt held or owed by the Commonwealth and
- historical information about the Commonwealth’s fiscal and debt
position.
Budget Paper No. 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook also
contains technical details about the presentation of the financial information
of the Commonwealth, including how individual entities are classified for
accounting purposes, and the budgeted financial statements for the whole of the
Commonwealth Government.
Budget Paper No. 2:
Budget Measures
Budget Paper No. 2: Budget Measures contains
information about the budget measures—or policies—the Government has decided to
pursue. Each budget measure is classified according to what aspect of the
Commonwealth’s finances it mostly affects, with:
- a revenue measure mostly affecting the revenues of the
Commonwealth
-
an expense measure mostly affecting expenses of the
Commonwealth and
- a capital measure mostly affecting the capital—or
assets—held by the Commonwealth.
The description of each measure will have a costing attached
to it.
A costing is an estimate of the impact of the proposed
policy on the fiscal position, or ‘budget balance’, of the Commonwealth over
the forward estimates period.
For revenue measures:
- a positive costing reflects an increase in revenue from
the policy measure (a positive impact on the Budget balance) and
- a negative costing reflects a decrease in revenue from the
policy measure (a negative impact on the Budget balance).
For expense measures:
- a positive costing reflects an increase in expenditure
from the policy measure (a negative impact on the Budget balance) and
- a negative number reflects a decrease in expenditure from
the policy measure (a positive impact on the Budget balance).
For capital measures:
-
a positive number reflects an increase in the assets of
the Commonwealth and
- a negative number reflects a decrease in the assets of the
Commonwealth.
| Example: If the Government announces a measure to build a new
computer system, because the computer system will—once completed—be an asset
for the Commonwealth, the measure will be classified as a capital measure. The
measure will have a positive costing associated with it as the decision will
result in an increase in the assets held by the Commonwealth. |
Some policy measures cannot be accurately costed by the
government, or may not have any financial implications. The Budget papers,
therefore, may also identify some measures’ costing as:
- a nil effect, denoted by ‘–’
- a small effect that is close to zero, denoted by ‘...’ or
- an uncertain or unquantifiable effect, denoted by ‘*’.
Costings are generally only presented for the four year
forward estimates period.
Budget Paper No. 3: Federal Financial Relations
Budget Paper No. 3: Federal Financial Relations
contains information about grants of financial assistance made by the
Commonwealth to the states and territories. There are two categories of
financial assistance that the Commonwealth may make:
- Specific purpose payments are monies provided by the Commonwealth
on the condition that the states and territories spend those monies on
specified purposes such as health, education, or roads, or use them to fund
local governments. These are sometimes called ‘tied grants’.
- General revenue assistance is money provided by the Commonwealth to
the states or territories without any conditions on how it may be spent. Assistance
of this type is sometimes called ‘untied grants’.
The main type of general revenue assistance is the revenue
from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Budget Paper No. 3: Federal
Financial Relations provides estimates of the amount of GST revenue that
will be collected, and estimates of how much each state and territory will
receive from the GST.
A supplement to Budget Paper No. 3 that is only
available online sets out where any conditions that attach to grants of
financial assistance to the states and territories may be found or obtained,
and how monies provided to the states and territories are to be appropriated by
the Parliament.
Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing
Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing deals with the
various types of appropriations that are used by the Government to fund
entities and activities. Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing shows:
- for each entity, and for each outcome of each entity, the amounts
and types of appropriation that are expected to be utilised in the forthcoming
year
-
for each piece of legislation that provides for a special
appropriation, the amount of money expected to be drawn against that
appropriation in the forthcoming year and
- for each special account, the expected transactions on that
special account, and the expected balance of that special account at the
beginning and end of the forthcoming year.
Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing also shows the
expected level of staffing for each entity.
Portfolio
Budget Statements
A Portfolio Budget Statement is a statement that is tabled
by the relevant portfolio minister in support of the appropriation for that
portfolio proposed in the Budget Papers. Portfolio Budget Statements are made
available on departments’ websites at the same time as the Budget Papers are
released.
A Portfolio Budget Statement provides more detail on the
proposed activities and expenditures of each entity in the portfolio for the
Budget year and the forward estimate years. A Portfolio Budget Statement
contains an overview of the portfolio, with separate sections for each Commonwealth
entity within that portfolio.
| Example: The Australian Tax Office is an entity within the
Treasury Portfolio. Therefore, the Treasury Portfolio Budget Statement will
include a section relating to the Australian Tax Office. |
For each Commonwealth entity, a Portfolio Budget Statement will
include:
- a statement that shows the financial resources proposed to be
made available to that entity from all sources
- a reconciliation showing the expected impact of the Government’s
announced measures on that entity
- the outcomes that the Government intends that entity to pursue
- a description of the programs that will contribute to each of the
entity’s outcomes, an estimate of the expenses expected to be incurred in
delivering each program, and performance indicators against which the
Government intends the performance of each program to be measured and
- the budgeted financial statements of that entity.
Where it is relevant to the activities of an entity, a
Portfolio Budget Statement will also include other material, such as
information about the balances of, and transactions on, any special accounts
within an entity.
If additional Appropriation Bills are introduced during the
year, the Government will release a Portfolio Additional Estimates Statement
or a Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statement for each
portfolio that has its appropriation changed. These statements will update the
information in the most recent Portfolio Budget Statement.
Ministerial Statements
The Government may also table one or more Ministerial Statements.
Typically, Ministerial Statements released with the Budget group together
information related to one theme or issue.
| Example: If the Government wants to show how
much it is doing to assist regional or remote parts of Australia, it may
release a Ministerial Statement that brings together activities across all
portfolios that the Government believes assist regional and remote areas. |
What occurs after Budget night?
On the Thursday immediately following Budget night, a second
reading speech on annual Appropriation Bill (No. 1) is delivered by
the Leader of the Opposition. The speech is often referred to as the Leader of
the Opposition’s Budget reply speech.
The details of the expenditure proposed in the Budget are
referred by the House of Representatives to the Senate for consideration by the
Senate. This enables the Senate to commence its scrutiny of the Budget through the
Senate Estimates process, despite the Senate having not yet received the annual
Appropriation Bills from the House of Representatives.
Legislation relating to the financial management of the
Commonwealth
Charter of Budget Honesty
The Charter of Budget Honesty is a set of rules that establish
how the Commonwealth is to manage and report on its fiscal performance. It is a
schedule to the Charter
of Budget Honesty Act 1998.
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
The Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013 is the main Act that provides
for the financial management of the Commonwealth. The Act allows certain
matters to be dealt with via delegated legislation, known as Rules.
Other Budget-related
reports not released on Budget night
Additional reports must be publicly released and tabled in
Parliament from time to time.
Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Under the Charter of Budget Honesty, the Treasurer must
release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook report within six months
of the Budget, or by the end of January in a given year, whichever is later.
The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook report must update any information
that has changed since the Budget.
Final Budget Outcome
Under the Charter of Budget Honesty, the Treasurer must
produce a Final Budget Outcome within three months of the end of each
financial year. The Final Budget Outcome must contain the fiscal outcomes for
the Commonwealth for the relevant year.
Intergenerational Report
Under the Charter of Budget Honesty, every five years the
Treasurer must release and table in Parliament an Intergenerational Report.
The Intergenerational Report must assess the sustainability of current
Government policies over the next 40 years.
Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Under the Charter of Budget Honesty, within 10 days of the
calling of a general election, the Secretaries of the Department of Finance and
the Treasury must release a Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook report.
The report must update any information that has changed from the last budget
update.
Post-election Report
Under the Parliamentary
Service Act 1999, within 30 days of the end of the caretaker
period for a general election, the Parliamentary Budget Officer
must release a Post-election Report that sets out the
Parliamentary Budget Officer’s estimates of the costings of the election
commitments made by political parties during the preceding election campaign.
Key concepts used in the Budget Papers
In order to understand the Budget Papers, it is useful to
explain some concepts used within them.
Accrual accounting and cash accounting
The Budget Papers present figures on both an accrual and
cash accounting basis.
Accrual accounting is a method of accounting that records
income when it is earned and costs when they are incurred, regardless of when
any cash is received or paid. Under accrual accounting, the Commonwealth’s
recognised costs are referred to as expenses or expenditures and its
income (including from taxes) is referred to as revenue.
Cash accounting is a method of accounting that records
receipts and payments of cash when they occur. Under cash accounting, the costs
paid out by the Commonwealth are referred to as payments and its income
received is referred to as receipts.
| Example: The decline in value of an asset as it wears out—known
as depreciation—is recognised as an expense for an entity as it occurs, even
though no cash payment is required at that time. |
| Example: A department purchasing a service
from a supplier may be invoiced for those services, but have 30 days to pay for
them. The purchase would be recognised on an accrual basis when the supply is
invoiced, and be recognised on a cash basis when the invoice is actually paid. |
Costings of Budget measures are presented on an accrual
accounting basis.
Timeframes and terminology
The Budget is predominantly a forward looking document.
Information contained in the Budget Papers is generally
presented for a five year period, namely:
- the current financial year
-
the Budget year and
-
the three financial years following the Budget year (the forward
estimates period).
Particularly for economic information, the Budget Papers
will also contain forecasts or projections for at least the three
years of the forward estimates period.
There are subtle differences between forecasts and projections:
- A forecast indicates that the Government expects an economic
parameter to occur.
- A projection indicates that the Government has based its planning
on an assumption of an economic parameter occurring, but has not formed a view
about whether that parameter will occur.
Projections are sometimes called planning assumptions.
Net operating balance, fiscal balance and underlying cash
balance
The Net operating balance (NOB) is an accrual
accounting measure of the difference between the revenues and the expenses of
the Commonwealth. It excludes investments in capital made by the Commonwealth
and as such can be considered an estimate of the ability of the Government to
meet the recurrent expenditures of Government with its revenues in any one
year.
The Fiscal balance is equal to the NOB adjusted for
net capital investments made by the Commonwealth. It can be considered an
indicator of the Government’s total borrowing requirements.
The underlying cash balance is a cash
accounting measure of the balance between the receipts and payments of the
Commonwealth, including payments associated with capital expenditures. It is
the Government’s preferred measure of showing the surplus or deficit of the
Commonwealth in any one year.
Parameter variations and policy decisions
In places in the Budget Papers, a distinction is made
between changes to the Commonwealth’s finances that occur because of parameter
variations, and changes that occur because of policy decisions.
A parameter variation is a change to the finances of the
Commonwealth that is outside the direct control of the Government. Parameter
variations mostly occur because of changes in the broader Australian or
international economy, and changes to the composition or demographics of the
Australian population.
Example: Companies pay tax on their profits.
If, in a given year, company profits are lower than previously anticipated,
Commonwealth tax receipts from companies are also likely to be lower.
Such a
reduction in company tax receipts would be recorded as a parameter variation in
the Commonwealth Budget. |
Parameter variations may affect both the receipts and
payments of the Commonwealth.
| Example: Unemployment benefits are available
to any person who is unemployed within the meaning of the Social Security
Act 1991. If there are more people unemployed in a given year, payments of
unemployment benefits will be greater. |
The reasons for, and magnitude of, parameter variations are
mostly set out in the economic and financial information contained in Budget
Paper No. 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook.
The term policy decision denotes the cumulative effect of
all changes to the finances of the Commonwealth that arise because of the
budget measures—or actions—of the Government. Each budget measure is set out in
Budget Paper No. 2: Budget Measures. The magnitude of the cumulative
effect of the Government’s policy decisions are set out in the financial
information contained in Budget Paper No. 1: Budget Strategy and Outlook.
Outcomes and programs
An outcome is the purpose for which monies are
appropriated to a Commonwealth entity.
A program is an activity that is undertaken by a
Commonwealth entity to achieve an outcome. For each outcome, there may be one
or more programs.
Administered and departmental items
An administered item is an item that a Commonwealth entity
administers on behalf of the Commonwealth as a whole. An administered item may
be expenditure, revenue, or an asset.
A Commonwealth entity does not have discretion about what it can do with an
administered item, and must use that item in the way the Government directs.
Administered items mostly relate to outcomes and programs that are managed by
an entity.
Departmental items are expenditures, revenues, or assets
over which a Commonwealth entity has discretion about how they may be used.
Departmental items are mostly used for the running of entities, such as for
paying and accommodating staff.
General Government Sector, Public Non-financial Corporations
sector and Public Financial Corporations sector entities
Commonwealth entities are classified according to their
activities and objectives into one of three sectors.
Most Commonwealth entities do not seek to make a profit, and
are classified as General Government Sector entities. Where a Commonwealth
entity provides goods and services and seeks to make a profit, it will be
classified as either a Public Non-financial Corporation or a Public Financial
Corporation, depending upon whether or not it provides financial services.
Example: If the Government established a corporation
that had the purpose of providing loans for a certain purpose on commercial
terms and the Government expected that entity to make a profit.
The
corporation would be classified as a Public Financial Corporation (PFC) in the
Budget. An existing example of a PFC is the Export Finance and Insurance
Corporation. |
Most material in the Budget Papers relates to the activities
of entities in the general government sector only.
Consolidated Revenue Fund and appropriations
The Consolidated Revenue Fund is established by section 81
of the Constitution.
All monies received by the Commonwealth must be paid into the Consolidated
Revenue Fund. It is a constitutional requirement that, before the Government
may spend any monies, an Act of the Parliament providing for an appropriation
must authorise the release of the monies from the Consolidated Revenue
Fund.
A Bill that proposes an appropriation may take two general
forms, namely:
- an annual Appropriation Bill or
-
a Bill that proposes a special appropriation.
Each year, annual Appropriation Bills provide for about 20
per cent of the Commonwealth’s expenditure, and special appropriations provide
for about 80 per cent of the Commonwealth’s expenditure.
Annual Appropriation Bills
An annual Appropriation Bill will typically propose the
appropriation of a finite amount of money, but that money will be provided to a
broad range of entities and outcomes. The finite nature of such appropriations
means that the Executive Government must return to the Parliament periodically
and request the Parliament appropriate further monies for those entities and
outcomes.
Each year, there are at least three annual Appropriation
Bills. Appropriation Bill (No. 1) for a given year will propose to appropriate
monies for activities that are part of the ‘ordinary annual services’ of the
Executive Government. Appropriation Bill (No. 2) in a given year will propose
to appropriate monies for the ‘other’ annual services of the Executive. The
Senate enjoys different powers over Appropriation Bills for the ‘ordinary
annual services’ of the Executive Government and Appropriation Bills for the
‘other’ annual services of the Executive Government. The difference between the
two types of Appropriation Bill, and powers of the Senate over each, are
explained in more detail in Odgers’
Senate Practice.
The appropriation of monies for the operation of the
Parliament for a given year is proposed in a separate Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill, reflecting that the Parliament is distinct from
the Executive Government.
Often the Government will require further monies during the
year, and will introduce additional Appropriation Bills. Additional
Appropriation Bills will be numbered consecutively.
If, in a given year, the Government does not intend to table
and pass through the Parliament a full Budget before the start of the financial
year, the Government may introduce Supply Bills that propose to appropriate a
small amount of money to ensure the continued operation of the Government until
a full Budget can be prepared.
Special appropriations
A Bill may also propose to appropriate an unlimited amount
of money, but only make it available for a specific purpose or in specific
circumstances. Such an appropriation is known as a special appropriation. Almost
all of the Commonwealth’s substantial expenditure programs are now provided for
by special appropriations; with monies being automatically released from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund where the criteria applying to that appropriation are
met.
| Example: Medicare is established under the Health Insurance
Act 1973. Section 125 of that Act appropriates from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund any amount of money required for the payment of Medicare benefits. |
To change the amount of money that will be provided by a
special appropriation, the criteria that must be met to use the special
appropriation need to be changed. Where those criteria are set out in
legislation, the Parliament must pass an amendment to that legislation.
| Example: The Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 provides the
circumstances under which a person is entitled to parental leave pay. To change
the amount that is paid under that Act, an amendment to that Act is needed to
change the eligibility criteria for parental leave pay. |
Retained revenue receipts
Section 74 of the Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013 provides a mechanism where
certain amounts received by entities may be retained by those entities.
The categories of revenues mostly relate to amounts likely to be received by an
entity to defray the cost of providing a good or service. Examples may include
application or processing fees.
The exact categories of monies that agencies are able to
retain are set out in the Rules made under the Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
Special Accounts
A special account is an amount of money that that is held in
the Consolidated Revenue Fund and is earmarked for a specific purpose, and
which may only be released when the criteria for release are satisfied.
Special accounts are mostly used to provide transparency
about how much the Government is providing to a specific purpose or activity,
or to quarantine amounts for specific purposes or activities. They are often
used when dealing with entities outside of the Commonwealth Government as a way
to account for funds.
Appendix: Details of prior Commonwealth Budgets
| Year: |
Date of Budget |
Delivered by: |
Party: |
| 1901 |
8 October 1901 |
George Turner |
Protectionist Party |
| 1902 |
23 September 1902 |
George Turner |
Protectionist Party |
| 1903 |
28 July 1903 |
George Turner |
Protectionist Party |
| 1904 |
18 October 1904 |
George Turner |
Protectionist Party |
| 1905 |
22 August 1905 |
John Forrest |
Protectionist Party |
| 1906 |
31 July 1906 |
John Forrest |
Protectionist Party |
| 1907 |
8 August 1907 |
William Lyne |
Protectionist Party |
| 1908 |
14 October 1908 |
William Lyne |
Protectionist Party |
| 1909 |
12 August 1909 |
John Forrest |
Commonwealth Liberal Party |
| 1910 |
7 September 1910 |
Andrew Fisher |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1911 |
26 October 1911 |
Andrew Fisher |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1912 |
1 August 1912 |
Andrew Fisher |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1913 |
2 October 1913 |
John Forrest |
Commonwealth Liberal Party |
| 1914 |
3 December 1914 |
Andrew Fisher |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1915 |
No budget |
No budget |
No budget |
| 1916 |
9 May 1916 |
William Higgs |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1917 |
8 August 1917 |
John Forrest |
Nationalist Party |
| 1918 |
25 September 1918 |
William Watt |
Nationalist Party |
| 1919 |
8 October 1919 |
Alexander Poynton* |
Nationalist Party |
| 1920 |
16 September 1920 |
Joseph Cook |
Nationalist Party |
| 1921 |
29 September 1921 |
Joseph Cook |
Nationalist Party |
| 1922 |
17 August 1922 |
Stanley Bruce |
Nationalist Party |
| 1923 |
26 July 1923 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1924 |
31 July 1924 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1925 |
13 August 1925 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1926 |
8 July 1926 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1927 |
28 September 1927 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1928 |
30 August 1928 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1929 |
22 August 1929 |
Earle Page |
Nationalist—Australian Country Party |
| 1930 |
9 July 1930 |
James Scullin |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1931 |
10 Jul 1931 |
Edward Theodore |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1932 |
1 September 1932 |
Joseph Lyons |
United Australia Party |
| 1933 |
4 October 1933 |
Joseph Lyons |
United Australia Party |
| 1934 |
24 July 1934 |
Joseph Lyons |
United Australia Party |
| 1935 |
23 Sep 1935 |
Richard Casey |
United Australia Party |
| 1936 |
10 September 1936 |
Richard Casey |
United Australia Party |
| 1937 |
24 July 1937 |
Joe Lyons |
United Australia Party |
| 1938 |
21 September 1938 |
Richard Casey |
United Australia Party |
| 1939 |
8 September 1939 |
Robert Menzies |
United Australia Party |
| 1940 |
21 November 1940 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1941 |
25 September 1941 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1942 |
2 September 1942 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1943 |
29 September 1943 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1944 |
7 September 1944 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1945 |
7 September 1945 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1946 |
14 November 1946 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1947 |
19 September 1947 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1948 |
8 September 1948 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1949 |
7 September 1949 |
Ben Chifley |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1950 |
12 October 1950 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1951 |
26 September 1951 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1952 |
6 August 1952 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1953 |
9 September 1953 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1954 |
18 May 1954 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1955 |
24 August 1955 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1956 |
30 August 1956 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1957 |
3 September 1957 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1958 |
5 August 1958 |
Arthur Fadden |
National Party of Australia (Country Party) |
| 1959 |
11 August 1959 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1960 |
16 August 1960 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1961 |
15 August 1961 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1962 |
7 August 1962 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1963 |
13 August 1963 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1964 |
11 August 1964 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1965 |
17 August 1965 |
Harold Holt |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1966 |
16 August 1966 |
William McMahon |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1967 |
15 August 1967 |
William McMahon |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1968 |
13 August 1968 |
William McMahon |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1969 |
12 August 1969 |
William McMahon |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1970 |
18 August 1970 |
Les Bury |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1971 |
17 August 1971 |
Billie Snedden |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1972 |
15 August 1972 |
Billie Snedden |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1973 |
21 August 1973 |
Frank Crean |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1974 |
17 September 1974 |
Frank Crean |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1975 |
19 August 1975 |
Bill Hayden |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1976 |
17 August 1976 |
Phillip Lynch |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1977 |
16 August 1977 |
Phillip Lynch |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1978 |
15 August 1978 |
John Howard |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1979 |
21 August 1979 |
John Howard |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1980 |
19 August 1980 |
John Howard |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1981 |
18 August 1981 |
John Howard |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1982 |
17 August 1982 |
John Howard |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1983 |
23 August 1983 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1984 |
21 August 1984 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1985 |
20 August 1985 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1986 |
19 August 1986 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1987 |
15 September 1987 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1988 |
23 August 1988 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1989 |
15 August 1989 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1990 |
21 August 1990 |
Paul Keating |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1991 |
20 August 1991 |
John Kerin |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1992 |
18 August 1992 |
John Dawkins |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1993 |
17 August 1993 |
John Dawkins |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1994 |
10 May 1994 |
Ralph Willis |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1995 |
9 May 1995 |
Ralph Willis |
Australian Labor Party |
| 1996 |
20 August 1996 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1997 |
13 May 1997 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1998 |
12 May 1998 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 1999 |
11 May 1999 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2000 |
9 May 2000 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2001 |
22 May 2001 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2002 |
14 May 2002 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2003 |
13 May 2003 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2004 |
11 May 2004 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2005 |
10 May 2005 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2006 |
9 May 2006 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2007 |
8 May 2007 |
Peter Costello |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2008 |
13 May 2008 |
Wayne Swan |
Australian Labor Party |
| 2009 |
12 May 2009 |
Wayne Swan |
Australian Labor Party |
| 2010 |
11 May 2010 |
Wayne Swan |
Australian Labor Party |
| 2011 |
10 May 2011 |
Wayne Swan |
Australian Labor Party |
| 2012 |
8 May 2012 |
Wayne Swan |
Australian Labor Party |
| 2013 |
14 May 2013 |
Wayne Swan |
Australian Labor Party |
| 2014 |
13 May 2014 |
Joe Hockey |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2015 |
12 May 2015 |
Joe Hockey |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2016 |
3 May 2016 |
Scott Morrison |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2017 |
9 May 2017 |
Scott Morrison |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
| 2018 |
2 April 2018 |
Scott Morrison |
Liberal Party Of Australia |
* Acting Treasurer.
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