Gov ScoreAustralia

Condition

Size of government in the economy

How much of the economy is now government spending and investment?

Size of government in the economy: 25.9% in Jun qtr 2022, 28.8% in Jun qtr 2026. The highest level since Jun qtr 2020.

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Latest
28.8%of the economy is public demand · June quarter 2026
Since the government took office
Higher+2.9 pts25.9% → 28.8% (Jun qtr 2022 → Jun qtr 2026)How big government should be is a question of political values, so the direction isn’t coloured.
Over the past year
little changed+0.20 pts28.6% → 28.8% (Jun qtr 2025 → Jun qtr 2026)

Public demand share of output

  • Seasonally adjusted
  • All levels of government

What this is

Public demand is spending and investment by federal, state and local governments (such as salaries, services, infrastructure and defence) as a share of total economic output, from the ABS national accounts.

Why it matters

When government takes up a bigger share of the economy, it can crowd out private investment and add to inflation. We compare it with the two decades before COVID.

More from the figures

  • Public demand (spending and investment by all levels of government) is 5.1 percentage points above its pre-COVID two-decade average.
  • In the June quarter 2022 it was 25.9%.
  • This includes state and local governments as well as the Commonwealth.

How it’s calculated

Public final demand as a share of real output, ABS national accounts via RBA Table H2.

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