The budget documents provide information on the allocation of public resources to the portfolio's priorities. The Defence budget is guided by the Defence Corporate Plan and actual spend is reported each year in the Annual Report.
It is through the budget approval process that the Government gains the Parliament’s authority to spend relevant money via the passage of the annual appropriation acts and other legislation that establishes special appropriations.
Budget documents
Defence budgets prior to 2011 can be accessed via the Trove Government web archive.
Budget inclusions
The budget documents included in these budget papers:
- Portfolio Budget Statements inform members of Parliament and the public of the proposed allocation of resources to outcomes. These papers also provide planned performance and contributions towards the achievement of outcomes.
- Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements outline additional funding requirements being sought by Defence and explain the variation from the Portfolio Budget Statement.
The following statutory agencies are included in the Defence budget papers:
- Australian Signals Directorate, an independent statutory agency within the Defence portfolio providing foreign signals intelligence, cyber security and offensive cyber operations.
- Defence Housing Australia, which provides housing and related services to meet Defence's requirements.