Accrual Output Budgeting in Australia

Abstract

This paper examines the system of ‘accrual output budgeting’ which was introduced by most Australian governments at the end of the 1990s. It explains the key features of the system, and its roots in ‘market’ models. Key difficulties with the model are identified: including the unsuitability of many publicly-funded outputs to funding on a rice-per-unit-of-output basis and the information problems which arise in determining the ‘efficient’ price of outputs.budgeting, market, price, output heterogeneity