Trade and Assistance Review 2009-10
Annual report series
Trade and Assistance Review 2009-10 was released on 16 June 2011. The review contains the Commission's latest quantitative estimates of Australian Government assistance to industry.
The Review also:
- identifies recent developments in assistance to industries and sectors of the economy
- reports on selected expenditures by State and Territory governments affording assistance to industry
- reports on recent international policy developments affecting Australia's trade and disputes settlement in the global trading system.
An errata has been issued with the printed copy of this report - documents available below are correct.
On 2 September 2013, a corrigendum was issued for this report - documents available below are correct.
Download the report
Trade and Assistance Review 2009-10 (PDF - 1045 Kb)
Trade and Assistance Review 2009-10 by chapters (Word/Zip - 1168 Kb)- Government assistance to industry is provided by tariffs, budgetary outlays, taxation concessions, regulatory restrictions on competition and other measures.
- Assistance generally benefits the industry receiving it, but can come at a cost to other industries, taxpayers and consumers.
- Some assistance programs, such as those relating to R&D and environmental objectives, can deliver net community benefits if they are well designed and effectively implemented.
- For 2009-10, total measured assistance to industries was $17.3 billion in gross terms and $9.3 billion in net terms.
- It comprised $9.4 billion in tariff assistance, $3.7 billion in budgetary outlays and $4.1 billion in tax concessions.
- The cost to industries of tariffs on imported inputs amounted to $8.0 billion.
- In the 12 months prior to the May 2011 Budget, the Australian Government announced budget outlays affording industry assistance of around $700 million, mostly to be expended within five years.
- Nearly half of the proposed expenditure ($370 million) relates to carbon emission reduction and energy programs.
- The remainder (over $300 million) relates to 'traditional' forms of Government support to industry, research and development and innovation.
- Following the 2010-11 floods and other natural disasters, the Australian Government announced changes in funding arrangements for existing programs and new funding to support regions and businesses affected by natural disasters.
- Concurrently, the Australian and Queensland governments announced $5.6 billion in support for recovery and reconstruction from floods in Queensland.
- To help fund recovery and rehabilitation work, the Australian Government announced it would terminate certain industry programs, including the Green Car Rebate Scheme and the Green Car Innovation Fund, saving around $1 billion.
- State and Territory government expenditures on programs and services identified as supporting industry policy objectives are estimated at around $4.1 billion in 2008-09.
- These expenditures include not only grants and subsidies, marketing and promotion and agricultural research but also employee and administration costs.
- Programs relating to primary industries and resources account for about 60 per cent of this expenditure.
- In April 2011, the Australian Government released a major Trade Policy Statement that responded, amongst other things, to the Commission's report on bilateral and regional trade agreements.
- The Government endorsed the broad approach favouring domestic reform and non-discriminatory provisions in trade agreements, as well as transparent evaluation processes.
Printed copies
