Credit: Jacob Hawk via Unsplash
Spending by the federal government on media campaigns increased almost 40% last financial year, according to numbers released by the Australian National Audit Office.
Non-corporate Commonwealth entities spent $173.8 million on media placement and $76.6 million on “consultants, services and other costs” in 2023-24.
This was more than 39% more than the $179.3 million the previous financial year, made up of $131.4 million media placement and $47.9 million campaign development.
The current Labor government came to power in 2022 promising to spend significantly less on advertising than the previous regime.
The Grattan Institute had calculated, a non-aligned public policy think tank, found that the previous Coalition government spent $339 million on taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns in 2021-22, more than major advertisers McDonald’s, Telstra and Coles.
IPG media agency Universal McCann (UM) in August was reselected as the federal government's master media agency. UM has held the account since 2002, with a pause when dentsu took over between 2014 and 2018.
And the numbers for the current financial year, an election year, should also be higher.
The audit office has previously identified that media placement expenditure increased in the lead up to federal elections since 2004.
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