Where your tax goes

For every $100 you pay in federal tax, roughly:

Where it goes	Approx. share
Social services (aged pension, JobSeeker, NDIS, family payments)	$36
Health (Medicare, PBS, hospitals grants)	$17
Defence	$9
Education (schools grants, higher ed, VET)	$7
Interest on government debt	$6
Infrastructure & transport	$5
General government, foreign affairs, everything else	$20

The biggest single programs

• Age Pension — ~$60bn/yr
• NDIS — ~$45bn/yr and growing
• Medicare Benefits Schedule — ~$32bn/yr
• JobSeeker Payment — ~$14bn/yr
• Defence — ~$56bn/yr (rising under AUKUS)

The interactive calculator on the PoliLearn home page shows how your income tax splits across these categories.

Sources: Australian Government Budget 2024–25, ATO.