Not counted as expenses
Loans and investments
Besides $833.3bn of expenses, the government pays out money as loans and as equity in companies it owns. The budget records these as assets bought, so they are not in total expenses or the underlying cash balance, but the government borrows to fund them. How these are counted.
$13.8bn in 2025-26 actual · $94.4bn over 2026-27 to 2029-30
Itemised by Treasury
$25.6bn of the 2026-27 total is itemised, 78.6%. The rest is “Net other”: commercial-in-confidence transactions and decisions not yet announced.
By item
Net amounts: loans and equity paid out, less repayments and returns in the same year. A negative amount means more came back than went out.
| Item | 2025-26 actual |
2026-27 Budget estimate |
2026-27 in the 2025-26 Budget |
2026-27 to 2029-30 estimates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Australia | $1.3bn | $6.3bn | $4.4bn | $13.4bn |
| Student loans | $3.9bn | $5.3bn | $5.3bn | $24.1bn |
| CEFC loans and investments | $77m | $4.1bn | $4.8bn | $16.5bn |
| NRFC loans and investments | $1.3bn | $3.1bn | $2.3bn | $12.8bn |
| Snowy Hydro Limited loanFunds Snowy 2.0, Hunter Power Project (Kurri Kurri power station): cost estimates | $1.4bn | $2.9bn | $1.4bn | $2.8bn |
| National Interest Account loans and investments | $511m | $906m | $530m | $1.4bn |
| NBN investmentFunds National Broadband Network: cost estimates | $621m | $902m | $186m | $902m |
| 100,000 Homes for First Home Buyers | $57m | $768m | not itemised | $2.4bn |
| Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility | $445m | $350m | $851m | $1.2bn |
| Australian Business Securitisation Fund | $142m | $343m | $101m | $547m |
| Home Equity Access Scheme | $188m | $289m | $289m | $1.4bn |
| Official Development Assistance - Multilateral Replenishment | $202m | $149m | $170m | $716m |
| Drought and rural assistance loans | −$318m | $101m | −$147m | −$529m |
| Australian apprenticeship support loans | $83m | $100m | $179m | $333m |
| Indigenous Business Australia home and business loans | $177m | $95m | $111m | $410m |
| Finance Procurement Services | $22m | $84m | not itemised | $357m |
| Marinus Link investmentFunds Marinus Link: cost estimates | $201m | $53m | not itemised | $53m |
| Rex Airlines | $72m | $30m | not itemised | $7.0m |
| Snowy Hydro Limited investmentFunds Snowy 2.0, Hunter Power Project (Kurri Kurri power station): cost estimates | $975m | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| COVID-19 Support for Indonesia — loan | −$100m | −$100m | −$100m | −$400m |
| Historical state and territory loans | −$97m | −$101m | not itemised | −$385m |
| Financial Assistance to Papua New Guinea — loan | −$169m | −$169m | −$169m | −$676m |
| Net otherNot itemised: commercial-in-confidence transactions and decisions not yet announced.Includes Inland Rail: cost estimates | $2.7bn | $7.0bn | $2.5bn | $17.1bn |
| Total | $13.8bn | $32.5bn | $22.8bn | $94.4bn |
Project cost estimates
Major projects these loans and investments fund, with their first and latest published cost estimates. Major projects: every estimate and its source.
| Project | First published estimate | Latest estimate | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowy 2.0 | $2.0bn Mar 2017 | $22.2bn–$25.0bn Oct 2026 | 11.1–12.5× not like for like |
| Hunter Power Project (Kurri Kurri power station) | $600m May 2021 | $1.3bn Dec 2024 | 2.2× |
| Marinus Link | $3.5bn Dec 2019 | $3.9bn Jul 2025 | 1.1× not like for like |
| Inland Rail | $4.4bn Jul 2010 | $45.0bn May 2026 | 10.2× not like for like |
| National Broadband Network | $43.0bn Apr 2009 | $51.0bn Aug 2018 | 1.2× not like for like |
Sources
- 2026-27 Budget Paper No. 1 – Table 3.5, net cash flows from investments in financial assets for policy purposes
- Final Budget Outcome 2025-26 – Table 1.8, net cash flows from investments in financial assets for policy purposes
- 2025-26 Budget Paper No. 1 – Table 3.4, net cash flows from investments in financial assets for policy purposes