Australia's defence spending for the 2016-17 financial year will rise by AUD590 million (USD442.6 million) or 3.1% to AUD32.3 billion, the government announced in its annual budget statement on 3 May. As a share of gross domestic product (GDP) expenditure will fall from 1.94% to 1.88% because the economy will continue to grow. Nevertheless, the government's target - reiterated in budget papers - is for defence spending to reach 2% of GDP by 2020-21, with expenditure of AUD142.9 billion anticipated over the four years of forward estimates.
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