PROGRAM BUDGETING IN AUSTRALIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: A STUDY OF IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOMES

Abstract

The techniques of program budgeting (PPBS) have been applied by Australian and overseas governments with varying degrees of success. In local government in Victoria, Australia, where—with some exceptions—the traditional approach to budgeting has been a functional classification system coupled with an object-of-expenditure approach (F/OoE), nearly fifty per cent of the State's municipalities have now introduced PPBS or some elements thereof. The introduction of PPBS has provided the opportunity to study both the implemen- tation process and the outcomes. Questionnaires were mailed to finance officers in all Victorian municipalities to investigate whether and, if so, why PPBS has been adopted, the means by which it was implemented, and the consequences for organisational structure, fiscal control, and decision-making. This paper reports on the findings of the study, and their implications.