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# Queensland's government budget starting to get out of control
- URL: https://www.benchmarkanalytics.com.au/queensland-government-budget-out-of-control/
- Published: 2026-09-01T01:58:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T01:58:22.000Z
- Description: Queensland recorded an $8.4 billion operating deficit and $19.1 billion of net borrowing in 2025–26, giving it the largest borrowing requirement relative to revenue of any Australian state or territory.
- Author: Nick Hossack
- Tags: Queensland, Government Spending, State Budgets, Government Finance, Australian Economy, Public Debt

Queensland’s government finances are beginning to look like an Australian fiscal outlier.

New Australian Bureau of Statistics data show Queensland’s state and local general government sector collected **$94.8 billion in revenue during 2025–26 but spent $103.2 billion**, producing an **$8.4 billion operating deficit**.

That matters because the operating balance **excludes** most spending on new infrastructure. It measures whether ordinary government revenues are sufficient to meet ordinary government expenses. The Australian Bureau of Statistics describes it as a measure of the sustainability of government operations.

Put simply, Queensland spent about **$109 for every $100 it received in revenue** before its net investment in new assets was taken into account.

Once capital investment is included, Queensland recorded **$19.1 billion of net borrowing**. That was equivalent to **20.2 per cent of government revenue — the highest proportion of any state or territory**.

New South Wales borrowed the equivalent of 13.2 per cent of revenue, Victoria 10.5 per cent and Western Australia just 1.1 per cent.

The deterioration was also persistent. Queensland recorded an operating deficit in **every quarter of 2025–26**.

This is not simply an artefact of Australian Bureau of Statistics accounting. Queensland's own 2026–27 Budget estimates the state government's 2025–26 operating deficit at **$8.85 billion**, following a $4.43 billion deficit in 2024–25\. State government expenses increased from $93.4 billion to $100.9 billion, much faster than revenue.

There is an important technical qualification. The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures combine Queensland state and local general government and are not identical to the Queensland Budget. They are valuable precisely because the Bureau applies a **consistent accounting framework across every jurisdiction**, allowing proper comparison.

The latest quarterly release is in current prices and original terms; Benchmark has calculated the 2025–26 figures by summing the four quarters, the same approach the Bureau says it will use for its forthcoming financial-year analysis.

*Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Government Finance Statistics, June quarter 2026; Benchmark Analytics calculations.*

Queensland has Australia's biggest borrowing gap 

Net borrowing as a share of total government revenue, 2025–26 

Queensland 20.2%

Tasmania 15.6%

Northern Territory 15.2%

ACT 14.2%

New South Wales 13.2%

Victoria 10.5%

South Australia 6.0%

Western Australia 1.1%

Net borrowing is shown as a positive financing requirement. Figures calculated by summing the four quarters to June 2026\. Source: ABS Government Finance Statistics, June quarter 2026; Benchmark Analytics calculations.