The WA Government says it has run eight surpluses in a row. Here's what the media releases don't lead with. Every figure below comes from the Government's own documents or the Auditor General. Click any number for the source.
The top 8 numbers
- $44.7 billion: WA's total public sector net debt forecast for June 2029, the highest on record and up $17.3bn from the June 2023 low of $27.4bn. (2026-27 Budget Paper 3; ARSF 2022-23)
- +83%: Metronet's like-for-like cost increase, $3bn to $5.5bn, on the Minister's own figures. (ABC, 7 Apr 2024)
- $1.6 billion: the cost growth across 10 major government IT projects, from $2.6bn to at least $4.2bn. 8 of the 10 are late. (Auditor General, 2025)
- $987 million: WA Health payments processed outside its procurement system in 2025, some started from a "modifiable spreadsheet" with no enforced separation of duties. (Auditor General, 2025)
- 26.8% vs 14.5%: growth in public sector FTE versus population growth, 2019 to 2025. (PSC 2024-25; ABS)
- $205 million+: spent buying media space for government campaigns, Jul 2019 to Dec 2023. WA has no government advertising law. (Auditor General)
- 17 of 22: WA advocacy and service peak bodies that get more than 70% of their revenue from government. (ACNC 2024 data)
- 131 of 403: Aboriginal-specific programs never evaluated. Agencies gave no information on another 105. The budget hit $1.02bn in 2023-24. (WA Aboriginal Expenditure Review)
Also on this site: a wind farm that rose from $368m to $513m in 19 months, and an $8m wind fund "announced" four times. See Green Energy & Red Tape and Same Money, Announced Again.
WA's debt in numbers
How WA's debt adds up, from the State's own budget papers:
| Line | Figure | Source and working |
|---|---|---|
| WA net debt, 30 June 2026 (actual) | $33.4bn | ARSF 2025-26 via media statement 30 Sep 2026 |
| Forecast, 30 June 2029 | $44.7bn ($44.68bn) | 2026-27 BP3 |
| Per West Australian (now) | about $10,790 | $33.4bn ÷ 3,096,200 residents (ABS ERP, 31 March 2026) |
| Interest bill (non-financial public sector) | about $2.0bn a year | 2024-25: $1,750m "other interest" + $255m lease interest (ARSF 2024-25) |
WA's debt fell during the iron ore and GST boom. It bottomed out at $27.4bn in June 2023 and is now forecast to climb to a record $44.7bn by 2029, despite 'eight consecutive surpluses'. Figures are total public sector net debt from the State's own budget papers. Interest is the 2024-25 actual for the non-financial public sector.
WA Debt Clock
WA total public sector gross debt: the State's borrowings, including leases.
Net debt: gross debt minus the cash and investments the State holds.
Gross debt is the State's total debt; net debt subtracts the cash and investments it holds that could pay some of it back. Neither counts other liabilities such as public sector superannuation.
Per West Australian at 30 June 2026: about $18,940 gross, $10,790 net (3,096,200 residents, ABS, 31 March 2026).
Projections from the actual figures at 30 June 2026 to the 2026-27 Budget forecasts for June 2029: gross debt of $73.9bn (about $161 a second on average) and net debt of $44.7bn (about $119 a second). Not a live reading. Rebased when the State publishes actuals. Sources: 2025-26 Annual Report on State Finances; 2026-27 Budget Paper 3.
Topic pages
Your money
- Follow the money Where the State's $55 billion comes from and where it goes.
- Your family's tax receipt About $21,900 in state taxes for a family of four, line by line.
- Cost of living The household basket, and the big taxes it leaves out.
- The surplus trick How the headline surplus is measured, and what it leaves out.
- Debt and big projects Borrowing is rising again, and major projects keep costing more than promised.
- Bigger government Public sector staff growing almost twice as fast as the population since 2019.
- Who pays when government picks winners Industry deals compared with small business support.
- Royalties for Regions Where the money goes.
- Waste Projects over budget and money poorly spent.
- Reannounced The same money announced more than once.
- Donations and NGOs Paid access to ministers, union fees and taxpayer-funded lobby groups.
- Welfare Child protection and homelessness spending compared with results.
- Aboriginal spending What is spent and what the results are.
- Your council Essential and discretionary spending at the major councils.
- Government advertising money WA agencies' reported spending on advertising, research, polling and direct mail rose by almost 80% in nine years, and the Auditor General found media spending still rises in the year before an election. See where the money goes.
Your home and business
- Why a home costs so much The government share of a new home's price.
- Housing and population Population growth compared with homes built, approvals and land prices.
- Opening a small business The licences, fees and deadlines for a café and a trade.
- Cutting the tape State rules we would remove.
- Green energy and red tape The cost of the energy transition, Synergy's losses and the approvals system.
- The cost of a wait Surgery waits and approval deadlines.
- Health Spending compared with results.
- Education Spending compared with results.
- What WA schools must teach The mandated curriculum.
Your freedoms
- Lost freedoms New state powers since 2017.
- Law and order Crime, policing and the courts.
How government works for itself
- Who staffs WA's politicians, and who decides? How many staff WA ministers, the Opposition and crossbench MPs get, what they cost, and the rules that set it.
- Who gets government contracts and jobs: the rules The targets, price preferences and hiring rules WA agencies use when they buy goods and services and fill jobs, and the reported results.
- Special leave in the WA public service The leave types WA public servants can take beyond annual and sick leave, who can take them, and how they compare with the national minimum.
- Spending and results, side by side Five WA services where spending rose over the past decade, set beside each service's own published results.