This page sets out what the public record shows about WA Government spending on advertising and media. It does not claim that any outlet's coverage is biased. Readers can weigh the figures for themselves.
Key findings
1. Advertising spend rose by almost 80% in nine years
- Fact: Each year, state agencies must report what they spent on advertising, market research, polling, direct mail and media advertising. The WA Electoral Commission adds these up.
| Year | Total advertising, research, polling and direct mail | Paid to media advertising organisations |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | $88.3m | $45.9m |
| 2015-16 | $94.4m | $46.2m |
| 2016-17 (election March 2017) | $106.5m | $58.0m |
| 2017-18 | $92.2m | $48.1m |
| 2019-20 | $107.5m | $62.8m |
| 2020-21 (election March 2021) | $115.4m | $68.4m |
| 2021-22 | $147.2m | $90.9m |
| 2022-23 | $139.1m | $90.0m |
| 2023-24 | $157.7m | $94.1m |
All figures are nominal dollars, with no adjustment for inflation. 2018-19 is not shown because its report has no summary total, and the 2024-25 report (including the March 2025 election) has not yet been published. Spend rose in each financial year that included an election, then dropped back after the 2017 election.
Sources: WAEC Political Finance Reports (agency disclosures under Electoral Act 1907 s175ZE); WAEC Political Finance Report 2023-24
2. What the Auditor General found
In May 2024 the Auditor General reviewed government campaign advertising (Report 15, 2023-24):
- Fact: Agencies spent at least $205 million on media buying between July 2019 and December 2023.
- Fact: Media buying costs were "stable until 2020", then rose 66% (about $23 million) to $58 million in the year to December 2023.
- Fact: "The pattern that we reported in 2014 for media spending to increase in the year before an election has persisted."
- Fact: Unlike NSW, Victoria and the ACT, WA has no specific law on government advertising. The disclosure law only requires totals, not a breakdown by outlet.
- Fact: Ten years after the Auditor General first raised it, the full cost of campaigns was still not known.
Source: Office of the Auditor General, Government Campaign Advertising (Report 15, 2023-24)
3. Direct support for newspapers
- Fact: Regional newspapers: $1 million in 2023-24 bought regular advertising in 29 regional and outer-metro papers. It came from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet's existing advertising budget and was not announced at the time. A further $1 million followed in 2024-25. The government said the aim was to keep regional papers in print. WAtoday reported that nearly two-thirds of the money went to ads in 19 Seven West Media titles, and the rest to 10 independent and Australian Community Media papers. The papers were selected by the government's contracted media buying agency.
- Fact: 2015 bus campaign: The Barnett Government's deal with Seven West Media for its "Bigger Picture" BigPic360 bus, described by Seven West Media as an "exclusive partnership", was worth $117,000 before GST, the Premier's office confirmed.
- Fact: Federal support (for context): West Australian Newspapers was awarded $1.21 million (GST inclusive) under the federal News Media Relief Program, a scheme open to eligible news publishers, for March 2025 to March 2026.
Sources: WAtoday, 2 June 2024; ABC News, 21 Oct 2015; GrantConnect GA449694
4. The Premier's department
- Fact: The Department of the Premier and Cabinet reported $6.06 million of advertising, research, polling and direct mail spending in 2020-21 and $4.74 million in 2023-24.
Source: WAEC Political Finance Reports
What the record does not show
Published reports do not name which outlets or media owners received the money, so spend by outlet is not public. The number of media advisers in ministerial offices is not published as a series.