What was claimed
The coalition cut $20 million a year from Foodbank funding.
Our verdict
False. While Foodbank's federal funding fell, it was not in the region of $20 million annually.
AAP FACTCHECK - The coalition did not cut Foodbank's funding by $20 million a year, despite claims by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The coalition did make cuts to the food relief not-for-profit's federal funding, but far less than $20 million a year.
Annual federal funding fell from $1.4 million in 2012/13 under Labor to $750,000 in 2016/17 under the coalition.
However, the coalition made nearly $25 million in cuts to social services grants that fund Foodbank and other not-for-profits addressing financial hardship.
Mr Albanese made the false claim during parliament's question time in response to opposition queries about the cost of living.
"The Leader of the Opposition, who asked this question, was part of a government that ripped $20 million from Foodbank," Mr Albanese told parliament on November 6 (page 67).
Around 20 minutes later (p70), he said: "...we also point out just the fact that those opposite, when they were in government, ripped $20 million from Foodbank each and every year".
He first referenced cuts to Foodbank during the previous day's question time, mentioning a statement made by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
The treasurer was responding to a question about a Foodbank report that found one in three Australian households has experienced food insecurity.
"When those opposite were last in government, they cut $20 million a year from these programs," Dr Chalmers said (p59). "They actually cut these programs for Foodbank."
A few minutes later, the prime minister responded to a further question about the report.
"As the Treasurer has just told the House, it's somewhat perplexing how, in tactics committee, when someone came up with the question to ask about Foodbank, someone didn't go, 'Actually, what might be a little bit uncomfortable is the fact that we ripped out $20 million per year out of funding for Foodbank,'" Mr Albanese said.
AAP FactCheck asked the prime minister's office for evidence but did not receive a response.
The coalition government was in power from 2013 to 2022. Foodbank provided AAP FactCheck with data that shows the organisation's total federal funding was cut under the coalition between 2014/15 and the onset of COVID-19 in 2019/20, but not by $20 million a year.
Both the base funding and discretionary grants handed to Foodbank fell under the coalition between 2015/16 and 2018/19.
Total federal funding fell from $1.4 million in 2013/14 to $1.3 million in 2014/15 and then to $1.05 million in 2015/16 before falling to $750,000 a year between 2016/17 and 2018-19.
Foodbank's funding then began increasing significantly after the onset of COVID, with $16.2 million given to the organisation in 2019/20. The budget remained elevated at $2.7 million in 2020/21 and $4.1 million in 2021/22.
Since Labor was elected, Foodbank's total annual funding has fallen from $2.3 million in 2022/23 to $1.7 million in 2024/25.
The reduction in Foodbank's base funding in 2015/16 coincided with a decrease in the budget for financial wellbeing and capability programs across the federal budget, which supports the broader claim made by the treasurer.
Financial wellbeing and capability is the part of the Department of Social Services budget that funds community organisations to support those in financial crisis.
It includes grants to food relief organisations, including Foodbank, and other charities addressing financial hardship, emergency relief and financial counselling.
Departmental financial statements show a $24.97 million reduction in annual spending on financial wellbeing and capability between 2014/15 and 2017/18 under the coalition.
Actual spending fell from $124.94 million in 2014/15 to $99.97 million for the 2017/18 year.
Spending on the program then increased to $111.07 million prior to the pandemic in 2018/19, before ballooning after the onset of COVID, reaching a high of $218.42 million in 2019/20.
The program's budget has remained substantially higher since and also increased when Labor was elected in 2022, before declining. In 2024/25, the budget was $189.9 million.
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