As a proportion of taxation revenue, government spending on welfare fell by 3.6 percentage points
between 2003–04 (32.8%) and 2007–08 (29.3%). It then rose by 10.3 percentage points in 2008–09
following the GFC. Unlike the GDP ratio, the spending-to-revenue ratio did not immediately return to
pre-GFC levels in the following years. At 34.6% in 2009–10, it was 5.4 percentage points higher than in
2007–08. The ratio has remained about the same since then, ending the period at 34.0% of revenue.