input: [Term] Efficiency dividend [Definition] 
output: A reduction in funding for Commonwealth government portfolios designed to drive efforts to increase efficiency. First put in place by the Hawke government, the dividend is based on the rationale that without market demands there is no pressure for government departments to find ways to save money through efficiency, and was originally labelled a dividend as it aimed to return revenue to the taxpayer. The dividend only aims to reduce expenses around the operation of a department, not the overall funding, and so is applied before budgets are indexed to account for increases in wages. There has been speculation an efficiency dividend will be applied to the ABC and SBS (which have previously been exempt) as a way of reducing funding to the broadcasters without breaking an election promise made by Tony Abbott that there would be no cuts to either organisation.