DECEMBER KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT


In the December quarter 2016:

• Taxation revenue increased by 17.6% from $105,785m in the September quarter 2016 to $124,386m in the December quarter 2016.
• General government sector expenses exceeded revenue resulting in a GFS net operating balance of -$2,115m.
• The GFS net lending(+)/borrowing(-) position for the general government sector was -$9,078m.

			Sep Qtr 2016	Dec Qtr 2016	Sep Qtr 2016 to Dec Qtr 2016
			$m	$m	% change
Current Prices
Taxation revenue
	General government		105 785	124 386	17.6
Total revenue
	General government		135 964	151 061	11.1
	Public non-financial corporations		20 108	20 617	2.5
Total expenses
	General government		155 912	153 176	-1.8
	Public non-financial corporations		20 358	21 120	3.7
GFS Net operating balance
	General government		-19 948	-2 115	. .
	Public non-financial corporations		-250	-502	. .
GFS Net lending(+)/borrowing(-)
	General government		-22 193	-9 078	. .
	Public non-financial corporations		-2 681	-1 688	. .

. . not applicable



QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for the December quarter 2016 which will be included in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0). The key figures shown include Government Final Consumption Expenditure for general government and Gross Fixed Capital Formation for general government and public corporations, seasonally adjusted in current prices and chain volume terms.

In the December quarter 2016:

• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government final consumption expenditure increased by $10m, remaining steady compared with the September quarter 2016.
• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government gross fixed capital formation increased by $965m, a rise of 7.2% compared with the September quarter 2016.
• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total public corporations gross fixed capital formation increased by $477m, a rise of 9.0% compared with the September quarter 2016.

			Mar Qtr 2016	Jun Qtr 2016	Sep Qtr 2016	Dec Qtr 2016	Sep Qtr 2016 to Dec Qtr 2016
			$m	$m	$m	$m	% change
Current Prices
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		6 804	6 632	7 093	6 540	-7.8
	National - non-defence		24 900	26 063	25 799	26 533	2.8
	Total national		31 703	32 696	32 892	33 073	0.6
	State and local		46 655	47 742	47 530	47 507	-
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		78 358	80 438	80 422	80 580	0.2
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	2 138	2 734	1 900	2 561	34.8
		National - non-defence	2 107	2 299	2 295	2 386	3.9
		Total national	4 245	5 034	4 195	4 946	17.9
		State and local	8 867	10 226	9 230	9 507	3.0
		Total general government	13 112	15 260	13 425	14 454	7.7
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1 367	1 406	1 440	2 021	40.4
		State and local	3 692	3 868	3 967	3 862	-2.6
		Total public corporations	5 059	5 274	5 407	5 883	8.8
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		18 171	20 534	18 831	20 337	8.0
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		473	1 696	232	376	np
Chain Volume (b)
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		6 559	6 371	6 743	6 189	-8.2
	National - non-defence		24 358	25 573	25 469	25 864	1.5
	Total national		30 917	31 944	32 212	32 053	-0.5
	State and local		45 392	45 879	45 777	45 946	0.4
	Total general government final consumption expenditure
			76 309	77 823	77 989	77 999	-
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	2 022	2 628	1 877	2 518	34.2
		National - non-defence	2 132	2 323	2 327	2 416	3.8
		Total national	4 155	4 951	4 204	4 934	17.4
		State and local	8 840	10 254	9 281	9 516	2.5
		Total general government	12 995	15 205	13 485	14 450	7.2
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1 350	1 386	1 428	2 014	41
		State and local	3 645	3 800	3 881	3 771	-2.8
		Total public corporations	4 995	5 186	5 308	5 785	9.0
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		17 989	20 391	18 793	20 235	7.7
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		466	1 698	231	361	np

np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
– nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) See paragraph 37 of the Explanatory Notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates.
(b) Reference year for chain volume measures is 2014-15.


DECEMBER GFS RELEASE

This release presents quarterly government finance statistics on an accrual accounting basis. All tables are presented in GFS operating statement format and are for the general government sector, with the exception of Table 2 which presents data for the public non-financial corporations sector.

Detailed quarterly GFS are released for the current financial year only, other than in the December quarter, when the quarters of the previous financial year are presented. Users requiring data for earlier periods should consult the annual publication Government Finance Statistics, Australia (cat. no. 5512.0). The latest issue (2014-15) was released on 26 April 2016. Final annual GFS results for 2015-16 are scheduled for release by the ABS in April 2017.

Table		Sep 16	Dec 16
Table 1 All Levels of Government - General Government		*	*
Table 2 All Levels of Government - Public Non-Financial Corporations		*	*
Table 3 Commonwealth Government		*	*
Table 4 Total State & Local		*	*
Table 5 New South Wales		*
Table 6 Victoria		*
Table 7 Queensland		*
Table 8 South Australia		*
Table 9 Western Australia		*
Table 10 Tasmania		*
Table 11 Northern Territory		*
Table 12 Australian Capital Territory		*

Government Finance Statistics are part of the broader suite of macroeconomic accounts produced by the ABS. They share their basic concepts with the National Accounts and Balance of Payments. The conceptual framework is agreed internationally and published by the International Monetary Fund. Macroeconomic statistics are compiled to enable macroeconomic analysis and the standards may differ from accounting standards in some regards.


TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO VISA APPLICATION CHARGES

In December 2015, the Commonwealth Government released the 2015-16 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) which included a reclassification of visa application charges (VAC). In MYEFO these charges are now treated as taxation revenue rather than sales of goods and services. This reclassification has been applied to the Government Finance Statistics (GFS), with no impact on total GFS revenue or the GFS net operating balance. The National Accounts statistics will maintain coherence with previously published data and classify this transaction as sales of goods and services. These treatments will remain in place until a review of the treatment of VAC and similar government charges in macroeconomic statistics has been completed.


FORTHCOMING ISSUES

The release of GFS quarterly data is usually coordinated to be the day before the respective issue of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0). The scheduled release dates for the next two issues are:

Issue	5519.0.55.001	5206.0
March 2017	6 June 2017	7 June 2017
June 2017	5 September 2017	6 September 2017

INQUIRIES

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