JUNE QUARTER 2016 KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT


In the June quarter 2016:

• Taxation revenue increased 7.0% to $124,972m from $116,806m in the March quarter 2016.
• General government sector revenue exceeded expenses resulting in a GFS net operating balance of $273m.
• The GFS net lending(+)/borrowing(-) position for the general government sector was -$11,055m.

			Mar Qtr 2016	Jun Qtr 2016	Mar Qtr 2016 to Jun Qtr 2016
			$m	$m	% change
Current Prices
Taxation revenue
	General government		116 806	124 972	7.0
Total revenue
	General government		142 077	155 198	9.2
	Public non-financial corporations		20 177	21 344	5.8
Total expenses
	General government		146 162	154 924	6.0
	Public non-financial corporations		20 350	22 806	12.1
GFS Net operating balance
	General government		–4 085	273	. .
	Public non-financial corporations		–173	–1 462	. .
GFS Net lending(+)/borrowing(-)
	General government		–7 252	–11 055	. .
	Public non-financial corporations		–2 489	–5 046	. .

. . not applicable



QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for the June 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 June quarter 2016:

• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government final consumption expenditure increased by $1,431m, a rise of 1.9% compared with the March quarter 2016.
• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government gross fixed capital formation increased by 19.8% compared with the March quarter 2016.

			Sep Qtr 2015	Dec Qtr 2015	Mar Qtr 2016	Jun Qtr 2016	Mar Qtr 2016 to Jun Qtr 2016
			$m	$m	$m	$m	% change
Current Prices
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		6 537	6 420	6 540	6 219	–4.9
	National - non-defence		23 252	23 695	24 221	25 517	5.4
	Total national		29 789	30 116	30 760	31 737	3.2
	State and local		45 484	45 754	46 673	47 741	2.3
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		75 273	75 869	77 434	79 478	2.6
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	1 644	2 158	1 951	2 468	26.5
		National - non-defence	2 066	2 051	2 238	2 456	9.8
		Total national	3 710	4 209	4 189	4 925	17.6
		State and local	8 101	8 237	8 809	10 629	20.7
		Total general government	11 811	12 446	12 997	15 554	19.7
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1 234	1 906	1 509	1 554	3.0
		State and local	3 909	3 734	3 619	3 847	6.3
		Total public corporations	5 143	5 641	5 128	5 401	5.3
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		16 954	18 087	18 126	20 955	15.6
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		115	182	566	2 364	np
Chain Volume (b)
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		6 243	6 109	6 185	5 853	–5.4
	National - non-defence		23 225	23 492	23 863	25 032	4.9
	Total national		29 469	29 601	30 048	30 885	2.8
	State and local		43 794	44 168	44 479	45 072	1.3
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		73 262	73 769	74 526	75 957	1.9
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	1 477	1 892	1 730	2 208	27.7
		National - non-defence	2 055	2 038	2 243	2 441	8.9
		Total national	3 531	3 930	3 972	4 650	17.1
		State and local	7 977	8 068	8 675	10 498	21.0
		Total general government	11 509	11 999	12 648	15 148	19.8
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1207	1855	1476	1515	2.6
		State and local	3 842	3 687	3 582	3 789	5.8
		Total public corporations	5 049	5 542	5 058	5 304	4.9
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		16 558	17 541	17 706	20 452	15.5
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		109	168	543	2 311	np

np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(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 2013-14.


JUNE QUARTER 2016 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 September 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 15	Dec 15	Mar 16	Jun 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 RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA DIVIDENDS

During September quarter 2015, the Treasurer determined that a sum of $1.9 billion in Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) earnings available for distribution from 2014-15 was payable as a dividend to the Commonwealth. RBA dividends are recorded in GFS and the National Accounts in the period that the Treasurer makes the determination. This timing is different to the accounting standards used for the Commonwealth Financial Statements where the RBA dividend is recorded in the period that the dividend is earned.


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. This review is expected to be finalised by the end of 2016.


TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO THE ACT GOVERNMENT ASBESTOS REMOVAL SCHEME

Since March quarter 2015, the ACT Government has undertaken a range of activities to address the health risks associated with properties affected by asbestos. In macroeconomic statistics, transactions for the initial purchase of the properties by the ACT Government from householders have been recorded as expenditure on non-financial assets in the GFS. These transactions do not contribute to the net operating balance on the operating statement; instead they are shown under net acquisition of non-financial assets. This approach in macroeconomic statistics is based on the principle that observed prices are treated as a market price in most circumstances.

The ACT Treasury has applied a different interpretation for the purposes of preparing its financial statements. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles used by ACT Treasury, homeowner acquisition transactions may include a transfer component, which would be appropriately recognised as an expense. The ABS acknowledges that a genuine divergence exists for these transactions between GFS and the ACT Government’s consolidated financial statements and that the difference between the sets of statements has arisen through a change in treatment by the ABS.


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
September 2016	6 December 2016	7 December 2016
December 2016	28 February 2017	1 March 2017

INQUIRIES

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