SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT


In the September quarter 2016:

• Taxation revenue decreased by -15.3% from $124,925m in the June quarter 2016 to $105,772m in the September quarter 2016.
• General government sector expenses exceeded revenue resulting in a GFS net operating balance of -$19,696m.
• The GFS net lending(+)/borrowing(-) position for the general government sector was -$21,970m.
  

			Jun Qtr 2016	Sep Qtr 2016	Jun Qtr 2016 to Sep Qtr 2016
			$m	$m	% change
Current Prices
Taxation revenue
	General government		124 925	105 772	-15.3
Total revenue
	General government		154 952	136 027	-12.2
	Public non-financial corporations		21 129	19 965	-5.5
Total expenses
	General government		154 457	155 724	0.8
	Public non-financial corporations		22 470	20 477	-8.9
GFS Net operating balance
	General government		496	-19 696	. .
	Public non-financial corporations		-1 341	-512	. .
GFS Net lending(+)/borrowing(-)
	General government		-10 811	-21 970	. .
	Public non-financial corporations		-5 440	-2 512	. .

. . not applicable



QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES

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

• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government final consumption expenditure decreased by $188m, a drop of -0.2% compared with the June quarter 2016.
• In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government gross fixed capital formation decreased by -10.4% compared with the June quarter 2016.

			Dec Qtr 2015	Mar Qtr 2016	Jun Qtr 2016	Sep Qtr 2016	Jun Qtr 2016 to Sep Qtr 2016
			$m	$m	$m	$m	% change
Current Prices
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		6 581	6 816	6 647	7 091	6.7
	National - non-defence		24 354	24 894	26 035	25 263	-3.0
	Total national		30 936	31 710	32 682	32 354	-1.0
	State and local		45 878	46 670	47 726	47 500	-0.5
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		76 814	78 380	80 409	79 854	-0.7
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	2 366	2 133	2 739	1 865	-31.9
		National - non-defence	1 879	2 116	2 320	2 269	-2.2
		Total national	4 245	4 248	5 059	4 133	-18.3
		State and local	8 380	8 871	10 817	9 386	-13.2
		Total general government	12 625	13 119	15 876	13 519	-14.8
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1 794	1 365	1 407	1 460	3.8
		State and local	3 885	3 650	3 837	3 856	0.5
		Total public corporations	5 679	5 015	5 244	5 316	1.4
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		18 304	18 134	21 120	18 836	-10.8
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		343	473	2 285	601	np
Chain Volume (b)
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		6 406	6 585	6 377	6 756	5.9
	National - non-defence		23 976	24 339	25 598	25 135	-1.8
	Total national		30 382	30 923	31 975	31 891	-0.3
	State and local		45 088	45 395	45 857	45 753	-0.2
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		75 471	76 319	77 832	77 644	-0.2
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	2 197	2 017	2 633	1 840	-30.1
		National - non-defence	1 883	2 140	2 343	2 299	-1.9
		Total national	4 079	4 157	4 976	4 139	-16.8
		State and local	8 297	8 838	10 820	9 418	-13.0
		Total general government	12 376	12 995	15 796	13 557	-14.2
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1 776	1 349	1 388	1 449	4.4
		State and local	3 836	3 607	3 774	3 775	-
		Total public corporations	5 612	4 956	5 162	5 224	1.2
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		17 988	17 951	20 957	18 781	-10.4
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		329	465	2 271	587	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 2014-15.


SEPTEMBER 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	Sep 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 2016, the Treasurer determined that a sum of $3.2 billion in Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) earnings available for distribution from 2015-16 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.


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

INQUIRIES

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