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Government Finance Statistics, Australia

Latest release

Statistics about finances of the general government and public non-financial corporations sectors for the various levels of government in Australia

Reference period

September 2024

Released

3/12/2024

Key statistics

In September quarter 2024:

general government net operating balance fell $32.7b to -$18.3b, since June quarter 2024
taxation revenue declined 17.3% to $187.7b, since June quarter 2024
general government borrowing was $30.2b
total public demand is expected to contribute 0.7ppt to the quarterly change in GDP

Unless indicated, all Government Finance Statistics figures presented in this publication are current prices, original series.

Government Finance Statistics measures

		Dec Qtr 2023	Mar Qtr 2024	Jun Qtr 2024	Sep Qtr 2024	Jun Qtr 2024 to Sep Qtr 2024
		($m)	($m)	($m)	($m)	(% change)
Taxation revenue
	General government	201,687	193,046	226,854	187,666	-17.3%
Total revenue
	General government	239,376	237,110	270,282	232,284	-14.1%
	Public non-financial corporations	26,759	28,490	32,173	29,951	-6.9%
Total expenses
	General government	235,948	232,269	255,846	250,568	-2.1%
	Public non-financial corporations	26,981	28,156	31,028	29,437	-5.1%
GFS Net Operating Balance
	General government	3,428	4,841	14,436	-18,284	na
	Public non-financial corporations	-222	334	1,145	514	na
GFS Net Lending (+)/Borrowing (-)
	General government	-11,638	-7,388	-6,296	-30,242	na
	Public non-financial corporations	-7,063	-4,190	-7,289	-6,834	na

na indicates this value not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

Net operating balance of all levels of general government
	Revenue ($b)	Expenses ($b)	Net Operating Balance ($b)
Sep-23	219.5	-229.3	-9.8
Dec-23	239.4	-235.9	3.4
Mar-24	237.1	-232.3	4.8
Jun-24	270.3	-255.8	14.4
Sep-24	232.3	-250.6	-18.3

Net operating balance of all levels of general government

["","Revenue","Expenses","Net Operating Balance"]

[["Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24"],[[219.5],[239.40000000000001],[237.09999999999999],[270.30000000000001],[232.30000000000001]],[[-229.30000000000001],[-235.90000000000001],[-232.30000000000001],[-255.80000000000001],[-250.59999999999999]],[[-9.8000000000000007],[3.3999999999999999],[4.7999999999999998],[14.4],[-18.300000000000001]]]

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National accounts public sector measures

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for September quarter 2024 which will be included in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product release. The key figures shown include Total Public Demand, Government Final Consumption Expenditure for total general government and Gross Fixed Capital Formation for total general government and total public corporations, seasonally adjusted in current prices and chain volume terms.

The following are the seasonally adjusted chain volume measures based on the previous quarter (a):

public sector demand is expected to contribute 0.7 percentage points to the change in GDP in September quarter 2024
general government final consumption expenditure rose $2,020m (up 1.4%) and is expected to contribute 0.3 percentage points to the change in GDP in September quarter 2024
general government gross fixed capital formation rose $1,486m (up 6.0%)
public corporations gross fixed capital formation rose $715m (up 7.2%)
total public gross fixed capital formation rose $2,202m (up 6.3%) and is expected to contribute 0.4 percentage points to the change in GDP in September quarter 2024

Contributions may not be additive due to rounding

Quarterly national accounts public sector measures, current prices, seasonally adjusted
			Dec Qtr 2023 ($m)	Mar Qtr 2024 ($m)	Jun Qtr 2024 ($m)	Sep Qtr 2024 ($m)	Jun Qtr 2024 to Sep Qtr 2024 (% change)
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National-defence		12,062	12,288	12,205	12,138	-0.5
	National-non-defence		56,414	58,140	60,319	61,200	1.5
	Total national		68,476	70,428	72,524	73,338	1.1
	State and local		78,452	79,393	80,800	83,222	3.0
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		146,929	149,821	153,324	156,560	2.1
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National-defence	2,853	3,208	3,317	4,443	34.0
		National-non-defence	2,865	2,918	2,843	3,044	7.1
		Total national	5,718	6,126	6,159	7,487	21.6
		State and local	20,668	20,535	20,253	20,612	1.8
		Total general government	26,386	26,661	26,412	28,099	6.4
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	2,750	2,768	2,656	2,741	3.2
		State and local	7,667	7,455	7,714	8,433	9.3
		Total public corporations	10,417	10,223	10,370	11,174	7.8
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		36,804	36,884	36,782	39,273	6.8
Total public demand			183,733	186,705	190,106	195,833	3.0
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second hand assets by public sector		990	896	834	1,279	53.4
	Public authorities changes in inventories (b)		390	170	1,217	1,013	na

na not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

See explanatory notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates Government Finance Statistics, Australia methodology, September 2024.
Includes general government, public non-financial corporations and public financial corporations

Quarterly national accounts public sector measures, chain volume (a), seasonally adjusted
			Dec Qtr 2023 ($m)	Mar Qtr 2024 ($m)	Jun Qtr 2024 ($m)	Sep Qtr 2024 ($m)	Jun Qtr 2024 to Sep Qtr 2024 (% change)
General government final consumption expenditure (b)
	National-defence		11,613	11,676	11,478	11,320	-1.4
	National-non-defence		53,831	54,963	56,488	57,001	0.9
	Total national		65,444	66,639	67,967	68,321	0.5
	State and local		75,183	75,743	76,405	78,071	2.2
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		140,627	142,382	144,372	146,392	1.4
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National-defence	2,714	3,031	3,130	4,224	35.0
		National-non-defence	2,784	2,824	2,738	2,927	6.9
		Total national	5,498	5,855	5,868	7,151	21.9
		State and local	19,819	19,421	18,965	19,168	1.1
		Total general government	25,317	25,276	24,833	26,319	6.0
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	2,674	2,661	2,540	2,612	2.8
		State and local	7,436	7,142	7,328	7,971	8.8
		Total public corporations	10,110	9,802	9,868	10,583	7.2
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		35,427	35,079	34,701	36,903	6.3
Total public demand			176,054	177,461	179,072	183,294	2.4
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second hand assets by public sector		945	838	768	1,173	52.6
	Public authorities changes in inventories (c)		1,245	-502	735	1,302	na

na not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

Reference year for chain volume measures is 2022-23
See explanatory notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates Government Finance Statistics, Australia methodology, September 2024.
Includes general government, public non-financial corporations and public financial corporations

Public demand contribution to GDP growth

Public demand, contribution to GDP growth (a) (b)
	Gov final consumption expenditure (ppt)	Gov gross fixed capital formation (ppt)
Sep-21	0.7	0.1
Dec-21	0.2	-0.1
Mar-22	0.6	0.1
Jun-22	-0.1	0.1
Sep-22	-0.1	0.0
Dec-22	0.2	0.0
Mar-23	0.0	0.2
Jun-23	0.2	0.2
Sep-23	0.3	0.2
Dec-23	0.1	-0.1
Mar-24	0.3	-0.1
Jun-24	0.3	-0.1
Sep-24	0.3	0.4

Public demand, contribution to GDP growth (a) (b)

["","Gov final consumption expenditure","Gov gross fixed capital formation"]

[["Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24"],[[0.69999999999999996],[0.20000000000000001],[0.59999999999999998],[-0.10000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[0.20000000000000001],[0],[0.20000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[0.10000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[0.29999999999999999],[0.29999999999999999]],[[0.10000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001],[0],[0],[0.20000000000000001],[0.20000000000000001],[0.20000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[0.40000000000000002]]]

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Chain volume measures seasonally adjusted
using the GDP series as published in the June 2024 release of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product

Classification of government policies in Government Finance Statistics

The ABS continues to determine the appropriate classification for new government policies. These classifications are based on well-established conceptual frameworks (a), which ensure consistent recording of these policies across macroeconomic statistics, particularly in relation to Government Finance Statistics and the National Accounts.

The classification of government policies impacting the September quarter 2024 is summarised in the table below.

These frameworks are supported by international standards such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA)

Key policies	Policy details	Classification in Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and National Accounts (NA) (a)
Provision of assistance to households, corporations, unincorporated enterprises, and non-profit institutions
National Energy Price Relief	A total of $3.5 billion of electricity relief for Australian households and eligible small businesses for 2024-25 year.	GFS: Social benefits to households in goods and services (b); other subsidies on production (c) NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure; GDP (I) - Other subsidies on production
NSW Expanded Energy Social Program	The expanded Energy Social Program, totalling $435.4 million for the 2024-25 year, aims to support up to 1 million NSW households with energy bill relief.	GFS: Social benefits to households in goods and services NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure
QLD Electricity Bill Rebate	Eligible households will receive $1000 and eligible small businesses will receive $325 off their electricity bills in the 2024-25 year.	GFS: Social benefits to households in goods and services; other subsidies on production NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure; GDP (I) - Other subsidies on production
WA Electricity credit for households	Eligible households and small businesses will receive an electricity credit of $400 from the WA Government in the 2024-25 year.	GFS: Social benefits to households in goods and services; other subsidies on production NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure; GDP (I) - Other subsidies on production
TAS Supercharged Renewable Energy Dividend Program	The Supercharged Renewable Energy Dividend program provides a one-time payment of $250 for residential households and $300 for small businesses that get their electricity supply through an embedded network in Tasmania.	GFS: Social benefits to households in goods and services; other subsidies on production NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure; GDP (I) - Other subsidies on production
Increased public sector spending
Public sector wage increases	Various new wage increase offers for state and local governments as part of the enterprise agreement negotiations.	GFS: Wages, salaries, and supplements (d) NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure; GDP(I) – Compensation of employees
QLD public transport 50cent fare	The public transport fares are reduced to a flat fare of 50 cents per trip across QLD from 5 August 2024 for 6 months. In addition to this initiative, the government is also providing half-price tickets on AirTrain services.	GFS: Sales of goods and services NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure

NA includes the gross domestic product (GDP) accounts, which are measured using the expenditure approach (GDP (E)), the income approach (GDP (I)) or the production approach (GDP (P)). NA also includes income accounts, capital accounts, financial accounts, and balance sheet.
Social benefits to households in goods and services is a sub-component in Non-Employee Expenses
Other subsidies on production is a sub-component of Subsidy Expenses
Wages, salaries, and supplements is a sub-component of Employee Expenses

Revisions and changes

Revisions

Divergences with government fiscal reporting

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