Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth

Latest release

National, public and private corporations, government and household financial and capital accounts, and household balance sheets.

Reference period
June 2024
Released
26/09/2024
  • Next Release 19/12/2024
    Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth, September 2024
  • Next Release 27/03/2025
    Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth, December 2024
  • Next Release 26/06/2025
    Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth, March 2025
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Key statistics

  • Household wealth increased $249.7b (1.5%) to $16,477.2b.
  • Demand for credit was $97.9b. 
  • Australia's net borrowing position fell by $0.3b to $9.4b this quarter.
  • Capital investment as a proportion of GDP rose to 24.2%.

Main features

Financing resources and investment table

Financial market summary table

Flow of funds diagrams

National investment

National investment increased by $25.6b to $175.1b in the June quarter.

  • General government investment increased by $11.2b to $35.3b, driven by increases in gross fixed capital formation for both state and local general government and national general government.
  • Non-financial corporations' investment increased by $10.2b to $83.0b, driven by increases in gross fixed capital formation for both private and public non-financial corporations.
  • Households' investment increased by $3.8b to $53.3b, driven by an increase in gross fixed capital formation.

Financial investment

Australia was a net borrower of $9.4b from rest of world (ROW). The main contributors were a:

  • $55.2b acquisition by ROW of debt securities issued by Australia
  • $13.1b placement of deposits by ROW
  • $13.0b acquisition by ROW of equity issued in Australia
  • Partly offset by $16.3b in loans borrowed by ROW

ROW acquired bonds and one name paper issued by banks, as banks shifted towards raising funds through debt security issuance with the maturity of funds provided under the Term Funding Facility (TFF) occurring during the quarter. ROW also acquired bonds issued by central borrowing authorities, who are continuing to issue bonds to raise funds to finance government expenditure. The acquisition of equity by ROW reflected merger and acquisition activity during the quarter.

Households

Households' $10.3b net borrowing position was due to a $60.1b incurrence of liabilities partly offset by a $49.7b acquisition of assets. Liabilities were driven by:

  • $57.7b in loan borrowing

While assets were driven by:

  • $39.5b in net equity in pension funds
  • Partly offset by $8.1b withdrawal of deposit asset

Increased contributions into pension funds reflected additional contributions made by households prior to the end of the financial year. Households drew down on deposit balances for a second consecutive June quarter, withdrawing deposits from transaction deposit accounts. Weakness in household deposit balances reflects the current low household saving ratio. Strength in loan borrowings reflected rising demand for housing over the quarter.

General government

General government’s $14.8b net borrowing position was due to $18.3b incurrence of liabilities partly offset by $3.6b acquisition of assets. Liabilities were driven by:

  • $16.2b in loan borrowings
  • Offset by $18.0b in bond maturities

Acquisition of assets was driven by:

  • $6.0b acquisition of equity assets
  • $3.8b in deposits

The National general government was in a net lending position for a second consecutive quarter, driven by bond maturities occurring over the quarter. Elevated tax receipts also allowed the Commonwealth to maintain its holding of deposit assets, despite needing to meet those bond maturities. State and territory governments continued to borrow funds from their respective central borrowing authorities to finance operational expenditures, social benefits to households, and continued investments into transport and health infrastructure.

Demand for credit

Demand for credit table

Demand for credit was $97.9b in the June quarter, of which:

  • households borrowed $57.5b
  • other private non-financial corporations borrowed $36.9b
  • general government repaid $2.2b

Credit market outstanding increased by $19.1b, comprised of demand for credit and was partly offset by $78.8b of revaluation losses. Holding losses on the shares of other private non-financial corporations were $42.7b, in line with equity prices on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Rising bond yields also resulted in holding losses on Commonwealth government bonds of $17.7b.

Households

Housing credit growth was in line with a rise in the value of new loan commitments which reflected increases in average loan size and the volume of loans. Households borrowed: 

  • $57.4b in long term loans
  • $269m in short term loans

Other private non-financial corporations

Despite falling commodity prices and weaker export revenue in the June quarter, equity funding through reinvested earnings remains the primary source of funding for private non-financial business. Business credit growth continues to be driven by capital investment although higher interest rates have encouraged some firms to seek alternative financing through corporate bond issuance. Business financing activity comprised:

  • equity raising of $21.3b
  • loan borrowings of $13.5b
  • corporate bond issuance of $2.0b

General government

The Commonwealth government paid down maturing bond liabilities this quarter and its overall funding requirements remain low due to elevated tax receipts from corporations and individuals. State government demand for credit continues to be driven by investment in health and transport infrastructure. This was reflected in:

  • $19.3b in net maturities of bonds issued by national general government
  • and partly offset by $15.9b in loan borrowings by state and local general government

"Other" includes private non-financial investment funds and public non-financial corporations.

Households

Balance sheet

Financial assets

Liabilities

Household wealth grew 1.5% ($249.7b) to $16,477.2b at the end of the June quarter. The increase in net worth was driven by strength in the housing market.

Non-financial assets

Non-financial assets owned by households increased by 2.2% ($258.5b), driven by: 

  • a $216.0b rise in residential land and dwellings.

House prices keep rising as the current supply remains insufficient to meet increasing demand.

Financial assets

Financial assets of households increased by 0.7% ($49.5b), with a:

  • $25.9b rise in shares and other equity 
  • $13.7b rise in superannuation reserves 
  • $9.2b fall in currency and deposits

Total shares and other equity increased by 1.8%, driven by positive net business growth and strong performance in overseas markets. 

Total superannuation reserves rose by 0.3% this quarter, driven by a typical increase in voluntary contributions observed at the end of the financial year. 

Total deposits decreased by 0.5% due to a $9.8b fall in transferable deposit account balances. Unincorporated businesses and non-profit institutions serving households (such as charities and religious organizations), were the primary contributor to the decline in households deposits.

Liabilities

Household liabilities increased by 1.9% ($58.3b), with a: 

  • $35.6b rise in housing loans
  • $0.5b fall in short term loans

The growth in housing loans was driven by increased demand from both owner-occupiers and investors.

Private non-financial corporations

Financial assets

Liabilities

Other private non-financial corporations demand for credit

Other private non-financial corporations demand for credit of $36.9b was driven by:

  • $21.3b of equity raising
  • $13.5b of loan borrowings, and
  • $2.0b of bond issuance.

The debt-to-equity ratio (adjusted for price changes) decreased to 0.61. This reflects private non-financial corporations' increased preference for equity.

Firm's equity raising reflected a build up of reinvested earnings from increased foreign direct investment remittances, despite weak profits.

Firms issued bonds for the third consecutive quarter as they sourced additional funding.

Financial corporations

Financial assets and liabilities

Authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs)

Financial assets

Liabilities

Total financial assets of ADIs increased $36.9b, reflecting:

  • a $146.8b increase in bonds; 
  • a $81.4b increase in loans.

This was partly offset by:

  • a $103.1b decrease in deposits;
  • a $60.2b decrease in derivatives; and  
  • a $13.9b decrease in one name paper.

The Additional and Supplementary Allowance of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Term Funding Facility (TFF) matured on 30th June 2024. ADIs used their exchange settlement accounts to repay the TFF, driving the fall in their deposits. The majority of TFF funding was secured with residential mortgage-backed securities, which have now shifted back on to the balance sheet of ADIs resulting in a $110.2b increase in ADIs holding of bonds issued by securitisers. To ensure ADIs continued to meet their requirements without this TFF support, they acquired:

  • $23.1b of bonds issued by National General Government; and
  • $16.0b in semi-government bonds.

Liabilities of ADIs grew $40.8b, with:

  • a $26.5b increase in deposits
  • a $19.2b increase in shares and equities

ADIs also continued to return to regular funding arrangements with the final maturity of the TFF, issuing:

  • $29.5b of one name paper offshore;
  • $17.2b of bonds offshore;
  • $7.5b of bonds domestically; and 
  • $4.8b of one name paper domestically.

Pension (superannuation) funds

Financial assets

Liabilities

Total financial assets of pension (superannuation funds) increased by 0.4% ($14.7b), with a:

  • $13.1b increase in equities
  • $0.8b increase in deposits
  • $3.3b decrease in debt securities


Pension funds used households' contributions to superannuation to acquire $27.7b in equities, $1.1b in deposits and $3.5b in debt securities. Revaluation losses of $14.6b in equities reflect the fall in the value of shares listed on the domestic share market. Pension funds' investment in deposits and debt securities was softer this quarter as pension funds sought higher yields on overseas equities. 

Government

National general government financial assets

National general government liabilities

State and local general government financial assets

State and local general government liabilities

General government

General government (national, and state) were net borrowers of $14.8b. This was driven by a:

  • $16.2b borrowing of loans

Partly offset by a:

  • $18.0b net maturity of bond liabilities
  • $6.0b acquisition of equity assets

National general government were net lenders of $2.1b. The national general government's position was driven by a:

  • $19.1b net maturity of bond liabilities
  • $4.7b increase in deposit assets

Partly offset by a:

  • $5.7b decrease in loan and placement assets

National general government experienced its largest net maturity of bonds. The total value of treasury bonds outstanding further decreased as treasury bond yields rose, decreasing their market value.

The rise in deposits reflected elevated income tax receipts.

State and local general government were net borrowers of $16.8b. The state and local general government's position was mainly driven by a:

  • $16.0b borrowing of loans

Loan liabilities of state and local general governments grew for the ninth consecutive quarter. They reached record levels of $436.6b as state governments sourced funding for employee expenses, social benefits to households, and transport and health infrastructure projects. 

(a) "Other" includes gold and special drawing rights, currency, bills of exchange, derivatives, shares and equity, unfunded superannuation and accounts payable/receivable.

Capital investment

Figures in the capital investment section are in seasonally adjusted current prices.

Net lending (+) / borrowing (-)

Australia's net borrowing position rose by $4.6b to $10.8b this quarter.

This was driven by an:

  • $8.6b decrease in net savings
  • $1.0b increase in gross fixed capital formation
  • $0.1b increase in acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets

and partly offset by a:

  • $2.8b decrease in change in inventories.

National net borrowing as a proportion of GDP increased this quarter, driven by a fall in net savings and a rise in gross fixed capital formation.

  • Financial corporations' net lending increased by $6.1b to $19.4b.
  • Non-financial corporations' net borrowing increased by $6.3b to $10.0b.
  • General government net borrowing increased by $9.6b to $20.6b.
  • Households' net borrowing decreased by $1.8b to $1.2b.

Notable drivers included the following: 

  • Financial corporations' net lending was driven by an increase in net savings due to an increase in property income receivable for dividends and interest.
  • Non-financial corporations' net borrowing was driven by a decrease in net savings due to decreases in gross operating surplus and reinvested earnings.
  • General government net borrowing was driven by a decrease in net savings due to increases in final consumption expenditure and subsidies and a decrease in income tax from resident corporations. 
  • Households' net borrowing was driven by increases in consumption of fixed capital and net capital transfers and a decrease in changes in inventories.

Capital Investment

National capital investment increased to 24.2% as a proportion of GDP, while increasing 0.6% in current price seasonally adjusted terms. 

Relative to GDP: 

  • Household capital investment increased to 8.0%
  • Non-financial corporations' capital investment increased to 11.9%
  • Financial corporations' capital investment remained at 0.5%
  • General government capital investment increased to 4.1%

In current price seasonally adjusted terms:

  • Non-financial corporations' capital investment increased, driven by an increase in private non-financial corporations
  • General government capital investment increased, driven by an increase in national general government

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5232.0

Revisions and changes

Revisions in this issue

There have been revisions to previously published aggregates due to:

  • Quality assurance reviews affecting the published aggregates after June quarter 2020, in addition to amendments to data collected in the ABS Survey of Financial Information, ABS Survey of International Investment and to data derived from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) administrative data sets.
  • Incorporation of revisions from the Australian System of National Accounts throughout the time series

AASB 17 accounting standard

The adoption of the AASB 17 accounting standard by the insurance industry has resulted in changes to reported data. Consequently, some of the estimates for life insurance corporations since the September quarter 2023 have been modelled. While these series continue to be published, users are advised to apply caution. The ABS is working with data providers to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. 

ABS Managed Funds publication

Following the conclusion of consultation with users and industry, the ABS has taken the decision to pause the ABS Managed Funds publication following the release of the December quarter 2023 issue. ABS survey data on public offer unit trusts will continue to be used in the compilation of associated sectors in the National Accounts: Finance and Wealth publication (tables 9 and 23). In this publication, adjustments are made to these sectors to account for scope and coverage, based on other counterparty information, though some underlying quality issues remain. Users are advised to apply caution when using these statistics and use the methodology and data quality notes when referencing any data points. For additional information please see the December quarter 2023 Managed Funds publication.

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