This article outlines recent improvements to digital services estimates in International Trade in Services statistics. These have been included for the first time in the September quarter, 2024 Balance of Payments and International Investment Position publication and also flow through to the National Accounts estimates on Total Intermediate Use (TIU), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), and Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE).
- The measurement of digital services is challenging and has been a long-standing measurement gap within the ABS’ International Trade in Services and Balance of Payments statistics.
- The ABS have recently improved the measurement of digital services targeting the most significant Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) providing digital services. New estimates have been developed using administrative data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to estimate the imports and exports of these services.
- The inclusion of the new digital services estimates has led to revisions to both imports and exports of services from the period September quarter 2009-10 and subsequently impact Australia’s Current Account balance. This is particularly the case from the 2016-17 financial year onwards when the imports (debits) of these digital services increased significantly.
- With the inclusion of the new estimates, the value of digital services imported over the period 2009-10 to 2023-24 was $87 billion and accounted for 17% of the total Other services import value during that time. The annual value of digital services imported has increased from $119 million in 2009-10 to $18.5 billion in 2023-24, representing a 158 fold increase in value of this period.
- There has been a smaller impact to exports. The value of digital services exported over the period 2009-10 to 2023-24 was $5 billion, and accounted for only 1% of the total Other services export value during that time.
- The estimates of digital services have been allocated to the existing Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification 2010 (EBOPS) used within International Trade in Services statistics.