APPENDIX 1 USE OF PRICE INDEXES IN CONTRACTS
INTRODUCTION
1 Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis.
2 Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).
3 This paper sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.
THE ROLE OF THE ABS IN RESPECT OF INDEXATION CLAUSES
4 Although the ABS acknowledges that the various price indexes it publishes are used by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges, it neither endorses nor discourages such use.
5 The role of the ABS as the central statistical authority for the Australian government includes publishing price index data, and broadly explaining the underlying methodology and general limitations on such data. The ABS may provide information about what price indexes are published by it, but will not recommend or comment on the use (or otherwise) of the price indexes. In addition, the ABS does not advise, comment or assist in preparing or writing contracts and nor does it provide advice on disputes arising from contract interpretation.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
6 This paper is intended to summarise information about the various price indexes currently published by the ABS and some of the issues which should be considered by persons in deciding to use such price indexes in Indexation Clauses. It is a brief description only and is not a comprehensive or exhaustive description of price indexes or of the issues which should be considered by persons in deciding to use price indexes or Indexation Clauses.
7 Neither the ABS, the Commonwealth of Australia, nor their employees, advisers or agents will in any way be liable to any person or body for any cost, expense, loss, claim or damage of any nature arising in any way out of or in connection with the statements, opinions or other representations, actual or implied, contained in or omitted from this paper or by reason of any reliance thereon by any person or body. This paper is not business, investment, legal or tax advice and persons should seek their own independent professional advice in respect of all matters in connection with the use of price indexes published by the ABS and their use in Indexation Clauses.
WHAT PRICE INDEXES ARE PUBLISHED BY THE ABS?
8 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is regarded as Australia's key measure of inflation. It is designed to provide a general measure of price inflation for the Australian household sector as a whole. The CPI measures changes over time in the prices of a wide range of consumer goods and services acquired by Australian metropolitan households and it is published quarterly, four to five weeks after the end of the reference quarter. It is revised only in exceptional circumstances, such as to correct a significant error. As is the case with all price indexes, the reference base (i.e. the period in which the index is set equal to 100.0) will be changed periodically. The index number levels for all periods will be changed by this process and it may also result in differences, due to rounding, between the percentage changes published on the old base and those on the new base.
9 Several Producer Price Indexes (PPIs) are produced and published. Economy wide indexes are presented within a stage of production framework together with a set of indexes relating to specific industries (selected manufacturing, construction, mining and service industries). PPIs can be constructed as either output measures or input measures. Output indexes measure changes in the prices of goods and/or services sold by defined industry groupings while, input indexes measure changes in the prices of goods and/or services purchased by a particular industry grouping. PPIs are published quarterly, four to five weeks after the end of the reference quarter. Once published, the PPIs are revised infrequently, sometimes to incorporate improved methods in one or more of the components and occasionally to correct an error. As is the case with all price indexes, the reference base (i.e. the period in which the index is set equal to 100.0) will be changed periodically. The index number levels for all periods will be changed by this process and it may also result in differences, due to rounding, between the percentage changes published on the old base and those on the new base.
10 The International Trade Price Indexes (ITPIs) are intended to broadly measure changes in the prices of goods imported into Australia (the Import Price Index (IPI)) and goods exported from Australia (the Export Price Index (EPI)). The prices measured in the indexes exclude import duties, and exclude freight and insurance charges incurred in shipping goods between foreign and Australian ports. As the prices used in the indexes are expressed in Australian currency, changes in the relative value of the Australian dollar and overseas currencies can have a direct impact on price movements for the many commodities that are bought and sold in currencies other than Australian dollars. Both the IPI and EPI are published quarterly, four to five weeks after the end of the reference quarter. The IPI and EPI are not often revised. As is the case with all price indexes, the reference base (i.e. the period in which the index is set equal to 100.0) will be changed periodically. The index number levels for all periods will be changed by this process and it may also result in differences, due to rounding, between the percentage changes published on the old base and those on the new base.
11 The Wage Price Index (WPI) broadly measures changes in the wages paid by Australian businesses to employees and it is compiled and published quarterly, about six to seven weeks after the end of the reference quarter. Individual indexes are compiled for various combinations of State/Territory, sector (private/public), and broad industry groups. The 'headline' wage price index is that for the total hourly rates of pay, excluding bonuses, for Australia, and it is published in original, seasonally adjusted and trend terms. The seasonally adjusted and trend series for some quarters are revised as extra quarters are included in the series analysed for seasonal influences, but the non-seasonally adjusted (i.e. original) series is not revised in normal circumstances. As is the case with all price indexes, the reference base (i.e. the period in which the index is set equal to 100.0) will be changed periodically. The index number levels for all periods will be changed by this process and it may also result in differences, due to rounding, between the percentage changes published on the old base and those on the new base.
12 The Residential Property Price Indexes (RPPIs) measure price change of the stock of dwellings over time. Indexes are available for attached dwellings, established houses regardless of age and an aggregate measure of residential properties. Separate indexes are produced for each capital city in Australia, and these indexes are combined to produce a weighted average index of the eight capital cities. The RPPIs are published quarterly, approximately twelve weeks after the end of the reference quarter. As is the case with all price indexes, the index reference period (i.e. the period in which the index is set equal to 100.0) will be changed periodically. The index number levels for all periods will be changed by this process and it may also result in differences, due to rounding, between the percentage changes published on the old base and those on the new base.
13 The Selected Living Cost Indexes (SLCIs) are designed to measure the impact of changes in out-of-pocket living expenses of four Australian household types; employee, age pensioner, other government transfer recipient and self-funded retiree households. This also includes the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) which is designed to assess the impact of changes in out-of-pocket living expenses of households whose principal source of income is from government pensions and benefits. These living cost indexes are analytical series produced as a by-product of the CPI, with the main conceptual difference being the SLCIs are constructed on an outlays basis, while the CPI is constructed on an acquisitions basis. The SLCIs are published quarterly, approximately one week after the CPI. It is revised only in exceptional circumstances, such as to correct a significant error. As is the case with all price indexes, the reference base (i.e. the period in which the index is set equal to 100.0) will be changed periodically. The index number levels for all periods will be changed by this process and it may also result in differences, due to rounding, between the percentage changes published on the old base and those on the new base.
14 Price indexes covering a wide range of economic transactions are produced as part of the National Accounts. Two types of national accounts based price index are published. The first type is referred to as chain price indexes which are calculated for all expenditure components and subcomponents of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The components are: government consumption, household consumption, private capital formation, public capital formation, and imports and exports of goods and services. Chain price indexes are also calculated for GDP and other macroeconomic aggregates such as Domestic Final Demand and Gross National Expenditure. Chain price indexes use as their weights the volumes of expenditure in the previous financial year (ending 30 June). The second type of price index is referred to as implicit price deflators (IPDs) which are compiled at the same levels as for the chain price indexes but which use for their weights the volumes of expenditure in the current period. IPDs have long been used to provide macro-economic measures of price change and are usually used in seasonally adjusted form. Both chain price indexes and IPDs are compiled quarterly and are published roughly two months after the reference period. Unlike the other price indexes listed above, the National Accounts price indexes are often revised, sometimes to a significant extent. In addition, they are re-referenced to a new base year every year, so the level of the index changes regularly, although the percentage changes for earlier periods are not normally affected by this process, other than for rounding differences. These two characteristics are important considerations if National Accounts price indexes are to be used in contracts.
15 No representation or assurance is given that any ABS published price indexes are accurate, without error or appropriate for use by persons or that the ABS will continue to publish any of the price indexes, publish them at a particular time or that the methodologies for their determination will not be changed or that they will be suitable for use in any Indexation Clauses.
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