5519.0.55.001 - Government Finance Statistics, Australia, Quarterly, Jun 2006

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/09/2006

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About this Release

JUNE QUARTER 2006 KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

March quarter 2006 to June quarter 2006 movements (in original terms) -

Taxation revenue increased by $5416m to $79852m.
The General government GFS Net operating balance decreased by $2790m to $6934m.
The General government GFS Net lending position decreased by $6982m, from $8862m to $1880m.

GFS KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, ORIGINAL


		Mar qtr 2006	Jun qtr 2006	% change Mar qtr 2006 to Jun qtr 2006
		$m	$m	%

Current prices
Taxation revenue
	General government	74436	79852	7.3

Total revenue
	General government	90597	97956	8.1
	Public Non-Financial corporations	17423	17653	1.3

Total expenses
	General government	80873	91022	12.5
	Public Non-Financial corporations	18091	16145	-10.8

GFS Net operating balance
	General government	9724	6934	..
	Public Non-Financial corporations	-667	1508	..

GFS Net lending(+)/borrowing(-)
	General government	8862	1880	..
	Public Non-Financial corporations	-2341	-2800	..

QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for the June quarter 2006 from the forthcoming national accounts publication. The key figures shown include Government Final Consumption Expenditure and Gross Fixed Capital Formation for general government and public corporations, seasonally adjusted for current prices and in chain volume terms.

In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government final consumption expenditure increased by 1.1% in June quarter 2006.
General government gross fixed capital formation, in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, increased by 5.3% in June quarter 2006.

QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED


			Mar qtr 2006	Jun qtr 2006	% change Mar qtr 2006 to Jun qtr 2006
			$m	$m	%

Current Prices
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		4057	4429	9.2
	National - non-defence		13272	13694	3.2
	Total national		17329	18123	4.6
	State and local		26153	26725	2.2
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		43482	44848	3.1

Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	318	364	14.2
		National - non-defence	840	851	1.4
		Total national	1158	1215	4.9
		State and local	3909	4134	5.8
		Total general government	5067	5349	5.6

	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1277	1455	13.9
		State and local	3304	3288	-0.5
		Total public corporations	4581	4743	3.5

	Total public gross fixed capital formation		9648	10091	4.6

Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		-342	-69	..

Chain Volume (b)
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National - defence		3901	4046	3.7
	National - non-defence		12907	13057	1.2
	Total national		16808	17103	1.8
	State and local		25049	25225	0.7
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		41857	42328	1.1

Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National - defence	334	387	15.9
		National - non-defence	832	845	1.4
		Total national	1167	1232	5.6
		State and local	3746	3940	5.2
		Total general government	4913	5172	5.3

	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	1282	1432	11.7
		State and local	3148	3055	-2.9
		Total public corporations	4429	4487	1.3

	Total public gross fixed capital formation		9342	9659	3.4

Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector		-337	-68	..

(a) See paragraph 35 of the Explanatory Notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates.
(b) Reference year for chain volume measures is 2004-05.

ABOUT THIS RELEASE

This release presents quarterly government finance statistics (GFS) on an accrual accounting basis. All tables are presented in GFS operating statement format for the general government sector, with the exception of Table 2 which presents data for the public non-financial corporations sector.

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 Government Finance Statistics, Australia (cat.no. 5512.0). The latest issue (2004-05) was released on 29 March 2006.

In this issue data for the operating statements for the June quarter 2006 are not shown in Table 3 (Commonwealth Government) and Table 4 (Total State and Local) because it would be in advance of the release of the Commonwealth Government's Final Budget Outcome Statement for 2005-06. Commonwealth general government data for the June quarter 2006 have however been included in the calculation of the All levels of government data in Table 1.

RELEASE OF QUARTERLY GFS THIS ISSUE

Table	Sept 05	Dec 05	Mar 06	June 06
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	*	*	*

The September quarter 2006 issue is expected to be released on 5 December 2006 and the December quarter 2006 issue on 6 March 2007, one day before the release of the September quarter 2006 and December quarter 2006 National Accounts publications respectively. Users should check the ABS Release Advice closer to the date for confirmation of the release date.

The contact officer for this release is Jonathan Sim on Canberra (02) 6252 5735.

CHANGES TO RECORDING OF EDUCATION GRANT EXPENSES

As indicated in previous releases, the accrual recording of education grants in GFS has been under review. This review is now complete and the ABS has changed the way in which it records education grants for the Commonwealth General Government sector. This has led to revisions to the relevant series for the period September quarter 2003 to March quarter 2006. The recording of these grants for the State General Government sector remains unchanged.

From July 2003, ABS recording of education grants for the Commonwealth General Government sector occurred at the time of the signing of the Ministerial determination which gave effect to the grants, typically between December and February each year. This had the effect of bunching the full year's expenses in the December and March quarters. This recording was consistent with the recording of the grants by the Commonwealth government in its own financial reports. However, for the State General Government sector, the ABS recorded education grants in the period in which cash was actually received, which was consistent with the treatment of these grants in the states' financial statements (and which was consistent with Commonwealth government recording prior to July 2003). This method of recording lead to a mismatch between the time of recording of the Commonwealth General Government expense and the State General Government revenue.

While GFS concepts do allow for recording transfers at the time obligations are created (this would, in some cases, include the signing of Ministerial determinations), specific reference in the statistical standards is also made to grants which set them aside from other transfers. The underlying premise in relation to the accrual recording of grants is that they should be recorded by recipients when they have gained control over the monies by meeting all specified conditions and eligibility criteria.

The states' entitlement to the education grants in question are subject to conditions being met and not necessarily when the Ministerial determinations are signed. For statistical purposes, the actual cash payments are a better indication of the fulfilment of the conditions and therefore a better reflection of accrual recording. As a result, the ABS has determined that the education grants should be recorded in GFS for both the Commonwealth and state governments at the time the states receive the cash. As this occurs on a fortnightly basis, the effect will be to more evenly spread the Commonwealth's education grant expense throughout the financial year.

Amendments for this change in treatment have been made for all quarters back to the September quarter 2003, including the four quarters in this release. Amendments have also been made to the 2003-04 and 2004-05 annual figures and will be incorporated into the release of the 2005-06 GFS estimates scheduled for release in March/April of 2007.

This change has no impact on the national accounts. As previously advised, following the change in the point of recognition of the grant expense by the Commonwealth government, the ABS continued to record in the national accounts the grant expense at the time cash was disbursed to preserve the integrity of the time series.