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Government Finance Statistics, Australia

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

Reference period

December 2023

Released

5/03/2024

View all releases

Key statistics

In December quarter 2023:

general government net operating balance rose $12.0b to $2.2b, since September quarter 2023
taxation revenue rose 13.1% to $201.6b, since September quarter 2023
general government borrowing was $12.3b
total public demand is expected to contribute 0.1 ppt to the quarterly change in GDP

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

Included in this publication is an Insights into Government Finance Statistics, December 2023, which examines the key stories and economic narratives of the December quarter 2023 Government Finance Statistics data.

Government Finance Statistics measures

Government finance statistics fiscal measures
		Mar Qtr 2023	Jun Qtr 2023	Sep Qtr 2023	Dec Qtr 2023	Sep Qtr 2023 to Dec Qtr 2023
		$m	$m	$m	$m	% change
Taxation revenue
	General government	181,098	224,024	178,248	201,599	13.1%
Total revenue
	General government	222,869	265,579	219,868	239,031	8.7%
	Public non-financial corporations	26,673	27,981	27,549	26,729	-3.0%
Total expenses
	General government	216,399	233,702	229,665	236,784	3.1%
	Public non-financial corporations	25,447	27,615	27,428	27,095	-1.2%
GFS Net Operating Balance
	General government	6,470	31,878	-9,796	2,247	na
	Public non-financial corporations	1,226	367	120	-366	na
GFS Net Lending (+)/Borrowing (-)
	General government	-5,642	9,285	-21,035	-12,298	na
	Public non-financial corporations	-2,253	-5,247	-3,847	-7,532	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)
Dec-22	228.5	-216.8	11.8
Mar-23	222.9	-216.4	6.5
Jun-23	265.6	-233.7	31.9
Sep-23	219.9	-229.7	-9.8
Dec-23	239.0	-236.8	2.2

Net operating balance of all levels of general government

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

[["Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23"],[[228.5],[222.90000000000001],[265.60000000000002],[219.90000000000001],[239]],[[-216.80000000000001],[-216.40000000000001],[-233.69999999999999],[-229.69999999999999],[-236.80000000000001]],[[11.800000000000001],[6.5],[31.899999999999999],[-9.8000000000000007],[2.2000000000000002]]]

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National accounts public sector measures

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for December quarter 2023 which will be included in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product. 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 0.1 percentage points to the change in GDP in December quarter 2023
general government final consumption expenditure rose $741m (up 0.6%) and is expected to contribute 0.1 percentage points to the change in GDP in December quarter 2023
general government gross fixed capital formation fell $508m (down 2.1%)
public corporations gross fixed capital formation rose $433m (up 4.6%)
total public gross fixed capital formation fell $75m (down 0.2%) and is expected to contribute 0.0 percentage points to the change in GDP in December quarter 2023

Contributions may not be additive due to rounding

Quarterly national accounts public sector measures, seasonally adjusted
			Mar Qtr 2023	Jun Qtr 2023	Sep Qtr 2023	Dec Qtr 2023	Sep Qtr 2023 to Dec Qtr 2023
			$m	$m	$m	$m	% change
CURRENT PRICES
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
	National-defence		11,604	11,866	12,601	12,325	-2.2
	National-non-defence		53,127	53,884	55,112	56,827	3.1
	Total national		64,731	65,750	67,713	69,152	2.1
	State and local		72,724	73,906	76,077	77,380	1.7
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		137,455	139,656	143,790	146,533	1.9
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National-defence	2,732	3,181	2,931	2,932	0.0
		National-non-defence	2,561	2,642	2,862	2,956	3.3
		Total national	5,292	5,823	5,793	5,888	1.6
		State and local	19,767	21,519	21,197	20,842	-1.7
		Total general government	25,060	27,342	26,990	26,731	-1.0
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	2,395	2,718	3,218	3,168	-1.6
		State and local	5,867	6,416	7,116	7,715	8.4
		Total public corporations	8,263	9,134	10,334	10,883	5.3
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		33,322	36,476	37,324	37,614	0.8
Total public demand			170,777	176,131	181,114	184,147	1.7
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second hand assets by public sector		461	1295	709	592	-16.5
	Public authorities changes in inventories (c)		817	240	-1197	358	na

CHAIN VOLUME (b)
General government final consumption expenditure
	National-defence		10,844	10,984	11,515	11,106	-3.5
	National-non-defence		50,973	51,339	51,636	52,686	2.0
	Total national		61,817	62,323	63,151	63,792	1.0
	State and local		68,764	69,005	70,123	70,223	0.1
	Total general government final consumption expenditure		130,582	131,328	133,274	134,015	0.6
Public gross fixed capital formation
	General government
		National-defence	2,508	2,845	2,606	2,555	-2.0
		National-non-defence	2,459	2,488	2,693	2,748	2.0
		Total national	4,967	5,334	5,298	5,302	0.1
		State and local	18,146	19,484	19,057	18,546	-2.7
		Total general government	23,112	24,818	24,356	23,848	-2.1
	Public corporations
		Commonwealth	2,263	2,542	2,980	2,915	-2.2
		State and local	5,483	5,945	6,531	7,029	7.6
		Total public corporations	7,746	8,487	9,512	9,945	4.6
	Total public gross fixed capital formation		30,858	33,305	33,868	33,793	-0.2
Total public demand			161,439	164,633	167,141	167,808	0.4
Memorandum item
	Net purchases of second hand assets by public sector		419	1,165	634	519	-18.2
	Public authorities changes in inventories (c)		302	743	-1,530	1,117	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, December 2023.
Reference year for chain volume measures is 2021-22
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)
Dec-20	0.2	0.2
Mar-21	0.1	0.0
Jun-21	0.3	0.4
Sep-21	0.7	-0.1
Dec-21	0.2	0.0
Mar-22	0.6	0.1
Jun-22	-0.2	0.2
Sep-22	0.0	-0.1
Dec-22	0.1	0.0
Mar-23	0.0	0.2
Jun-23	0.1	0.4
Sep-23	0.3	0.1
Dec-23	0.1	0.0

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

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

[["Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23"],[[0.20000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[0.69999999999999996],[0.20000000000000001],[0.59999999999999998],[-0.20000000000000001],[0],[0.10000000000000001],[0],[0.10000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[0.10000000000000001]],[[0.20000000000000001],[0],[0.40000000000000002],[-0.10000000000000001],[0],[0.10000000000000001],[0.20000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[0],[0.20000000000000001],[0.40000000000000002],[0.10000000000000001],[0]]]

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Chain volume measures seasonally adjusted
using the GDP series as published in the September 2023 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, which ensure consistent recording of these policies across macroeconomic statistics, particularly in relation to Government Finance Statistics and the National Accounts (NA) (a). 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).

The classification of government policies impacting the December quarter 2023 is provided in the table below, which summarises key policies with an impact on the GFS estimates and does not cover every specific government policy in Australia.

Types of policies	Examples of policies	Classification in Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and National Accounts
Increased healthcare and frontline services spending
WA Police Auxiliary Officers and Prison Officers wage increase	State: (b) Police Auxiliary Officers will receive a wage increase of $60 per week or 3 per cent per annum – whichever is greater – backpaid to 2 November 2022. Prison officers will receive a wage increase of $60 per week or 3 per cent with backpay to 11 June 2022 and a $3,000 cost of living payment (WA).	GFS: Wages, salaries, and supplements, superannuation expenses NA: GDP (E) - Government final consumption expenditure; GDP(I) – Compensation of employees
Free shingles vaccine for nearly 5 million Australians	Commonwealth: From 1 November, almost five million Australians who are at risk of severe disease from shingles can access a free Shingrix® vaccine under the National Immunisation Program.	GFS: Social benefits to households in goods and services NA: GDP (E) – Government final consumption expenditure

a. 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 sheets

b. ‘States’ refers to the state sector in macroeconomic statistics which covers all eight state and territory jurisdictions in Australia

Revisions and changes

Revisions

Divergences with government fiscal reporting

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