Government Finance Statistics, Australia

In the March quarter 2020:

• taxation revenue decreased 5.4% to $137,897m
• expenses exceeded revenue resulting in a net operating balance of -$7,296m
• the GFS net lending(+)/borrowing(-) position was -$14,815m.
   

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for the March quarter 2020 which will be included in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0). The key figures shown include 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.

In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms compared with the previous quarter:

• general government final consumption expenditure increased by $1,654m or 1.8%, and is expected to contribute 0.3 percentage points to growth in the March quarter 2020 volume measure of GDP
• general government gross fixed capital formation decreased by $592m or -3.1%
• public corporations gross fixed capital formation increased by $408m or 7.5%
• public gross fixed capital formation decreased by $184m or -0.7%, which will not detract significantly from growth in the March quarter 2020 volume measure of GDP.
   

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

Detailed 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 the annual publication Government Finance Statistics, Australia (cat. no. 5512.0). The latest issue (2018-19) was released on 28 April 2020.

Government Finance Statistics are part of the broader suite of macroeconomic accounts produced by the ABS. They share their basic concepts with the National Accounts and Balance of Payments. The conceptual framework is agreed internationally and published by the International Monetary Fund. Macroeconomic statistics are compiled to enable macroeconomic analysis and the standards may differ from accounting standards in some regards.

The ABS is currently monitoring for potential impacts from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Government Finance statistics. The World Health Organisation (WHO) commenced daily situation reports of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on 21 January 2020 and identified it as an international health emergency on 30 January. Commencing from March 12, the Australian Government have announced a series of temporary and targeted economic plans to keep Australians in jobs, keep businesses in business and support households and the Australian economy to deal with the economic and health challenges posed by the spread of the coronavirus. These economic plans are expected to have a significant impact on public sector statistical aggregates. A number of these economic plans came into effect from mid-March with the majority of this support to be in effect during the June 2020 quarter.

COVID-19 saw a minor impact on data collection activities for the March 2020 quarter. Quality assurance undertaken by the ABS has confirmed that these disruptions did not affect the quality of GFS estimates. March 2020 quarter impacts driven by the COVID-19 economic plans implemented during the quarter were observed in the Income and Outlay, Taxation and Public Consumption statistical aggregates.

The following COVID-19 economic stimulus programs are being recorded on a cash basis in ABS macroeconomic outputs in March quarter 2020:

• JobKeeper;
• Boosting cash flow for employers;
• The first $750 of the Coronavirus economic support payment; and
• Apprentices and trainees support payment.
   

Recent bushfires around Australia resulted in minor disruption to data collection activities during March quarter 2020. Quality assurance undertaken by the ABS has confirmed that these disruptions did not affect the quality of GFS estimates. As expected, the impacts of bushfire relief and recovery activities were observed in the March quarter, primarily through public consumption statistical aggregates, with very minor impacts in the Income and Outlay and Taxation statistical aggregates.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is publishing a series of notes which describe the economic measurement of selected issues during COVID-19 in the Economic Accounts, including Government Finance Statistics, National Accounts and Balance of Payments and International Investment Position. Topics such as classifying JobKeeper payments, boosting cash flow for employers, and payroll tax changes will be released through a rolling agenda, and can be accessed through the paper Economic measurement during COVID-19: Selected issues in the Economic Accounts. More information relating to measuring natural disasters in the Australian economy can be found in the following ABS Chief Economist Series paper: Measuring natural disasters in the Australian economy Further ABS data measuring the impact of COVID-19 in Australia can be found via abs.gov.au/covid19.

The following Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) standard changes have been introduced in government financial reporting for periods from 1 July 2019 onwards, leading to increased divergence in certain circumstances between economic statistics publications and government financial reporting:

• Leases (AASB 16): The standard removes the distinction between operating and finance leases on the lessee side of financial reporting. The conceptual distinction between operating and finance leases still remains in economic statistics. GFS outputs are consistent with the historical treatment.
• Revenue recognition (AASB 15 & 1058): The standard requires revenue to be recognised when performance obligations are met in certain circumstances. In GFS the change primarily affects grant revenue received by state and territory governments from the Commonwealth. Recognition of grant revenue in GFS remains consistent with the historical treatment which is based on when jurisdictions have access to the funding as reported by the Commonwealth.
• Service Concession Arrangements (AASB 1059): The standard impacts ownership of non-financial assets. It applies a control concept to determine non-financial asset ownership. Non-financial asset ownership in GFS is determined based off a risk-reward concept consistent with the historical treatment which has been maintained in economic statistics.
   

In December 2015, the Commonwealth Government released the 2015-16 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) which included a reclassification of visa application charges (VAC). In MYEFO these charges are now treated as taxation revenue rather than sales of goods and services. This reclassification has been applied to the Government Finance Statistics (GFS), with no impact on total GFS revenue or the GFS net operating balance. The National Accounts statistics will maintain coherence with previously published data and classify this transaction as sales of goods and services. These treatments will remain in place until a review of the treatment of VAC across macroeconomic statistics has been completed.

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, email client.services@abs.gov.au or email public.finance@abs.gov.au. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.