Unless indicated, all figures presented in this publication are current prices, original series.
| Dec Qtr 2019 | Mar Qtr 2020 | Jun Qtr 2020 | Sep Qtr 2020 | Jun Qtr 2020 to Sep Qtr 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $m | $m | $m | $m | % change | ||
| Public sector measures, seasonally adjusted, chain volume (a) (b) | ||||||
| General government final consumption expenditure (c) | 97 474 | 99 370 | 102 346 | 103 794 | 1.4% | |
| General government gross fixed capital formation | 20 178 | 19 614 | 19 956 | 19 574 | -1.9% | |
| Total public gross fixed capital formation | 25 844 | 25 697 | 25 558 | 25 622 | 0.3% | |
| Key fiscal aggregates, all levels of general government, original | ||||||
| Taxation Revenue | 145 711 | 137 893 | 141 378 | 127 088 | -10.1% | |
| Net Operating Balance | 1 415 | -7 939 | -83 791 | -93 567 | np | |
| Net Lending (+)/borrowing (-) | -9 409 | -15 669 | -99 526 | -100 987 | np | |
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) Public sector aggregates for the September quarter 2020 will be included in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product .
(b) Reference year for chain volume measures is 2018-19.
(c) See Explanatory Notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates.
- using the GDP series as published in the June 2020 release of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
COVID-19 impacted a range of Government Finance Statistics series in the September quarter 2020. Key policies and conceptual determinations are discussed in the article Economic measurement during COVID-19: Selected issues in the Economic Accounts. Further ABS data measuring the impact of COVID-19 can be found via abs.gov.au/covid19.
Commonwealth subsidy expenses for June quarter 2020 have been revised due to updated timing calculations used by the ABS. Timing differences in recording of these subsidies will result in a divergence between the Commonwealth Government financial reporting and ABS published macroeconomic statistics.
What's new this quarter
One spotlight article is included in this release:
- Spotlight: Classifying COVID-19 policy interventions in macroeconomic statistics, which examines key COVID-19 policies affecting September quarter 2020 and compares the classifications to stimulus policies during the Global Financial Crisis.
Accounting Standard Changes
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.
Transactions related to visa application charges
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.