Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth

This is not the latest release View the latest release

National, public and private corporations, government and household financial and capital accounts, and household balance sheets.

Reference period
December 2023
Released
28/03/2024

Key statistics

  • Household wealth increased $419.2b (2.8%) to $15,663.8b.
  • Demand for credit was $105.1b.
  • Australia returned to a net lending position of $9.6b this quarter, following a net borrowing position of $3.7b in the previous quarter.
  • Capital investment as a proportion of GDP fell to 24.3%.

Main features

Financing resources and investment table

Financial market summary table

Flow of funds diagrams

National investment

National investment increased by $11.3b to $168.2b in the December quarter.

  • General government investment increased by $3.4b to $26.9b, driven by increases in gross fixed capital formation for both state and local general government and national general government.
  • Non-financial corporations' investment increased by $2.0b to $82.0b, driven by an increase in gross fixed capital formation for private non-financial corporations and an increase in change in inventories for public non-financial corporations.
  • Households' investment increased by $5.8b to $56.0b, driven by increases in change in inventories and gross fixed capital formation.

Financial investment

Australia was a net lender of $9.6b to rest of world (ROW). The main contributors were a:

  • $24.4b acquisition by Australia of equity issued by ROW
  • $6.2b placement of deposits with ROW
  • Partly offset by $60.1b acquisition of debt securities by ROW

Acquisition of equity by Australia reflected merger and acquisition activity occurring over the quarter. Banks issued ONP and bonds offshore as they continued to raise addition funds following the maturity of the initial allowance of the Term Funding Facility (TFF). ROW also continued to acquire bonds issued by the National General Government (NGG).

Households

Households $26.8b net lending position was due to a $62.5b acquisition of financial assets, offset by $35.8b incurrence of liabilities. The acquisition of assets was driven by:

  • $32.7b in deposits
  • $27.2b in net equity in superannuation

While liabilities were driven by:

  • $33.2b in loan borrowings

Deposit assets continued to grow this quarter with households taking advantage of higher interest rates offered on savings account products. Contributions into pension funds rose year on year reflecting legislative changes to compulsory superannuation on July 1 and strength in employment. 

General government

General government’s $27.8b net borrowing position was due to $32.4b incurrence of liabilities, offset by $4.6b acquisition of financial assets.

Liabilities were driven by:

  • $18.1b net issuance of bonds
  • $16.0b in loan borrowings

Net issuance of bonds by general government was the strongest since June quarter 2022, reflecting a combination of the establishment of a new bond line by the national general government and no bond maturities. State and territory governments continued to borrow funds from their respective central borrowing authorities to meet expenditure for transport infrastructure and ordinary operating expenses.

Demand for credit

Demand for credit table

Demand for credit was $105.1b in the December quarter, of which:

  • general government borrowed $34.2b
  • households borrowed $33.2b
  • other private non-financial corporations borrowed $29.2b

Credit market outstanding increased by $251.1b, comprised of demand for credit and $146.0b of revaluation gains. Holding gains on the shares of other private non-financial corporations were $117.8b, in line with an increase in equity prices on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). This was aided by holding gains on Commonwealth government bonds of $21.8b which reflected falling bond yields.

Other private non-financial corporations

Business lending was driven by investment in machinery and equipment and building construction projects. Mergers and acquisitions resulted in additional equity being issued and held by rest of world. Business financing activity comprised:

  • loan borrowings of $15.8b
  • equity raising of $10.2b

Households

Housing credit growth increased from the previous quarter which reflected a lift in buyer activity and housing commitments during the Spring season. Household short term loan borrowings also increased in line with seasonally higher consumer spending in December quarters. Households borrowed:

  • $32.5b in long term loans
  • $0.7b in short term loans

General government

Public sector debt continued to expand as the Commonwealth government raised additional funds in the December quarter to assist with investment in infrastructure and other policy priorities. State government demand for credit was driven by investment into transport infrastructure. The government financed its operations through:

  • $17.3b of bonds issued by national general government
  • $15.7b in loan borrowings by state and local general government

"Other" includes private non-financial investment funds and public non-financial corporations.

Households

Balance sheet

Financial assets

Liabilities

Household wealth grew 2.8% ($419.2b) to $15,663.8b at the end of the December quarter. The increase in net worth was driven by strength in the housing market and share market.

Non-financial assets

Non-financial assets owned by households increased by 2.0% ($225.0b), driven by: 

  • $188.5b rise in residential land and dwellings.

House prices continued to increase despite rising interest rates, as supply is still unable to meet current demand.

Financial assets

Financial assets of households increased by 3.3% ($231.6b), with a:

  • $140.1b rise in superannuation reserves
  • $51.8b rise in shares and other equity
  • $32.7b rise in currency and deposits

Total superannuation reserves increased by 3.9% this quarter, driven by favourable domestic and international share market performance increasing the value of equities held by superannuation funds. 

Total deposits increased by 2.0%. Transferable deposit account balances rose $15.3b, including offset accounts which rose $8.9b. Other deposit accounts (which include term deposit and savings accounts) rose $17.0b. 

Liabilities

Household liabilities increased by 1.2% ($37.4b), with a: 

  • $26.6b rise in housing loans
  • $0.7b rise in short term loans

The growth in housing loans was driven by both owner-occupied ($21.2b) and investor ($5.5b) loans.

The increase in short term loans was due to seasonal year-end spending. Through the year, short term loans fell 1.4%, reflecting a decline in household preferences for acquiring short term debt.

Private non-financial corporations

Financial assets

Liabilities

Other private non-financial corporations demand for credit

Other private non-financial corporations demand for credit of $29.2b was driven by:

  • $15.8b of loan borrowings, and
  • equity raising of $10.2b.

Private non-financial corporations sourced funds from debt at a higher rate than equity. The debt to equity ratio (adjusted for price changes) increased to 0.61.

Growth in firm’s debt was driven by loan borrowing for machinery and equipment and private engineering construction projects. The growth in firms' equity was a result of merger and acquisition activity from the Rest of World.

Financial corporations

Financial assets and liabilities

Authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs)

Financial assets

Liabilities

Financial assets of ADIs decreased $51.5b, reflecting:

  • a $123.0b decrease in derivatives; and
  • a $9.6b decrease in bonds.

This was offset by a $62.0b increase in loans which was predominantly driven by households.

Liabilities of ADIs fell $15.7b, with a:

  • $107.0b decrease in derivatives
  • $8.4b decrease in loans

Partly offset by a:

  • $39.3b increase in shares and other equity
  • $24.0b increase in bonds
  • $20.8b increase in deposits
  • $20.1b increase in one name paper

ADIs also continued to return to traditional means of funding, issuing:

  • $19.7b worth of one name paper offshore; and
  • $12.6b of offshore bonds.

The continued strength in debt security issuance this quarter reflects ADIs return to traditional pre-COVID-19 pandemic funding avenues, as funds drawn under the initial allowance of the TFF have unwound.

Pension (superannuation) funds

Financial assets

Liabilities

Total financial assets of pension (superannuation funds) increased by 4.6% ($137.2b), with a:

  • $114.5b increase in equities
  • $13.1b increase in bonds
  • $1.8b increase in deposits

Pension funds acquired $15.2b in shares and other equity and $10.1b in bonds. Revaluation gains of $99.2b in shares and other equity this quarter reflected favourable economic conditions in domestic and overseas markets. Pension funds acquired bonds issued by the Commonwealth government and ADIs. Pension funds placed $2.9b in deposit accounts, the weakest since September quarter 2022, coinciding with just one increase to cash rate during the quarter.

Government

National general government financial assets

National general government liabilities

State and local general government financial assets

State and local general government liabilities

General government

General government (national, and state and local) were net borrowers of $27.8b. This was driven by a:

  • $18.1b net issuance of bond liabilities
  • $16.0b borrowing of loans
  • $8.0b withdrawal of deposit assets

National general government were net borrowers of $1.2b this quarter. The national general government's position was driven by a:

  • $17.3b net issuance of bond liabilities

The total value of treasury bonds outstanding ($853.2b) increased for the third consecutive quarter as a result of new bond issuance and the market value increasing due to falling treasury bond yields. Bond issuance was used to fund government investment in infrastructure and other policy priorities.

State and local general government were net borrowers of $26.7b this quarter. The state and local general government's position was mainly driven by a:

  • $15.7b borrowing of loans
  • $9.3b withdrawal of deposit assets

Loan liabilities of state and local general governments grew for the seventh consecutive quarter. They reached record levels of $409.8b as state governments sourced funding for infrastructure and operating expenses.

(a) "Other" includes gold and special drawing rights, currency, bills of exchange, derivatives, shares and equity, unfunded superannuation and accounts payable/receivable.

Capital investment

Figures in the capital investment section are in seasonally adjusted current prices.

Net lending (+) / borrowing (-)

Australia's net lending position rose by $10.6b to $11.6b this quarter.

This was driven by a:

  • $4.4b decrease in change in inventories
  • $2.4b increase in net savings

Partly offset by a:

  • $1.1b increase in gross fixed capital formation

National net lending as a proportion of GDP increased this quarter, driven by a rise in net savings.

  • Financial corporations' net lending increased by $5.9b to $17.7b.
  • Non-financial corporations' net borrowing decreased by $10.7b to $1.9b.
  • General government net borrowing increased by $7.3b to $11.3b.
  • Households' net lending increased by $5.7b to $6.8b.
     

Notable drivers were:

  • Financial corporations' net lending was driven by an increase in net savings due to an increase in property income receivable from dividends and interest.
  • Non-financial corporations' net borrowing was driven by an increase in net savings from private non-financial corporations due to a decrease in property income payable from reinvested earnings and dividends and an increase in mining gross operating surplus.
  • General government net borrowing was driven by a decrease in net savings due to a decrease in tax receipts from individuals and increases in final consumption expenditure and social assistance benefits in cash to residents. 
  • Households' net lending was driven by an increase in net savings due to increases in compensation of employees and social assistance benefits and a decrease in income tax payable.
     

Capital Investment

National capital investment decreased to 24.3% as a proportion of GDP, while increasing 0.7% in current price seasonally adjusted terms. 

Relative to GDP: 

  • Household capital investment decreased to 7.8%
  • Non-financial corporations' capital investment increased to 11.9%
  • Financial corporations' capital investment remained at 0.5%
  • General government capital investment decreased to 4.0%


In current price seasonally adjusted terms:

  • Non-financial corporations' capital investment increased, driven by increases in both private and public non-financial corporations
  • General government capital investment decreased, driven by a decrease in national general government

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5232.0

Revisions and changes

Revisions in this issue

There have been revisions to previously published aggregates due to:

  • Quality assurance reviews affecting the published aggregates after December quarter 2021, in addition to amendments to data collected in the ABS Survey of Financial Information, ABS Survey of International Investment and to data derived from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) administrative data sets.
  • Incorporation of revisions from the Australian System of National Accounts throughout the time series

AASB 17 accounting standard

The adoption of the AASB 17 accounting standard by the insurance industry has resulted in changes to reported data. Consequently, some of the estimates for life insurance corporations since the September quarter 2023 have been modelled. While these series continue to be published, users are advised to apply caution. The ABS is working with data providers to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. 

Seasonal adjustment for leap years

The extra leap year day in 2024 is unlikely to impact seasonally adjusted statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for February 2024 and March quarter 2024.  This is because the effect of an additional leap year day is analysed and accounted for as part of the seasonal adjustment process, which includes the impact of trading days. The impact of the extra leap year day will be evident in the original (non-seasonally adjusted) series. For more information please refer to this note.

ABS Managed Funds publication

Consultation is being undertaken to investigate data scope and measurement limitations in the ABS Managed Funds publication. Whilst consultation is ongoing, the ABS anticipate pausing the Managed Funds publication in its current form while work is undertaken across agencies to uplift and enhance the collection of data on investment funds for ABS requirements. ABS survey data on public offer unit trusts are used in the compilation of associated sectors in the National Accounts: Finance and Wealth publication (tables 9 and 23). In this publication, adjustments are made to these sectors to account for scope and coverage, based on other counterparty information, though some underlying quality issues remain. Users are advised to apply caution when using these statistics and use the methodology and data quality notes when referencing any data points. For additional information please see the September quarter 2023 Managed Funds publication.

Back to top of the page