1350.0.55.001 - Australian Economic Indicators Glossary, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/07/2007  Reissue
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Face valueThe value that appears on the face of a debt security being the amount that the issuing entity promises to pay to the holder when the security matures. Also known as the nominal or par value.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Financial Accounts. cat. no. 5232.0.

FamilyTwo or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering; and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.
Reference: Australian Labour Market Statistics. cat. no. 6105.0.

Family reference personIn families which are not couple families or one-parent families, as defined, the family reference person is the eldest person in the household.
Reference: Australian Labour Market Statistics. cat. no. 6105.0.

Farm GDPGross agricultural product at market prices. It is equivalent to gross value added of agriculture at basic prices plus taxes less subsidies on products.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product. cat. no. 5206.0.

Fetal deathFor fetal deaths a birthweight and period of gestation criterion apply:
  • The delivery of a child weighing at least 500 grams at delivery (or of at least 22 weeks gestation, if birthweight is unavailable) who did not, at any time after delivery, breathe or show any other evidence of life such as heartbeat. Applies to data collected prior to 1997.
  • The delivery of a child weighing at least 400 grams at delivery (or of at least 20 weeks gestation, if birthweight is unavailable) who did not, at any time after delivery, breathe or show any other evidence of life such as heartbeat. Applies to data collected from 1997.
Reference: Causes of Death, Australia. cat. no. 3303.0.

Fetal death rateFor fetal death rates a birthweight and period of gestation criterion apply:
  • The fetal death rate is the number of fetal deaths per 1,000 live births (who weighed at least 500 grams at birth or of at least 22 weeks gestation, if birthweight was unavailable), plus fetal deaths recorded during the calendar year. Applies to data collected prior to 1997.
  • The fetal death rate is the number of fetal deaths per 1,000 live births (who weighed at least 400 grams at birth or of at least 20 weeks gestation, if birthweight was unavailable), plus fetal deaths recorded during the calendar year. Applies to data collected from 1997.
Reference: Causes of Death, Australia. cat. no. 3303.0.

Final consumption expenditure - general governmentNet expenditure on goods and services by public authorities, other than those classified as public corporations, which does not result in the creation of fixed assets or inventories or in the acquisition of land and existing buildings or second-hand assets. It comprises expenditure on compensation of employees (other than those charged to capital works, etc.), goods and services (other than fixed assets and inventories) and consumption of fixed capital. Expenditure on repair and maintenance of roads is included. Fees, etc., charged by general government bodies for goods sold and services rendered are offset against purchases. Net expenditure overseas by general government bodies and purchases from public corporations are included. Expenditure on defence assets that are used in a fashion similar to civilian assets is classified as gross fixed capital formation; expenditure on weapons of destruction and weapon delivery systems is classified as final consumption expenditure.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Final consumption expenditure - householdsNet expenditure on goods and services by persons and expenditure of a current nature by private non-profit institutions serving households. This item excludes expenditures by unincorporated businesses and expenditures on assets by non-profit institutions (included in gross fixed capital formation). Also excluded are maintenance of dwellings (treated as intermediate expenses of private enterprises), but personal expenditure on motor vehicles and other durable goods and the imputed rent of owner-occupied dwellings are included. The value of 'backyard' production (including food produced and consumed on farms) is included in household final consumption expenditure and the payment of wages and salaries in kind (e.g. food and lodging supplied free to employees) is counted in both household income and household final consumption expenditure.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Final demandGenerally, the output of industries is defined as the production of goods and services for use as inputs into industries or as final demand. Own account production and transportation not separately invoiced is not shown separately, but rather is included indistinguishably with the rest of producers' output.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Financial accountThe financial account records the net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities for all institutional sectors, by type of financial asset.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Financial aggregatesA Reserve Bank of Australia data series specifying measures of the supply of money and credit. It includes some or all of: currency on issue; current deposits with banks; other deposits of the private non-bank sector with banks; borrowings from the private sector by non-bank depository corporations; and credit (loans, advances and bills discounted to the private sector).
Reference: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Financial assetsFinancial assets are mostly financial claims. Financial claims entitle the owner to receive a payment, or a series of payments, from an institutional unit to which the owner has provided funds. The exceptions are monetary gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), and shares, which are treated as financial assets even though there is no financial claim on another institutional unit. See also Assets; Insurance technical reserves; Long-term debt securities; Monetary gold and SDRs; Other accounts receivable/payable; Prepayments of premiums and reserves against outstanding claims; Securities other than shares; Shares and other equity; and Short-term debt securities.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Financial Accounts. cat. no. 5232.0.

Financial corporationsFinancial corporations comprise all resident corporations and quasi-corporations mainly engaged in financial intermediation and provision of auxiliary financial services. For example, they borrow and lend; provide superannuation, life, health or other insurance services, or financial leasing services; or they invest in financial assets. Holding companies with mainly financial corporations as subsidiaries are also included, as are market NPIs that mainly engage in financial intermediation or production of auxiliary financial services. Mostly these enterprises are incorporated but large unincorporated enterprises such as unit trusts and superannuation funds are included in this sector if they qualify as quasi-corporations. This broad sector is broken down into eight sub-sectors: Central Bank; Banks; Other depository corporations; Life insurance; Pension funds; Other insurance corporations; Central borrowing authorities; and Financial intermediaries and auxiliaries n.e.c.
Reference: Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia. cat. no. 1218.0.

Financial derivativesFinancial derivatives are financial instruments that are linked to a specific financial instrument or indicator or commodity, and which provide for market financial risk in a form that can be traded or otherwise offset in the market. Financial derivatives are used for a number of purposes including risk management, hedging, and speculation. Unlike with debt instruments, no principal amount is advanced to be repaid, and no investment income accrues. The value of the financial derivative derives from the price of the underlying items.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Financial intermediaryFor the purpose of balance of payments statistics, financial intermediaries are defined as being: other depository institutions (banks, other than the central bank); other financial intermediaries, except insurance companies and pension funds; and financial auxiliaries. The definition would therefore include Special Purpose Entities (SPEs), the sole function of which is financial intermediation, and enterprises, such as security dealers, that provide services auxiliary to financial intermediation.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM)Banks and some other financial intermediaries are able to provide services for which they do not charge explicitly, by paying or charging different rates of interest to borrowers and lenders (and to different categories of borrowers and lenders). For example, they may pay lower rates of interest than would otherwise be the case to those who lend them money and charge higher rates of interest to those who borrow from them. The resulting net receipts of interest are used to defray their expenses and provide an operating surplus. This scheme of interest rates avoids the need to charge their customers individually for services provided and leads to the pattern of interest rates observed in practice. However, in this situation, the national accounts must use an indirect measure, namely FISIM, of the value of the services for which the intermediaries do not charge explicitly.

Whenever the production of output is recorded in the national accounts, the use of that output must be explicitly accounted for elsewhere in the accounts. Hence, FISIM must be recorded as being disposed of in one or more of the following ways: as intermediate consumption by enterprises; as final consumption by households or general government; or as exports to non-residents.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Financial intermediationA productive activity in which an institutional unit incurs liabilities on its own account for the purpose of acquiring financial assets by engaging in financial transactions on the market.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Financial marketsA generic term for the markets in which financial instruments are traded. Financial instruments have no intrinsic value of themselves. They represent a claim over real assets or a future income stream. The four main financial markets are the foreign exchange market, the fixed interest or bond market, the share or equity market and the derivatives market.
Reference: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Financial transactions, or flowsFinancial transactions, or flows, relate to the increase or decrease of your Australian enterprise group's financial liabilities to, or claims on, non-residents. Transactions are recorded at the traded price and converted to Australian dollars by using the midpoint of the buy and sell rates applicable at the time of the transaction. Transactions should be recorded on a gross basis, that is, before the deduction of commissions, brokerage fees and withholding taxes.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Financial transactions accountThe account which shows transactions in financial claims between institutional sectors.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Financial Accounts. cat. no. 5232.0.

FinancingChanges to financial assets, liabilities, shareholders’ funds or other contributed capital that arise from transactions; and, in the GFS cash flow statement, cash receipts or payments resulting from borrowing.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

First marriage ratesFirst marriage rates are the number of males or females marrying for the first time during the calendar year, per 1,000 population of never married males or females aged 15 years and over at 30 June.

Calculation of this rate requires a disaggregation of the population by marital status. Estimates of the population by marital status were last calculated as at 30 June 2001.
Reference: Marriages, Australia. cat. no. 3306.0.55.001.

Fixed assetsFixed assets are produced assets that are used repeatedly or continuously in production processes for more than one year. Fixed assets consist of tangible and intangible fixed assets. See also Intangible fixed assets; Produced assets; and Tangible fixed assets.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5216.0.

Fixed rate of dutyA rate of import duty calculated as a monetary value applicable to each item. e.g. $1.50 per item.
Reference: International Merchandise Trade, Australia, Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5489.0.

FlowFlows are momentary expressions of economic actions engaged in by units and other events affecting the economic status of units that occur within an accounting period.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Foreign debt assetsA nation's gross debt claims on the rest of the world.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Foreign debt liabilitiesA nation's gross debt liabilities to the rest of the world.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Foreign debt (net)The net sum of foreign debt liabilities and foreign debt assets.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Foreign exchangeForeign exchange consists of the Reserve Bank of Australia's holdings of securities, and currency and deposits. Currency and deposits consist of foreign and domestic notes and coin in circulation, transferable deposits which are exchangeable on demand and freely transferable, and other deposits such as fixed term deposits and those redeemable at short notice.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Foreign financial assets (and foreign financial liabilities)Foreign financial assets and their matching liabilities are claims by a resident of one economy upon a resident of another economy. The existence of such claims, therefore, generally will be recorded on two balance sheets, namely that of the transactor against which the claims are held as liabilities, and that of the holder of the claims as assets. For example, foreign financial assets which are matched by liabilities in another transactor's records include resident owned corporate equities, bonds, and notes issued by foreign enterprises.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Foreign Investment in AustraliaForeign Investment in Australia is the sum of: direct investment in Australia; portfolio investment liabilities; financial derivatives liabilities; and other investment assets.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Former workersUnemployed persons who have previously worked for two weeks or more but not in the last two years.
Reference: Australian Labour Market Statistics. cat. no. 6105.0.

Former Yugoslav RepublicsConsists of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, the former Yugoslav Republics of Serbia and Montenegro, and Yugoslavia n.f.d.
Reference: Demographic Estimates and Projections: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 3228.0.

Forwards or Forward contractA contractual obligation between two parties to exchange a particular good or instrument at a set price on a future date. The buyer of the forward agrees to pay the price and take delivery of the good or instrument and is said to be "long the forward", while the seller of the forward agrees to deliver the good or instrument at the agreed price on the agreed date. Collateral may be deposited, but cash is not exchanged until the delivery date. Forward contracts, unlike futures, are not traded on organised exchanges.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Financial Accounts. cat. no. 5232.0.

Forward foreign exchange contractsForward foreign exchange contracts involve the exchange of funds in one currency for funds in another currency at a specified rate at a future date.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Forward rate agreementsForward rate agreements are arrangements associated with interest rates, in which two entities agree on a settlement cash flow based on the difference between an agreed interest rate and prevailing rates, at a future date, applied to a notional amount of principal.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

Free on board (f.o.b.)The value of goods measured on a free on board (f.o.b.) basis includes all production and other costs incurred up until the goods are placed on board the international carrier for export. Free on board values exclude international insurance and transport costs. They include the value of the outside packaging in which the product is wrapped, but do not include the value of the international freight containers used for transporting the goods.
Reference: International Merchandise Trade, Australia, Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5489.0.

Friendly societiesThese are mutual organisations whose members originally came from specific crafts or religions. They aim to provide their members with a wide range of cradle-to-grave services. Examples of these are: life, health, disability, funeral, and general insurances; investment services; financial services similar to those provided by credit unions; and retirement and travel services.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Financial Accounts. cat. no. 5232.0.

Full-time workersEmployed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.
Reference: Labour Force, Australia. cat. no. 6202.0.

Full-time employeesFull-time employees are permanent, temporary and casual employees who normally work the agreed or award hours for a full-time employee in their occupation and received pay for any part of the reference period. If agreed or award hours do not apply, employees are regarded as full-time if they ordinarily work 35 hours or more per week.
Reference: Average Weekly Earnings, Australia. cat. no. 6302.0.

Functional classificationClassification of expenses and other transactions according to functions (e.g. health, education) of government. See also Government purpose classification.
Reference: Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods. cat. no. 5514.0.55.001.

FuturesA futures contract is an agreement to buy/sell a standard quantity of a commodity - such as gold, $US or bank bills of exchange - on a specific future date at an agreed price determined at the time the contract is traded on the futures exchange.
Reference: Australian National Accounts: Financial Accounts. cat. no. 5232.0.