5519.0.55.001 - Government Finance Statistics, Australia, Quarterly, Jun 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/09/2006   
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JUNE QUARTER 2006 KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

March quarter 2006 to June quarter 2006 movements (in original terms) -

  • Taxation revenue increased by $5416m to $79852m.
  • The General government GFS Net operating balance decreased by $2790m to $6934m.
  • The General government GFS Net lending position decreased by $6982m, from $8862m to $1880m.
GFS KEY FIGURES: ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, ORIGINAL

Mar qtr 2006
Jun qtr 2006
% change Mar qtr 2006 to Jun qtr 2006
$m
$m
%

Current prices
Taxation revenue
General government
74436
79852
7.3
Total revenue
General government
90597
97956
8.1
Public Non-Financial corporations
17423
17653
1.3
Total expenses
General government
80873
91022
12.5
Public Non-Financial corporations
18091
16145
-10.8
GFS Net operating balance
General government
9724
6934
..
Public Non-Financial corporations
-667
1508
..
GFS Net lending(+)/borrowing(-)
General government
8862
1880
..
Public Non-Financial corporations
-2341
-2800
..



QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES

The table below includes the key public sector aggregates for the June quarter 2006 from the forthcoming national accounts publication. The key figures shown include Government Final Consumption Expenditure and Gross Fixed Capital Formation for general government and public corporations, seasonally adjusted for current prices and in chain volume terms.
  • In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, total general government final consumption expenditure increased by 1.1% in June quarter 2006.
  • General government gross fixed capital formation, in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, increased by 5.3% in June quarter 2006.

QUARTERLY NATIONAL ACCOUNTS PUBLIC SECTOR MEASURES - KEY FIGURES, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

Mar qtr 2006
Jun qtr 2006
% change Mar qtr 2006 to Jun qtr 2006
$m
$m
%

Current Prices
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
National - defence
4057
4429
9.2
National - non-defence
13272
13694
3.2
Total national
17329
18123
4.6
State and local
26153
26725
2.2
Total general government final consumption expenditure
43482
44848
3.1
Public gross fixed capital formation
General government
National - defence
318
364
14.2
National - non-defence
840
851
1.4
Total national
1158
1215
4.9
State and local
3909
4134
5.8
Total general government
5067
5349
5.6
Public corporations
Commonwealth
1277
1455
13.9
State and local
3304
3288
-0.5
Total public corporations
4581
4743
3.5
Total public gross fixed capital formation
9648
10091
4.6
Memorandum item
Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector
-342
-69
..

Chain Volume (b)
General government final consumption expenditure (a)
National - defence
3901
4046
3.7
National - non-defence
12907
13057
1.2
Total national
16808
17103
1.8
State and local
25049
25225
0.7
Total general government final consumption expenditure
41857
42328
1.1
Public gross fixed capital formation
General government
National - defence
334
387
15.9
National - non-defence
832
845
1.4
Total national
1167
1232
5.6
State and local
3746
3940
5.2
Total general government
4913
5172
5.3
Public corporations
Commonwealth
1282
1432
11.7
State and local
3148
3055
-2.9
Total public corporations
4429
4487
1.3
Total public gross fixed capital formation
9342
9659
3.4
Memorandum item
Net purchases of second-hand assets by public sector
-337
-68
..

(a) See paragraph 35 of the Explanatory Notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates.
(b) Reference year for chain volume measures is 2004-05.


ABOUT THIS RELEASE

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

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
Government Finance Statistics, Australia (cat.no. 5512.0). The latest issue (2004-05) was released on 29 March 2006.

In this issue data for the operating statements for the June quarter 2006 are not shown in Table 3 (Commonwealth Government) and Table 4 (Total State and Local) because it would be in advance of the release of the Commonwealth Government's Final Budget Outcome Statement for 2005-06. Commonwealth general government data for the June quarter 2006 have however been included in the calculation of the All levels of government data in Table 1.

RELEASE OF QUARTERLY GFS THIS ISSUE

Table
Sept 05
Dec 05
Mar 06
June 06
Table 1 All levels of Government - General Government
*
*
*
*
Table 2 All Levels of Government - Public Non-Financial Corporations
*
*
*
*
Table 3 Commonwealth Government
*
*
*
Table 4 Total State & Local
*
*
*
Table 5 New South Wales
*
*
*
Table 6 Victoria
*
*
*
Table 7 Queensland
*
*
*
Table 8 South Australia
*
*
*
Table 9 Western Australia
*
*
*
Table 10 Tasmania
*
*
*
Table 11 Northern Territory
*
*
*
Table 12 Australian Capital Territory
*
*
*

The September quarter 2006 issue is expected to be released on 5 December 2006 and the December quarter 2006 issue on 6 March 2007, one day before the release of the September quarter 2006 and December quarter 2006 National Accounts publications respectively. Users should check the ABS Release Advice closer to the date for confirmation of the release date.


The contact officer for this release is Jonathan Sim on Canberra (02) 6252 5735.


CHANGES TO RECORDING OF EDUCATION GRANT EXPENSES

As indicated in previous releases, the accrual recording of education grants in GFS has been under review. This review is now complete and the ABS has changed the way in which it records education grants for the Commonwealth General Government sector. This has led to revisions to the relevant series for the period September quarter 2003 to March quarter 2006. The recording of these grants for the State General Government sector remains unchanged.

From July 2003, ABS recording of education grants for the Commonwealth General Government sector occurred at the time of the signing of the Ministerial determination which gave effect to the grants, typically between December and February each year. This had the effect of bunching the full year's expenses in the December and March quarters. This recording was consistent with the recording of the grants by the Commonwealth government in its own financial reports. However, for the State General Government sector, the ABS recorded education grants in the period in which cash was actually received, which was consistent with the treatment of these grants in the states' financial statements (and which was consistent with Commonwealth government recording prior to July 2003). This method of recording lead to a mismatch between the time of recording of the Commonwealth General Government expense and the State General Government revenue.

While GFS concepts do allow for recording transfers at the time obligations are created (this would, in some cases, include the signing of Ministerial determinations), specific reference in the statistical standards is also made to grants which set them aside from other transfers. The underlying premise in relation to the accrual recording of grants is that they should be recorded by recipients when they have gained control over the monies by meeting all specified conditions and eligibility criteria.

The states' entitlement to the education grants in question are subject to conditions being met and not necessarily when the Ministerial determinations are signed. For statistical purposes, the actual cash payments are a better indication of the fulfilment of the conditions and therefore a better reflection of accrual recording. As a result, the ABS has determined that the education grants should be recorded in GFS for both the Commonwealth and state governments at the time the states receive the cash. As this occurs on a fortnightly basis, the effect will be to more evenly spread the Commonwealth's education grant expense throughout the financial year.

Amendments for this change in treatment have been made for all quarters back to the September quarter 2003, including the four quarters in this release. Amendments have also been made to the 2003-04 and 2004-05 annual figures and will be incorporated into the release of the 2005-06 GFS estimates scheduled for release in March/April of 2007.

This change has no impact on the national accounts. As previously advised, following the change in the point of recognition of the grant expense by the Commonwealth government, the ABS continued to record in the national accounts the grant expense at the time cash was disbursed to preserve the integrity of the time series.