8155.0 - Australian Industry, 2008-09 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/05/2010   
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This document was added or updated on 12/06/2009.

EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 This publication presents estimates of the economic and financial performance of Australian industry in 2008-09. The estimates are produced annually using a combination of directly collected data from the annual Economic Activity Survey (EAS), conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and Business Activity Statement (BAS) data provided by businesses to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).


Reference period

2 The period covered by the collection is, in general, the 12 months ended 30 June. Where businesses are unable to supply information on this basis, an accounting period for which data can be provided is used for data other than those relating to employment. Such businesses make a substantial contribution to some of the estimates presented in this publication. As a result, the estimates can reflect trading conditions that prevailed in periods outside the twelve months ended June in the relevant year.

3 Although financial estimates relate to the full twelve months, employment estimates relate to the last pay period ending in June of the given year. As a result, estimates of wages and salaries per person employed may be affected by any fluctuations in employment during the reference period.

4 Financial data incorporate all units in scope of the EAS that were in operation at any time during the year. They also include any temporarily inactive units, i.e. those units which were in the development stage or which were not in operation, but which still existed and held or acquired assets and liabilities and/or incurred some non-operating expenses (e.g. depreciation, administration costs).


CLASSIFICATIONS

5 The businesses that contribute to the statistics in this publication are classified:



SCOPE

6 The scope of the collection consists of all business entities operating in the Australian economy during 2008-09, except for:
  • in most industries, entities classified to SISCA Sector 3 General government. This exclusion particularly affects data presented for Public administration and safety, Education and training and Health care and social assistance (ANZSIC Divisions O, P and Q, respectively), in that the estimates relate only to private sector businesses. However, SISCA Sector 3 General government businesses classified to Water supply, sewerage and drainage services (ANZSIC Subdivision 28, within Division D) are included, so that the estimates include data (for example) for relevant local government organisations;
  • entities classified to ANZSIC Division K Financial and insurance services.

7 Note that government-owned or controlled Public Trading Enterprises are included.


COVERAGE

8 This section discusses frame, statistical units, coverage issues and improvements to coverage.


Frame

9 Businesses contributing to the estimates in this publication are sourced from the ABS Business Register (ABSBR), which has two components as described below.


Statistical units

10 The ABS uses an economic statistics units model on the ABSBR to describe the characteristics of businesses, and the structural relationships between related businesses. Within large and diverse business groups, the units model is used to define reporting units that can provide data to the ABS at suitable levels of detail.

11 The current economic statistics units model was introduced in mid-2002, to better use the information available as a result of The New Tax System. This units model allocates businesses to one of two sub-populations. The vast majority of businesses are in what is called the ATO maintained population (ATOMP), while the remaining businesses are in the ABS maintained population (ABSMP). Together, these two sub-populations make up the ABSBR population.

ATO maintained population (ATOMP)

12 Most businesses and organisations in Australia need to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN), and are then included on the ATO ABR. Most of these businesses have simple structures; therefore the unit registered for an ABN satisfies ABS statistical requirements. For these businesses, the ABS has aligned its statistical units structure with the ABN unit. The businesses with simple structures constitute the ATOMP, and the ABN unit is used as the statistical unit for all economic collections.

ABS maintained population (ABSMP)

13 For the population of businesses where the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS statistical requirements, the ABS maintains its own units structure through direct contact with the business. These businesses constitute the ABSMP. This population consists typically of large, complex and diverse businesses. The statistical units model described below caters for such businesses.
  • Enterprise group: This is a unit covering all the operations in Australia of one or more legal entities under common ownership and/or control. It covers all the operations in Australia of legal entities which are related in terms of the current Corporations Law (as amended by the Corporations Legislation Amendment Act 1991), including legal entities such as companies, trusts and partnerships. Majority ownership is not required for control to be exercised.
  • Enterprise: The enterprise is an institutional unit comprising:
      • a single legal entity or business entity, or
      • more than one legal entity or business entity within the same enterprise group and in the same institutional subsector (i.e. they are all classified to a single Standard Institutional Sector Classification of Australia (SISCA) subsector).
  • Type of activity unit (TAU): The TAU is comprised of one or more business entities, sub-entities or branches of a business entity within an enterprise group that can report production and employment data for similar economic activities. When a minimum set of data items is available, a TAU is created which covers all the operations within an industry subdivision (and the TAU is classified to the relevant subdivision of the ANZSIC). Where a business cannot supply adequate data for each industry, a TAU is formed which contains activity in more than one industry subdivision.

Contribution of statistical units to the estimates

14 The following paragraphs outline the way in which categories of statistical units contribute to the estimates of financial and economic variables presented in this publication.

TAUs

15 All units in the ABSMP (i.e. TAUs) were eligible to be selected for direct collection.

ABN units

16 All units on the ABSBR not classified as TAUs were ABN units from the ATOMP.

17 An indication of the importance of these populations can be gained from their contribution to the national estimate of sales and service income. The following table shows their proportional contributions to sales and service income by ANZSIC division.

CONTRIBUTION TO SALES AND SERVICE INCOME

TAU
ABN unit
Total
%
%
%

Agriculture, forestry and fishing
13
87
100
Mining
89
11
100
Manufacturing
68
32
100
Electricity, gas, water and waste services
88
12
100
Construction
25
75
100
Wholesale trade
53
47
100
Retail trade
44
56
100
Accommodation and food services
18
82
100
Transport, postal and warehousing
48
52
100
Information media and telecommunications
81
19
100
Rental, hiring and real estate services
16
84
100
Professional, scientific and technical services
27
73
100
Administrative and support services
32
68
100
Public administration and safety (private)
31
69
100
Education and training (private)
23
77
100
Health care and social assistance (private)
28
72
100
Arts and recreation services
54
46
100
Other services
12
88
100
Total selected industries
48
52
100




Coverage issues

18 The ANZSIC-based industry statistics presented in this publication are compiled differently from activity statistics. Each ABN unit or TAU on the ABSBR has been classified (by the ATO and the ABS respectively) to its single predominant industry class, irrespective of any diversity of activities undertaken.

19 Some businesses engage, to a significant extent, in activities which are normally carried out by different industries. For example, a predominantly mining business may also undertake significant amounts of manufacturing. Similarly, a mining business may produce significant volumes of goods which are normally produced in different mining industries. Where a business makes a significant economic contribution to industries classified to different ANZSIC subdivisions, the ABS includes the business in the ABS maintained population, and 'splits' the TAU's reported data between the industries involved. Significance is determined using total income.

20 A TAU's reported data are split, if the inclusion of data relating to the secondary activity, in the statistics of the industry of the primary activity, distorts (by overstating or understating) either the primary or secondary industry statistics at the ANZSIC subdivision level by:
  • 3% or more, where the industries of the primary and secondary activities are in the same ANZSIC division
  • 2% or more, where the industries of the primary and secondary activities are in different ANZSIC divisions.

21 The ABS attempts to maintain a current understanding of the structure of the large, complex and diverse business groups that form the ABS maintained population on the ABSBR, through direct contact with those businesses. Resultant changes in their structures on the ABSBR can affect:
  • the availability of such businesses (or units within them) for inclusion in the annual economic collections
  • the delineation of the units, within those groups, for which data are to be reported.

22 The ABS attempts to obtain data for those businesses selected for direct collection and which ceased operation during the year, but it is not possible to obtain data for all of them.


Improvements to coverage

23 Data in this publication have been adjusted to allow for lags in processing new businesses to the ABSBR, and the omission of some businesses from the register. The majority of businesses affected, and to which the adjustments apply, are small in size. As an example, the effect of these adjustments is generally 4% or less for most ANZSIC industry divisions and for most states and territories.

24 Adjustments have been made to include new businesses in the estimates in the period in which they commenced operations, rather than when they were processed to the ABSBR. Adjustments of this type will continue to be applied in future periods.

25 For more information on these adjustments, please refer to the ABS publication Information Paper: Improvements to ABS Economic Statistics, 1997 (cat. no. 1357.0).


DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

26 Selected key terms are described below.


Industry performance measures

27 This publication presents a wide range of data that can be used to analyse business and industry performance.

28 Differences in accounting policy and practices across businesses and industries can lead to some inconsistencies in the data input to the statistics. Although much of the accounting process is subject to standards, there is still a great deal of flexibility left to individual managers and accountants through the accounting policies and practices they adopt. For example, the way profit is measured is affected by management policy about such issues as depreciation rates, bad debt provisions and write off, and goodwill write off. The varying degree to which businesses consolidate their accounts may also affect any industry performance measures calculated.

29 A range of performance measures, usually referred to as ratios, can be produced from the data available from businesses' financial statements. The performance measures presented in this publication comprise:
  • profitability ratios, which measure rates of profit on sales
  • debt ratios, which indicate the ability of businesses to meet the cost of debt financing
  • investment ratios, which indicate the capacity of business to invest in capital assets
  • labour measures, which relate output, labour costs and employment.

30 The definition of each ratio in the Industry Performance table can be found in the Glossary.

31 The above limitations are not meant to imply that analysis based on these data should be avoided, only that they should be borne in mind when interpreting the data presented in this publication.


Industry value added

32 Industry value added (IVA) is the measure of the contribution by businesses in each industry to gross domestic product. The Industry Value Added table presents estimates of the components of industry value added for all industries that are within the scope of the collection.

33 There are two types of businesses: 'market' and 'non-market' producers. Market producers sell their output to achieve a profit, whereas non-market producers sell their output at economically insignificant prices. Industry value added is derived differently for market and non-market producers. The industries in which non-market producers make the most significant contribution to industry value added are Health care and social assistance (private) and Other services. See the Glossary definition of IVA for further detail.


Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards

34 The new Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (AEIFRS) were progressively implemented in Australia from 1 January 2005. As a result, a number of items in the financial accounts of Australian businesses have been affected by changed definitions, which have in turn affected both income statements and balance sheets. A range of ABS economic collections source data from financial accounts of businesses and use those data to derive economic statistics. There have been no changes in the associated economic definitions.

35 Since the implementation of AEIFRS, analysis of published time series data has indicated structural breaks in series. The magnitude of such breaks, however, cannot be determined without imposing a disproportionate load upon data providers to ABS surveys and other administratively collected data. The ABS will continue to monitor developments and report any significant identified impacts as a result of AEIFRS.


SURVEY DESIGN

36 In order to minimise the load placed on providers, the strategy for this survey was to use, as much as possible, information sourced from the ATO, thus reducing the size of the direct collect sample needed to maintain the range and quality of information available to users of statistical data. The frame (from which the direct collect sample was selected) was stratified using information held on the ABSBR. Businesses eligible for selection in the direct collect sample were then selected from the frame using stratified random sampling techniques.

37 Businesses were eligible to participate in the survey (the direct collect sample) only if their turnover exceeded a threshold level, or the business was identified as being an employing business (based on ATO information), as at the end of the reference period. Turnover thresholds were set for each ANZSIC class so that the contribution of surveyed businesses accounted for approximately 97.5% of total industry class turnover as determined by BAS data. A sample of 22,639 businesses was selected for the directly collected part of the 2008-09 EAS. Each business was asked to provide data sourced primarily from financial statements, mainly by mail out questionnaires. Businesses were also asked to supply key details of their operations by state and territory, enabling production of the state/territory estimates.

38 Businesses which met neither of these criteria are referred to as 'micro non-employing businesses'. These businesses were not eligible for selection in the sample. For these units, BAS data were obtained and annualised, then added to the directly collected estimates to produce the statistics in this publication. The total estimated value of annual turnover of micro non-employing businesses in Total selected industries during the 2008-09 reference year, as determined by BAS data, was $39.5b (2.4%).


EFFECTS OF ROUNDING

39 Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between totals and the sums of the component items.

40 Proportions, ratios and other calculated figures shown in this publication have been calculated using unrounded estimates and may be different from, but are more accurate than, calculations based on the rounded estimates.


FURTHER INFORMATION

41 A range of further information is available, as described below.


Related publications

42 The following ABS publications present economy-wide industry data:
Australian System of National Accounts, 2008-09 (cat.no. 5204.0) - Annual publication
Business Indicators, Australia, Dec 2009 (cat.no. 5676.0) - Quarterly publication
Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia, Dec 2009 (cat. no. 5625.0) - Quarterly publication.

43 In addition, the following publications present industry-specific information:
Community Services, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 8696.0), scheduled for release June 2010 - Irregular publication
Energy, Water and Environment Management, Australia, 2008-09
(cat. no. 4660.0), scheduled for release June 2010 - Irregular publication
Information Paper: Experimental Estimates for the Manufacturing Industry, 2006-07 and 2007-08 (cat. no. 8159.0).


Other information available

44 More detailed estimates than those included in this publication are available in spreadsheet format free of charge online from the Statistics view on the ABS web site <www.abs.gov.au>. Select Statistics / By Catalogue Number / 8. Secondary Industry and Distribution / 81. Industry Wide Statistics / 8155.0 Australian Industry, 2008-09, then select the Downloads tab.

45 The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead.

46 As well as the statistics included in this and related publications, the ABS may have other relevant data available on request for a charge. Inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or email <australian.industry.statistics@abs.gov.au>.


Acknowledgement

47 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated; without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.


Use of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data in this publication

48 The results of these studies are based, in part, on tax data supplied by the ATO to the ABS under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, which requires that such data are only used for statistical purposes. No individual information collected under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 is provided back to the ATO for administrative or regulatory purposes. Any discussion of data limitations or weaknesses is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes, and is not related to the ability of the data to support the ATO's core operational requirements.

49 Legislative requirements to ensure privacy and secrecy of these data have been followed. Only people authorised under the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 have been allowed to view data about any particular organisation and/or person in conducting these analyses. No information about individual taxpayers (persons) has been released to the ABS. Aggregated personal income tax data are confidentialised by the ATO before release to the ABS. In accordance with the Census and Statistics Act 1905, results have been confidentialised to ensure that they are not likely to enable identification of a particular person or organisation.