CHANGES IN THIS AND FORTHCOMING ISSUES


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

Amendment of confidentiality restriction on live beef cattle (excl. pure-bred breeding cattle) (AHECC 01022924)

From this issue, the confidentiality restriction applied to exports of live beef cattle (excl. pure-bred breeding cattle) (AHECC 01022924) from October 2015 will be amended. The restriction of 'No commodity details' has been replaced with a restriction of 'Selected country details (China, Japan, Viet Nam)'. This change impacts goods credits and merchandise exports time series data in this publication and detailed export statistics at the AHECC level available on request.

Amendment of confidentiality restrictions on barley for malting (excl. seed) (AHECC 10039010), barley (excl. seed and barley for malting) (AHECC 10039020) and lupins, whether or not in the form of pellets (incl. feed for animals during a voyage) (AHECC 12149021)

In the October 2015 issue of this publication, the data for April 2015 were incorrectly released with a restriction of 'No country details, No state details' for AHECC codes 10039010 and 10039020 and 'No commodity details' for AHECC code 12149021, rather than the restriction of 'No state details'. In this issue, the 'No state details' restriction has been applied to April and May 2015 data. These changes impact goods credits and merchandise exports time series data in this publication and detailed export statistics at the AHECC level available on request.

The regular restriction of 'No country details, No state details' for AHECC codes 10039010 and 10039020 and 'No commodity details' for AHECC code 12149021 applied to the latest six months remains unchanged.


CHANGES IN FORTHCOMING ISSUES

Introduction of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) came into effect on 20 December 2015. This impacts data from the December 2015 issue of this publication onwards. The Preference Scheme classification is shown in the below table:

Preference code	Free Standing Descriptor
D	China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA)

Changes to the Customs Tariff import classification

Following an import classification review, new statistical codes under subheadings 0406.10 and 0406.20 have been introduced. The Working Tariff has been updated on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection website.

The previous codes were closed on 31 December 2015 and the new codes opened on 1 January 2016. The changes are shown in the table below:

Previous Customs Tariff
	040610			- Fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd
		0406100023	KG	- Fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd
New Customs Tariff					New Free Standing Descriptors
	040610			- Fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd
		0406100041	KG	Mozzarella	Fresh (unripened or uncured) mozzarella (excl. grated or powdered)
		0406100042	KG	Other	Fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese (incl. whey cheese & curd) (excl. mozzarella, and grated or powdered)

Previous Customs Tariff
	040620			- Grated or powdered cheese, of all kinds
		0406200021	KG	- Grated or powdered cheese, of all kinds
New Customs Tariff					New Free Standing Descriptors
	040620			- Grated or powdered cheese, of all kinds
		0406200044	KG	Mozzarella	Grated or powdered mozzarella
		0406200045	KG	Other	Grated or powdered cheese, of all kinds (excl. mozzarella)

Previous Customs Tariff
	040690			- Other cheese
		0406909024	KG	Mozzarella
New Customs Tariff					New Free Standing Descriptors
	040610			- Fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd
		0406100041	KG	Mozzarella	Fresh (unripened or uncured) mozzarella (excl. grated or powdered)
	or
	040620			- Grated or powdered cheese, of all kinds
		0406200044	KG	Mozzarella	Grated or powdered mozzarella

For the current hierarchy of codes, please refer to the Current Tariff Classifications on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection website.


Outcomes of the review of international accounts statistical outputs

As Australia's national statistical agency, the ABS provides a statistical service that informs discussion and decision making. It is important we ensure we are producing data that are required and in demand. In the area of Balance of Payments and International Investment Statistics, the ABS has moved over the years to increase the range and extent of detail provided in the statistics.

The ABS announced it was undertaking a review of International Accounts statistical outputs in the March quarter 2015 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) and monthly releases of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0). The ABS received a number of submissions from stakeholders which influenced the proposals considered and resulting outcomes.

Based on our analysis of the range of statistics and reflecting on user comments, the ABS is making changes to the International Accounts outputs to ensure we are producing the most relevant and useful data to inform users of Australia’s interactions with the rest of the world. These changes are outlined in the Feature Article: Outcomes of the Review of International Accounts Statistical Outputs published in the June quarter 2015 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0), released on 1 September 2015.

• International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0)

From the January 2016 issue onwards, International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0) publication will include one additional time series spreadsheet and two additional data cubes. The additional table (table 17) will present a summary of revisions for goods and services in original terms. The additional data cubes (tables 18 and 19) will include international merchandise imports for the last 7 months by country at the Balance of Payment Broad Economic Categories (BoPBEC) classification. These will be released at the detailed level and the 1 and 2 digit level respectively. Mock-up table 17 and data cubes tables 18 and 19 will be available in the December 2015 issue of this publication.

• Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0)

Mock-up tables for Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) publication as stated in appendix 2 of the Feature Article will be available in the Information paper: Changes to Time Series Spreadsheets for 5302.0 - Balance of Payments and International Investment Position (cat. no. 5302.0.55.005) will be released on the ABS website on 17 February 2016.