Public Financial Enterprises Capital Expenditure - Quarterly

NAME OF ORGANISATION
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

OVERVIEW

The Survey of Expenditure on Fixed Assets is a survey of public financial corporations designed to provide quarterly estimates of gross fixed capital formation undertaken by public financial corporations for each level of government in each State or Territory. A selection of public financial corporations are surveyed each quarter and the remaining public financial corporations are surveyed each year ending June. This approach is designed to provide quarterly values of gross fixed capital formation undertaken by all public financial corporations during the year. Output from the collection is required for the Australian National Accounts collections.

Output from the Survey of Expenditure on Fixed Assets is required to compile estimates of gross fixed capital formation for the Australian National Accounts.

Scope: All government-owned and controlled financial corporations (including banks and superannuation authorities) with significant levels of capital spending.

Coverage: All government-owned and controlled financial corporations (including banks and superannuation authorities) with significant levels of capital spending. The coverage of this survey is quite small (about 40 enterprises) and only collects data from public corporations that are not collected elsewhere.

Conceptual framework

Gross fixed capital formation is the expenditure on the value of acquisitions less disposals of new or existing fixed assets. Assets consist of tangible or intangible assets that have come into existence as outputs from processes of production, and that are themselves used repeatedly or continuously in other processes of production over periods of time longer than one year. Expenditure is shown on a 'gross' basis as deductions have not been made for the consumption of existing assets during the production process.

The acquisition of non-reproducible tangible assets such as land, subsoil assets and natural timber tracts is not included in gross fixed capital formation. However, capital costs associated with the extension or development of these assets are included, as are outlays on land reclamation and improvement. Expenditure associated with the improvement and alteration of durable assets which significantly extend their productive life is also included, but ordinary repairs and maintenance expenses are not.

Gross fixed capital formation is one of two components of gross capital formation included in Australia's national accounts. Investment resulting in an increase in inventories or stocks of goods not yet sold (consisting of finished items and work in progress) and materials also contributes to gross capital formation. Gross fixed capital formation and the increase in stocks do not enter into the intermediate consumption of the period. The fundamental point of distinction between intermediate consumption and gross capital formation is whether commodities are used up over a particular period or whether they yield benefits beyond that period.

The related concepts of gross and net capital stock and the consumption of fixed capital, as well as the data sources and methodology used in their estimation, are described in Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods (5216.0).

The population of the quarterly survey are those public financial enterprises with high levels of gross fixed capital formation. All remaining public financial enterprises are surveyed each year ending June.

Information is collected on new capital formation, purchases of second hand assets and sales of second hand assets for Dwellings, Other buildings and structures and Machinery and equipment. Expenditure on Land as either a purchase or sale of a second hand asset is also collected. For each item, data excluding expenditure as a lessor in a finance lease is collected separately from data on expenditure as a lessor in a finance lease.

Data on Computer software expensed and Computer software capitalised are also collected and are used to estimate expenditure on intangible fixed assets in gross fixed capital formation.

ANZSIC industry classification.

Finance Leases

The 'Statement of Accounting Standards 17: Accounting for Leases' (AAS17) requires that leases be classified as either operating leases of finance leases and specifies accounting treatments for each type. In the Australian National Accounts, finance leases are important in determining the industry classification of gross fixed capital formation.

A finance lease refers to the leasing of assets under an arrangement which transfers from the lessor to the lessee substantially all the risks and benefits incident to ownership of the asset without transferring legal ownership. Assets acquired under finance lease arrangements are included in the capital expenditure of the lessee. Therefore, estimates of gross fixed capital formation reflect the industry of the lessee.

Comments and/or Other Regions

None.

Frequency comments
A quarterly survey is conducted for each calendar quarter and an annual survey for the financial year.

COLLECTION HISTORY

The collection was first conducted in respect of September quarter 1984. Data collected included the value of "new purchases", "second-hand purchases" and "sales" in respect of fixed assets "land", "dwellings", non-dwelling construction" and "equipment".
Changes were made to the survey with the introduction of SNA93 in September quarter 1999. Computer Software Expensed and Computer Software Capitalised were included in the survey. These data items are used to estimate expenditure on intangible fixed assets in gross fixed capital formation. The terminology on the survey form also changed slightly as "Non-dwelling Construction" changed to "Other Buildings and Structures", and "Equipment" became "Machinery and Equipment". (see ).

Changes were also made with the introduction of the GST in Septemebr 2000 quarter. For periods until June 30, 2000 the value of Capital Expenditure reported represented the cost to business under the pre-GST tax arrangements (i.e. including WST, where applicable). For periods after July 1 2000 the value of the deductable GST component is excluded from the total value of capital expenditure. Conversely, the value of GST paid for which there is no input credit is included in the total value of capital expenditure. (see )

Data availability comments
Data collected are not disseminated in their own right. They are used to compile estimates of gross fixed capital formation for the Australian National Accounts.


DATE OF LAST UPDATE FOR THIS DOCUMENT
20/06/2001 12:40 PM