Economic Activity Survey - Mining

Employment is a headcount of all persons who worked for the business/organisation as proprietors, partners, salaried directors or other employees in the last pay period ending in June 2025. Report headcount rather than number of persons on a Full Time Equivalent (FTE) basis. Report for the last pay period ending in June 2025 even if this is not the last pay period in the business/organisation's financial reporting year. Please ensure each person is counted only once in the total headcount to provide an accurate total number of persons who were paid in the last pay period in June 2025.
 

If this is an unincorporated business/organisation (e.g. sole trader, partnership, joint venture), include a count of all owner-operators or partners. Skip this question if this is an incorporated business/organisation, for example, a company.

A headcount of all other persons who worked for the business/organisation, including salaried directors, and persons employed on a fixed term contract or casual basis (only if they were paid through the payroll in the last pay period of June 2025 and Pay As You Go (PAYG) tax was deducted for them). Non-salaried directors are excluded and should not be counted in Employment. Working proprietors and partners not on the payroll should be included in Working proprietors and partners, not in Employees.

Businesses/organisations or individuals contracted by this businesses/organisations that have a registered ABN and are paid on a fee for service, on invoice or on a commission only basis should not be counted in Employment. Staff who carried out work for this business/organisation during the last pay period ending in June 2025 but were paid through another business/organisation, for example, a labour hire company, should not be counted in Employment.  
 

Sales of minerals and other goods produced occur when the business/organisation sells a good they mined, manufactured or produced themselves, or it was produced for them by a third party on a contract, sub-contract, commission or fee for service basis (provided the business, and not the third party, owns both the material inputs and the final outputs).

Examples to include in Sales of minerals and other goods produced are:

• minerals mined or extracted by the business (e.g. coal, gold, oil, natural gas) or for the business by a contracted third party
• minerals produced by dredging or quarrying
• recovered ore and tailings
• processed raw materials (e.g. smelted aluminium, refined petroleum products)
• by-products of mining or processing, including recyclable/recoverable waste material
• goods manufactured by the business (e.g. smelted products, fuels, structural steel)
• goods made from parts assembled by the business.

Sales of goods not produced occur when the business/organisation purchases ready-made goods and then resells those goods without making changes to them. Both wholesale and retail sales of goods should be reported here. For example, include income from the on-selling of coal purchased from a mining enterprise and without additional processing by this business. The purchase of these items during the year should be reported in Purchases of finished goods for resale.
 

Where goods are produced or purchased in Australia for sale overseas, income from Sales of minerals and other goods should represent the free-on-board (f.o.b.) price of the goods, i.e. a price which may cover the cost of transporting goods to the Australian customs frontier (point of exit from Australia) only, and not the cost of transporting the goods outside Australia. Note, the exclusion of Export freight charges from the concept of Sales of minerals and other goods.

Example: A piece of equipment is sold for export, at a price of $200,000 including $40,000 for transport costs, $5,000 of which is for transport to the Australian customs frontier and the remainder is for overseas shipping costs. Sales of goods = $165,000 ($200,000 - $40,000 + $5,000).

Where a business has entered into a long term contract to supply goods or services, and recognises expenses and progress payments in its accounts, the progress payments should be reported as Sales of Minerals and other goods or Income from services, depending on the nature of the contract.

This item refers to the income generated from charging customers for the delivery of goods, where those charges appear as a separate line item on an invoice. Delivery charges that have been incorporated into the overall cost of goods sold should be included in Sales of minerals and other goods.

Generally, payment received for the provision of services, regardless of whether the service is a primary or secondary activity of the business/organisation, should be reported in Income from services.  This includes payments received from government and non-government sources for providing services. Rent, leasing and hiring services income is not included in this question but should be reported separately in the next question.

• Include services provided by this business on a contract, sub-contract or commission basis.
• The management fees or service charges received from related and unrelated businesses should also be included.
• Delivery charges separately invoiced or itemised to customers should be reported separately in its own question on the form.
• Payments received by this business for manufacturing or assembly work performed on behalf of another business or organisation on a commission, contract or fee basis only (i.e. where this business does not own the inputs to production or the goods produced) should be reported as Income from services.

Income from services includes any sales of goods that are bundled together and invoiced in conjunction with a service.  Where sales of goods are invoiced separately to an accompanying service provided (i.e. 'unbundled' from the cost of the service provided), the income received from these sales should be reported in Sales of minerals and other goods. This includes payments received for providing mining related services to other businesses. These may include:

• geological surveying
• site preparation
• drilling
• transportation
• waste management. 

Rent, leasing and hiring income should be reported once on this form. It should be reported in this question. It should not be included in Income from services. 

Some equipment, e.g. machinery, equipment or vehicles, may be hired either with or without an operator/driver. Only 'dry hire' income should be reported in this question. 

• Where the business/organisation derives income from hiring out equipment with operator ('wet hire'), the income should be reported in Income from services.
• Where the business/organisation derives income from hiring out equipment without operator ('dry hire'), that income should be reported in Rent, leasing and hiring income.

Funding for operational costs includes all income received for ongoing operations and that helped to fund programs or pay for business overheads (e.g. wages and salaries, rent, food). It does not include payment for providing a service to government, which should be included in Income from services.

Other income includes income from all other sources, not already reported in income items that appear earlier on the form. Donations and bequests received should be included where the donor receives no material benefit other than a tax deduction (if eligible).  However, if the donor receives some material benefit e.g. advertising, report this income in Income from Services. Payment received for sales of goods or the provision of any service, even if it is not the primary or secondary activity of the business/organisation, should not be reported in Other income, but instead should be reported under the relevant question earlier in the form.

The profit or loss from the sale of assets should be reported in Other income as a positive or negative value.  Asset revaluation/impairment should be reported as either a net gain or loss in Other Income. Negative revaluations and impairments should not be reported as an expense. This follows the same principles that apply to other examples listed in the survey, such as share trading. The proceeds received from the sale of assets however should be reported as disposals in the relevant category under Capital Expenditure and Disposal of assets. For example: 

• Asset revalued upwards and then sold for more than the new value: Asset purchased for $1,000 then revalued to be worth $1,200. It is then disposed of (sold) for $1,500. Thus we have Disposals = $1,500 and Other income = $300 ($1,500 - $1,200).
• Asset revalued downwards then sold for less than the new value: Asset purchased for $2,000 then revalued to be worth $1,600. It is then disposed of (sold) for $1,400. Thus we have Disposals = $1,400 and Other income = -$200 ($1,400 - $1,600).
• Asset revalued but no change in value: Asset purchased for $1,000 then assessed to be still worth $1,000. It is then disposed of (sold) for $1,500. Thus we have Disposals = $1,500 and Other income = $500 ($1,500 - $1,000).

Contributions and other expenses incurred by the business/organisation relating to superannuation funds (e.g. for employer funded defined benefit schemes) should be reported in Employer contributions to superannuation. This does not include employees’ own contributions to superannuation, which should be included in Wages and salaries unless they have been salary sacrificed, in which case they should be reported in Salary sacrificed earnings for superannuation. Superannuation contributions of business owners not drawing a wage should be excluded.
 

If this business/organisation self-insures, include workers compensation provisions that are recognised as an expense. A provision should be recognised as an expense when the occurrence of the related obligation is probable and one can reasonable estimate the amount of the expense.

Payroll tax is levied by state/territory governments on businesses when the total wage bill of an employer (or group of employers) exceeds a threshold amount. The payroll tax rates and thresholds vary between states and territories. Do not include PAYG withholding amounts for employees.

Report payments made to another business/organisation (e.g. employment agencies) for the supply of temporary staff on a fee or contract basis, where the staff entitlements are paid by the business/organisation supplying the employees.

Wages and salaries including provisions for employee entitlements do not include contractors or sub-contractors operating under their own ABN.

Report gross (i.e. before tax) wages and salaries, including entitlements such as bonuses, retainers, leave, redundancies and employee contributions to superannuation (unless salary sacrificed, in which case they should be reported under Salary sacrificed earnings for superannuation).

Wages that have been capitalised by the business relating to time spent by employees working on the creation of capital assets should be excluded from Wages and salaries including provisions for employee entitlements and instead reported in Cost of capital assets developed in-house by employees of this business/organisation. 

• Optional third party insurance premiums for motor vehicles, should be included in Insurance premiums.
• Compulsory third party insurance premiums, payable as part of the vehicle registration process should be excluded from Insurance premiums but included in Motor vehicle running expenses.

Repayments under a finance lease agreement consist of an interest and capital component.  The interest component only should be included in Total Interest expenses. Capital repayments should not be reported.

Report operating lease payments as follows:

• Interest component – include in Total interest expenses and Interest expenses in respect of operating leases.
• Depreciation component – include in Total depreciation and amortisation and Depreciation expenses in respect of operating leases.
• Operating expenses (for variable lease payments not included in the measurement of the lease liability, or service components previously embedded in the lease) – include in Rent, leasing and hiring expenses.

For more information on the accounting standard, please see AASB 16 Leases.

What should be reported in Purchases?

In the context of selling finished goods, Purchases (expenses) are not the same as cost of goods sold. Purchases represent the amount actually expended by the business/organisation in the reporting period, some of which may remain in inventory at the end of the period. Cost of goods sold, which is not collected in this survey, represents the amount expended only on goods actually sold in the reporting period (cost of goods sold is equal to purchases plus opening inventories minus closing inventories). 

Any purchases that have been capitalised as an asset should be excluded from Purchases and reported in Capital expenditure. If the capitalised purchases relate to work done by employees of the business/organisation to develop capital assets in-house, they should also be reported in Cost of capital assets developed in-house by employees of this business/organisation.

Examples to include in Purchases of materials, electricity, fuel and water are:

• Petroleum and diesel fuel purchased for use in own vehicles and equipment
• Office supplies and equipment purchased for the running of the business
• All utility costs associated with the business
• Packaging materials purchased for own use
• Minerals purchased for further processing

Exclude the following payments from purchases:

• Payments to other businesses/organisations for the movement of goods. These payments should instead be included in Payments to contractors and other businesses for freight, cartage, delivery and transport services.
• Rent, leasing and hiring expenses.

The purchase value of minerals and goods that are to be on-sold without transformation, should be reported in Purchases of minerals and other goods for resale. For example, coal purchased from a mining enterprise for on-selling without further processing.

Report payments made to third party contractors and other businesses for the movement of goods, equipment and other assets. Include inward freight, outward freight and the transport of goods between different locations of the business if it was completed by a third party. Payments for transporting passengers should be included in Other operating expenses.

The operating expense component of operating leases should be reported in Rent, leasing and hiring expenses. For more information, please refer to AASB 16 Leases.

• 'Dry hire' of equipment by the business/organisation, that is, the hire of equipment to be operated by its own employees should be included in Rent, leasing and hiring expenses.  
• 'Wet hire' of equipment by the business/organisation, that is, the hire of equipment with an operator, should be excluded from Rent, leasing and hiring expenses but included in Other Operating Expenses. 

Do not include expenses associated with hiring staff. 

 Motor vehicle running expenses includes on-road transport vehicles. An on-road/registered vehicle is one which satisfies all three of the following criteria: 

• is powered
• is registered for public road use, and
• is designed primarily for road transport purposes.

Any vehicle failing to satisfy all of the above criteria is considered an 'off-road'/unregistered vehicle. For example, forklifts, mobile plant, quarry dump trucks. Any running expenses associated with 'off-road'/unregistered vehicles should be included in the relevant expense categories. 

The expense questions on this form should be mutually exclusive. Report other operating expenses not specifically itemised elsewhere on the form.  

Exclude donations made to other parties not tied to an expected benefit and capital expenses. Capitalised expenses should be reported in Capital expenditure and disposal of assets.

Inventories excludes depreciable assets of the business/organisation. These assets should be reported in the relevant categories in Capital expenditure and disposal of assets.  Inventories are categorised as follows: 

• Raw materials, fuels, containers etc. – goods that a business/organisation holds with the intention of using them to produce other goods or in rendering services. For example, paper supplies for use in printing newspapers (good produced) or raw food to make a meal (provide a service). 
• Work in progress less progress payments billed – goods that require some transformation to reach the condition they are to be sold in, for example, partially assembled machinery. The value of work in progress inventories should be reported net of progress payments billed. 
• Finished goods (including inventories for resale) – goods that are to be sold in their current condition, including goods for resale.

Note: Report acquisition and disposals of new and used assets by each asset category. Include assets acquired under finance leases and exclude right of use assets acquired under operating leases. Only include assets acquired or disposed of in the reporting year. 

Capital expenditure refers to the amount spent by a business/organisation in the current reporting period on acquiring of non-current assets. It can be considered the amount spent to purchase or upgrade productive assets like buildings or machinery to increase the business/organisation’s capacity or efficiency. If the business/organisation hires contractors to carry out capital work, then these contractor payments should be included in Other capitalised costs. 

The value of an asset, for example, a company car acquired under a finance lease arrangement, should be included in the relevant category under Capital expenditure and disposal of assets:

• Land, building and infrastructure
• Machinery and equipment
• Information technology
• Intangible assets.

Only include figures for assets acquired or disposed of in the reporting year. Do not include all balance sheet items unless all the assets are acquired or disposed of during the reporting year.

Additions

• Additions represents the expenditure on assets on an accruals basis.
• Report any Capital Work in Progress (CWIP) values against the relevant asset.
• Exclude additions to inventories.  
• Leasehold improvements to a right-of-use asset should be reported by the lessee in Additions to Land, buildings and infrastructure.
• Under AASB 16, the assets created for new or pre-existing operating leases should not be reported as Capital expenditure for the lessee. The value of the underlying asset is reported by the lessor.
• Assets acquired through finance leases during the period should continue to be reported as Additions in the Capital expenditure and disposal of assets section against the appropriate asset.
• Any leasehold improvements to a right-of-use asset should be reported by the lessee as Additions in the Capital expenditure and disposal of assets section against the appropriate asset.

Disposals

• Disposals refers to the sale of the asset to another individual or business/organisation. It can also include the discarding of an asset. Only report the proceeds from the sale of the assets.

This item includes costs incurred and capitalised during the year when the business/organisation’s staff develop an asset which is intended for the use of the business/organisation and is not intended to be sold. Examples are: the development of a new piece of software for in-house use, or the construction of a building or equipment that will be rented out to customers as an income-earning asset. These costs should also be reported in the main Capital expenditure question under the relevant asset type.

Reporting for this item is separated into two categories:

• Capitalised wages and salaries – this refers to the capitalised wages and associated labour on-costs paid to employees of the business/organisation for their work on the project. Exclude the cost of third-party persons not on the business/organisation’s payroll – these should be reported in Other capitalised costs.
• Other capitalised costs – This refers to payments to other businesses for their goods or services that are used as inputs to the project. The wages of employees working on the project should be reported under Capitalised wages and salaries.

Only medium and large size businesses/organisations will be asked to report state data. If your survey includes this question please provide a response.

• Report Employment and Wages and salaries for each state or territory of the office or location in which the staff are based. For staff who travel interstate or overseas to undertake work, report against the state or territory in which they are usually based.  
• Report Income from sales of goods and services for each state or territory where the sale was made or the service was provided. Include export sales against the state or territory from which the sale was made.