Part H - Total public sector

Latest release
Australian System of Government Finance Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods
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Reference period
2015

2.89.

Of the five institutional sectors together make up the total economy, only some units in the first three sectors listed in Table 2.1 are relevant in the GFS system. Together, the general government sector, public non-financial corporation sector, and public financial corporation sector equate to the total public sector. The NPISH sector consists of resident non-market, not-for-profit institutions that are not controlled by government, and are therefore out of scope for GFS. Households represent a group of persons who share the same living accommodation, and who pool some or all of their wealth and consume certain types of goods and services collectively (such as housing and food). Because the primary aim of the GFS system is to measure the financial activities of governments, the remainder of this chapter will focus on units that make up the total public sector. The total public sector and its relation to other institutional sectors of the economy is shown in Table 2.5 below:

Table 2.5 - The Total Public Sector and its relation to other institutional sectors of the economy

Table 2.5 - The Total Public Sector and its relation to other institutional sectors of the economy
Table 2.5 shows the five institutional sectors of the economy, General Government Sector, Non-Financial Corporations Sector, Financial Corporations Sector, Household Sector and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households Sector. General Government Sector consists of Commonwealth, State/Territory, Local and Non-market NPIs controlled by government. Non Financial Corporations Sector consists of Public Corporations and Private Corporations. Financial Corporations Sector consists of Public Corporations and Private Corporations. Household Sector consists of Private. Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households Sector consists of Private. The Total Public Sector consists of Commonwealth, State / Territory, Local, Non-market NPIs controlled by government and Public Corporations.


Source: Based on Figure 2.2 International Monetary Fund Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014.

The total public sector

2.90.

The total public sector comprises:

  • Government units that are legal entities established by political processes that have legislative, judicial or executive authority over other institutional units within a given areas; and
  • All other institutional units and notional institutional units controlled by government.

2.91.

In the GFS system, the fiscal activities of general government units, and any fiscal activities of public nonfinancial corporations and public financial corporations represent the fiscal activities of the total public sector

2.92.

In Australia, the total public sector is made up of the different levels of government including the national (made up of the Commonwealth Government and control not further defined units), state and territory, and local governments. Also included are public non-financial corporations and public financial corporations as shown below in Diagram 2.2 below:

Diagram 2.2 - The Australian total public sector

Diagram 2.2 - The Australian total public sector
Australian Total Public Sector consists of General Government Sector, Public Non-Financial Corporations and Public Financial Corporations. General Government Sector consists of National General Government Sector, State / Territory General Government Sector and Local General Government Sector. National General Government Sector includes Commonwealth and Control Not Further Defined. State / Territory General Government Sector consists of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, etc. Local General Government Sector consists of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland etc. Public Non-Financial Corporations consist of Commonwealth, New South Wales etc Public Financial Corporations consist of Commonwealth, New South Wales etc.