Unless indicated, all figures presented in this publication are current prices, original series.
One article is included in this release:
- Classifying COVID-19 policy interventions in macroeconomic statistics, which examines key COVID-19 policies affecting June quarter 2021.
| Sep Qtr 2020 | Dec Qtr 2020 | Mar Qtr 2021 | Jun Qtr 2021 | Mar Qtr 2021 to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $m | $m | $m | $m | % change | ||
| Public sector measures, seasonally adjusted, chain volume (a) (b) | ||||||
| General government final consumption expenditure (c) | 103,777 | 104,484 | 104,203 | 105,543 | 1.3% | |
| General government gross fixed capital formation | 19,553 | 20,364 | 21,303 | 23,103 | 8.4% | |
| Total public gross fixed capital formation | 25,617 | 26,361 | 27,188 | 29,190 | 7.4% | |
| Key fiscal aggregates, all levels of general government, original | ||||||
| Taxation Revenue | 127,403 | 148,913 | 145,154 | 171,496 | 18.1% | |
| Net Operating Balance | -93,275 | -38,070 | -20,760 | 2,632 | np | |
| Net Lending (+)/borrowing (-) | -100,512 | -49,799 | -30,745 | -15,647 | np | |
np indicates this value not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) Public sector aggregates for the June quarter 2021 will be included in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product
(b) Reference year for chain volume measures is 2018-19.
(c) See Explanatory Notes for the relationship between general government final consumption expenditure and GFS aggregates.
- Chain volume measures seasonally adjusted
- using the GDP series as published in the March 2021 release of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product
- original, current prices
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
COVID-19 impacted a range of Government Finance Statistics series in the June quarter 2021. Key policies and conceptual determinations are discussed in the article Classifying COVID-19 policy interventions during June quarter 2021 in macroeconomic statistics. Further ABS data measuring the impact of COVID-19 can be found via abs.gov.au/covid19.
The accelerated roll out of COVID-19 vaccines contributed to growth in government final consumption expenditure this quarter. Other health care spending remained elevated due to ongoing COVID-19 health response expenditure on frontline staff and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Timing differences in recording Commonwealth Government subsidy expenses result in divergence between the Commonwealth Government financial reporting and ABS published macroeconomic statistics.
Accounting Standard Changes
The following Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) standard changes have been introduced in government financial reporting for periods from 1 July 2019 onwards, leading to increased divergence in certain circumstances between economic statistics publications and government financial reporting:
- Leases (AASB 16): The standard removes the distinction between operating and finance leases on the lessee side of financial reporting. The conceptual distinction between operating and finance leases still remains in economic statistics. GFS outputs are consistent with the historical treatment.
- Revenue recognition (AASB 15 & 1058): The standard requires revenue to be recognised when performance obligations are met in certain circumstances. In GFS the change primarily affects grant revenue received by state and territory governments from the Commonwealth. Recognition of grant revenue in GFS remains consistent with the historical treatment which is based on when jurisdictions have access to the funding as reported by the Commonwealth.
- Service Concession Arrangements (AASB 1059): The standard impacts ownership of non-financial assets. It applies a control concept to determine non-financial asset ownership. Non-financial asset ownership in GFS is determined based off a risk-reward concept consistent with the historical treatment which has been maintained in economic statistics.
Transactions related to visa application charges
In December 2015, the Commonwealth government released the 2015-16 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) which included a reclassification of visa application charges (VAC) from sales of goods and services to taxation revenue. This reclassification was applied to the Government Finance Statistics (GFS), with no impact on total GFS revenue or the GFS net operating balance. The National Accounts statistics maintained coherence with the previous treatment of sales of goods and services. A review of the treatment of VAC across ABS macroeconomic statistics has been completed and the National Accounts will adopt the taxation treatment, thus coming into alignment with GFS and the Commonwealth. National Accounts statistics will adopt this treatment from 2020‑21 annual and September quarter 2021 outputs.
ABS public sector unit classification decisions
Since the last publication, the ABS has published an article which describes the concepts and process the ABS follows to reach classification decisions for public sector units: