Key National Accounts aggregates by state and territory
| NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT | Australia | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain volume measures (a) | ||||||||||
| GSP | 1.4 | -0.4 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 3.8 | -0.6 | 2.8 | 1.5 | |
| GSP per capita (b) | 1.0 | -0.4 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 3.2 | -1.1 | 2.0 | 0.9 | |
| Real Gross State Income | 1.6 | -0.3 | 0.2 | 5.2 | 18.1 | 5.5 | -3.9 | 2.9 | 3.7 | |
| Current price values | ||||||||||
| GSP | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 6.4 | 15.8 | 6.1 | -4.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | |
(a) Reference year for chain volume measures is 2019-20.
(b) Population estimates are as published in National, state and territory population and ABS projections.
The Australian economy grew 1.5% in 2020-21 following flat growth in 2019-20. The result reflects the bounce back in the economy after the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the bushfires in 2019-20. Six out of eight states and territories experienced growth in 2020-21, the exceptions being Victoria the Northern Territory.
A map of Australia depicting the Gross State Product annual growth for the financial year ending 2020-21.
The left of the map shows that Western Australia's Gross State Product annual growth increased by 2.6%, for the 2020-21 financial year.
The middle of the map shows that Northern Territory's Gross State Product annual growth decreased by 0.6%, whereas South Australia's annual growth increased by 3.9%, for the 2020-21 financial year.
The right of the map shows that Queensland's Gross State Product annual growth increased by 2.0%, New South Wales' Gross State Product annual growth increased by 1.4%, Australian Capital Territory increased by 2.8% and Victoria decreased by 0.4% in the 2020-21 financial year.
The bottom of the map shows that Tasmania's Gross State Product annual growth increased by 3.8% for the 2020-21 financial year.
New South Wales GSP increased 1.4% in 2020-21, following a fall of 0.6% in the previous year. The rise reflects an improvement in economic conditions following bushfires, prolonged drought conditions and the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest increases in industry gross value added (GVA) were recorded in Health Care and Social Assistance (6.5%), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (26.3%) and Retail Trade (7.1%).
Growth in Health Care and Social Assistance GVA was driven by increases in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) expenditure and the allied health sector, where restrictions on services that were put in place at the beginning of the pandemic were eased.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA increased following three years of consecutive declines as weather conditions improved and prolonged drought conditions eased leading to increased cereal and grain production.
Retail Trade rose following a fall in the previous year, as spending increased after COVID-19 associated restrictions eased.
Both Administrative and Support Services GVA (-9.7%) and Transport Postal and Warehousing GVA (-8.8%) fell due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel related services. Transport, Postal and Warehousing fell strongly due to the fall in air travel in response to border closures. This also impacted Administrative and Support Services through the decreased demand for travel agent services.
Following steady growth over the past decade, Victoria GSP fell 0.4% as economic activity was impacted by COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions and containment measures. The largest contractions GVA were recorded in Construction (-4.6%), Administrative and Support Services (-9.0%) and Transport, Postal and Warehousing (-8.7%).
Transport, Postal and Warehousing was the largest contributor to the decline, as lockdowns and border restrictions resulted in decreased demand for air travel services. The fall was offset by increases in Road Transport, Postal and Courier Pick-Up and Delivery Services as households increased online shopping during lockdown.
Construction GVA declined following a fall in 2019-20. Non-Residential Construction declined due to continued lockdowns and was reflected in private gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) where new non-residential building construction fell -15.5%.
These falls were offset by strong growth in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA (18.6%) driven by increased grain, fruit, nut and vegetables and dairy production. Strong growth was also observed in Health Care and Social Assistance GVA (4.0%) and Public Administration and Safety GVA (4.7%) due to increased resourcing in response to managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Queensland GSP increased 2.0%, rebounding after experiencing its first fall in recorded history in the previous year. Queensland experienced minimal COVID-19 associated restrictions and attracted additional major events to the state in 2020-21. This provided additional stimulus to many industries but was offset by Mining which was substantially impacted by falling prices and demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and coal.
Health Care and Social Assistance GVA was the greatest contributor to growth in 2020-21 increasing 8.7%. Increases were apparent across Hospitals, Medical Care Services and Childcare Services.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA rose 19.7% capitalising on good weather conditions over the previous year. The increase was driven by grains and fruits, nuts and vegetables and livestock.
Wholesale Trade GVA rose 12.7% and Retail Trade GVA rose 9.1%, rebounding from negative growth in the previous year. The growth in Retail Trade was the strongest across all jurisdictions reflecting the recovery in retail stores due to an earlier easing of restrictions.
Queensland was one of two jurisdictions to record a decline in gross operating surplus and mixed income (GOSMI) in 2020-21 which fell 1.7%. The fall was driven by Mining, with GOSMI falling -38.8% due to decreasing prices and demand for LNG. Mining GVA fell 6.7% in 2020-21.
South Australia GSP increased 3.9%, recording the strongest result of all jurisdictions. The increase was driven by Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA rose 23.8%, rebounding from falls in the previous three years. Favourable weather conditions across the state resulted in a bumper grain harvest, driving the growth.
Manufacturing GVA rose 11.1%, the largest recorded increase in this industry, but levels are still well below the peaks seen in the early 2000’s. Strength was driven by Transport Equipment Manufacturing with Food Manufacturing also contributing.
The bumper grain harvest also contributed to growth in Wholesale Trade which rose 11.6%. Machinery and Equipment and Motor Vehicle Wholesaling both grew strongly due to increased demand across the household and business sectors. The demand from business was observed in private machinery and equipment GFCF which rose 6.4% in 2020-21.
South Australia experienced a strong increase in Health Care and Social Assistance GVA (+4.1%), driven in part by their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Western Australia GSP grew 2.6% with Mining continuing to contribute to growth. Mining contributed 0.2ppts to GVA growth, rising 0.4% in 2020-21 as export volumes of mining commodities remained steady. Soaring prices for iron ore resulted in nominal GSP growth of 15.8%.
Manufacturing GVA was the strongest contributor to CVM growth this year, rising 8.7%. Increases in Manufacturing output were reported in Mineral and Chemical Product Manufacturing as well as Machinery and Transport Equipment Manufacturing.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA rose 23.1% after falling 16.9% in the previous year. Like much of Australia, Western Australia experienced favourable weather conditions resulting in a strong crop harvest.
Health Care and Social Assistance GVA also experienced a large increase of 6.9% in 2020-21, the second largest growth of all jurisdictions.
Tasmania GSP grew 3.8% after subdued growth in 2019-20.
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA rose 21.1%, representing 1.9ppts of total Tasmanian GSP growth. Forestry, livestock, dairy products and other agriculture were the drivers of the increase.
Health Care and Social Assistance GVA continued to display strong growth due to increased demand for medical care services. Health Care and Social Assistance compensation of employees (COE) rose 5.3% following a rise of 11.6% in 2019-20.
Wholesale Trade GVA and Retail Trade GVA experienced increases this year of 14.4% and 7.8% respectively. A large driver of the strength was due to increased demand for motor vehicles and other machinery and equipment.
Northern Territory GSP fell 0.6% in 2020-21 following an increase of 6.0% in the previous year.
The decline was driven by Mining GVA which recorded a fall of 12.1%. The fall was driven by Oil and Gas Extraction where production volumes reduced in response to the falling commodity price.
Strong rises in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing GVA (23.8%), Public Administration and Safety GVA (3.9%) and Health Care and Social Assistance GVA (5.4%) partially offset the decline. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing increased due to favourable weather conditions resulting in increased production, especially of livestock, while Public Administration and Safety and Health Care and Social Assistance rose due to increased resourcing in response to managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Capital Territory GSP grew 2.8% following a rise of 3.7% last year.
Growth in ACT was driven by strength in the public sector, with rises from both national and state expenditure in Public Administration and Safety GVA (2.7%) and Health Care and Social Assistance GVA (4.4%). Professional, Scientific and Technical Services GVA exhibited strong growth of 6.9% in part due to its servicing of the public sector.
Wholesale Trade GVA and Retail Trade GVA both bounced back from a subdued 2019-20, growing 9.6% and 7.3% respectively. The increase in Wholesale Trade was driven by Motor Vehicle Wholesaling due to increased demand. This was reflected by the increase in Motor Vehicle Retailing in Retail Trade.
Estimates of non-dwelling construction in private GFCF fell 26.4% after a large rise in the previous year. The fall is a consequence of the decline observed in building approvals and commencements, particularly for non-residential buildings. Construction GVA fell 3.5% after experiencing rises in the previous six years.
While GSP measures domestic production, the real purchasing power of income generated from that production is affected by changes in the prices of international and interstate imports and exports. RGSI adjusts GSP for changes in a state's terms of trade.
Strong movements in commodity prices resulted in large variations in RGSI across the states and territories. The largest increase was recorded in WA (18.1%) reflecting strong growth in iron ore prices and WA dominance in iron ore production and exports compared to other states and territories. Declines in LNG production contributed to the decline in NT RGSI (-3.9%).
The estimates in this issue incorporate new and revised national estimates as published in the 2020-21 Australian System of National Accounts (cat. no. 5204.0). This includes the incorporation of the 2019-20 annual supply and use tables which incorporate historical revisions to the time series. Further information about the historical revisions is detailed in Improved estimates of the annual national accounts: Results of the 2021 historical revisions.
The national revisions impact all states and territories, although the extent varies across jurisdictions. This is due to differing state weights of estimates affected by revisions. For example, if a certain state has a large proportion of an industry, then revisions to that industry's national total will have a greater impact upon the predominate state's result compared to the other states and territories. Estimates in recent years have also been revised based on the addition of new and updated data sources that have become available throughout the year.
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In line with updating to more recent technology formats, the ABS will progressively transition to releasing Excel files in the .XLSX format. This means that time series spreadsheets in the suite of National Accounts statistics releases will be progressively upgraded from .XLS files to .XLSX files.
While this change will improve usability, it may also require changes to automated macros or similar programs that users may have in place that call on the current file extension format.
For the State Accounts release, this change will take effect from the next release of the 2021-22 data in November 2022. Previously released data will not change.
This release previously used catalogue number 5220.0.