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22/12/2024

Australian Government General Government Sector Monthly Financial Statements November 2020

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Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham
Minister for Finance
Leader of the Government in the Senate

SB 122/20
Wednesday, 23 December 2020

KEY POINTS

  • The Monthly Financial Statements for November 2020 report the budget position against the expected monthly profile for the 2020-21 financial year through to 30 November 2020, based on the 2020-21 Budget estimates published in October 2020.
  • The 2020-21 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) was released on Thursday, 17 December 2020. Commencing with the December 2020 monthly financial statements, which will be released in January 2021, the budget position will be reported against the expected monthly profile based on the updated estimates outlined in the 2020-21 MYEFO.
  • The November 2020 year to date results include the impact of the Australian Government’s response to COVID-19.
  • The underlying cash balance for the 2020-21 financial year to 30 November 2020 was a deficit of $109.4 billion against the 2020-21 Budget profile deficit of $122.3 billion.
  • The fiscal balance for the 2020-21 financial year to 30 November 2020 was a deficit of $109.2 billion against the 2020-21 Budget profile deficit of $115.9 billion.
AGGREGATES ACTUAL
2020-2021
November
$b 		ACTUAL
2020-2021
YTD November
$b 		Budget Profile
2020-2021
YTD November
$b 		BUDGET
ESTIMATE*
2020-2021
FULL YEAR
$b
Revenue 45.4 197.4 194.0 472.4
Expenses 49.5 305.0 308.9 670.3
Net operating balance -4.1 -107.6 -114.9 -197.9
Net capital investment 0.2 1.6 1.1 7.8
Fiscal balance -4.3 -109.2 -115.9 -205.7
Receipts(a) 44.7 200.1 193.9 463.8
Payments(b) 50.1 309.5 316.2 677.4
Underlying cash balance -5.4 -109.4 -122.3 -213.7
Headline cash balance -6.4 -112.5 -125.7 -230.0
Total assets 722.5 696.0
Total liabilities 1491.4 1353.4
Net worth(c) -768.9 -657.4
Net debt(d) 604.9 703.2

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.
(a) Cash receipts for operating activities and sales of non-financial assets.
(b) Cash payments for operating activities, purchases of non-financial assets and net cash flows from financing activities for leases.
(c) Net worth is calculated as total assets minus total liabilities.
(d) Net debt is the sum of interest bearing liabilities less the sum of selected financial assets (cash and deposits, advances paid, and investments, loans and placements).

Monthly results are generally volatile due to timing differences between revenue and receipts, and expenses and payments. Care needs to be taken when comparing monthly or cumulative data across years and to full-year estimates, as revenue and receipts and expenses and payments vary from month to month.

 

FISCAL OUTCOMES

Underlying Cash Balance

The underlying cash balance for the financial year to 30 November 2020 was a deficit of $109.4 billion, which is $12.9 billion lower than the 2020-21 Budget profile deficit of $122.3 billion.

  • Receipts
    Total receipts were $6.2 billion higher than the 2020-21 Budget profile.
  • Payments
    Total payments were $6.7 billion lower than the 2020-21 Budget profile.

Net Operating Balance

The net operating balance for the year to 30 November 2020 was a deficit of $107.6 billion, which is $7.3 billion lower than the 2020-21 Budget profile deficit of $114.9 billion. The difference results from higher than expected revenue and lower than expected expenses.

Fiscal Balance

The fiscal balance for the year to 30 November 2020 was a deficit of $109.2 billion, which is $6.7 billion lower than the 2020-21 Budget profile deficit of $115.9 billion. The difference results from higher than expected revenue and net capital investment, and lower than expected expenses.

Assets and Liabilities

As at 30 November 2020:

  • net worth is negative $768.9 billion;
  • net debt is $604.9 billion; and
  • net financial liabilities are $1,009.7 billion.
Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham
Minister for Finance		 Rosemary Huxtable PSM
Secretary
Department of Finance
Media Contact  
Benn Ayre      0428 342 325

 

Australian Government general government sector operating statement

Note ACTUAL
2020-2021
November
$m 		ACTUAL
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		Budget Profile
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		BUDGET
ESTIMATE*
2020-2021
FULL YEAR
$m
Revenue
Taxation revenue 1, 2 42,927 181,403 178,879 434,913
Sales of goods and services 1,259 6,676 6,642 15,874
Interest income 272 1,394 1,734 4,181
Dividend income 225 2,132 2,048 6,419
Other 715 5,818 4,730 11,054
Total revenue 45,399 197,423 194,034 472,442
Expenses
Gross operating expenses
Wages and salaries(a) 1,790 9,014 8,852 21,593
Superannuation 1,031 5,189 5,269 12,433
Depreciation and amortisation 1,018 4,713 4,986 12,037
Supply of goods and services 11,254 56,220 58,281 150,520
Other operating expenses(a) 728 3,694 3,650 8,342
Total gross operating expenses 15,821 78,830 81,038 204,925
Superannuation interest expense 584 2,918 2,949 7,004
Interest expenses(b) 1,462 7,555 7,489 19,821
Current transfers
Current grants 10,378 66,814 67,513 157,257
Subsidy expenses 6,504 68,003 68,364 99,546
Personal benefits 13,808 77,381 78,871 165,845
Total current transfers 30,690 212,197 214,749 422,649
Capital transfers
Mutually agreed write-downs 184 1,618 864 1,496
Other capital grants 763 1,880 1,798 14,435
Total capital transfers 947 3,498 2,662 15,931
Total expenses 3 49,504 304,998 308,886 670,330
Net operating balance -4,105 -107,575 -114,852 -197,888
Other economic flows
- included in operating result
Net write-downs of assets -506 -983 -2,007 -5,859
Assets recognised for the first time 20 93 72 173
Actuarial revaluations 0 0 0 111
Net foreign exchange gains 233 158 9 -59
Net swap interest received 26 730 473 0
Market valuation of debt 3,762 -473 1,525 5,815
Other gains/(losses)(b) 5,527 6,835 1,955 7,639
Total other economic flows
- included in operating result 		9,061 6,359 2,026 7,821
Operating Result(c) 4,956 -101,215 -112,825 -190,068
Non-owner movements in equity
Revaluation of equity investments 2 0 0 -4,415
Actuarial revaluations 0 0 0 54
Other economic revaluations 2,341 -425 -484 -269
Total other economic flows
- included in equity 		2,343 -425 -483 -4,630
Comprehensive result
- Total change in net worth 		7,299 -101,641 -113,309 -194,698
Net operating balance -4,105 -107,575 -114,852 -197,888
Net acquisition of non-financial assets
Purchases of non-financial assets 1,386 5,444 5,918 18,904
less Sales of non-financial assets 27 66 58 467
less Depreciation 1,018 4,713 4,986 12,037
plus Change in inventories -119 940 193 1,422
plus Other movements in non-financial assets 2 22 12 -4
Total net acquisition of non-financial assets 224 1,627 1,079 7,818
Fiscal balance (Net lending/borrowing)(d) -4,329 -109,202 -115,931 -205,706

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.
(a) Consistent with the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) Government Finance Statistics (GFS) classification, other employee related expenses are reported under other operating expenses. Total employee expenses equal wages and salaries plus other operating expenses.
(b) From 2020-21, the value of Debt Not Expected to be Repaid on initial recognition of income contingent concessional loans is reported as Other Financing costs rather than as a valuation adjustment. This change is consistent with Australian Accounting Standards and brings the accounting treatment of income contingent concessional loans into line with other concessional loans.
(c) Operating result under Australian Accounting Standards.
(d) The term fiscal balance is not used by the ABS.

Australian Government general government sector balance sheet

ACTUAL
as at 30 November 2020
$m 		BUDGET ESTIMATE
*
as at 30 June 2021
$m
Assets
Financial assets
Cash and deposits 7,716 5,780
Advances paid 82,684 87,054
Investments, loans and placements 248,463 218,509
Other receivables 71,351 67,027
Equity investments
Investments in other public sector entities 64,085 63,617
Equity accounted investments 3,442 3,547
Investments - shares 68,092 67,416
Total financial assets 545,834 512,949
Non-financial assets
Land 11,735 11,742
Buildings 42,664 43,521
Plant, equipment and infrastructure 89,883 94,047
Inventories 10,632 11,047
Intangibles 9,196 10,135
Investment properties 218 218
Biological assets 28 28
Heritage and cultural assets 11,970 11,994
Assets held for sale 264 241
Other non-financial assets 60 34
Total non-financial assets 176,650 183,007
Total assets 722,484 695,956
Liabilities
Interest bearing liabilities
Deposits held 289 484
Government securities 907,110 978,283
Loans 16,918 16,928
Lease liabilities 19,473 18,893
Total interest bearing liabilities 943,790 1,014,588
Provisions and payables
Superannuation liability(a) 433,929 236,690
Other employee liabilities 32,828 33,097
Suppliers payables 9,055 8,033
Personal benefits payables 3,721 3,146
Subsidies payables 1,008 998
Grants payables 2,089 2,908
Other payables 4,415 2,351
Provisions 60,568 51,575
Total provisions and payables 547,614 338,798
Total liabilities 1,491,404 1,353,385
Net worth(b) -768,920 -657,429
Net financial worth(c) -945,569 -840,436
Net financial liabilities(d) 1,009,654 904,053
Net debt(e) 604,926 703,245

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.
(a) For budget reporting purposes, a discount rate of 5 per cent determined by actuaries in preparing the 2017 Long Term Cost Reports is used to value the superannuation liability. This reflects the average annual rate estimated to apply over the term of the liability and it reduces the volatility in reported liabilities that would occur from year to year if the spot rates on long-term government bonds were used. Consistent with Australian Accounting Standards, the superannuation liability for the 2020-21 Monthly Financial Statements was calculated using the spot rates on long-term government bonds as at 30 June 2020 that best matched each individual scheme’s liability duration. These rates were between 1.0 and 1.7 per cent per annum.
(b) Net worth equals total assets minus total liabilities.
(c) Net financial worth equals total financial assets minus total liabilities.
(d) Net financial liabilities equals total liabilities less financial assets other than investments in other public sector entities.
(e) Net debt is the sum of interest bearing liabilities less the sum of selected financial assets (cash and deposits, advances paid, and investments, loans and placements).

Australian Government general government sector cash flow statement(a)

ACTUAL
2020-2021
November
$m 		ACTUAL
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		Budget Profile
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		BUDGET
ESTIMATE*
2020-2021
FULL YEAR
$m
Cash receipts from operating activities
Taxes received 42,092 180,092 174,903 424,643
Receipts from sales of goods and services 701 7,897 7,635 16,538
Interest receipts 199 1,384 1,783 4,133
Dividends and income tax equivalents 239 4,704 4,628 6,837
Other receipts 1,496 5,949 4,899 11,140
Total operating receipts 44,726 200,025 193,848 463,291
Cash payments for operating activities
Payments for employees(b) -2,559 -13,930 -13,849 -32,530
Payments for goods and services -11,176 -57,661 -58,958 -148,237
Grants and subsidies paid -19,258 -144,049 -146,687 -285,970
Interest paid -3,045 -7,747 -7,852 -17,230
Personal benefit payments -12,407 -77,504 -79,350 -166,482
Other payments(b) -498 -2,804 -3,265 -7,543
Total operating payments -48,942 -303,696 -309,960 -657,992
Net cash flows from operating activities -4,216 -103,671 -116,113 -194,701
Cash flows from investments in non-financial assets
Sales of non-financial assets 8 64 58 473
Purchases of non-financial assets -973 -4,790 -5,242 -17,075
Net cash flows from investments in non-financial assets -965 -4,726 -5,184 -16,601
Net cash flows from investments in financial assets for policy purposes -1,061 -3,054 -3,397 -16,375
Net cash flows from investments in financial assets for liquidity purposes 14,451 -11,895 25,561 27,799
Cash flows from financing activities
Borrowing (net) -10,645 124,107 100,551 203,311
Other financing (net) -960 -2,498 -2,303 -7,105
Net cash flows from financing activities -11,605 121,609 98,248 196,206
Net increase/(decrease) in cash held -3,395 -1,737 -885 -3,673
GFS cash surplus(+)/deficit(-)(c) -5,181 -108,397 -121,297 -211,303
plus Net cash flows from financing activities for leases(d) -194 -1,031 -1,004 -2,351
Equals underlying cash balance(e) -5,375 -109,427 -122,301 -213,654
plus Net cash flows from investments in financial assets for policy purposes -1,061 -3,054 -3,397 -16,375
Equals headline cash balance -6,436 -112,481 -125,698 -230,029

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.
(a) A positive number denotes a cash inflow; a negative number denotes a cash outflow.
(b) Consistent with the ABS GFS classification, other employee related payments are reported under other payments.
(c) GFS cash surplus/deficit equals net cash flows from operating activities and investments in non-financial assets.
(d) Principal payments on lease liabilities, which are cash flows from financing activities, are deducted in the calculation of the underlying cash balance to maintain consistency of measure following the implementation of AASB 16 Leases.
(e) The term underlying cash balance is not used by the ABS.

Note 1: Income Tax

ACTUAL
2020-2021
November
$m 		ACTUAL
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		Budget Profile
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		BUDGET
ESTIMATE*
2020-2021
FULL YEAR
$m
Individuals and other withholding taxes
Gross income tax withholding 18,545 93,019 93,048 212,300
Gross other individuals 3,970 20,293 20,548 47,300
less Refunds 2,845 26,025 26,534 37,400
Total individuals and other withholding taxation 19,670 87,288 87,061 222,200
Fringe benefits tax 114 1,954 1,908 3,880
Company tax 8,685 35,161 35,925 86,200
Superannuation fund taxes 1,377 4,699 3,639 8,180
Petroleum resource rent tax 77 368 459 870
Total income taxation revenue 29,921 129,470 128,993 321,330

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.

Note 2: Indirect Tax

ACTUAL
2020-2021
November
$m 		ACTUAL
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		Budget Profile
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		BUDGET
ESTIMATE*
2020-2021
FULL YEAR
$m
Goods and services tax 7,495 30,088 28,866 62,970
Wine equalisation tax 108 423 407 1,060
Luxury car tax 59 283 247 540
Excise duty 2,416 10,100 9,797 22,760
Customs duty 1,859 7,573 7,461 18,840
Other indirect tax 1,069 3,466 3,109 7,413
Total indirect taxation revenue 13,006 51,933 49,887 113,583

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.

Note 3: Total expenses by function

ACTUAL
2020-2021
November
$m 		ACTUAL
2020-2021
YTD November
$m 		BUDGET
ESTIMATE*
2020-2021
FULL YEAR
$m
Expenses by function
General public services 2,457 12,180 31,764
Defence 2,698 12,845 34,415
Public order and safety 503 2,617 6,212
Education 2,015 18,345 41,742
Health 8,127 39,840 93,771
Social security and welfare 18,192 102,006 227,529
Housing and community amenities 320 1,858 7,086
Recreation and culture 288 1,527 4,364
Fuel and energy 699 3,448 8,771
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 226 1,107 3,913
Mining, manufacturing and construction 255 1,166 3,306
Transport and communication 917 2,278 13,060
Other economic affairs 6,006 65,529 97,948
Other purposes
Public debt interest 1,292 6,817 16,804
Nominal superannuation interest 584 2,918 7,004
General purpose inter-government transactions 4,924 30,517 64,092
Natural disaster relief 0 0 482
Contingency reserve 0 0 8,068
Total expenses 49,504 304,998 670,330

*As published in the 2020-21 Budget.

 

NOTES:

AASB 1049 Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting (AASB 1049)

The Australian Government monthly financial statements have been prepared on a basis consistent with the Budget as required under section 47 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The statements are prepared in accordance with AASB 1049, which require treatment based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Government Finance Statistics (GFS) except where Australian Accounting Standards (AAS) provide a better conceptual treatment for specific items. Departures are limited to complying with either ABS GFS or AAS.

AASB 16 Leases (AASB 16)

The new Australian Accounting Standard, AASB 16, applied to all Australian Government entities from 1 July 2019. AASB 16 introduced a single lease accounting framework for lessees and removed the distinction between operating and finance leases. As a result, new assets and liabilities have been recognised on the balance sheet for leases that were previously accounted for as operating expenses. The reduction in operating lease expenses is replaced with the depreciation charge for the right-of-use assets and interest expense on the lease liabilities.

The implementation of AASB 16 has implications for a number of budget aggregates, in particular, net debt and net financial worth due to the recognition of the new lease liabilities. To maintain consistency in the measurement of the underlying cash balance, the principal payments on lease liabilities which are recognised as cash flows from financing activities, have been included in the calculation following the implementation of AASB 16.

For General Government Sector financial reporting, the implementation of AASB 16 has been reflected in the 2019-20 MYEFO estimates and in the Australian Government General Government Sector Monthly Financial Statements from the December 2019 reporting period.

Taxation revenue

While total tax collections are known with certainty at the end of each month, the distribution across the relevant heads of revenue cannot be finalised until all business activity statements are received and processed. The outcomes for some revenue items provided in this statement are therefore estimates, in accordance with the best judgement of the Commissioner of Taxation, and subject to revision. The taxation revenue items not affected are: petroleum resource rent tax, excise duty, customs duty, other taxes and individuals refunds.

Style conventions

Figures in tables and generally in the text have been rounded. Discrepancies in tables between totals and sums of components are due to rounding.

International Monetary Fund Special Data Dissemination Standards

The Government is committed to releasing the monthly financial statements in a timely fashion and will endeavour to do so in accordance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS). Under these standards the timeframe for releasing the monthly financial statements is by the end of the following month. Australia applies a special flexibility option which allows it to publish late the last and first month of a financial year.

In accordance with the IMF SDDS, the approximate date of release of the data on debt guaranteed by the Australian Government (central government), is given on the IMF’s Data Dissemination Advance Release Calendar http://dsbb.imf.org. Monthly and quarterly data on debt guaranteed by the Australian Government (central government) that meet the coverage and timeliness requirements of the SDDS are published on the Australian Office of Financial Management website at https://www.aofm.gov.au/data-hub.

Electronic access to monthly financial statements

The Australian Government general government sector monthly financial statements and the historical series are available in electronic format at:
http://data.gov.au/dataset/australian-government-general-government-sector-monthly-financial-statements-tables-and-data.

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