Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

Key Points

• The underlying cash balance for the 2014-15 financial year to 31 August 2014 was a deficit of $12,327 million.
• The fiscal balance for the 2014-15 financial year to 31 August 2014 was a deficit of $9,631 million.

*As published in the 2014-15 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 acquisition of assets under finance leases.
(c) Excludes net Future Fund earnings. Consistent with Budget documents, the net adjustment for the Future Fund is shown separately.
(d) Net worth is calculated as total assets minus total liabilities.
(e) Net debt equals the sum of deposits held, government securities, loans and other borrowing, minus the sum of cash and deposits, advances paid, and investments, loans and placements.

Care needs to be taken when comparing monthly or cumulative data across years and to full-year estimates as revenues and expenses vary from month to month.

FISCAL OUTCOMES

Underlying Cash Balance

The underlying cash balance for the year to 31 August 2014 was a deficit of $12,327 million, compared to the Budget profile deficit of $12,546 million. The difference of $219 million relates to higher than expected receipts and lower than expected cash payments.

Fiscal Balance

The fiscal balance for the year to 31 August 2014 was a deficit of $9,631 million, compared to the Budget profile deficit of $11,128 million. The difference of $1,497 million is largely due to higher than expected revenue and slightly lower than forecast expenses.   

• Revenues 
  Total revenue was $831 million higher than the Budget profile, primarily due to higher than expected taxation revenue and dividend income.
• Expenses
  Total expenses were $380 million lower than the Budget profile, due to lower than expected supply of goods and services and grants expenses, partially offset by higher personal benefits.

Assets and Liabilities

The net worth of the Australian Government general government sector is a negative net asset position of $268,864 million as at 31 August 2014. The net debt of the Australian Government general government sector is $217,550 million as at 31 August 2014.  Net financial liabilities of the Australian Government general government sector are $420,917 million as at 31 August 2014. 

Australian Government general government sector operating statement

*As published in the 2014-15 Budget.
(a) Consistent with 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) The presentation of other economic flows has changed to align more closely with Australian Accounting Standard AASB 1049.
(c) Reflects changes in the market valuation of investments and any revaluations at the point of disposal or sale.
(d) Largely reflects other revaluation of assets and liabilities.
(e) The term fiscal balance is not used by the ABS.

Australian Government general government sector balance sheet

*As published in the 2014-15 Budget.
(a) For budget reporting purposes, a discount rate applied by actuaries in preparing Long Term Cost Reports is used to value the superannuation liability. This reduces the volatility in reported liabilities that would occur from year to year if the long-term government bond rate were used. Consistent with Australian Accounting Standards, the long-term government bond rate as at 30 June is used to calculate the superannuation liability for the purpose of actuals reporting.
(b) Net worth is calculated as 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 equals the sum of deposits held, government securities, loans and other borrowing, minus the sum of cash and deposits, advances paid, and investments, loans and placements.

Australian Government general government sector cash flow statement

*As published in the 2014-15 Budget.
(a) A positive number denotes a cash inflow; a negative sign denotes a cash outflow.
(b) The acquisition of assets under finance leases decreases the underlying cash balance.The disposal of assets previously held under finance leases increases the underlying cash.
(c) The term underlying cash balance is not used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Note 1: Income Tax

*As published in the 2014-15 Budget.

Note 2: Indirect Tax

*As published in the 2014-15 Budget.

Note 3: Total expenses by function

*As published in the 2014-15 Budget.

NOTES:

Australian Accounting Standard 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 the Australian Accounting Standards Board 1049 – Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting (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.

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 (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS)

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. 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 http://aofm.gov.au/statistics/securities-on-issue.