Part 1: Australian Government Budget Outcome (continued)
Net debt, net financial worth and net worth
At the end of 2013‑14, the level of Australian Government net debt was $202.5 billion (12.8 per cent of GDP), $4.6 billion higher than estimated at the time of the 2014‑15 Budget.
The increase in net debt compared to the level expected at Budget was primarily driven by an increase in the market value of the existing stock of Commonwealth Government Securities (CGS) on issue, owing to lower than expected yields. CGS are reported in the general government sector balance sheet in market value terms, consistent with the Australian Accounting Standards.
Net financial worth was ‑$370.3 billion at the end of 2013‑14, compared with ‑$299.6 billion estimated at the 2014‑15 Budget.
Net worth was ‑$256.0 billion at the end of 2013‑14, compared with ‑$186.4 billion estimated at the 2014‑15 Budget.
The change in the market value of CGS described above also impacts on net financial worth and net worth. In addition to this, changes to net financial worth and net worth since the Budget reflect a significant increase in the Government's superannuation liability. This is the result of a large difference between the long‑term discount rate used in the Budget (6.0 per cent per annum) and the actual bond rate as at 30 June 2014 (4.1 per cent per annum) used to value the superannuation liability. The use of two different rates is the usual practice, applied in previous Budgets and Final Budget Outcomes.
| 2013‑14 Estimate at 2014-15 Budget $b |
2013‑14 Outcome $b |
Change on 2014-15 Budget $b |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial assets | 279.8 | 281.8 | 2.0 |
| Non-financial assets | 113.2 | 114.3 | 1.1 |
| Total assets | 393.0 | 396.1 | 3.0 |
| Total liabilities | 579.4 | 652.1 | 72.7 |
| Net worth | -186.4 | -256.0 | -69.6 |
| Net financial worth(a) | -299.6 | -370.3 | -70.7 |
| Per cent of GDP | -18.9 | -23.3 | |
| Net debt(b) | 197.9 | 202.5 | 4.6 |
| Per cent of GDP | 12.5 | 12.8 | |
| Net interest payments | 10.7 | 10.8 | 0.1 |
| Per cent of GDP | 0.7 | 0.7 |
(a) Net financial worth equals total financial assets minus total liabilities.
(b) 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.
Note: Where possible, Budget documents are available in HTML and for downloading in Portable Document Format(PDF). If you require further information on any of the tables or charts on this website, please contact The Treasury.
