According to the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) website, as well as its 2005 Article IV Consultation report and two 2007 IMF reports, Australia's data dissemination regime complies with SDDS specifications and is "adequate for surveillance purposes." Australia provides and adheres to advance release calendars as required by the SDDS, as well as summary methodologies for all data categories. Requirements of simultaneous release and the protection of confidentiality are fulfilled and appropriate information is made available to assess the integrity of official statistical data. Advance notice of changes in methodology are generally provided, however, for a few data categories such notice is provided only at the time of release. Also, in terms of certain aspects of the integrity dimension for data on analytical accounts of the banking sector, the Australian authorities fail to provide the required information on the IMF's SDDS website. Nonetheless, Australia continues to make improvements in its data dissemination practices, as noted by the IMF's 2007 Annual Observance Report of the SDDS. Australia became a subscriber to the SDDS in April of 1996.

General Overview

Australia first subscribed to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April 1996. The IMF's SDDS website discloses that Australia meets or exceeds SDDS specifications regarding timeliness, coverage, and periodicity, and it disseminates advance-release calendars. Summary methodologies are produced for all datasets. According to the IMF's 2007 Article IV consultation report, the Australian authorities disseminate financial and economic data that is adequate for surveillance purposes. Similarly according to the IMF's 2007 report titled "Australia: Annual Observance Report of the Special Data Dissemination Standard for 2007" (hereafter referred to as the IMF's 2007 annual observance report), in 2007, Australia's metadata met SDDS requirements of timeliness, periodicity and coverage. The report, however, noted that Australia did use the flexibility option for timeliness and periodicity of data in a few instances. According to the 2007 annual observance report, for all the months in 2007, Australia also met all advance release calendar requirements. Australia encountered some difficulties in meeting punctuality requirements in disseminating the production index, which suffered a short delay, and greater problems with both the official reserve assets data, which suffered a long delay, and the data on central government operations, which had frequent, lengthy delays. In 2007, Australia succeeded in meeting metadata certification requirements for nearly all quarters and all data categories. During the second quarter, however, it did not certify the metadata for two data categories (interest rates and share price index). With regards to the quality of data, the IMF's 2007 annual observance report states that "during 2007, Australia provided available information on the methodology, sources, and reconciliation of data categories in Data Quality Assessment Framework that would facilitate users to assess the quality of the data" (p. 7).

According to Annex II of the International Monetary Fund's 2007 Article IV Consultation report the Bureau of Statistics has recently begun expanding the coverage of the consumer price index to include the price of financial services, and has improved its methods of measuring labor underutilization. Australia has also begun to work toward the use of standardized report forms that would break monetary and accounting data down according to instrument, sector, and currency.

The 2005 Article IV Consultation report discloses that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is responsible for generating government finance statistics (GFS) estimates for inclusion in the quarterly national accounts. It submits its GFS data to the International Financial Statistics, to which the Department of Finance submits its monthly Financial Statements, as well. The ABS's GFS data is also published in the GFS Yearbook. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) publishes RBA operations data as well as monthly data on the operations of trading and savings banks. The ABS has taken steps to improve its coverage of trade in service. It has successfully improved the timeliness and reliability of data on its international investment position.

The Principles

Comprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.

FC

Australia meets the SDDS specifications for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness for all datasets, although it makes somewhat extensive use of the flexibility option with regards to the periodicity and timeliness of several data categories. The IMF's 2007 annual observance report for Australia discloses that the country has successfully observed the SDDS' requirements since it first subscribed to the Standard. The report notes that, in 2007, Australia took the following flexibility options: timeliness flexibility for data on central government operations and production index; flexibility for periodicity for data on production index, consumer prices, and producer prices; and the "as relevant" coverage flexibility option for production index data. Information on the IMF's SDDS website indicates that Australia avails of the same flexibility option, with the only exception being that the country does not take the "as relevant" coverage flexibility option for the production index data anymore and meets this requirement.

Ready and equal access to official statistics.

FC

According to the IMF's SDDS website and the 2007 annual observance report, Australia meets the requirement of providing and adhering to advance release calendars for all datasets required by the SDDS. All data are released simultaneously to all interested parties. However, the producer price index is released early to certain government officials (at 8:30 on the morning of general public release). The websites of the Treasury, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the ABS provide convenient public access to a wide array of official statistics, as well as explanatory publications and other aids to understanding.

Official statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.

CP

The SDDS website and the 2007 annual observance report state that Australia disseminates the terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced. Legislation protecting the confidentiality of individually identifiable information is in place for all relevant datasets: the Census and Statistics Act and the Reserve Bank Act both contain provisions for protecting confidentiality. Internal government access prior to data release occurs for some data categories, but only under conditions of embargo, and for those cases where such access is permitted, it is mostly identified.

However, for data on analytical accounts of the banking sector, there is no information provided on the IMF's SDDS website regarding this requirement. Ministerial commentary, when it is issued, is released separately from the actual statistical releases. Again, for data on analytical accounts of the banking sector, there is no information provided on the IMF's SDDS website regarding ministerial commentary on the occasion of its statistical release.

Advance notice is provided for all major changes in methodology, except for certain data categories: central government debt, analytic accounts of the banking sector, international reserves and foreign currency liquidity, and the international investment position. For the above data categories, notices are provided at the time of implementation of the changes. The SDDS as a requirement states that 'ideally' advance notice of major changes in methodology should be given. The SDDS website discloses that adequate information regarding revisions is also made publicly available.

A set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.

FC

Australia provides summary methodologies for all datasets, according to the SDDS website. In addition, component detail, the statistical frameworks that support statistical cross-checks and reconciliation with related data are available to the public as appropriate for all requisite datasets.