Period-specific information: September 2015 quarter

Reference Period

The information in this release is compiled from data collected in the quarterly Local Authority Survey run in the September 2015 quarter.

Tables

1. Local authority statistics, seasonally adjusted income
2. Local authority statistics, seasonally adjusted income, percentage changes
3. Local authority statistics, actual income
4. Local authority statistics, seasonally adjusted expenditure
5. Local authority statistics, seasonally adjusted expenditure, percentage changes
6. Local authority statistics, actual expenditure
7. Local authority statistics, actual income, revisions to previously published figures
8. Local authority statistics, actual expenditure, revisions to previously published figures

Corrections and revisions

When we compiled the Local Authority Statistics: September 2015 quarter – tables release we identified and corrected two processing system errors.

One error related to modelling data for small councils. This error affected all estimates for the June 2015 quarter reference period that we are publishing in the current release. As well as correcting the error, we have included updated data for some councils.

The revisions we made to estimates from correcting this error and including updated data are all 1 percent or less, except for the derived ‘operating surplus/deficit’ estimate. This is revised to a $136.6 million deficit (from a $118.2 million deficit) on an actual basis (rather than seasonally adjusted basis).

The second error resulted in incorrectly calculated estimates for the ’depreciation and amortization’ and ‘purchases and other operating expenditure’ series. This error flows on to also affect estimates of ‘total operating expenditure’ and ‘operating surplus/deficit’. This error directly affected estimates from the September 2014 quarter onwards. It also indirectly affected estimates for earlier reference periods, due mainly to the modelling methodology we use to benchmark the estimates to annual data collected and published in the Local Authority Financial Statistics release.

Again, the revisions to estimates from correcting this error are all 1 percent or less, except for the derived ‘operating surplus/deficit’ estimates.

The estimates that we revised after correcting these errors are identified by the revised (R) status beside actual estimates in tables 3 and 6 and the downloadable csv file included in this release. Tables 7 and 8 show the magnitude of the revisions to estimates from the September 2012 quarter onwards.

The tables and csv file also show we have revised many seasonally adjusted estimates since the June 2015 quarter release in September 2015. They reflect the corrections, and our usual updating of seasonal factors each quarter (to incorporate the latest data).

We apologise for any inconvenience that resulted from the errors.