The Australian economy has been growing at a slow pace. It is a highly industrialized country and producer of opals and diamonds.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

In 2009, the GDP growth rate decreased due to global recession, however in 2010, it recovered and grew by 0.8%. From 2008, the GDP increased by 1.84% till 2010.

(Source: abs.gov)

GDP per capita

The country’s GDP per capita in 2009 is recorded at USD 42,279, a decline of 12.83% from 2008.

(Source: World Bank)

The country’s GDP per capita in 2009 is recorded at USD 42,279, a decline of 12.83% from 2008.

(Source: World Bank)

GNI per capita at PPP

The nation’s gross national income (GNI) at PPP was USD 38,210 for the year 2009 compared to USD 35,740 for the year 2008.

(Source: Worldbank)

Income Tax Rate

Income tax on Individual incomes in Australia is taxed progressively at 17% to 45%.

 

Tax Rates for Residents for 2010-2011
AUD 0 - 6,000	Nil
AUD 6,001 - 35,000	15c for each AUD1 over 6,000
AUD 35,001 - 80,000	AUD 4,350 plus 30c for each AUD 1 over AUD 35,000
AUD 80,001 - 180,000	AUD 17,850 plus 38c for each AUD 1 over AUD 80,000
AUD 180,001 and over	AUD 55,850 plus 45c for each AUD 1 over AUD 180,000

 

Tax Rates for Non Residents for 2010-2011
AUD 0 – 37,000	29c for each AUD 1
AUD 37,001 - 80,000	AUD 10,730 plus 30c for each AUD 1 over AUD 37,000
AUD 80,001 – 1,80,000	AUD 23,630 plus 37c for each AUD 1 over AUD 80,000
AUD 180,001 and over	AUD 60,6300 plus 45c for each AUD 1 over AUD 180,000

(Source: ato.gov.au)

Corporate Tax Rate

The standard corporate tax in Australia is 30%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Inflation Rate

The inflation rate in Australia for the year 2009 was 2.1%. Inflation in terms of consumer price change (annual %), for 2010 is registered at 2.7%.

(Source: rba.gov.au)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

In 2009, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow as a proportion of GDP was USD 22,572 million. The compounded rate from the year 2007 to 2009 declined by 29.55%. There was a year on year decrease of 51.69%.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) outflow as a proportion of GDP was USD 18,426 million. There was a year on year decline of 43.86%.

(Source: unctad.org)

Banking sector assets

From 2005 to 2010, the assets of the Reserve Bank of Australia have been on a steady rise. The banking sector assets reported a decline of 13.74% in the compounded annual growth rate from 2005 to 2010. The current year’s growth in the banking sector for 2010 is AUD 31.35 millions.

(Source: rba.gov.au)

Consumer price index

The consumer price index in Australia is on a steady rise. The index figure for Q4 2010 was 174.0. This indicates that the prices of consumer goods has increased.

(Source: Reserve Bank of Australia)

Wholesale Price Index

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) of Australia steadily increased from 2005 to 2008 and further declined by 5.43% in 2009, due to the economic recession.

(Source: World Bank)

Government expenditure

In 2010, Government expenditures exceeded revenues, thereby resulting in a deficit of AUD 15,088 million. The government expenditure increased by 4.31% due to an increase in operating expenses, capital transfers and current grants.

(Source: finance.gov)

Interest rate on Money Market

During 2010, the interest rate on money market increased from 3.75% to 4.75%.

(Source: rba.gov)

In 2010, the yearly average interest rate for 30 days on bank accepted bills is 4.50%, for 90 days 4.68% and 4.87% for 180 days.

(Source: rba.gov)

Term Deposit

The ANZ term deposit provides 6.20% p.a. rate for amounts from AUD 5,000 to AUD 99,999 on 12 month term deposits. NAB term deposits also provides 6.20% rate, for balance between AUD 20,000 and AUD 49,999. In addition, CBA term deposits for investments of AUD 10,000 to less than AUD 500,000 with a rate of 6.10% for the duration of 12 months. The Westpac Term Deposit provides 6.10% rate for greater 12 to 24 months for an amount greater than AUD 20,000 to less than AUD 50,000.

(Source: australia.deposits.org) 

Official exchange rate

The official exchange rate of USD per AUD increased by USD 0.06 at the end of the December 2010 and that of Euro per AUD increased by EUR 0.03.

(Source: rba.gov.au)

Government finances

Sovereign debt dynamics

Fiscal balance

In 2010, the fiscal balance of the country registered a deficit of AUD 58.6 billion, an increase of AUD 28.6 billion from AUD 30 billion in 2009. The country’s government expenditure increased by AUD 15.1 billion.

Government expenditure was increased due to the rise in current and capital grants by AUD18.6 billion and an increase in the supply of goods and services by AUD 5.1 billion. There was also an increase of AUD 2.6 billion employees’ related expenses and AUD 2.6 billion in net acquisition of non-financial assets.

(Source: finance.gov)

Total Revenue

The country's fiscal revenue is reported at AUD 298,897 million in 2010, a deficit of 3.64% from 2009 of AUD 309,789. As an impact of global financial crisis the taxation revenue declined, resulting in the reduction of total revenue.

(Source: finance.gov)

Tax revenue

In 2009, total tax revenue declined to AUD 338,878 million, constituting to about 26.9% of GDP.

(Source: abs.gov)

Balance of Payments

The Balance of Payments (BOP) reported a positive decline of 32.26% CAGR, from 2005 to 2009. The current year’s surplus for September 2010 is AUD 9865 millions.

 (Source: rba.gov)

Current Account Balance - Surplus/Deficit

Till September 2010, the current account balance registered a deficit of AUD 29,410 million.

(Source: rba.gov)

Labour Force

In 2010, the labour force in Australia was 142.4 million, an increase of about 2.28% from the previous year’s 139.2 million labour population.

(Source: Reserve Bank of Australia)

Labour force participation rate

The labour participation rate of the Australia remained stable at 65.5% from 2008 to 2010.

(Source: Reserve Bank of Australia)

Unemployment Rate

From 2005 to 2010, the unemployment rate witnessed a high in 2009 at 5.6%.

(Source: abs.gov)

Level of Unionisation

Australian council of trade unions (ACTU) is the leading trade union authority. The country’s Trade & Labour Councils includes:

• Queensland Council of Unions
• Unions ACT
• Unions NSW
• Unions NT
• Unions Tasmania
• SA Unions
• Unions WA
• Victorian Trades Hall Council

(Source: actu.org)

Minimum wage

National minimum wage order in Australia includes award/agreement free employees at AUD 569.90 a week or AUD 15 per hour, casual loading for award/agreement free employees is at 21 per cent. In addition, there is a special national minimum wage 1, where the productivity of employees is unaffected by their disability and special national minimum wage 2 where the productivity of employees is affected by their disability.

(Source:fwa.gov)

Government stability

The Australian Government has a constitutional democracy. The Government stability is based on the federal divisions which include Commonwealth, state, territory and local levels of Government.

In 1901, Commonwealth of Australia was formed when six independent nations joined together and became states of a new nation. The federal Government powers are divided between central Government and individual states.

In state and territory Government, the state Government has powers in constitutions and structure of legislature, executive and judiciary. The territory Government can be administered by Commonwealth Government or have right of self Government.

The current Prime Minister is Hon Kevin Rudd MP from the Australian Labor Party.

The Australian political parties are:-      

• Australian Labor Party
• Liberal Party
• The Nationals (known as Country Party)
• Australian Greens
• Australian Democrats
• One Nation

(Source: australianpolitics, australia.gov.au)

Regulatory environment

The country has transparent and efficient regulatory environments. The restrictions on business set up are minimal and the main focus is towards growth and investments.

The Australian economic freedom score is 82.5, making its economy the 3^rd freest in the 2011 Index. Australia is ranked 3^rd out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is lower than the global and regional averages.

(Source: heritage.org)

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Australia is ranked 8^th on the CPI index indicating low levels of corruption across public departments.

CPI ranking of the country rose from 9^th in 2008 to 8^th in 2009 with a score of 8.7 and a confident range of 8.3 to 9.0 indicating the increase in perceived levels of corruption. In 2010, the CPI remained stable at 8^th rank with a score of 7.5 to 9.2.

(Source:transparency.org)

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 in Australia had laid certain rights to the public as- firstly, the Government must provide proper information about all operations and the manuals and other documents should be published. Secondly, they must provide access to documents unless there is exemption in legislation.

(Source: csa.gov)

Australia is ranked 18^th on the World Press Freedom Index 2010, with a score of 5.38, indicating low restrictions on media.

(Source: rsf.org)

Judicial system

Judiciary in Australia consists of

• High Court of Australia
• Federal Court of Australia
• Family Court of Australia
• Federal Magistrates Court

The high court is the final court of justice. It has Chief Justice and six other judges who can take decisions either individually or together. This constitution includes two types of jurisdiction in the High Court:

• Original
• Appellate

In the country, there are various Supreme Courts State & Territory Courts which are as follows:

• Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
• Supreme Court of New South Wales
• Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
• Supreme Court of Queensland
• Supreme Court of South Australia
• Supreme Court of Tasmania
• Supreme Court of Victoria
• Supreme Court of Western Australia
  

(Source: ag.gov)

The total population of Australia in 2010 is 22,342,000, an increase of about 1.7% over the previous year.

(Source: World Bank, UN)

The majority of the population i.e. about 67.5%, fall under the age group of 15-64 years. Around 18.9% of people belong to 0-14 year’s age group. The 65 and above age group constitutes 13.6 % of the total population.

(Source: abs.gov)

The average age of the population in 2010 was 36.9 years. The median age of the country increased by 40.8% from the previous two decades. The median age from the year 2009 and 2010 remains stable at 36.8 years.

From 2005 to 2010, the infant mortality rate was recorded as 4.5 per 1,000 live births.

The average life expectancy for men is 79.1 years and for women is 83.8 years.

(Source: abs.gov, UN)

The urban population in Australia grew at an annual rate of 1.2% from 2005 to 2010. During the same period, the rural population declined at 0.6%.

(Source:UN)

Ethnic groups in Australia are:

• Caucasian
• Asian
• Aboriginal and other

Poverty

The country is ranked 53^rd on the Human Poverty Index with a score of 28.1. The Human Poverty index focuses on the proportion of people below certain threshold levels in each of the dimensions of the human development index - living a long and healthy life, having access to education, and a decent standard of living.

(Source: UNDP)

Human Development Index

The country ranks 56^th out of 182 countries on the Human Development index 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure  of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education).

(Source: UNDP)

The literacy rate in Australia is registered at 99%.

(Source: infoplsease)

Education resources

The education system in Australia has consistently improved over the past few years. The education system includes Primary education, Secondary education (Secondary Schools / High Schools), Tertiary education in Universities and / or TAFE [Technical and Further Education] Colleges).

In Australia, the schooling system starts from kindergarten or preparatory year followed by 12 years of primary and secondary school. In secondary school, the students can appear for Government endorsed certificates, recognized by all Australian universities and vocational education and training institutions.

In the states and territories, it is the primary responsibility for state Government schools to collect the funds. In addition, they also provide assistance to non-Government schools. The non-Government schools have religious affiliation. The two-thirds of non-Government school students are in Catholic schools.

(Source: deewr.gov.au)

Healthcare resources

The healthcare system in Australia includes the Government, private and medical practitioners. The Government provides three schemes i.e., Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme and 30% health insurance rebate. In 2008, the Government expenditure on healthcare was 9.1% of GDP.

(Source: aihw.gov)

Mass public transit

The mass public transports in Australia are roads (Buses and Cabs), ferry, air and railways.

Ports:

There are about 105 ports in and around Australia. The following are major ports in the Australia.

(Source: portsaustralia, worldportsource)

The largest trade port in Australia is Esperance Ports.

Airports

There are about 425 airports in Australia. The following are the major airports:

(Source: aircraft-charter-world,)

Telecommunications networks

In 2009, the internet service users in Australia were 79.6% of the total population, which marginally increased to 80.1% in 2010.

In the year 2008-09, the people aged 15 to 34 years access 67% of internet every day and people aged 5 to 14 years access about 31% of internet from their mobile phones.

(Source: internetworldstats,  abs.gov)