Treasury drives the long-term sustainability of Queensland’s fiscal position by effective statewide balance sheet and operating statement management, financial risk management and accountability through providing expert advice, policy development and disclosure of whole-of-state budget and financial statements.
It does this by:
- preparing the Queensland Budget
- preparing whole-of-government financial reports and accounts
- managing the balance sheet and having oversight of the state’s interests
- managing the state’s financial risks.
COVID-19 has presented a significant fiscal and economic challenge. However, Queensland’s economic recovery is underway with transition of the economic and policy response from short-term support to supporting jobs and economic growth.
Objective
Deliver fiscal sustainability COVID-19 Fiscal and Economic Review
The 2020–21 Queensland Budget was delayed due to COVID-19. Instead, Treasury prepared the COVID-19 Fiscal and Economic Review in September 2020 which outlined the government’s economic strategy that built on the Unite and Recover: Queensland Economic Recovery Plan.
Queensland’s Budget
Treasury delivered 2 Budgets within 7 months. The delayed 2020–21 Budget in December 2020 provided a strategy for fiscal recovery and focused on prioritising economic recovery alongside targeted expenditure and capital investment.
Queensland’s economic recovery from COVID-19 is now well underway. The 2021–22 Queensland Budget delivered in June 2021 detailed the government’s fiscal strategy which is underpinned by Treasury’s development of a new Charter of Fiscal Responsibility.
Compared to the outlook in the 2020–21 Budget, the economy has recovered faster and stronger than forecast. Revenues have rebounded from the initial impact of the pandemic. This recovery is allowing the government to balance additional funding for priority service needs with improved operating balances and significantly lower net debt and borrowings relative to the 2020–21 Budget.
Queensland Future Fund – the Debt Retirement Fund
The Queensland Future Fund (QFF) legislation was introduced in June 2021. Within the QFF, the Debt Retirement Fund reduces debt by holding investments targeted for future growth to support current and future borrowings. It manages debt responsibly and is structured to offset state debt by credit rating agencies when assessing Queensland’s debt burden.
The benefits of the Debt Retirement Fund are already being seen, with General Government Sector net debt at 30 June 2021 forecast in the 2021–22 Queensland Budget to be $15.8 billion.
Financial Provisioning Scheme
The Financial Provisioning Scheme continued to transition all assessable environmental authorities into the Risk Category Allocation assessment process. It administers both approved forms of surety (bank guarantees, insurance bonds, cash) and contributions to the Financial Provisioning Fund in its role in managing the state’s associated financial risk of small miners and resource sector holders of an environmental authority not meeting their obligations.