Lists of creditors of the nation's debt

Chris H made this Freedom of Information request to Department of the Treasury

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

Department of the Treasury did not have the information requested.

Dear Department of the Treasury,

This request is an application for the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act 1982

I am writing to request all the names of the creditors of the economy's debt (excluding individuals who invest in Government Bonds and/or Exchange Traded Government Bonds).

Yours faithfully,

Chris H

FOI, Department of the Treasury

Dear Chris H

We write to acknowledge receipt of your request, under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), seeking the following documents:

all the names of the creditors of the economy's debt (excluding
individuals who invest in Government Bonds and/or Exchange Traded
Government Bonds).

Your request was received by the Treasury on 9 November 2019. The FOI Act
provides that we have 30 days to process the request. This period may be
extended if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will
advise you if this happens.

We will advise you if a charge is payable to process your request and the
amount of any such charge as soon as possible.

We make the following assumptions that affect the scope of the request.
These are set out below.

It is our usual practice:

·         not to disclose the personal information of government employees
or the personal contact details of senior government employees (including
those of the Treasury). The names of senior officers will generally be
released.

·         not to release duplicates of any document captured within the
scope of the request.

·         only the final version of a document will be considered within
scope.

 

Please inform us if you do not agree to the request being processed on the
above assumptions. If we do not hear from you, your request will be
processed on the basis that you do not intend to capture these matters in
your scope

We will contact you using the email you provided. Please advise if you
would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

If you have any questions in relation to your application, please contact
the FOI Team on 02 6263 2800.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Officer

The Treasury

Ph: +61 2 6263 2800

e: [1][email address

 

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FOI, Department of the Treasury

Dear Chris H

 

We are writing in relation to your request, under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), seeking the following documents:

all the names of the creditors of the economy's debt (excluding
individuals who invest in Government Bonds and/or Exchange Traded
Government Bonds).

The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) is the part of the
Treasury with responsibility for managing Australian Government Securities
(AGS), which is most of the debt of the Commonwealth or federal level of
government in Australia, but only part of the Australian economy’s debt.

 

We are writing to let you know that the AOFM does not have a list of all
the names of creditors of the Australian economy’s debt. On this basis, we
seek your agreement to withdraw your request. Would you please respond by
9 December 2019.  if we do not hear from you we will take it that the
request has been withdrawn.

 

General information on the creditors of the economy’s debt

 

The Australian economy’s debt includes borrowing taken on by private
individuals, private enterprises (including companies), private financial
institutions and intermediaries (including banks), government business
enterprises and governments at various levels (including Federal, State
and local governments). The creditors who hold the Australian economy’s
debt will include many in these same groups such as private individuals,
private enterprises, private financial institutions (including banks and
superannuation funds), central banks and governments and government funds.
In addition to Australian entities, foreign or offshore entities will also
hold some of the Australian economy’s debt. Some Australian entities will
be simultaneously creditors and debtors in the Australian economy’s debt -
for example consider the banking sector that lend to individuals and
businesses and borrow from depositors and capital markets (in Australia
and overseas). Additionally, while some debt is directly negotiated
between debtor and creditor (such as a bank loan), other debt is in the
form of securities where, once issued, the ownership is traded between
third parties (creditors) without the involvement of the debtor.

 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts statistical surveys of
the various entities and economic agents in the Australian economy and
publishes information on the outstanding levels of liabilities and assets
in the Australian economy according to each sector in their quarterly
publication ABS 5232.0 Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth,
which can be accessed through the ABS website. This data does not cover
the names of creditors but shows stocks at an aggregated level by broad
sectors.

 

As mentioned above, the AOFM has responsibility for managing the AGS,
which is most of the debt of the Commonwealth or federal level of
government in Australia, but only part of the Australian economy’s debt.
AGS are in the form of securities and are actively traded in the secondary
market. The creditors or holders of AGS debt are continually changing
without AOFM being a party to these third party transactions.

 

We hope this information is of assistance.

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information Officer

The Treasury

Ph: +61 2 6263 2800

e: [1][email address]

 

 

 

 

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Dear Department of the Treasury,

This request is an application for the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act 1982

I am writing to request a document with names of FOREIGN entities who are creditors of the economy's debt.

Yours faithfully,

Chris H

FOI, Department of the Treasury

Dear Chris H

 

We are writing in relation to your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) seeking the following documents:

 

a document with names of FOREIGN entities who are creditors of the
economy's debt

 

The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) does not have a
document with names of foreign entities who are creditors of the economy's
debt. As advised in our previous response, the AOFM's operational mandate
is not as broad as all of the economy's debt.  Our previous reply noted
that the Australian Bureau of Statistics provides statistics of the
economy's debt. 

 

On this basis, we seek your agreement to withdraw your request. Would you
please respond by 23 December 2019.  If we do not hear from you we will
take it that the request has been withdrawn.

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information Officer

The Treasury

Ph: +61 2 6263 2800

e: [1][email address]

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please Note: The information contained in this e-mail message and any
attached files may be confidential information and may also be the subject
of legal professional privilege.  If you are not the intended recipient,
any use, disclosure or copying of this e-mail is unauthorised.  If you
have received this e-mail by error please notify the sender immediately by
reply e-mail and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.

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References

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FOI, Department of the Treasury

Dear Chris H

We are writing in relation to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) seeking the following documents:

a document with names of FOREIGN entities who are creditors of the economy's debt

The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) does not have a document with names of foreign entities who are creditors of the economy's debt. As advised in our previous response, the AOFM's operational mandate is not as broad as all of the economy's debt. Our previous reply noted that the Australian Bureau of Statistics provides statistics of the economy's debt.

On this basis, we seek your agreement to withdraw your request. Would you please respond by 23 December 2019. If we do not hear from you we will take it that the request has been withdrawn.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Officer
The Treasury
Ph: +61 2 6263 2800
e: [email address]

**********************************************************************
Please Note: The information contained in this e-mail message
and any attached files may be confidential information and
may also be the subject of legal professional privilege. If you are
not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this
e-mail is unauthorised. If you have received this e-mail by error
please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete all
copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
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David left an annotation ()

I have a number of questions, however, the below may be a start…

Treasury: “As mentioned above, the [Australian Office of Financial Management] AOFM has responsibility for managing the [Australian Government Securities] AGS, which is most of the debt of the Commonwealth or federal level of government in Australia, but only part of the Australian economy’s debt. AGS are in the form of securities and are actively traded in the secondary market. The creditors or holders of AGS debt are continually changing without AOFM being a party to these third party transactions.”

—> What percentage of the Australian economy’s debt, are the AGS?
—> What is the secondary market?
—> What data does AOFM have on the secondary market?