Guide to the Budget Documents
A number of documents are released on Budget day. The purpose of these documents is to provide information about the
wider fiscal and economic picture and the Government’s spending intentions for the year ahead. The Budget documents are
as follows:
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is the overview of all the Budget information and contains the main points for the media and general
public. This section summarises the Government’s spending decisions and main issues raised in the Budget Speech, the Fiscal
Strategy Report, and the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update.
Budget Speech
The Budget Speech is the Minister of Finance’s speech delivering the Budget Statement at the start of Parliament's Budget debate. The
Budget Statement generally focuses on the overall fiscal and economic position, the Government’s policy priorities and how those
priorities will be funded.
Fiscal Strategy Report
The Fiscal Strategy Report sets out the Government’s fiscal strategy and measures how the Government is going against its
overall goals in areas such as the balance between operating revenues and expenses, and achieving debt objectives. The 2010
report includes fiscal trends covering at least the next 10 years and the Government’s long term fiscal objectives.
The Government must explain changes in, and/or inconsistencies between, the Fiscal Strategy Report, the Budget Policy
Statement and the previous year’s Fiscal Strategy Report.
Budget Economic and Fiscal Update
The Update includes Treasury’s overall economic forecasts and the forecast financial statements of the Government, along with
the implications of Government financial decisions and other information relevant to the fiscal and economic position.
The Estimates of Appropriations
The Estimates outline expenses and capital expenditure the Government plans to incur on specified areas within each Vote for
the financial year about to start (the Budget year).
Information Supporting the Estimates of Appropriations
Information Supporting the Estimates is organised on the basis of sectors, with each Vote and its administering department
allocated to one sector (a small number of departments are in more than one sector). The Information Supporting the Estimates
comprises sector overview information, together with statements of responsibility; performance information for appropriations in
Votes covered by the sector; and statements of forecast service performance and forecast financial statements of departments
included in the sector. Statements of Intent of departments included in the sector form part of the supporting information.
The Supplementary Estimates of Appropriations
Supplementary Estimates outline the additional expenses and capital expenditure required for the financial year about to end.
Information Supporting the Supplementary Estimates of Appropriations
Information Supporting the Supplementary Estimates, which is organised on a sector basis the same as the Information Supporting the
Estimates, provides reasons for the changes to appropriations during the year, related changes in performance information, and certain
additional performance information for new appropriations.
Internet
These documents will be made available on the New Zealand Treasury’s Internet site at
http://www.treasury.govt.nz
