The impact of the global crisis was milder in Australia than in other advanced economies owing to strong demand from Asia and decisive policy responses. Australian banks were resilient to the global crisis, and the labor market was flexible in the face of the shock. The exit from fiscal stimulus...

The Article IV Consultation discusses that recently a commodity price boom, driven by robust global demand, has pushed the Australian economy up against capacity constraints. Banks are adjusting the structure of their funding in response to the turmoil, increasing liquidity, and lengthening the...

This Selected Issues paper on Australia highlights the IMF’s new Global Integrated Monetary and Fiscal Model (GIMF), which is used to examine the macroeconomic implications of alternative fiscal responses to higher revenue. Lower labor and capital income taxes, along with higher public...

The evaluation of the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime of Australia was based on the Forty Recommendations 2003 and the Eight Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing 2001 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and was prepared using the...

The key findings of Australia’s BASEL II implementation assessment are presented. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) allocated sufficient resources, including highly skilled staff, prior to the Basel II start date, and the outcome has been a robust and high-quality...

This assessment of the current state of Australia’s implementation of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision has been completed as part of a Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) undertaken in December 2005 by the International Monetary Fund. The assessment team...

Using official data from the Australian Bureau of Economic Statistics and a formal growth accounting framework, this paper shows that the rapid accumulation of information processing and communication technology (ICT) capital over the last two decades in Australia has played a significant role...

This study reviews selected issues on investor protection and corporate governance in Australia, and concludes that the corporate governance framework for Australian-listed companies is largely healthy and dynamic. Shareholder activism is an important element of corporate governance because it...

Australia’s large external deficits appear sustainable. There are, however, risks associated with the resulting external debt that need continued careful management. These deficits, which largely reflect high investment rather than low saving, should be sustainable as long as the Australian...