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Western Parkland City Authority

1. Statement of significant accounting policies

a) Reporting entity

The Western Parkland City Authority (the Authority) is a NSW government entity and is controlled by the State of New South Wales, which is the ultimate parent.

The Authority is a not-for-profit entity (as profit is not its principal objective) and it has no cash generating units.

The Authority as a reporting entity, comprises all the entities under its control, namely The Western Parkland City Authority and The Western Parkland City Authority Staff Agency (Staff Agency). The Staff Agency's sole objective is to provide personnel services to the Authority - it provided personnel services to the Authority for the year ended 30 June 2021.

In the process of preparing the consolidated financial statements for the economic entity, consisting of the controlling and controlled entities, all inter-entity transactions and balances have been eliminated, and like transactions and other events are accounted for using uniform accounting policies.

Per Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes-Transfer of Staff to Western City and Aerotropolis Authority Staff Agency) Order 2020 effective 16 October 2020, persons employed in the Western Sydney City Deal Delivery Office of the Greater Sydney Commission Staff Agency and persons employed in the Western Sydney Investment Attraction Office of the NSW Treasury were transferred to the Western Parkland City Authority Staff Agency.

Effective, 11 December 2020, per Schedule 1 of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 2020 No 30, the Western City and Aerotropolis Authority was renamed to the Western Parkland City Authority.

Per Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Miscellaneous) Order 2021, dated 26 March 2021 and effective 29 March 2021, the Western Parkland City Authority was transferred from the NSW Treasury Cluster into the NSW Premier and Cabinet Cluster.

These consolidated financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2021 have been authorised for issue by the Authority's Board on 5 October 2021.

b) Basis of preparation

The Authority's financial statements are general purpose financial statements which have been prepared on an accrual basis in accordance with:

  • applicable Australian Accounting Standards (AAS) (which include Australian Accounting Interpretations);
  • the requirements of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (GSF Act);
  • Treasurer's Directions issued under the GSF Act.

The Authority's financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the continuity of normal operating activity and the realisation of assets and the settlement of liabilities in the normal course of operations. The Authority held $32.9m cash on hand and at bank as at 30 June 2021. The Authority receives annual grants from the NSW Government which are sufficient to fund its ongoing operations.

Property, plant and equipment and certain financial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value. Other financial statement items are prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention, except as otherwise specified. The detailed accounting polices the Authority has adopted have been disclosed within the notes of the financial statements.

Judgements, key assumptions, and estimations management has made are disclosed in the relevant notes to the financial statements.

All amounts are rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars and are expressed in Australian currency, which is the Authority's presentation and functional currency.

c) Statement of compliance

The financial statements and notes comply with Australian Accounting Standards, which include Australian Accounting Interpretations.  

d) Accounting for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Income, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of goods and services tax (GST), except that the:

  • amount of GST incurred by the Authority as a purchaser that is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of an asset or as part of an item of expense and
  • receivables and payables are stated with the amount of GST included.

Cash flows are included in the Statement of Cash Flows on a gross basis. However, the GST components of cash flows arising from investing and financing activities, which is recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO are classified as operating cash flows.

e) Comparative information

Except when an AAS permits or requires otherwise, comparative information is presented in respect of the previous period for all amounts reported in the financial statements.

f) Changes in accounting policies, including new or revised AAS

i. Effective for the first time in FY 2020-21

The Authority applied AASB 1059 Service Concession Arrangements: Grantors (AASB 1059) for the first time. The nature and effect of the changes as a result of adoption of this new accounting standard are described below. Several other amendments and interpretations apply for the first time in FY2020-21, but do not have an impact on the financial statements of the Authority.

AASB 1059 Service Concession Arrangements: Grantors
AASB 1059 is effective for the Authority from 1 July 2020.

Where AASB 1059 applies, the grantor recognises the service concession asset when the grantor obtains control of the asset and measures the service concession asset at current replacement cost. At the same time the grantor recognises a corresponding financial liability or unearned revenue liability or a combination of both.

The adoption of AASB 1059 did not have an impact on the Authority for the financial year.

ii. Issued but not yet effective

NSW public sector entities are not permitted to early adopt new AAS, unless NSW Treasury determines otherwise. The following new AAS have not been applied and are not yet effective, in accordance with the NSW Treasury mandate (TC 20-08).

  • AASB 2018-5 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards - Deferral of AASB 1059
  • AASB 2018-6 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards - Definition of a Business
  • AASB 2018-7 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards - Definition of Material
  • AASB 2019-1 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards - References to the Conceptual Framework
  • AASB 2019-7 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards - Disclosure of GFS Measures of Key Fiscal Aggregates and GAAP/GFS Reconciliations

The Western Parkland City Authority anticipates that the adoption of these Standards in the period of initial application will have no material impact on the financial statements.