Australia ‘finds’ £210 billion

Australians are suddenly a whole lot better off after the government statistician “found” A$325 billion (£210bn) in share assets previously unrecognised.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest report on household assets included massive upward revisions to estimates for equity holdings. Total financial assets at the end of March were put at A$3.1 trillion, compared with an originally reported A$2.77tn.

The revision is worth roughly A$14,380 for every one of the country’s 22.6 million people.

“The bureau has effectively ‘found’ A$325bn in household wealth,” said economist Craig James.