This page explains the revisions to the data sources and methods that will be included in the balance of payments and the revised series that will be inputs into the annual national accounts releases for 2026.
We make revisions annually, in line with international best practice, to ensure the statistics continue to reflect our changing world.
Regular annual revisions include:
- updates to international trade
- updates reflecting tax returns
- updates to Quarterly International Investment Survey
- seasonal adjustment.
Revisions fall into three broad categories:
- new or updated information becoming available
- new or updated annual benchmarks
- conceptual or methodology changes.
These revisions will appear in the following upcoming releases:
- Balance of payments and international investment position: June 2026 quarter - release date 16 September 2026
- Balance of payments and international investment position: Year ended 31 March 2026 - release date 30 September 2026
- Gross domestic product: June 2026 quarter - release date 17 September 2026
- National accounts (income and expenditure): Year ended March 2026 - release date 20 November 2026
- National accounts (industry production and investment): Year ended March 2025 - release date 20 November 2026
- National accounts (income, saving, assets, and liabilities): June 2026 quarter - experimental - release date 8 October 2026
- Annual balance sheets: 2025 (provisional) - release date 27 November 2026.
International trade updates
The above releases will also include revised data on goods and services from International trade: June 2026 quarter (published on 3 September 2026).
International trade: June 2026 quarter - improvements and updates has more information about these revisions.
The balance of payments release includes seasonally adjusted quarterly series of aggregated data reflecting the international trade updates. The main update of international trade series with a seasonal pattern is to travel services exports, with revisions to actual data back to March 2014.
Investment income updates reflecting tax returns
Each June quarter, we use updated investment income estimates derived from Inland Revenue (IR), to reflect the latest income tax returns. We use this IR data to supplement survey data and improve coverage back to the June 2024 quarter.
We classify all IR data to 'other investment income' in the primary income account, as we cannot distinguish between the different type of income that make up this estimate. This data update affects both primary income inflows and outflows.
Quarterly International Investment Survey (QIIS) updates
We have revised data back to the June 2014 quarter from QIIS.
The main updates reflect updated respondent data.
The following series are affected:
- international investment position
- current account, primary income
- financial account.
Insurance services and current transfers
We have revised insurance data back to the June 2023 quarter based on updated source data and validation of these series against other information sources, such as annual financial statements from companies. The main effect of these transactions is to 'secondary income'.
Other revisions to the national accounts in November and December
In addition to balance of payments data revisions feeding into national accounts data series, there will be other revisions to the following:
- National accounts (income and expenditure): Year ended March 2026
- National accounts (industry production and investment): Year ended March 2025.
On 6 November 2026, Stats NZ will publish the 2026 preview of national accounts improvements and updates in advance of the November 2026 releases. This preview will describe how the revisions will affect key measures, including current-price gross domestic product (GDP).
On 24 November 2026, Stats NZ will show how these changes and other methodological improvements affect September 2026 quarter GDP data, which will be released on 17 December 2026. This release will also include revisions from our regular incorporation of annual benchmarks.
Enquiries
International accounts team
[email protected]
04 931 4600
