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APPROPRIATION BILL (NO. 5) 2003-2004

2002-2003-2004

The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES




Presented and read a first time









Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2003-2004

No. , 2004

(Finance and Administration)



A Bill for an Act to appropriate additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the Government, and for related purposes

Contents

A Bill for an Act to appropriate additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the Government, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Appropriation Act (No. 5) 2003-2004.

2 Commencement

This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3 Definitions

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome of an entity under the heading “Administered Expenses”.

Agency means any of the following:

(a) an Agency within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997;

(b) the High Court.

Agency Minister, in relation to an Agency, means the Minister responsible for the Agency.

Chief Executive has the same meaning as in the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

Commonwealth authority has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

Commonwealth company has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

current year means the financial year ending on 30 June 2004.

departmental item means the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to an entity under the heading “Departmental Outputs”.

Note: The amounts set out opposite outcomes, under the heading “Departmental Outputs”, are “notional”. They are not part of the item, and do not in any way restrict the scope of the expenditure authorised by the item.

entity means any of the following:

(a) an Agency;

(b) a Commonwealth authority;

(c) a Commonwealth company;

(d) the Australian National Training Authority.

expenditure means payments for expenses, acquiring assets, making loans or paying liabilities.

Finance Minister means the Minister administering this Act.

item means an administered item or a departmental item.

Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements means the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2003-2004 and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2003-2004.

Portfolio Budget Statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2003-2004 and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2003-2004.

Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements means the Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for this Act and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2003-2004.

section 31 agreement means an agreement under section 31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

Special Account has the same meaning as in the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

4 Portfolio Statements

(1) The Portfolio Budget Statements, Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements and Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements are hereby declared to be relevant documents for the purposes of section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Note: See paragraph 15AB(2)(g) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

(2) If the Portfolio Budget Statements, Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements or Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements indicate that activities of a particular kind were intended to be treated as activities in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure for the purpose of carrying out those activities is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving the outcome.

5 Notional payments, receipts etc.

For the purposes of this Act, notional transactions between Agencies are to be treated as if they were real transactions.

Note: This section applies, for example, to a “payment” between Agencies that are both part of the Commonwealth. One of the effects of this section is that the payment will be debited from an appropriation for the paying Agency, even though no payment is actually made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Part 2—Basic appropriations

6 Summary of basic appropriations

The total of the items specified in Schedule 1 is $603,767,000.

Note 1: Items in Schedule 1 can be increased under Part 3 of this Act and under section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2003-2004 (as modified by section 11 of this Act).

Note 2: See also section 30A of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, which provides for adjustment of appropriations to take account of GST.

7 Departmental items—basic appropriation

(1) For a departmental item for an entity, the Finance Minister may issue out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund amounts that do not exceed, in total, the amount specified in the item.

Note: Generally, the Finance Minister is permitted, but not obliged, to issue the amounts out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. However, subsections (3) and (4) impose an obligation on the Finance Minister to issue the amounts in certain circumstances.

(2) An amount issued out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for a departmental item for an entity may only be applied for the departmental expenditure of the entity.

Note: The acquisition of new departmental assets will usually be funded from an other departmental item (in another Appropriation Act).

(3) If:

(a) an Act provides that an entity must be paid amounts that are appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of the entity; and

(b) Schedule 1 contains a departmental item for that entity;

then the Finance Minister, under subsection (1), must issue out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund the full amount specified in the item.

(4) If a departmental item for an Agency includes provision for payment of remuneration and allowances to the holder of:

(a) a public office (within the meaning of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973); or

(b) an office specified in a Schedule to the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990;

then the Finance Minister, under subsection (1), must issue out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, under that item, amounts that are sufficient to pay the remuneration and allowances and must apply the amounts for that purpose.

8 Administered items—basic appropriation

(1) For an administered item for an outcome of an entity, the Finance Minister may issue out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund amounts that do not exceed, in total, the lesser of:

(a) the amount specified in the item; and

(b) the amount determined by the Finance Minister in relation to the item, having regard to the expenses incurred by the entity in the current year in relation to the item.

(2) An amount issued out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for an administered item for an outcome of an entity may only be applied for expenditure for the purpose of carrying out activities for the purpose of contributing to achieving that outcome.

Note: The acquisition of new administered assets will usually be funded from an administered assets and liabilities item (in another Appropriation Act).

9 Reduction of appropriations upon request

(1) The Finance Minister may, upon written request by a Minister, make a written determination under this section reducing a departmental item for an entity for which the Minister is responsible by the amount specified in the determination.

(2) The Finance Minister may, upon written request by the Chief Executive of an entity for which the Finance Minister is responsible, make a written determination under this section reducing a departmental item for that entity by the amount specified in the determination.

(3) Where a determination is made, the amount specified in the item is taken to have been reduced by the amount specified in the determination.

(4) However, a determination is of no effect if the determination has not been requested under subsection (1) or (2).

(5) In addition, a determination reduces an amount specified in the item only to the extent that the amount of the reduction is no greater than the lesser of the following:

(a) the amount requested under subsection (1) or (2);

(b) the difference between the amount specified in the item and the amount issued out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund by the Finance Minister in respect of that item.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (5)(b), an amount is not taken to have been issued by the Finance Minister until the amount is paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(7) To avoid doubt, where a previous determination has been made in relation to an item, the reference in paragraph (5)(b) to the amount specified in the item is taken to be a reference to the amount specified in the item as reduced by that previous determination and any other previous determination.

(8) To avoid doubt, a determination under this section applies despite any other provision of this Act.

(9) A determination under this section is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Part 3—Additions to basic appropriations

10 Net appropriations

(1) If a section 31 agreement applies to a departmental item, then the amount specified in the item is taken to be increased in accordance with the agreement, and on the conditions set out in the agreement. The increase cannot be more than the relevant receipts covered by the agreement.

(2) For the purposes of section 31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, each departmental item is taken to be marked “net appropriation”.

11 Comcover receipts

After the commencement of this Act, section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2003-2004 has effect as if the reference to an available item included a reference to:

(a) an item in Schedule 1 to this Act; and

(b) an item in Schedule 2 to the Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2003-2004.

Note: Section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2003-2004 provides for amounts to be added to available items for an Agency in respect of Comcover payments to the Agency.

Part 4—Miscellaneous

12 Crediting amounts to Special Accounts

If any of the purposes of a Special Account is a purpose that is covered by an item (whether or not the item expressly refers to the Special Account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that Special Account.

13 Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund

The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act.

Schedule 1—Services for which money is appropriated

Note: See sections 6 and 13.