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2008
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROPRIATION (PARLIAMENTARY DEPARTMENTS) BILL
(NO. 1) 2008-2009
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation,
the Honourable Lindsay Tanner MP)
Outline
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments)
Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009
General Outline
1 This explanatory memorandum accompanies an Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009 (the Bill), consistent with
the Government's commitment to increasing transparency of the Budget
process generally. Explanatory memoranda have not previously been used for
appropriation bills, but are being prepared in relation to the financial year 2008-
2009 onwards.
2 The main purpose of the Bill is to make annual appropriations from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for expenditure in relation to the
Parliamentary Departments. Appropriations for the Parliamentary Departments
are not for the ordinary annual services of the Government.
3 This Explanatory Memorandum describes the reforms and clarifications
that have been made since Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act
(No. 1) 2007-2008 (previous Appropriation Act).
4 This Explanatory Memorandum should be read in conjunction with the
2008-2009 Portfolio Budget Statements (PB Statements) for the Parliamentary
Departments which contain details of the appropriations set out in Schedule 1 to
the Bill. The PB Statements are published and tabled in the Parliament together
with the Bill.
Structure of appropriations in the Bill
5 The Bill provides for the appropriation of specified amounts for
expenditure by the Parliamentary Departments.
6 Part 1 of the Bill deals with definitions, PB Statements and the concept
of notional payments. Part 2 of the Bill proposes to make payments of the
amounts in Schedule 1 for departmental items (clause 7), administered items
(clause 8), administered assets and liabilities items (clause 9) and other
departmental items (clause 10).
7 Part 3 of the Bill specifies the ways in which the amounts in Schedule 1
may be adjusted. In addition to the adjustment provisions in Part 3, clause 18
of the Bill recognises that the appropriations in the Bill may also be varied by
the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).
House of Representatives page 1 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Outline
8 Part 4 deals with reductions of administered items made in previous
Acts. Part 5 deals with special accounts and sets out the amount appropriated
under the Act.
Financial Impact
9 This Bill will appropriate the amounts specified in Schedule 1.
House of Representatives page 2 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
Notes on clauses
Part 1--Preliminary
Clause 1--Short title
1 This clause specifies the short title of the Bill, once enacted, will be
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009.
Clause 2--Commencement
2 Clause 2 provides for the Bill to commence as an Act on the day on
which it receives Royal assent.
Clause 3--Definitions
3 Clause 3 defines the key terms used in the Bill, such as "administered
item", "departmental item" and "current year" (being the financial year ending
on 30 June 2009). Each Parliamentary Department is an agency for the
purposes of the FMA Act.
Clause 4--Portfolio Budget Statements
4 Clause 4 declares that PB Statements are extrinsic material under
paragraph 15AB(2)(g) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (AI Act) that may be
used to ascertain the meaning of certain provisions in the Bill in accordance
with subsection 15AB(1) of the AI Act. The purpose of the PB Statements is to
provide information of the proposed allocation of resources to outcomes of an
FMA Act agency. The PB Statements provide information, explanation and
justification to enable Parliament to understand the purpose of each
appropriation proposed in the Bill.
5 Subsection 4(2) of the previous Appropriation Act provided that where
the PB Statements indicated a particular activity is in respect of a particular
outcome, then the amount in the administered item is taken to contribute to
achieve the outcome. In the Bill this provision has been relocated to improve
readability to clause 8 which deals with appropriations for administered items.
Clause 5--Notional payments, receipts etc
6 Clause 5 ensures that payments between agencies result in a reduction
of the available appropriation to the paying agency. For example the payments
House of Representatives page 3 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
of the amounts in Schedule 1 of the Bill from one FMA Act agency to another
do not require an appropriation. However, for reasons of financial discipline
and transparency, the practice has arisen for these payments between agencies
to be treated as though they required an appropriation, and to debit an
appropriation when such payments are made.
7 Clause 5 provides that these notional transactions between agencies are
to be treated as if they were real transactions. The effect is that when a notional
transaction takes place, the paying agency must debit the appropriation made to
it by Parliament. For constitutional purposes this means that the real
appropriation made by Parliament is extinguished by the amount of the notional
payment.
Part 2--Appropriation items
Clause 6--Summary of appropriations
8 Clause 6 sets out the total of the appropriations in the Bill. Importantly,
the amounts in Schedule 1 may be adjusted under the provisions in Part 3 of the
Bill. Specifically:
· Departmental items, administered assets and liabilities items and other
departmental items may be reduced in accordance with clause 11.
· Administered items may be reduced in accordance with clause 12.
· Items may be adjusted by a section 31 agreement in accordance with
clause 13.
· Items may be increased by a payment from the advance to the
responsible Presiding Officer in accordance with clause 14.
· Items may be increased by a payment from Comcover in accordance
with clause 15.
9 The amounts in Schedule 1 of the Bill may further be adjusted in
accordance with sections 30 to 32 of the FMA Act. Specifically:
· Items may be increased by the reinstatement of amounts that a FMA Act
agency is repaid, in accordance with section 30 of the FMA Act. The re-
crediting or reinstatement authorised by section 30 can result in the total
amount paid from the CRF in gross terms exceeding the amount
specified in an item.
· Items may be adjusted by amounts recovered by a FMA Act agency
from the Australian Taxation Office for Goods and Services Tax (GST),
House of Representatives page 4 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
in accordance with section 30A of the FMA Act. The amounts specified
in Schedule 1 exclude recoverable GST. The appropriations shown
represent the net amount that Parliament is asked to allocate to particular
purposes. Section 30A has the effect of increasing an appropriation by
the amount of the GST qualifying amount arising from payments in
respect of the appropriation. As a result, there is sufficient appropriation
for payments under an appropriation item provided that the amount of
those payments, less the amount of recoverable GST, can be met from
the initial amount shown against the item in Schedule 1.
· Departmental items may be increased to take into account certain other
amounts received by a FMA Act agency, if those receipts are prescribed
by the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations, in
accordance with section 31 of the FMA Act.
· Items may be adjusted to take into account the transfer of functions
between agencies, in accordance with section 32 of the FMA Act. It is
possible that adjustments under section 32 may result in new items
and/or outcomes being created in an Appropriation Act. It might also
result in amounts being shifted between Appropriation Acts.
Clause 7--Departmental items
10 Clause 7 provides that the amount specified in a departmental item for a
Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of
the Parliamentary Department. Clause 3 defines:
· `departmental item' to be the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in
relation to a Parliamentary Department under the heading
"Departmental Outputs"; and
· `expenditure' to be payments for expenses, acquiring assets, making
loans or paying liabilities.
11 While the departmental outputs in Schedule 1 are divided between
outcomes, the different amounts against outcomes are notional. The total
appropriation for departmental expenses represents the departmental item.
12 Departmental items involve costs over which a Parliamentary
Department has control. Departmental appropriations can be used to make any
payment related to the functions of the Parliamentary Department. Expenditure
typically covered by departmental items includes employee expenses; suppliers;
and other operational expenses (eg, replacement and maintenance of existing
departmental assets).
House of Representatives page 5 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
13 Departmental items are not expressed in terms of a particular financial
year and do not automatically lapse. Departmental items are available until they
are spent. Because the cash to meet expenses such as employee entitlements can
be required at times other than when the expenses are incurred, the
departmental appropriations remain available until required.
14 The Finance Minister controls the payment from departmental items by
FMA Act agencies through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance with
sections 26 and 27 of the FMA Act. Drawing rights control who may spend
from appropriations, and allow for conditions and limits to be set by the
Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's delegate) in relation to those
activities.
15 Amounts appropriated for departmental outputs can be subject to a
reduction process in accordance with clause 11 of the Bill. Under clause 11, the
responsible Presiding Officer for a Parliamentary Department may make a
written request to ask the Finance Minister to make a determination to reduce a
Parliamentary Department's departmental appropriation.
16 The following improvements have been made to clause 7:
· Subsection 7(1) of the previous Appropriation Act enabled the Finance
Minister to `issue out of the CRF amounts' that did not exceed, in total,
the amount specified in a departmental item. As noted in paragraph 14
above the Finance Minister controls the use of the appropriations
through drawing rights issued under the FMA Act. Therefore clause 7
of the Bill no longer refers to the Finance Minister issuing amounts from
the CRF.
· Subsection 7(1) of the previous Appropriation Act also specified that the
amounts issued out of the CRF for a departmental item must `not
exceed, in total' the amount specified for the item. Clause 7 no longer
includes this limit, as the payment may be adjusted in accordance with
Part 3 of the Bill or sections 30 to 32 of the FMA Act.
· Subsection 7(3) of the previous Appropriation Acts required the Finance
Minister to issue out of the CRF sufficient amounts for a departmental
item of a Parliamentary Department that includes provision to pay the
remuneration or allowances of the holder of a public office (within the
meaning of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973) or an office specified
in a Schedule to the Remuneration and Allowances Act1990. The Bill
does not include a similar provision because the Parliamentary
Department will be obliged to pay any entitlements determined under
any other Act without the need for a specific provision in clause 7. If
House of Representatives page 6 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
amounts are appropriated by the Bill for the purpose of paying certain
entitlements, then it is not necessary for a further provision in the Bill to
prevent Parliamentary Departments from relying on the standing
appropriations in the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 or the
Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990.
Clause 8--Administered items
17 Subclause 8(1) provides for the appropriation of administered expense
amounts to be applied by a Parliamentary Department for the purpose of
contributing to the outcome for an administered item. An administered item is
defined in clause 3 to be the amounts set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome
for a Parliamentary Department under the heading "Administered Expenses".
Administered expenses are appropriated separately for outcomes (ie, unlike
departmental items, the split across outcomes is not notional), making it clear
what the funding is intended to achieve. Schedule 1 specifies how much can be
expended on each outcome.
18 The appropriations for administered items in Schedule 1 represent the
amounts required to meet the total estimated expenses for the administered
outcomes for 2008-2009.
19 The purposes for which each administered item can be spent are set out
in subclause 8(2). Subclause 8(2) provides that where the PB Statements
indicate a particular activity is in respect of a particular outcome, then the
amount in the administered item is taken to contribute to achieve the outcome.
20 Administered expenses are those administered by a Parliamentary
Department (eg, certain grants, benefits and transfer payments). Specifically:
· administered items are tied to outcomes, departmental items are not;
· administered items must be spent in accordance with rules and
conditions established by Government or Parliament; and
· there is a process in clause 11 for dealing with administered items that
are not fully expensed or spent during the financial year.
21 The Finance Minister controls payments from administered items by
agencies through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance with sections 26
and 27 of the FMA Act. Drawing rights control who may spend money from
appropriations, and allow for conditions and limits to be set by the Finance
Minister (or the Finance Minister's delegate) in relation to those activities.
House of Representatives page 7 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
22 The following improvements have been made to clause 8:
· Subsections 8(1) and (2) of the previous Appropriation Act required the
Finance Minister to issue an amount for an administered item out of the
CRF. For the reasons noted in paragraph 16 above, it is no longer
necessary for the Finance Minister to issue amounts out of the CRF.
· Subsections 8(1) and (3) of the previous Appropriation Act required the
Finance Minister to determine whether a lesser amount should be issued
out of the CRF for an item, having regard to the expenses of the
Parliamentary Department in relation to the item. Subclause 8(1) of the
Bill no longer requires a determination of the Finance Minister to issue a
lesser amount than is specified in an administered item in Schedule 1.
Reductions of the amount provided for an administered item can now be
dealt with by the streamlined process in clause 11 of the Bill.
· Subsection 8(1) of the previous Appropriation Act also specified that the
amounts issued out of the CRF for an administered item may `not
exceed, in total,' the amounts specified for the item. Clause 8 no longer
includes this limit, as the payment may be adjusted in accordance with
Part 3 of the Bill or sections 30 to 32 of the FMA Act.
Clause 9--Administered assets and liabilities items
23 Clause 9 provides amounts in Schedule 1 to acquire new administered
assets, enhance existing administered assets and/or discharge administrative
liabilities relating to activities administered by the Parliamentary Departments.
Administered assets and liabilities appropriations are provided for functions
managed by a Parliamentary Department. Administered assets and liabilities
items can also be applied for any outcomes of a Parliamentary Department.
24 Clause 11 ensures that Parliamentary Departments only have access to
the amount of appropriation required to fund activities in the year. Amounts
appropriated for administered assets and liabilities items can be subject to a
reduction process in accordance with clause 11 of the Bill. Under clause 11, the
responsible Presiding Officer for a Parliamentary Department may make a
written request to ask the Finance Minister to make a determination to reduce
an administered assets and liabilities item of a Parliamentary Department.
25 The requirement for the Finance Minister to `issue amounts out of the
CRF' for administered assets and liabilities that was in section 9 of the previous
Appropriation Act has not been included in clause 9 for the same reasons as it is
not included in clauses 7 and 8 of the Bill (see paragraph 16 above). The
Finance Minister controls payments from administered assets and liabilities
House of Representatives page 8 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
items by agencies through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance with
sections 26 and 27 of the FMA Act. Drawing rights control who may spend
money from appropriations, and allow for conditions and limits to be set by the
Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's delegate) in relation to those
activities.
Clause 10--Other departmental items
26 Clause 10 appropriates departmental non-operating appropriations in the
form of equity injections, loans or previous years' outputs, over which the
Parliamentary Departments also exercise control. This clause provides that the
amount specified in other departmental items for a Parliamentary Department
may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary
Department. In short:
· `equity injections' can be provided to agencies to, for example, enable
investments in new capacity to produce departmental outputs;
· `loans' can be provided to agencies when an investment to produce
future departmental outputs is expected to result in a direct return such
as an efficiency saving (these are generally not formal loans established
in contracts); and
· `previous years' outputs' appropriations can be used to restore
appropriations used to deliver departmental outputs in a previous year
(eg, when a decision is made to implement a new activity after the date
for inclusion in the additional appropriation bills). Expenditure on such
activities are met initially from existing appropriations which are then
replenished by the previous years' outputs appropriations in future
appropriation bills.
27 Other departmental items are not expressed in terms of a particular
financial year and do not automatically lapse. Other departmental items are
available until they are spent. For example, equity injection appropriations
provide funding for the full costs of acquiring new assets some of which might
not be incurred until a later financial year. Amounts appropriated for an other
departmental item can be subject to a reduction process in accordance with
clause 11 of the Bill.
28 The requirement for the Finance Minister to `issue amounts out of the
CRF' for other departmental items that was in section 10 of the previous
Appropriation Act has not been included in clause 10 for the same reasons as it
is not included in clauses 7 to 9 of the Bill (see paragraph 16 above). The
Finance Minister controls the payment from other department items by
House of Representatives page 9 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
Parliamentary Departments through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance
with sections 26 and 27 of the FMA Act. Drawing rights control who may
spend from appropriations, and allow for conditions and limits to be set by the
Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's delegate) in relation to those
activities.
Part 3--Adjusting appropriation items
29 Part 3 of the Bill includes provisions that may increase or reduce the
amounts specified in Schedule 1. Up until the Additional Estimates Acts for
2007-08, Part 3 of the annual appropriation acts only included the clauses that
increased appropriations. For example, in the previous Appropriation Act the
provisions to reduce appropriations (sections 8 and 11) were included in Part 2
of that Act. The equivalent reduction clauses are now located with the other
adjustment provisions in Part 3 of the Bill (clauses 11 and 12). For clarity this
Part has been renamed "Adjusting appropriation items".
Clause 11--Reducing departmental items, administered
assets and liabilities items and other departmental items
30 Departmental items, administered assets and liabilities items and other
departmental items remain available until the appropriations are spent or
reduced in accordance with clause 11. This clause enables the responsible
Presiding Officer of a Parliamentary Department to comply with his or her
obligations under section 44 of the FMA Act to promote the efficient, effective
and ethical use of any surplus appropriations. Parliamentary Departments
should only spend all of a departmental item if there are government decisions
to support that expenditure. Examples of where clause 11 may be appropriate
to reduce one of these items include:
· an excessive amount of appropriation was made in error;
· an amount is reclassified and appropriated again under another kind of
appropriation (eg, where an amount appropriated as departmental is to
be reclassified as administered and a new administered appropriation is
provided). The existing departmental appropriation remains legally
available even though there is no authority to spend the funds;
· efficiency savings result in a program costing less than expected; or
· a program is abolished before the appropriation is expended.
31 Subclause 11(1) enables the responsible Presiding Officer for a
Parliamentary Department to ask the Finance Minister to reduce one of these
House of Representatives page 10 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
items for that Parliamentary Department. Subclause 11(5) assists readers by
noting that a request under subclause 11(1) is not a legislative instrument.
32 Subclause 11(2) enables the Finance Minister to make a written
determination to reduce one of those items. The Finance Minister is not obliged
to act on a request to reduce excess departmental output appropriations.
However, if the Finance Minister does:
· the determination must not be greater than the amount specified in the
request: subclause 11(2);
· the determination may not reduce the item below nil: subclause 11(3);
and
· the item in Schedule 1 will be taken to be reduced in accordance with
the determination of the Finance Minister: subclause 11(4).
33 Subclause 11(6) provides that a determination made under
subclause 11(2) is a legislative instrument.
34 Despite subsection 44(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003
(LI Act), which provides that instruments made under annual Appropriation
Acts are not subject to disallowance, subclause 11(6) provides that a
determination reducing an item under subclause 11(2) is subject to disallowance
in accordance with section 42 of the LI Act. Parliament retains the power to
disallow a determination to reduce a departmental item because any such
determination will reduce the amount of an appropriation authorised by
Parliament. Subclause 11(6) also confirms subsection 54(2) of the LI Act,
which provides that instruments made under annual Appropriation Acts are not
subject to sunsetting.
35 Clause 11 has been simplified by removing some ambiguous and
unnecessary conditions that were previously included in section 11 of the
previous Appropriation Act.
Clause 12--Reducing administered items
36 Clause 12 establishes a process for amounts of administered items not
required during the financial year to be extinguished. If the Government then
decides that amounts should be spent in a later financial year, the Government
must request Parliament to appropriate these amounts in future appropriation
bills.
37 Clause 12 is a new clause in the annual appropriation bills. Section 8 of
the previous Appropriation Act appropriated amounts for administered items
House of Representatives page 11 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
and provided for those amounts to be reduced in accordance with a
determination of the Finance Minister (see paragraph 22 above).
Determinations under section 8 limited the amount of annual appropriation
available, but did not reduce the amount of the appropriations.
38 Clause 12 establishes a more efficient process to permanently reduce
administered items. It does this by limiting the amount that may be applied for
an administered item to the amount reported for that item in a Parliamentary
Department's annual report. Subclause 12(1) provides that if the amount
published in the annual report is less than the amount of the item, then the
administered item is taken to be reduced to the amount specified in the annual
report. The amount of the item specified in Schedule 1 of the Bill may be
increased or reduced by the other clauses of Part 3 of the Bill or in accordance
with sections 30 to 32 of the FMA Act. The amount in the annual report must
therefore be compared with the amount for the item in Schedule 1 together with
any adjustments that have been made to that amount.
39 Subclause 12(2) retains a power for the Finance Minister to determine
that an amount published in the financial statements of a Parliamentary
Department is taken to be the amount specified in his or her determination. The
power in paragraph 12(2)(b) is to ensure that the amount published for the
administered item can be corrected if, for example, the amount is erroneous or
requires updating after the annual report is published.
40 Subclause 12(3) provides that a determination made under
subclause 12(2) is a legislative instrument.
41 Despite subsection 44(2) of the LI Act, which provides that instruments
made under annual Appropriation Acts are not subject to disallowance,
subclause 12(3) provides that a determination reducing an administered item is
subject to disallowance in accordance with section 42 of the LI Act. Parliament
retains the power to disallow a determination to reduce an administered item
because any such determination will reduce the amount of an appropriation
authorised by Parliament. Subclause 11(6) also confirms subsection 54(2) of
the LI Act, which provides that instruments made under annual Appropriation
Acts are not subject to sunsetting.
Clause 13--Section 31 agreements
42 Clause 13 is a transitional saving provision that recognises that
departmental items may be increased in accordance with agreements that were
made under section 31 of the FMA Act before that section was amended on
1 January 2008 (section 31 agreements). While section 31 of the FMA Act was
House of Representatives page 12 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
amended on 1 January 2008 to establish a simpler arrangement for handling
FMA Act agency receipts, the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment
Act (No.1) 2007 which repealed and substituted section 31 provided for the
gradual phase out of the section 31 agreements. Section 31 agreements will
continue until a regulation is made and comes into effect.
43 Prior to 1 January 2008, section 31 of the FMA Act required a Minister
responsible for a FMA Act agency that received money to enter into an
agreement with the Finance Minister to increase the net appropriation of an
agency's departmental item by the amount of the agency's receipts. Receipts
could include money from cost recovery activities or the sale of minor assets.
Under the previous arrangements, if there was no agreement in place, amounts
received by a FMA Act agency had to be returned to the CRF.
44 The changes to section 31 of the FMA Act that came into effect on
1 January 2008, removed the need for FMA Act agencies to enter into
agreements with the Finance Minister in relation to agency receipts. The
changes were implemented partly in response to criticisms of net appropriation
agreements that were made by the Auditor-General in Report No. 28 of
2005/2006, Management of Net Appropriation Agreements. Section 31 now
provides that regulations will prescribe the types of receipts that a FMA Act
agency may retain by adding those amounts to the departmental item of the
agency. The regulations will also ensure greater consistency in relation to
receipts across FMA Act agencies. Unlike the section 31 agreements, the
regulations will be tabled in Parliament and will be subject to disallowance. It
is intended that regulations describing the receipts that a FMA Act agency may
retain will come into effect on 1 July 2008. However, depending on the date
that the regulations do come into effect, some section 31 agreements may
continue to apply into the 2008-2009 financial year.
45 Subclauses 13(1) and (2) provide that if a section 31 agreement
continues to apply to a departmental item, then the receipts described in the
agreement will be added to the departmental item of the Parliamentary
Department, thereby increasing the net appropriation of the Parliamentary
Department.
Clause 14--Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer
46 Clause 14 provides an advance to the responsible Presiding Officer for
each of the Parliamentary Departments to be allocated where he or she is
satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure during the 2008-2009
financial year, for which Schedule 1 does not provide a sufficient appropriation.
House of Representatives page 13 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
47 Subclause 14(1) establishes the criteria that the responsible Presiding
Officer must be satisfied about before he or she may determine to add an
amount from the advance to an item of a Parliamentary Department. The
responsible Presiding Officer will only consider issuing an amount under
subclause 14(1) if he or she is satisfied there is an urgent need for expenditure
that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in Schedule 1 because
of an omission or understatement or because of unforeseen circumstances.
Generally the other appropriation adjustment options in Part 3 of the Bill or
under sections 30 to 32 of the FMA Act must have been exhausted before the
responsible Presiding Officer will make a determination under subclause 14(2).
48 Subclause 14(2) enables the responsible Presiding Officer to make a
determination to allocate an amount out of the advance to an item in
Schedule 1, to a new item not already in Schedule 1, or to a new outcome.
Subclauses 14(3) to (5) cap the amounts that can be allocated from the advance
to each of the Parliamentary Departments.
49 Subclause 14(6) provides that a determination under subclause 14(2) is a
legislative instrument, which must be tabled in Parliament but is not subject to
disallowance or sunsetting.
50 Disallowance of a subclause 14(2) determination could frustrate the
purpose of clause 14 which is to provide additional appropriations for urgent
expenditure. Parliament authorises the advance to the responsible Presiding
Officer under clause 14 so that there is an amount available to cover any
potential urgent requirements that may arise. A subclause 14(2) determination
will not require any additional appropriations to be authorised by Parliament. A
subclause 14(2) determination also differ from a ministerial determination
under clause 11 or 12. Determinations under those clauses will reduce the
amount of an appropriation approved by Parliament. As noted above, those
other determinations therefore will be subject to disallowance.
51 A subclause 14(2) determination is not subject to sunsetting provisions
because the amount allocated from the advance to the responsible Presiding
Officer will be extinguished when it is spent. Further, if the determination did
expire after a period, then the recipient of the money paid from the advance to
the responsible Presiding Officer would be liable to repay that money as if the
amount had not been appropriated in the first place.
House of Representatives page 14 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
Clause 15--Comcover receipts
52 Clause 15 applies to Comcover payments that are debited from the
Comcover Account and paid to a Parliamentary Department. The Comcover
Account is a special account established under the FMA Act.
53 Subclauses 15(2) and (5) enable the Presiding Officer to determine
which of the items of a Parliamentary Department may be increased by
specified amounts. Subclause 15(3) requires that the written determination of
the Presiding Officer must specify amounts that total the full Comcover
payment. Subclause 15(6) enables the Presiding Officer to delegate his or her
powers under clause 15 to the Chief Executive of the Parliamentary
Department.
54 Subclause 15(7) specifies that neither a determination of a Presiding
Officer under subclause 15(2) nor a written direction of the Finance Minister
under subclause 15(4) will be a legislative instrument. The reason for this is that
the discretion of the Presiding Officer and the Finance Minister under these
provisions is very limited. If a Parliamentary Department receives a Comcover
payment, the only decision a Presiding Officer may make is which item that
amount should be added to. In practice this will be the agency's departmental
item.
55 When regulations are made under section 31 of the FMA Act, this will
enable Comcover payments to agencies to be added to the departmental item of
a Parliamentary Department without the need for a determination. As with
clause 13 of the Bill, clause 15 will then be redundant and will not be required
in future annual appropriation bills.
Part 4--Reducing administered items in previous Acts
Clause 16--Reducing administered items in previous Acts
56 Clause 16 has been included in the Bill to prevent amounts of
administered expenses determined under previous Appropriation Acts from
being re-determined and spent. Clause 16 provides for all past determined
amounts of unnecessary administered expense appropriations to be
`extinguished' or `lapsed' in law. The previous Appropriations Act limited the
amounts that may be issued from the CRF but technically did not prevent new
determinations raising the limit, thereby allowing previously unavailable
appropriations to be spent.
House of Representatives page 15 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
Notes on clauses
Part 5--Miscellaneous
Clause 17--Crediting amounts to Special Accounts
57 Clause 18 provides that if the purpose of an item in Schedule 1 is also
the purpose of a special account (regardless of whether the item expressly refers
to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation
for that item and credited to the special account. Special accounts may be
established under the FMA Act by a determination of the Finance Minister
(section 20) or another Act (section 21). The determination or Act that
establishes the special account will specify the purposes of the special account
Clause 18--Appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
58 Clause 19 provides that the CRF is appropriated as necessary for the
purposes of the Bill. Significantly this clause notes that the amounts
appropriated by the Bill may be affected by the FMA Act, in particular
sections 30 to 32 of the FMA Act (see clause 6).
Schedule 1--Services for which money is appropriated
59 Schedule 1 specifies the services of the Parliamentary Departments for
which amounts will be appropriated. Schedule 1 contains a summary table
detailing the total appropriations for the Parliamentary Departments and
separate tables that break down the appropriations for each Parliamentary
Departments.
60 Schedule 1 includes for information purposes a figure for the previous
financial year, labelled the `Actual Available Appropriation'. That figure is
printed in italics under each appropriation amount to provide a comparison with
the proposed appropriations. The Actual Available Appropriation does not
affect the amounts available at law.
61 More details about the appropriations in Schedule 1 are contained in the
Budget Papers and the PB Statements.
House of Representatives page 16 Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2008-2009
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