Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 1997 - SECT 12

             (1)  An official or Minister must not enter into an agreement or arrangement for the receipt, custody or payment of public money by an outsider unless:

                     (a)  the Finance Minister has first given a written authorisation for the agreement or arrangement; or

                     (b)  the agreement or arrangement is expressly authorised by this Act or by another Act.

Penalty:  Imprisonment for 7 years.

Note:          Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

             (2)  An outsider commits an offence if:

                     (a)  the outsider receives or has custody of public money under an agreement or arrangement mentioned in subsection (1); and

                     (b)  the outsider makes a payment of the public money; and

                     (c)  that payment is not authorised by the agreement or arrangement.

Penalty:  Imprisonment for 2 years.

Note:          Section 27 allows a drawing right to be issued to an official or a Minister to debit an amount against an appropriation (as a result of a payment of public money by an outsider).

             (3)  In this section:

"outsider" means any person other than the Commonwealth, an official or a Minister.