POLITICAL BROADCASTS AND POLITICAL DISCLOSURES ACT 1991 No. 203, 1991 - SECT 20

POLITICAL BROADCASTS AND POLITICAL DISCLOSURES ACT 1991 No. 203, 1991 - SECT 20

20. After section 311 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:
Annual returns of income and expenditure of Commonwealth Departments

"311A. (1) Subject to this section, the principal officer of each Commonwealth
Department must attach a statement to its annual report setting out
particulars of all amounts paid by, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth
Department during the financial year to:

   (a)  advertising agencies;

   (b)  market research organisations;

   (c)  polling organisations;

   (d)  direct mail organisations; and

   (e)  media advertising organisations; and the persons or organisations to
        whom those amounts were paid.

"(2) Nothing in subsection (1) requires particulars of a payment made by a
Commonwealth Department in a financial year to be included in a return if the
value of the payment is less than $1,500.

"(3) The first return under this section need only contain particulars in
relation to the period starting on the commencement of this section and ending
on the next 30 June.

"(4) In this section: "Commonwealth Department" means:

   (a)  a Department of State of the Commonwealth; or

   (b)  a Department of the Parliament; or

   (c)  a branch or part of the Australian Public Service in relation to the
        staff of which a person has, under an Act, the powers of, or
        exercisable by, a Secretary under the Public Service Act 1922;

"principal officer" means:

   (a)  in relation to a Department - the person holding, or performing the
        duties of, the office of Secretary of the Department; and

   (b)  in relation to a branch or part of the Australian Public Service
        referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of Commonwealth
        Department, the person who has, under an Act, the powers of, or
        exercisable by, a Secretary under the Public Service Act 1922.".