Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2015‑2016

No. 79, 2015

An Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Definitions

4 Portfolio statements

5 Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth

Part 2—Appropriation items

6 Summary of appropriations

7 Departmental items

8 Administered items

9 Administered assets and liabilities items

10 Other departmental items

Part 3—Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer

11 Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer

Part 4—Miscellaneous

12 Crediting amounts to special accounts

13 Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund

14 Repeal of this Act

Schedule 1—Services for which money is appropriated

Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2015-2016

No. 79, 2015

An Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes

[Assented to 26 June 2015]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

Part 1—Preliminary

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2015‑2016.

2  Commencement

  This Act commences on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3  Definitions

  In this Act:

administered assets and liabilities item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department opposite the heading “Administered Assets and Liabilities”.

administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a Parliamentary Department under the heading “Administered”.

current year means the financial year ending on 30 June 2016.

departmental item means the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department under the heading “Departmental”.

Note: The amounts set out opposite outcomes, under the heading “Departmental”, 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.

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

item means any of the following:

 (a) a departmental item;

 (b) an administered item;

 (c) an administered assets and liabilities item;

 (d) an other departmental item.

non‑corporate entity means:

 (a) a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; or

 (b) the High Court.

Note: Each Parliamentary Department is a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

other departmental item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department opposite the heading “Equity Injections”.

Parliamentary Department means any of the following:

 (a) the Department of the Senate;

 (b) the Department of the House of Representatives;

 (c) the Department of Parliamentary Services;

 (d) the Parliamentary Budget Office.

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 this Act.

portfolio statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements.

President means the President of the Senate.

responsible Presiding Officer means:

 (a) in relation to the Department of the Senate—the President; or

 (b) in relation to the Department of the House of Representatives—the Speaker; or

 (c) in relation to the Department of Parliamentary Services—the President and the Speaker together; or

 (d) in relation to the Parliamentary Budget Office—the President and the Speaker together.

Speaker means the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

special account has the same meaning as in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

4  Portfolio statements

  The portfolio statements are 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 which provides that the material that may be considered in the interpretation of a provision of an Act includes any document that is declared by the Act to be a relevant document.

5  Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth

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

Note: This section applies, for example, to a “payment” between non‑corporate entities 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 non‑corporate entity, even though no payment is actually made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This is consistent with section 76 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

Part 2—Appropriation items

6  Summary of appropriations

  The total of the items specified in Schedule 1 is $233,415,000.

Note 1: Items in Schedule 1 can be adjusted under Part 3 of this Act.

Note 2: Sections 74 to 75 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 also provide for the adjustment of amounts appropriated by this Act.

7  Departmental items

  The amount specified in a departmental item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary Department.

8  Administered items

 (1) The amount specified in an administered item for an outcome for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving that outcome.

 (2) If the portfolio 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.

9  Administered assets and liabilities items

 (1) The amount specified in an administered assets and liabilities item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving any outcome specified in Schedule 1 for the Parliamentary Department.

 (2) If the portfolio 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.

10  Other departmental items

  The amount specified in an other departmental item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary Department.

Part 3—Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer

11  Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer

 (1) This section applies if the responsible Presiding Officer is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure in relation to a Parliamentary Department, in the current year, that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in Schedule 1:

 (a) because of an erroneous omission or understatement; or

 (b) because the expenditure was unforeseen until after the last day on which it was practicable to provide for it in the Bill for this Act before that Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives.

 (2) This Act has effect as if Schedule 1 were amended, in accordance with a determination of the responsible Presiding Officer, to make provision for so much (if any) of the additional expenditure as the responsible Presiding Officer determines.

 (3) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Department of the Senate cannot be more than $300,000.

 (4) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Department of the House of Representatives cannot be more than $300,000.

 (5) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Department of Parliamentary Services cannot be more than $1 million.

 (6) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Parliamentary Budget Office cannot be more than $300,000.

 (7) A determination made under subsection (2) is a legislative instrument, but neither section 42 (disallowance) nor Part 6 (sunsetting) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 applies to the determination.

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, including the operation of this Act as affected by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

14  Repeal of this Act

  This Act is repealed at the start of 1 July 2018.

Schedule 1—Services for which money is appropriated

Note: See sections 6 and 13.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 12 May 2015

Senate on 23 June 2015]