Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2000-2001
No. 21, 2001
An Act to appropriate additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure, and for related purposes
[Assented to 6 April 2001]
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
This Act may be cited as the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2000‑2001.
This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
administered capital item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 in relation to an entity opposite the heading “Administered Capital”.
administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 opposite an outcome of an entity under the heading “Other Administered Expenses”.
Agency 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 2001.
departmental capital item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 in relation to an entity:
(a) opposite the heading “Equity Injections”; or
(b) opposite the heading “Loans”; or
(c) opposite the heading “Carryover from previous years”.
entity means any of the following:
(a) an Agency;
(b) a Commonwealth authority;
(c) a Commonwealth company.
expenditure means payments for expenses, acquiring assets, making loans or paying liabilities.
Finance Minister means the Minister administering this Act.
item means any of the following:
(a) a State payment item;
(b) an administered item;
(c) an administered capital item;
(d) a departmental capital 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 this Act and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2000‑2001.
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) 2000‑2001 and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2000‑2001.
Special Account has the same meaning as in the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
State includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
State payment item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 opposite an outcome of an entity under the heading “Specific Payments to States and Territories”.
(1) The Portfolio Budget Statements and Portfolio 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 or Portfolio 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.
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.
The total of the items specified in Schedule 2 is $378,330,000.
Note 1: Items in Schedule 2 can be increased under Part 3 of this Act and under section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2000‑2001 (as modified by section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2000‑2001).
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.
(1) For a State payment 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 a State payment item for an outcome of an entity may only be applied for the purpose of making payments to or for the States for the purpose of contributing to achieving that outcome.
(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 capital item.
(1) For an administered capital 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.
(2) An amount issued out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for an administered capital item for an entity may only be applied for expenditure for the purpose of carrying out activities for the purpose of contributing to achieving any outcome that is specified in relation to the entity:
(a) in Schedule 2 to this Act; or
(b) in the Schedule to the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2000‑2001; or
(c) in Schedule 2 to the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2000‑2001; or
(d) in the Schedule to the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2000‑2001.
(1) For a departmental capital 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, subsection (3) imposes 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 capital item may only be applied for the departmental expenditure of the entity.
(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 2 contains a departmental capital 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.
(1) This section applies if the Finance Minister is satisfied that:
(a) there is an urgent need for expenditure that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in Schedule 2; and
(b) the additional expenditure is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in Schedule 2:
(i) because of an erroneous omission or understatement; or
(ii) because the additional 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 2 were amended, in accordance with a determination of the Finance Minister, to make provision for so much (if any) of the additional expenditure as the Finance Minister determines.
(3) The total of the amounts determined by the Finance Minister:
(a) under this section; and
(b) under section 11 of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2000‑2001;
cannot be more than $215 million.
(4) The Finance Minister must give the Parliament details of amounts determined under this section.
(1) The Finance Minister may determine that the amount specified in:
(a) a departmental capital item in this Act; or
(b) a departmental capital item in the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2000‑2001;
is to be increased by an amount specified in the determination.
(2) The total of the amounts determined by the Finance Minister under subsection (1) cannot be more than $20 million.
(3) The Finance Minister must give the Parliament details of increases made under this section.
Part 4—Miscellaneous
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.
(1) This section applies to any payment made out of money appropriated by a State payment item for an outcome identified in column 2 of the table in Schedule 1.
(2) The payment:
(a) must be made on the applicable terms and conditions (if any) for that outcome; and
(b) must be made in the amounts, and at the times, that are determined in writing by the Minister specified in column 4 of the table.
(3) This section does not, by implication, limit the power of the Commonwealth to:
(a) apply terms and conditions to non‑State payments; or
(b) determine the amounts and times of non‑State payments.
(4) In this section:
applicable terms and conditions, in relation to an outcome identified in the table in Schedule 1, means terms and conditions from time to time determined in writing (either before or after the commencement of this Act) by the Minister specified in column 3 of the table, as being the terms and conditions that apply to payments that are made to or for a State in relation to that outcome out of money appropriated by an annual Appropriation Act.
non‑State payment means a payment made out of money that is appropriated by the Parliament (either under this Act or another Act), other than a payment out of money appropriated by a State payment item.
The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act.