2010‑2011
The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia
THE SENATE
Presented and read a first time
Government Advertising (Accountability) Bill 2011
No. , 2011
(Senator Xenophon)
A Bill for an Act to amend the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, and for related purposes
Contents
1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1
2............ Commencement................................................................................... 1
3............ Schedule(s)......................................................................................... 2
Schedule 1—Amendment of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 3
A Bill for an Act to amend the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Government Advertising (Accountability) Act 2011.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
| Commencement information |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provision(s) | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table | The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
| 2. Schedule 1 | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedule(s)
Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendment of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997
1 Section 14
Repeal the section, substitute:
14 Misapplication or improper use of public money
(1) An official or Minister must not misapply public money or improperly dispose of, or improperly use, public money.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), and without limiting the generality of subsection (1), it is an improper use of public money to use or permit public money to be used for the advertising of a government policy unless:
(a) the policy has been enacted in legislation passed by both Houses of Parliament; or
(b) a resolution agreeing to the expenditure of public money for the purpose of advertising the policy has been passed by both Houses of Parliament; or
(c) in the event of a national emergency, the Minister has obtained the consent of the Leader of the Opposition to the expenditure of public money for the purpose of advertising the policy.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years.
Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.