Contents
Part 1—Preliminary 1
1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1
2............ Commencement................................................................................... 2
3............ Definitions.......................................................................................... 2
4............ Portfolio statements............................................................................. 3
5............ Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth 3
Part 2—Appropriation items 5
6............ Summary of appropriations................................................................. 5
7............ Departmental items.............................................................................. 5
8............ Administered items............................................................................. 5
9............ Corporate entity items......................................................................... 5
Part 3—Advance to the Finance Minister 7
10.......... Advance to the Finance Minister......................................................... 7
Part 4—Miscellaneous 8
11.......... Crediting amounts to special accounts................................................. 8
12.......... Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.............................. 8
13.......... Act ceases to be in force...................................................................... 8
Schedule 1—Services for which money is appropriated 9
A Bill for an Act to appropriate additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the Government, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2014‑2015.
2 Commencement
This Act commences on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.
3 Definitions
In this Act:
administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a non‑corporate entity under the heading “Administered”.
corporate entity means:
(a) a corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; or
(b) a Commonwealth company within the meaning of that Act.
corporate entity item means the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a corporate entity under the heading “Administered”.
Note: The amounts set out opposite outcomes for corporate entities, under the heading “Administered”, 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.
departmental item means the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a non‑corporate entity 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.
Finance Minister means the Minister administering this Act.
item means any of the following:
(a) an administered item;
(b) a corporate entity item;
(c) a 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.
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. 4) 2014‑2015.
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) 2014‑2015 and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2014‑2015.
portfolio statements means:
(a) the Portfolio Budget Statements; and
(b) the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements.
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 $1,385,908,000.
Note 1: Items in Schedule 1 can be adjusted under Part 3 of this Act.
Note 2: Sections 30A and 31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 also provide for adjustments of amounts appropriated by this Act. Those sections continue to apply because of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2014.
Note 3: Sections 74 and 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 non‑corporate entity may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the entity.
8 Administered items
(1) The amount specified in an administered item for an outcome for a non‑corporate entity 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 Corporate entity items
(1) The amount specified in a corporate entity item for a corporate entity may be paid to the entity to be applied for the purposes of the entity.
(2) If:
(a) an Act provides that a corporate entity must be paid amounts that are appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of the entity; and
(b) Schedule 1 contains a corporate entity item for that entity;
then the entity must be paid the full amount specified in the item.
Part 3—Advance to the Finance Minister
10 Advance to the Finance Minister
(1) If the Finance Minister determined an amount under subsection 10(2) of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2014‑2015 before the commencement of this Act, the amount is to be disregarded for the purposes of subsection 10(3) of that Act.
Note: This means that, after the commencement of this Act, the Finance Minister has access to $295 million under section 10 of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2014‑2015, regardless of amounts that have already been determined under that section.
(2) If:
(a) this Act appropriates an amount for particular expenditure; and
(b) before the commencement of this Act, the Finance Minister determined an amount (the advanced amount) under section 10 of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2014‑2015 for the expenditure;
the amount appropriated by this Act for the expenditure is taken to be reduced (but not below nil) by the advanced amount.
Part 4—Miscellaneous
11 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.
12 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:
(a) the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, as that Act continues to apply because of Schedule 2 to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2014; and
(b) the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
13 Act ceases to be in force
This Act ceases to be in force at the start of 1 July 2017.