Contents
Part 1—Preliminary 1
1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1
2............ Commencement................................................................................... 2
3............ Definitions.......................................................................................... 2
4............ Portfolio statements............................................................................. 4
5............ Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth 4
Part 2—Appropriation items 5
6............ Summary of appropriations................................................................. 5
7............ State, ACT, NT and local government items....................................... 5
8............ Administered items............................................................................. 5
9............ Administered assets and liabilities items............................................. 6
10.......... Other departmental items..................................................................... 6
11.......... Corporate entity items......................................................................... 6
Part 3—Advance to the Finance Minister 7
12.......... Advance to the Finance Minister......................................................... 7
Part 4—Debit limits 8
13.......... Debit limits.......................................................................................... 8
14.......... Adjustments for GST.......................................................................... 8
Part 5—Miscellaneous 9
15.......... Crediting amounts to special accounts................................................. 9
16.......... Conditions etc. applying to State, ACT, NT and local government items 9
17.......... Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund............................ 10
18.......... Repeal of this Act.............................................................................. 10
Schedule 1—Payments to or for the States, ACT, NT and local government 11
Schedule 2—Services for which money is appropriated 12
A Bill for an Act to appropriate additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for certain expenditure, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title
This Act is the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2021‑2022.
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 |
| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. The whole of this Act | The day 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 Definitions
In this Act:
administered assets and liabilities item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a non‑corporate entity opposite the heading “Administered Assets and Liabilities”.
administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a non‑corporate entity under the heading “New Administered Outcomes”.
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 amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a corporate entity under the heading “Non‑operating”.
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, ACT, NT and local government item;
(b) an administered item;
(c) an administered assets and liabilities item;
(d) an other departmental item;
(e) a corporate entity 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.
other departmental item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a non‑corporate entity opposite the heading “Equity Injections”.
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) 2021‑2022.
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) 2021‑2022 and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022.
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.
State, ACT, NT and local government item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a non‑corporate entity under the heading “Payments to States, ACT, NT and local government”.
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 2 is $4,033,695,000.
Note 1: Items in Schedule 2 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 State, ACT, NT and local government items
(1) The amount specified in a State, ACT, NT and local government item for an outcome for a non‑corporate entity may be applied for the purpose of making payments to or for the States, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and local government authorities 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.
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 Administered assets and liabilities items
(1) The amount specified in an administered assets and liabilities item for a non‑corporate entity may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving any outcome specified for the entity:
(a) in Schedule 2 to this Act; or
(b) in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2021‑2022; or
(c) in Schedule 2 to the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022; or
(d) in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2021‑2022.
(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 non‑corporate entity may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the entity.
11 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 2 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
12 Advance to the Finance Minister
(1) If the Finance Minister determined an amount under subsection 12(2) of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022 before the commencement of this Act, the amount is to be disregarded for the purposes of subsection 12(3) of that Act.
Note: This means that, after the commencement of this Act, the Finance Minister has access to $3,000 million under section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022, regardless of amounts that have already been determined under that section.
(2) If:
(a) this Act appropriates an amount for particular expenditure; and
(b) on or after 1 February 2022 and before the commencement of this Act, the Finance Minister determined an amount (the advanced amount) under section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022 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—Debit limits
13 Debit limits
National partnership payments
(1) The debit limit for the current year for the purposes of section 16 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 is $35,000,000,000.
Effect of debit limit
(2) The debit limit set out in subsection (1) applies despite subsection 13(2) of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022.
(3) Subsection (1) has effect, after it commences, instead of subsection 13(2) of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2021‑2022.
14 Adjustments for GST
If:
(a) a payment in respect of an acquisition or importation is made in reliance on a debit limit specified in section 13; and
(b) a GST qualifying amount arises for that acquisition or importation;
then the debit limit is increased by the amount of the GST qualifying amount.
Part 5—Miscellaneous
15 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.
16 Conditions etc. applying to State, ACT, NT and local government items
(1) This section applies to any payment made out of money appropriated by a State, ACT, NT and local government item for an outcome specified in column 2 of the table in Schedule 1.
(2) The payment:
(a) must be made on the terms and conditions (if any) from time to time determined, in the way described in subsection (3), as applying to payments made:
(i) in relation to the outcome; and
(ii) to or for a State, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory or a local government authority; and
(iii) out of money appropriated by an annual Appropriation Act; and
(b) must be made in accordance with any determination in writing made by the Minister specified, in column 4 of the table in Schedule 1, for the outcome as to amounts and times of payments.
(3) The way of determining the terms and conditions applying to payments described in paragraph (2)(a) is for the Minister specified, in column 3 of the table in Schedule 1, for the outcome to make the determination in writing before or after the commencement of this Act.
(4) Determinations mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) and determinations made under paragraph (2)(b) are not legislative instruments.
(5) This section does not limit the Commonwealth’s power to:
(a) apply terms and conditions to payments made out of money that is not appropriated by a State, ACT, NT and local government item; or
(b) determine the amounts and times of those payments.
17 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.
18 Repeal of this Act
This Act is repealed at the start of 1 July 2024.