Financial Management and Accountability Amendment Regulations 1998 (No. 5) 1998 No. 289

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1998 No. 289

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Administration

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997

Financial Management and Accountability Amendment Regulations 1998

The attached Statutory Rules make regulations under subsection 65(1) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to amend the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations.

The amendments are to regulation 1 "Citation" and to the Schedule to the regulations which lists the Agencies which are prescribed for the purposes of the definition of "Agency" in section 5 of the Act. In addition to Departments of State and Departments of the Parliament, section 5 of the Act includes in the definition of "Agency", "a prescribed Agency", being an organisational unit which is to be regarded, for the purposes of the Act, as a separate Agency from the Department of State within the portfolio. Regulation 5 prescribes all such Agencies by reference to the Schedule to the regulations. The Schedule names those Agencies, defines the persons which they comprise and specifies the Agency Chief Executive.

Details of the regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1

This names the regulations as the Financial Management and Accountability Amendment Regulations 1988 in line with revised standards adopted by the Office of Legislative Drafting.

Regulation 2

Regulation 2 provides for commencement on 1 September 1998.

Regulation 3

This provides that the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations are amended as set out in regulations 4 and 5.

Regulation 4

To align with revised standards adopted by the Office of Legislative Drafting, this amends the citation of the original regulations from Financial Management and Accountability Regulations to Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997.

Regulation 5

Subregulation 5.1 inserts a new Item 111AA in the Schedule to make the Australian Government Solicitor a prescribed Agency. Having regard to the Government's decision about the future operations of the Australian Government Solicitor, it is considered appropriate that it should be financially independent of the portfolio Attorney-General's Department.