FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 1997, Section 31
NET APPROPRIATION AGREEMENT
This Agreement is made between:
THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
AND
THE PRIME MINISTER
Note 1 Section 31 of the FMA Act, together with certain standard provisions of the annual appropriation Acts, allows a departmental item (or in some rare instances, an administered item) to be increased by an amount up to the amount of eligible receipts where the Finance Minister (or his or her delegate) and the responsible Minister have entered into a net appropriation agreement.
Note 2 This agreement is given effect by specific provisions within the annual appropriation Acts. Therefore, the agreement only has effect while the relevant specific provisions exist in the annual appropriation Acts.
1.3. This agreement will commence upon registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
2. DEFINITIONS
2.1. In this agreement:
2.1.1. 'the agency' means the Office of National Assessments.
2.1.2. ‘eligible receipts’ means the receipts set out in clause 5.1 of this agreement.
3. PURPOSE
3.1. This net appropriation agreement records the extent to which the amount specified in an item in an annual appropriation Act may be taken to be increased by reference to eligible receipts of the agency.
Note: In most cases the item in the annual appropriation Act will be taken to be increased by the whole amount received by the agency. However, in some cases, the item in the annual appropriation Act will only be taken to be increased by a proportion of the whole amount received by the agency - see clause 6.
4. DURATION OF THE AGREEMENT
4.1. This agreement replaces any previous net appropriation agreement between the Finance Minister and the responsible Minister in respect of any of the appropriation items identified in this agreement.
4.2. This agreement continues until a new net appropriation agreement covering the appropriation item identified in this agreement is executed by both parties to the agreement.
Note: Under s.31(4) of the FMA Act, the Finance Minister may at any time cancel or vary this agreement, without the consent of the other party.
5. NATURE OF ELIGIBLE RECEIPTS
5.1. The following receipts are eligible receipts for the purposes of this agreement:
5.1.1. Receipts from the sale, leasing, hiring out of, or other dealing with goods.
5.1.2. Receipts from the provision of staff and other services.
5.1.3. Receipts from a person (whether employed, appointed, or performing services for, the Commonwealth) as payment for any associated benefit provided (whether to that person or another person).
5.1.4. Receipts from the sale of minor assets that are departmental in nature such as furniture and fittings.
5.1.5. Receipts from the transfer of annual and long-service leave entitlements between agencies.
5.1.6. Subsidy and grant moneys received as a result of participation in employment subsidy schemes or programs.
5.1.7. Court awarded costs to the extent to which they reflect legal costs incurred in litigating the matter.
5.1.8. Amounts received from the Australian Taxation Office as interest on a late repayment.
5.1.9. Sponsorships, grants, subsidies and contributions received to fund departmental activities.
5.1.10. Donations received, expressed to be for the performance of specific departmental activities.
5.1.11. Financial Incentives to enter into leasing arrangements.
5.1.12. Amounts received in relation to the ADF Reserves Employer Support Payment Scheme.
5.2. For the avoidance of doubt, receipts under item 5.1 do not include:
5.2.1. Court awarded fines and damages, etc (other than to the extent covered by paragraph 5.1.7); and
5.2.2. Receipts from taxes, levies or specific cost recovered activities where the receipts are raised under legislation and where the activities are budget funded.
Note: User charging activities should comply with the Government’s cost recovery policy as set out in the Commonwealth Cost Recovery Guidelines for Information and Regulatory Agencies.
6. INCREASE IN APPROPRIATION ITEMS
6.1. Subject to the net appropriation provisions of the annual appropriation Acts, the Departmental item for the agency is taken to be increased by 100 per cent of the receipts listed in clause 5.1.
Notes
Signed: Peter Saunders ...............................................................Delegate of the Minister for Finance and Administration |
Signed: Peter N Varghese ............................................................... Authorised by the Prime Minister |
Peter Saunders Division Manager Government and Defence Division Budget Group
1 June 2006....................................... Dated | Peter N Varghese Director‑General Office of National Assessments
25 May 2006................................. Dated |
Note: The execution clauses (signature blocks) used in section 31 agreements should correctly reflect the capacity of the signatories. Guidance as to the appropriate signature block to use in particular circumstances is included in Attachment B to Finance Circular 2005/07. Please contact the Finance and Banking Branch at finframework@finance.gov.au if further information is required.