Bills Digest 105 1996-97
Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 1996
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 1996
Date Introduced: 12 December 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Finance
Commencement: For the most part, on the same day as the Financial
Management and Accountability Act 1996, ie a date to be set by proclamation.
However, Schedule 3 is to come into effect on a variety of dates. For
example, specific amendments to the Air Services Act 1995, the Civil Aviation
Legislation Amendment Act 1995 and the Transport Legislation Amendment
Act 1995 will be deemed to have come into effect on the dates that those
Acts received the Royal Assent.
The Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 1996 (the
Transitional Provisions Bill) forms part of a package of four Bills and
associated measures designed to modernise controls on Commonwealth finances
and over businesses owned or operated by the Commonwealth.
The other Bills in the package are:
- Auditor-General Bill 1996 (the Auditor-General Bill);
- the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Bill 1996 (the CAC Bill);
and
- the Financial Management and Accountability Bill 1996 (the FMA Bill).
The Transitional Provisions Bill:
- formally repeals the Audit Act 1901 (the Audit Act);
- proposes consequential changes to enabling legislation affecting Commonwealth
Authorities so as to link those bodies to arrangements to be created
by the CAC Bill;
- provides for the transfer, as appropriations, of balances from the
Audit Act's existing Fund accounting structure to the new structure
to be established by the FMA Bill;
- provides for the Auditor-General in office at 30 June 1997 to serve
the remainder of their 10 year term; and
- amends the Public Accounts Committee Act 1951 to enlarge the
powers and functions of the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Public
Accounts (JCPA).
The Bill provides much of the legislative machinery for repealing the
Audit Act 1901 and for replacing it with a new legislative and
administrative regime.
Substantive measures given effect to by this Bill are discussed under
the relevant parts of the Bills Digests for the Auditor-General Bill,
the FMA Bill and the CAC Bill.(For example, the enhanced role for the
proposed Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit is discussed in
the accompanying Digest for the Auditor-General Bill.)
Readers are further advised that the present Bill departs significantly
from the Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 1995 which
formed part of the 1994 Audit package which was not enacted.The most significant
changes from the earlier Bill are the proposed amendments to the powers
and functions of the JCPA, the increased number of Acts presently linked
to the Audit Act which are affected, and changes to Acts which
already incorporate references to the replacement legislation (refer Schedule
3).
A further change (as reflected in the Explanatory Memorandum and the
Minister's Second Reading Speech) is that the effect of section 70D of
the Audit Act 1901, which deals with the disclosure of audit and
financial reporting requirements applying to security and intelligence
agencies, is now only to 'continue for the time being (until regulations
under replacement legislation come into effective operation ()'.(1)
Schedule 1 provides for the repeal of the Audit Act.
Schedule 2 amends a range of Acts establishing Commonwealth Authorities
and Commonwealth Companies.A list of the Acts being amended appears in
the 'Contents Pages' to the Bill.(In total 139 Acts are to be amended
by Schedule 2.)The majority of amendments made under this Schedule
serve to distinguish between Commonwealth bodies covered by the FMA Bill
(i.e. those that remain Budget dependent) and entities under the CAC Bill
(ie those which 'own' their funds).A few randomly chosen examples illustrate
the nature of the proposed amendments:
- The Air Services Act 1995 is amended by inserting an explanatory
note at the end of subsection 7(2) to make it plain that the provisions
of the CAC Bill apply to Airservices Australia.
- The Albury-Wodonga Development Act 1973 is amended by inserting
a new section 9A stating that the Albury-Wodonga Corporation is not
a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of the CAC Bill.
- The Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 is
amended by deleting the reference in paragraph (h) of Schedule 2 of
that Act to 'section 32 or 36A of the Audit Act 1901' and substituting
a reference to clause 27 of the FMA Bill.The proposed amendment
refers to the power of the Minister for Finance to issue drawing rights
against any of the Commonwealth Funds, e.g. the Consolidated Revenue
Fund (CRF).
Other amendments made by Schedule 2 include changes to the Acts
Interpretation Act 1901to repeal paragraph 17(k) which defines
the Consolidated Revenue Fund to be the 'Consolidated Revenue Fund of
the Commonwealth', and replace it with a series of new definitions encompassing
the 'Consolidated Revenue Fund', the 'Loan Fund' and what is to be called
the 'Reserved Money Fund'.The latter two funds are defined respectively
under clauses 19 and 20 of the FMA Bill and the CRF is defined by reference
to section 81 of the Constitution.
Amendments proposed under Schedule 3 are to update references in some
Acts which had previously been amended in anticipation of the passage
of the 1994 Audit Bills.
Clause 4 of Schedule 4 provides for the transfer from the old Funds
to the new Funds.For example, subclause 4(3) provides for the transfer
of money in the old Trust Fund to components of the Reserved Money Fund
and Commercial Activities Fund that are to established under determinations
made under subclauses 20(2) and 21(2) of the FMA Bill.
Clause 5 of Schedule 4 provides for the continuation in office of the
'current' Auditor-General for a period which when combined with their
pre-existing service must not exceed of 10 years.The term of the current
Auditor-General, P J Barrett, who was appointed on 2 May 1995, will therefore
finish in May 2005 if he does not leave office before then.
Clause 6 of Schedule 4 deals with the arrangements for the Independent
Auditor, who is the parliament's auditor of the Australian National Audit
Office.The Independent Auditor is to be appointed for a period of 3-5
years (refer also to Schedule 2 to the Auditor-General Bill).Clause 6
also provides that the Independent Auditor is to be able to serve out
their current appointment.
Clause 7 deals with so called 'exempt' accounts.Under 70D of the Audit
Act, a Minister may preclude the Auditor-General from disclosing any or
all of the detailed accounts of a declared body coming within the Minister's
portfolio.Such exemptions have been made in respect of security and intelligence
agencies.The present restrictions on the disclosure of such exempt information
are to remain in force until replaced by regulations made under the new
legislation.These particular controls will be in addition to restrictions
enacted under Clause 37 of the Auditor-General Bill.That Bill provides
that the Auditor-General may not include certain information in a public
report where he or she has concluded that the disclosure of the information
would be contrary to the national interest or the Attorney-General has
issued a certificate to the same effect.
- Explanatory Memorandum: 1.
Bob Bennett
17 February 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should
be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been enacted and, if so,
whether the subsequent Act reflects further amendments.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents with Senators
and Members and their staff but not with members of the public.
ISSN 1323-9031
Commonwealth of Australia 1996
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act
1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
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systems, without the prior written consent of the Parliamentary Library,
other than by Members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their
official duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library, Commonwealth of
Australia
Last updated: UPDATED
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