Bills Digest no. 129 2007–08
Commonwealth Securities and Investment Legislation Amendment
Bill 2008
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
Passage history
Purpose
Background
Financial implications
Main provisions
Contact officer & copyright details
Passage history
Commonwealth
Securities and Investment Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Date introduced: 4
June 2008
House: House
of Representatives
Portfolio: Treasury
Commencement: On
the day after Royal Assent.
Links: The relevant
links to the Bill, Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech
can be accessed via BillsNet, which is at http://www.aph.gov.au/bills/. When Bills
have been passed they can be found at ComLaw, which is at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/.
The Bill amends three Commonwealth securities and investment
Acts to empower the Treasurer to borrow money on behalf of the Commonwealth
by issuing stock in Australian currency and to invest public money in
authorised investments. The Bill also expands the types of assets that
are acceptable as collateral in Commonwealth securities lending arrangements.
The Bill is part of a ‘suite of initiatives’ that is designed by the
Rudd Government to ensure ‘the efficient operation of Australia’s financial
markets’.[1] Particularly,
the Bill paves the way for the issuance of a further $25 billion worth
of Commonwealth Government Securities (CGS), especially (fixed coupon)
Treasury bonds. Treasury bonds are ‘medium to long-term debt securities
that carry an annual rate of interest fixed over the life of the security,
payable six monthly’.[2]
Currently, about $50 billion worth of Treasury bonds are on issue—it
has been around this level for the past five years.[3] The Government plans to add ‘around $5 billion’ in 2008–09.[4]
The Government referred to the issuance of Treasury bonds in the Budget
2008–09, saying:
Over recent years, persistent fiscal surpluses have
removed the need to borrow for budget funding purposes. However, Treasury
Bonds have continued to be issued in order to maintain an active Treasury
Bond market and to support the market in Treasury Bond futures contracts.
These two markets are used in the pricing and hedging of a wide range
of financial instruments and in the management of interest rate risks
by market participants. They thereby contribute to a lower cost of capital
in Australia. Without them, the financial system would be less diverse
and less resilient to the shocks that can emerge from time to time either
from domestic sources or from overseas. As demonstrated over recent
months, the markets for Treasury Bonds and Treasury Bond futures contracts
provided important anchors for Australia's financial system as it responded
to the impact of credit and liquidity concerns sparked off by the sub-prime
housing crisis in the United States of America.[5]
In a Media Release dated 20 May 2008, the Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan
MP detailed the importance of Treasury bonds to Australian financial markets,
and the changes to collateral that will be accepted by the Australian
Office of Financial Management (AOFM) in Commonwealth securities lending
arrangements:
… The Australian Government’s budget surpluses mean
that we do not need to issue securities to finance spending, but Treasury
Bonds play a special role by providing the lowest-risk, highest-quality
instrument in financial markets.
Because they are risk-free, Australian Government
Treasury Bonds are the benchmark used by participants in Australia’s
financial markets to set interest rates beyond the short end of the
yield curve, including in the bond futures market. The Australian Government
is committed to ensuring that its bonds can play this role efficiently.
The existence of an active and efficient bond market
alongside the banking system strengthens the robustness of Australia’s
financial system and reduces its vulnerability to adverse shocks.
To maintain the important benchmarking role played
by Government bonds and ensure that the Government has the flexibility
it needs to maintain liquidity in the bond spot and futures market,
we will provide legislative authority for an increase in future CGS
issuance of up to $25 billion.
…
I am also announcing changes to the operation of the
securities lending facility operated by the AOFM. This facility supports
the CGS market by allowing market participants to access bonds that
are in temporary short supply. This helps smooth the operation of the
market. Under the changed arrangements, the facility will be permitted
to accept a wider range of assets as collateral. The change will allow
the AOFM to accept similar securities to those accepted as collateral
by the Reserve Bank of Australia in its market operations.[6]
The AOFM is a ‘specialist Australian Government agency primarily responsible
for management of Australian Government debt’. [7]
According to its website:
The AOFM’s debt management activities encompass the
issue of debt securities such as Treasury Bonds and Notes and the execution
of debt related derivative transactions such as interest rate swaps.
The AOFM’s activities also include management of the Australian Government’s
cash balance, financial risk management and compliance activities, financial
reporting and portfolio administration.
Over recent years, the AOFM’s debt issuance activities
have been directed towards maintaining efficient Treasury Bond and Treasury
Bond futures markets rather than to meet Government budget funding requirements.[8]
In May 2008, the AOFM noted that in the 2008–09 financial year, ‘Treasury
Bond issuance is planned to total $10.3 billion’ (being the $5.3 billion
announced in the Budget 2008–09 plus a further $5 billion), adding that:
Treasury Bond issuance is targeted at maintaining
liquid and efficient Treasury Bond and Treasury Bond futures markets.
The volume and timing of Treasury Bond issuance accordingly takes account
of the need to have an appropriate range of Treasury Bonds available
for inclusion in the bond baskets for Treasury Bond futures contracts.[9]
In the Second reading speech for the Bill, the Assistant Treasurer, the
Hon Chris Bowen MP, reiterated these views, saying that the Bill ‘will
strengthen the efficient operation of the Treasury bond market by increasing
Treasury bond issuance and extending the collateral accepted for securities
lending of these bonds’. Mr Bowen went on to say that the Bill ‘also
provides for the safe investment of the proceeds of increased issuance
in conjunction with management of the government’s cash balances, using
a wider range of high quality investment instruments than at present’.[10] Particularly in relation
to the matter of Treasury Bonds, the Assistant Treasurer said:
Over recent months, demand for the bonds has intensified
due to the strength of the Australian economy and exchange rate, together
with global credit concerns that have increased the demand for high-quality
securities.
As a result, the Treasury bonds available on issue
have become more tightly held and it has become more difficult for dealers
to obtain some lines of stock and maintain an active market in them.
Some increase in their issuance is needed for the
market to continue to operate effectively.[11]
On the subject of the securities lending facility operated by the AOFM,
the Assistant Treasurer noted that the AOFM requires collateral (in the
form of other CGS) from financial market participants wishing to borrow
Treasury bonds for short periods of time. Mr Bowen noted that the types
of assets that will be accepted by the AOFM as collateral after the passage
of the Bill are the same sorts of assets that are currently accepted by
the Reserve Bank of Australia as collateral in its market operations.
He said:
[The current collateral required by the AOFM] has
constrained access to the facility when such securities have been in
short supply.
Following consultations with financial market participants
the government has decided to allow a wider range of collateral to be
accepted by the facility.
At present, the securities lending facility operates
using the Treasurer’s investment powers under the Financial Management
and Accountability Act.
The bill provides a separate authority for the Treasurer
to enter into securities lending arrangements for the loan of CGS.
The bill requires that collateral must be received
for any securities lending and lists collateral that may be accepted,
including cash and investment grade securities.
The bill requires the Treasurer to give a direction
on the kinds of collateral that may be taken from within the categories
listed in the bill.
The list is sufficiently wide to cover the same assets
as the Reserve Bank of Australia currently accepts as collateral in
its market operations.[12]
Market participants have long craved an increase in the level of issuance
of Treasury bonds. Particularly, they lobbied the Government earlier
this year ‘as the credit crunch exacerbated a tight supply’ of existing
bonds.[13] As financial
journalists, Rachel Pannett and Iain McDonald, explain:
Australia's government has run large budget surpluses
since the mid-1990s, allowing it to reduce the value of its bonds on
issue from a peak of nearly $96 billion in 1997.
But a lack of liquidity has bedevilled the market
for many years as the size of the market remained static. The credit
crunch encouraged a rush by investors for risk-free assets, such as
government bonds, further straining supply.
Foreign investors hold about 65 per cent of all government
bonds on issue, leaving a relatively small amount for Australian fund
managers and banks, which use the bonds for, among other things, collateral
in their dealings with the central bank.
Another financial journalist, Philip Baker has provided further history
and background about the Australian bond market and the need for increased
issuance of Treasury bonds, saying:
The supply of fresh commonwealth government bonds
is in line with expectations, at $5.3 billion, despite a plea from the
Australian Financial Markets Association to the commonwealth to increase
its supply of bonds, and includes a new June 2014 bond. About $5 billion
is set to mature next year, and this will keep the level of outstanding
bonds at $50 billion, which is considered by experts as the minimum
needed to keep the market efficient.
The bond market has been shrinking because of the
run of budget surpluses since the Howard government first came to office
in 1996.
The volume of tradable bonds on issue has halved from
$114 billion in 1997 to $50 billion as government debt has been repaid.
In keeping with the previous government's pledge to
ensure that the bond market remains viable, this year's budget also
notes that, in recent months, the markets for government bonds and bond
futures contracts have provided important anchors for Australia's financial
system as it responded to the impact of credit and liquidity concerns
sparked by the sub-prime housing crisis in the United States.[14]
Paul Bide, head of debt markets at Macquarie Bank and Chairman of the
Australian Financial Market Association’s market governance committee
approved of the Government’s increase in the supply of Treasury bonds
and the consequent effect on liquidity, saying:
This is what we asked for. … The increase in government
bond issuance, the wider stock-switching powers of the AOFM and [the
related issue of] the dropping of the interest withholding tax on semi-government
bonds [issued by State Governments] will all help.[15]
Similarly, Stephen Halmarick, Citi’s co-head, economic and market analysis,
said that these announcements ‘are a significant positive for Australia's
financial markets and very much inline with the ‘spirit’ of the decision
in the 2003-04 budget to retain the CGS market and ensure a “liquid and
efficient” market’.[16]
In relation to the fall of bond futures prices and the rise in government
bond yields which followed the announcement of the increased issuance
of Treasury bonds, Damien McColough, chief interest rate strategist at
Westpac Institutional Bank, said ‘it was a “trade off” between the bearish
implications of extra supply and the expected extra offshore buying demand
for Australian assets arsing from the new tax treatment of semi-government
bonds’.[17]
The Coalition has no immediately ascertainable position on this issue
as at the date of writing. However, according to the Treasurer’s Media
release issued on 20 May 2008:
The Government’s decision to increase CGS issuance
is consistent with the decision of the [Howard Government], announced
in the 2003-04 Budget, to maintain the CGS market. In announcing that
decision, the [Howard Government] noted that ‘this will entail ensuring
sufficient CGS remains on issue to support the Treasury bond futures
market’.[18]
This position is confirmed by the newspaper articles noted above.
The Government intends that the measures contained in the Bill will be
cost neutral. According to a Media Release issued by the Treasurer on
20 May 2008:
The increase in CGS issuance will not adversely affect
the Government’s net financial worth since the increase in CGS will
be fully offset by an increase in financial assets on the Government’s
balance sheet.
…
As a result, the increase in borrowings is not expected
to involve any net cost to Government. The new investments would continue
to be low risk.[19]
Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Bill contains proposed amendments
to three Commonwealth securities and investment Acts.
Items 1–5 of Schedule 1 contain proposed amendments to the Commonwealth
Inscribed Stock Act 1911 (Cth) (the Inscribed Stock Act).
Item 1 inserts proposed subsection 3A(1), which gives the
Treasurer authority to borrow money on behalf of the Commonwealth by issuing
stock in Australian currency. Proposed subsection 3A(2) states
that nothing in proposed subsection 3A(1) affects the power of
the Treasurer to borrow money on behalf of the Commonwealth, or to issue
stock or securities under the Inscribed Stock Act or any other Act.
Item 2 amends subsection 4(1) of the Inscribed Stock Act by inserting
proposed paragraph 4(1)(d). The current text of subsection 4(1)
is as follows:
(1) The Governor-General may, by writing signed
by him or her, create stock, Treasury Bonds, Treasury Notes or other
prescribed securities from time to time for:
(a) raising money by way of loan; or
(b) converting any loan raised by the Commonwealth
into any other loan so raised; or
(c) paying any expenses of carrying this Act
into effect that the Governor-General considers are properly payable
out of capital.
Proposed paragraph 4(1)(d) refers to ‘lending by the Treasurer
under securities lending arrangements under section 5BA of the Loans
Securities Act 1919’. Section 5AB of the Loans Securities Act
1919 (the Loans Securities Act) does not currently exist—the text
for proposed section 5AB is contained in Item 10 of the
Bill.
Item 3 makes a consequential amendment to paragraph 4(2)(a) of
the Inscribed Stock Act following the insertion of proposed section
3A. This amendment does not depend on the passage of proposed
paragraph 4(1)(d). When referring to the Governor-General’s power
to ‘create stock, Treasury Bonds, Treasury Notes or other prescribed securities’
‘for raising money by way of loan’ in paragraph 4(1)(a), the proposed
amendment to paragraph 4(2)(a) makes specific reference to the Treasurer’s
authority to borrow the moneys to be raised by the issue or sale of stock
(etc) money under proposed section 3A ‘or by any other Act’.
Item 4 inserts proposed section 5. Proposed subsection
5(1) sets a limit of $75 billion on the total ‘face value’ of stock
and securities issued under the Inscribed Stock Act and the Loans Securities
Act. The term ‘face value’ is not defined in either Act. According to
the Macquarie Dictionary, it means ‘the value stated on the face
of a financial instrument or document; par value’. Proposed subsection
5(2) sets out the types of stocks and securities that are to be disregarded
in working out the ‘total face value of the stock and securities’ for
the purposes of proposed subsection 5(1).
Item 5 inserts proposed section 51JA, which gives the Treasurer
power to delegate the powers in proposed section 3A. By proposed
subsection 51JA(1), the Treasurer may delegate the powers to an SES
employee or an APS employee who holds or performs the duties of an Executive
Level 2 or equivalent in ‘the Department’,[20] or to a person of similar rank appointed as
a staff member of the Reserve Bank Service under section 67 of the Reserve
Bank Act 1959 (Cth). Proposed subsection 51JA(2) provides
that the Treasurer must give a direction, by signed instrument, ‘as to
the maximum total face value of stock and securities that may be on issue’
under the Inscribed Stock Act and the Loans Securities Act, having regard
to the exceptions mentioned in proposed subsection 5(2), in relation to
borrowings under proposed section 3A (and also section 4 of the
Lands Redemption and Conversion Act 1921 (Cth).
In exercising the powers under proposed section 3A, a delegate
must have regard to a direction in force under (proposed) subsection 51JA(2)
and any other direction given by signed instrument to the delegate by
the Treasurer: proposed subsection 51JA(3).
The Treasurer must table any direction given under proposed subsection
51JA(2) or proposed paragraph 51JA(3)(b) in each House of Parliament
no later than 15 sitting days after it is given: proposed subsection
51JA(4).
Items 6–9 of Schedule 1 contain proposed amendments to the Financial
Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) (FMA Act).
Item 6 amends section 5 of the FMA Act (the definitions section)
to insert a definition of the phrase ‘Department of the Treasury’. It
is an ‘open’ definition. It includes not only the Department administered
by the Treasurer but (a) persons who are allocated to the Department ‘by
regulations made for the purposes of subparagraph (a)(i) of the definition
of ‘Agency’ in section 5, and (b) ‘any part of the Department that is
a prescribed Agency’. The term ‘Agency’ is defined in section 5 to mean:
(a) a Department of State:
(i) including persons who are allocated to the
Department (for the purposes of this Act) by regulations made for
the purposes of this paragraph; but
(ii) not including any part of the Department
that is a prescribed Agency;
(b) a Department of the Parliament, including persons
who are allocated to the Department (for the purposes of this Act) by
regulations made for the purposes of this paragraph;
(c) a prescribed Agency.
For example, according to Regulation 4 of the Financial Management and
Accountability Regulations 1997 (the FMA Regulations), a member of the
Defence Force is generally allocated to the Department of Defence (although
there are some exceptions), and ‘a person employed, under the Members
of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984, on the staff of an office-holder or
a Senator or Member is allocated to the Department of State to which the
money out of which the person’s remuneration is paid is appropriated’.
The term ‘prescribed Agency’ is also defined in section 5 of the FMA
Act to mean ‘a body, organisation or group
of persons prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition’.
The term is also defined in Regulation 5. Schedule 1 to the FMA Regulations
contains a list of prescribed agencies, including the AOFM.[21]
Item 7 amends subsection 39(2) by repealing the current subsection
and substituting new text. Currently subsection 39(2) provides:
(2) For the purpose of managing the public debt
of the Commonwealth, the Treasurer may invest public money in any authorised
investment.
The proposed amendment removes reference to the purpose of managing public
debt and simply states that the Treasurer ‘may invest public money in
any authorised investment’.
The term ‘authorised investment’ is currently defined in subsection 39(10)
of the FMA Act as follows:
(a) in relation to the Finance Minister—any of
the following investments:
(i) securities of the Commonwealth or of a State
or Territory;
(ii) securities guaranteed by the Commonwealth,
a State or a Territory;
(iii) a deposit with a bank, including a deposit
evidenced by a certificate of deposit;
(iv) any other form of investment prescribed by
the regulations; and
(b) in relation to the Treasurer—any of the following
investments:
(i) securities of the Commonwealth or of a State
or Territory;
(ii) securities guaranteed by the Commonwealth,
a State or a Territory;
(iii) a deposit with a bank, including a deposit
evidenced by a certificate of deposit;
(iv) debt instruments issued or guaranteed by:
(A) the government of a foreign country; or
(B) a financial institution whose members consist
of foreign countries, or of Australia and foreign countries;
being debt instruments with a credit rating that
is consistent with the sound management of public debt;
(v) any other form of investment prescribed by
the regulations.
Item 8
seeks to amend subparagraph 39(10)(b)(iv) of that definition by revising
that subparagraph and also inserting proposed subparagraphs (iva) and
(ivb). In essence, current sub-subparagraphs 39(10)(b)(iv)(A) and
(B) are renumbered and become proposed subparagraphs 39(10)(b)(iv)
and (iva). Proposed subparagraph 39(10)(b)(ivb) is entirely
new and includes reference to ‘debt instruments denominated in Australian
currency with an investment grade credit rating’. The term ‘investment
grade credit rating’ is not defined in the FMA Act, but the remarks of
Steven Wright, Director of Fixed Interest ABN AMRO Morgans Limited, in
the Investor Update email newsletter of the Australian Stock Exchange
(ASX) are useful in understanding this term:
Securities with a credit rating of BBB or above are
deemed to be investment grade and so offer investors a higher degree
of comfort that their principal will be returned and that interest will
be paid in a timely manner. Ratings below this do not mean that an
issuer is necessarily high risk, but the lower rating tells investors
that securities with sub-investment grade ratings are more vulnerable
to financial pressures. It should be noted that many well known companies
listed on the ASX and other global exchanges are not rated investment
grade, but still receive solid investor support.[22]
It may be useful to include a definition of ‘investment grade credit
rating’ in the FMA Act.
Item 9 repeals current section 62A and replaces it with proposed
section 62A. Current section 62A is only two lines:
(1) The Treasurer may, by written instrument, delegate
to an official any of the Treasurer's powers or functions under this
Act.
(2) In exercising powers or functions under a delegation,
the official must comply with any directions of the Treasurer.
Proposed section 62A is far more detailed, running to seven subsections.
For example, it specifies:
- the types of Treasury officials to whom the Treasurer may delegate
his powers or functions under the FMA Act (proposed subsection 62A(1))
- the matters about which the Treasurer may given directions (proposed
subsection 62A(2))
- the matters about which the Treasurer may not give directions (proposed
subsection 62A(3))(see below)
- the fact that if there is a delegation in force under proposed
subsection 62A(1), there must be at least one direction in force
under proposed subsection 62A(2) (proposed subsection 62A(4))
- the fact that in exercising powers or functions under a delegation,
the official must comply with directions given by the Treasurer, including
those given under proposed subsection 62A(2) (proposed subsection
62A(5))
- the requirement for the Treasurer to table any direction made under
proposed section 62A in each House of Parliament not less than
15 sitting days after it is given (proposed subsection 62A(6)),
and
- the fact that the term ‘authorised investment’ in proposed section
62A has the same meaning as it does in paragraph (b) of the definition
of that term in subsection 39(10) of the FMA Act, quoted above (proposed
subsection 62A(7)).
Proposed subsection 62A(3) is as follows:
The Treasurer must not give a direction under subsection
(2) that has the purpose, or has or is likely to have the effect, of
directly or indirectly requiring a delegate or delegates to allocate
financial assets to a particular company, partnership, trust, body politic
or business.
Presumably, this provision is designed to prevent abuse of the Minister’s
position by prohibiting him from instructing a delegate to invest funds
in any particular company or business (etc). According to the Assistant
Treasurer, the purpose of this provision ‘is to ensure that investment
decisions are based on sound financial criteria’.[23]
Items 10–11 of Schedule 1 to the Bill contain proposed amendments
to the Loans Securities Act 1919 (Cth) (the Loans Securities Act).
Item 10 inserts proposed section 5BA into the Loans Securities
Act to empower the Treasurer to enter into securities lending arrangements
on behalf of the Commonwealth. Proposed subsection 5BA(1) provides
that the Treasurer may enter into such arrangements ‘by lending stock
and securities’ issued under the Inscribed Stock Act ‘and denominated
in Australian currency’.
Proposed subsection 5BA(2) states that the total face value of
stock and securities ‘on loan by the Treasurer at any time under securities
lending arrangements’ under proposed subsection 5BA(1) must not
exceed $5 billion.
Proposed subsection 5BA(3) provides that the Treasurer must not
lend stocks or securities under securities lending arrangements unless
he receives ‘collateral of one or more of the following kinds’: cash,
‘debt instruments denominated in Australian currency with an investment
grade credit rating’ (whether in hard copy or electronic form), bank deposit
(evidenced by a certificate of deposit), and ‘any other collateral prescribed
by the regulations’.
Proposed subsection 5BA(4) states that the Treasurer must take
sufficient collateral to cover the market value of the security on loan
at all times. However, no method is provided for establishing
the market value of the security, nor is any time limit set for ascertaining
the market value of the security from time to time. Further, no provision
is made for the logistics of taking extra security (or possibly returning
security) where the market value of the security has either increased
or decreased.
Proposed subsection 5BA(5) states that the word ‘lending’ (in
relation to stock or securities) ‘is taken to include an arrangements
under which it is sold and repurchased’. Apparently such arrangements
are common in Australia’s financial markets. According to the AOFM, its
securities lending facility operates through repurchase agreements between
the Reserve Bank and bond market participants: ‘A repurchase agreement
(commonly referred to as a repo) involves a holder of debt securities
(e.g. Treasury Bonds) selling them for cash, and simultaneously agreeing
to repurchase them at a fixed price on a fixed date in the future’.[24]
Proposed subsection 5BA(6) states that the Consolidated Revenue
Fund ‘is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this section’.[25]
Proposed subsection 5BA(7) provides that nothing in proposed
section 5BA ‘affects the power to make investments under section 39’
of the FMA Act, discussed in part above.
Finally, item 11 inserts proposed section 5E of the Loans
Securities Act to empower the Treasurer to delegate the powers and functions
contained in proposed section 5BA. It is in similar terms to proposed
section 51JA of the Inscribed Stock Act and proposed section 62A
of the FMA Act, discussed above. In summary, proposed section 5E
provides that the Treasurer can only delegate his powers and functions
under proposed section 5BA of the Loans Securities Act to certain
officials in the Treasury Department; the Treasurer must give a signed
direction about the kinds of collateral that must be received; in exercising
powers under proposed section 5BA, the delegate must comply with
any direction that is in force; and the Treasurer must table any relevant
direction in each House of Parliament within 15 sitting days of giving
the direction.
Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Bill deals with the application of
the proposed amendments. None of the proposed amendments has retrospective
operation; the amendments apply to money or stock or securities borrowed
or invested, or to securities lending arrangements entered into, ‘on or
after the commencement’ of the relevant item of the Bill. However, the
actual issuing of the relevant stock or securities to which item 5
of the Bill relates may pre-date the commencement of the item.
Concluding
comments
The initiatives contained in the Bill seem to be neither novel nor controversial.
For example, the Rudd Government’s decision to increase the supply of
CGS is consistent with the position of the previous Howard Government.
The initiatives are designed to stimulate the operation of Australia’s
financial markets in a responsible, if somewhat cautious, way. While
key players in Australia’s financial markets certainly support the initiatives,
it is worth noting that the Australian Financial Markets Association actually
wanted a greater increase in the issuance of Treasury bonds than the $5.3
billion increase which the Government is willing to effect.[26]
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of Australia
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Morag Donaldson
13 June 2008
Bills Digest Service
Parliamentary Library
© Commonwealth of Australia
This work is copyright. Except to the extent of uses permitted by the
Copyright Act 1968, no person may reproduce or transmit any part of this
work by any process without the prior written consent of the Parliamentary
Librarian. This requirement does not apply to members of the Parliament
of Australia acting in the course of their official duties.
This work has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament
using information available at the time of production. The views expressed
do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor
do they constitute professional legal opinion.
Feedback is welcome and may be provided to: web.library@aph.gov.au.
Any concerns or complaints should be directed to the Parliamentary Librarian.
Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications
with Senators and Members and their staff. To access this service, clients
may contact the author or the Library’s Central Entry Point for
referral.
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