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This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
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does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
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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 in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval 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
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