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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1)
2000-2001
Date Introduced: 9 May 2000
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Finance and Administration
Commencement: Royal Assent
To appropriate $154.492 million for the
recurrent and capital expenditure of the five parliamentary
departments for the 2000-2001 financial year.
The 2000-2001 budgets for the parliamentary
departments have been prepared using an accrual basis and provide
funding for departmental outcomes, administered expenses and
capital items. For a discussion of accrual budgeting and its role
in public sector management reform see the recent Department of the
Parliamentary Library Research Note entitled Accrual Budgeting:
State of Play by Rose Verspaandonk.(1)
Since 1982, the appropriations for the
parliamentary departments have been effected by a separate Bill.
This followed the Fraser Government's consideration of the Report
of the Senate Select Committee on Parliamentary Appropriations and
Staffing which was tabled on 18 August 1981.
Under current arrangements, the executive
government maintains control over the contents of the Bill as
introduced. In theory however, as the Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Bill is not for the ordinary annual services of the
government, it may be amended by the Senate.
The Parliamentary Service Act 1999
provides that the administration of the Parliament is undertaken by
five Parliamentary Departments - the Department of the Senate, the
Department of the House of Representatives, the Joint House
Department, the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff and
the Department of the Parliamentary Library.
The Department of the House of Representatives
and the Department of the Senate are responsible for providing
procedural advice, information and administrative support to
Members and Senators respectively. The Joint House Department
performs building management and maintenance services, and provides
a range of commercial support services and facilities in Parliament
House. The Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff provides
broadcasting, transcription and information technology services to
the Parliament, and the Department of the Parliamentary Library is
responsible for the provision of information services, research and
policy analysis.
The primary source of funds for each of the
parliamentary departments is the annual Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill, supplemented as required by a
second bill introduced with the government's supplementary
appropriation bills.
The Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments)
Bill (No. 1) 2000-2001 appropriates a total of $154.492 million for
all five departments for the 2000-2001 financial year. The Schedule
in the Bill deals with the allocation of expenditure for each
Department. Appropriations for 2000-2001, with the previous year's
figures in brackets, are as follows:
|
House of Representatives
|
$27.165 m
|
($27.841 m)
|
|
Senate
|
$29.185 m
|
($31.471 m)
|
|
Joint House Department
|
$39.245m
|
($41.009 m)
|
|
Parliamentary Reporting Staff
|
$42.398m
|
($42.222 m)
|
|
Parliamentary Library
|
$16.499 m
|
($16.553 m)
|
|
Total
|
$154.492
|
($159.096 m)
|
In addition to appropriations from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund, certain money receipts may be credited
to a parliamentary department's operating expenses. That is, these
receipts are deemed to have been appropriated. Departments are able
to credit receipts from, for example, proceeds of the sale of
parliamentary and educational materials, and resources received
free of charge, such as from the National Library of Australia or
the Australian National Audit Office.
Under amendments proposed to the Financial
Management and Accountability Act 1997 which were introduced
on 10 May 2000, GST notionally paid by parliamentary departments
will be adjusted. For an explanation of the proposed amendments see
Bills Digest No. 167, 1999-2000, 'Financial Management and
Accountability Amendment Bill 2000'.(2)
Clause 4 provides that
Portfolio Budget Statements are to be considered as relevant
extrinsic material which may assist in the interpretation of the
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) legislation. Portfolio
Budget Statements are statements prepared by portfolios (or by
departments in the case of Parliamentary Departments) to explain
the Budget appropriations in terms of outcomes. Their purpose is to
assist in explaining the proposed appropriations in the
Appropriation Bills.
Clause 7 provides that for
Departmental items, the Finance Minister may issue from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund amounts that do not exceed that listed in
the Schedule to the Bill and that such funds must be used for the
departmental expenses of the Parliamentary Department. Departmental
expenses are used to purchase programs and services provided by the
Parliamentary Department as indicated in the Portfolio Budget
Statement. Subclause 7(3) provides that where the
amount is for remuneration or allowances payable under the
Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 or the Remuneration and
Allowances Act 1990, the Minister for Finance must issue the
amount.
For administered expenses, clause
8 provides that the Finance Minister may issue the lesser
of two amounts; either the amount specified in the item or the
amount the Minister determines to be the administered expenses
incurred by the Parliamentary Department. Administered expenses are
funds administered by the Parliamentary Department on behalf of the
Commonwealth for its purposes. An example is the Citizenship Visits
Program funded jointly by the Department of the House of
Representatives and the Department of the Senate and managed by the
Department of the House of Representatives.
Under section 31 of the Financial Management
and Accountability Act 1997 departments have access to certain
monies received in payment for services. Services provided by
parliamentary departments which may attract credit receipts include
contributions from participants towards the cost of conferences and
seminars conducted by the departments, asset sales, monies for
accrued leave entitlements of transferred employees and interest
earned on fixed term deposits with the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The department's operating expenses are reduced by the expected
earnings (clause 11).
The responsible Presiding Officer/s will be able
to increase the amount allocated to an item to a total maximum of
$200 000 for both the House of Representatives and the Senate (for
these Departments this power is exercisable by the Speaker for the
House of Representatives and by the President for the Senate) and
to a total maximum of $200 000 for all the remaining Departments
combined (exercisable jointly by the Speaker and President)
(clause 12).
Clause 13 is similar to clause
12 but deals with increases in items due to unforeseen
circumstances. The maximum increase under clause 13 is a total of
$300 000 for the Senate, $300 000 for the House of Representatives,
and a total of $1 million for the other Departments combined.
Clause 16 will appropriate
formally the funds for the Bill.
- Verspaandonk, Rose, 'Accrual Budgeting: State of Play',
Department of the Parliamentary Library, Research Note,
No. 30, 1999-2000, 9 May 2000.
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1999-2000/2000rn30.pdf
- Del Villar, Katrine, ' Financial Management and Accountability
Amendment Bill 2000', Bills Digest No. 167,
1999-2000.
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bd/1999-2000/2000BD167.htm
Rosemary Bell
26 May 2000
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2000
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