Bills Digest No. 103 2001-02
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2)
2001-2002
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
Main Provisions
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Bill (No. 2) 2001-2002
Date Introduced: 14 February 2002
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Finance and Administration
Commencement: Royal Assent
Purpose
To authorise the
Minister for Finance to issue $474 000 from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund (CRF), in addition to funds appropriated by the
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1)
2001-2002, for the operation of the Parliamentary Departments
during 2001-2002.
The 2001-2002 budgets for the Parliamentary
Departments have been prepared using an accrual basis and provide
funding for departmental outcomes, administered expenses and
capital items.
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, known as the additional estimates.
The Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Act (No. 1) 2001-2002 appropriated a total of
$164 761 000.00 for all five departments for the
2001-2002 financial year. The Schedule to the Act dealt with the
allocation of expenditure for each Department. Appropriations for
2001-2002, with the previous year's figures in brackets, are as
follows:
House of Representatives - $29 111 000
($27 598 000)
Senate - $29 748 000 -
($29 252 000)
Joint House Department - $44 927 000
($38 581 000)
Parliamentary Reporting Staff -
$44 146 000 ($42 239 000)
Parliamentary Library - $16 829 000
($16 499 000)
Total -
$164 761 000
($154 328 000)
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.
The additional appropriations sought by this
Bill for the Parliamentary Departments for 2001 - 2002 is:
Department of the Parliamentary Library
$474 000
The rationale given by the Government in the
Second Reading Speech to the Bill for seeking the additional
appropriation is that the increase sought " relates solely to
increased depreciation and capital use charge expenses arising from
a revaluation of the library collection in the Department of the
Parliamentary Library."
The following explanation is given by the
Department of the Parliamentary Library in its Portfolio
Additional Estimates Statement 2001-2002 for the additional
appropriation:
"The additional appropriation of $0.474m in
2001-2002 is for Output 2. This amount includes;
-
- $0.260m supplementation for depreciation expenses resulting
from revaluation of Library Collection undertaken at 30 June 2001:
and
- $0.214m increase in the capital use charge following changes to
the net assets resulting from the revaluation undertaken at 30 June
2001 and a reduction in the capital use charge rate from 12% to
11%." http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/corp/pbs/paes.pdf
Accrual budgeting allows for the incorporation
of all assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues, including cash
receipts and expenditures. Under accrual budgeting, agencies are
funded for the full cost of their functions, including non-cash
costs such as depreciation or employee entitlements. Thus the
amount an agency is appropriated under accrual budgeting in any one
year may exceed its cash costs. Any unspent amount is accumulated
for use in future years when required for example accumulated
depreciation to replace assets and equipment.
Each agency is required to revalue its assets
every three years so that it has a true picture of their worth. On
30 June 2001 the Department of the Parliamentary Library revalued
its library collection and found that the collection had increased
in value over the preceding three years. Depreciation on the
collection at its new value over its remaining life will now be at
a higher rate. In other words, because it will cost more to replace
the collection at its increased value, more must be set aside for
depreciation. The amount sought in the additional estimates for
this purpose is $260 000.
The Department of Finance and Administration
levies a charge on each agency for its use of Commonwealth assets.
The charge was levied at a rate of 12 per cent of the value of an
agency s assets. This rate was reduced to 11 per cent of the value
of an agency s assets. An increase in the value for the Library s
collection has resulted in a higher capital use charge. It is for
this reason that the Department of the Parliamentary Library is
seeking additional funding of $214 000.
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 6 lists the total amount
appropriated by the Bill - that is $474 000.
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 relevant 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 during the current year.
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.
It should be noted that resources received free of charge are not
covered by section 31 receipts but are part of the price of
outputs. 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 and urgent
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 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund the funds for the
Bill.
Ian Ireland
13 March 2002
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2002
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
2002.
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