Bills Digest No. 155 2001-02
Appropriation Bill (No.2) 2002-2003
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
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage
History
Appropriation Bill (No.2) 2002-2003
Date Introduced: 14 May
2002
House: House of
Representatives
Portfolio: Finance and
Administration
Commencement: Royal
Assent
To appropriate $6 120 821 000
for payments for purposes other than the ordinary services of
government, including capital expenditure, administered expenses
for new outcomes and grants to the States and Territories.
The $6 120 821 000 appropriated by this Bill
compares to $4 524 716 000 in 2001-02 and
$5 128 526 000 in 2000-01. A concise assessment of
the 2002-03 Budget can be found in a forthcoming Parliamentary
Library publication Implications: Budget 2002-03. An
overview of the process and context of appropriation bills can be
found in another Library publication The Commonwealth Budget:
Process and Presentation.(1)
Under section 83 of the Constitution, no monies may be drawn
from Treasury except 'under an appropriation made by law'.
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2002-03, together with the Appropriation
Bill (No.2) 2002-03 and the Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) 2002-03, are introduced in May each year for the
annual appropriations of Government. Where additional funds are
needed later in the year it is common for further Appropriation
Bills to be introduced and these are known as the additional
estimates. Historically, annual appropriations comprise
approximately 25 per cent of agency expenses. The remaining 75 per
cent comes from special or standing appropriations and income
receipts.
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) provides for the appropriation of
money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual
services of government. Appropriation Bill (No. 2) provides for the
appropriation of money for purposes other than the ordinary
services of government (for example, departmental capital,
administered expenses for new agency outcomes, and grants to the
States and Territories). The division of items between the Bills
accords with the 1965 'compact' between the House of
Representatives and the Senate.(2)
Details on the major new expenditure initiatives announced in
the Budget are contained in the Digest for the Appropriation Bill
(No.1) 2002-03.
Significant expenditure measures are indicated below.
|
Measure
|
2002-03
|
5 years
|
- Equity injection to the Defence Department: the equity
injection increased from the previous 2002-03 estimate by $207.8m
as a result of the contribution to the War Against Terrorism and
the measures associated with coastal surveillance and upgrades to
domestic security. They were partly funded by delaying capital
purchases from 2002-03 to 2003-04.(3)
|
$1,090.4m
|
$5,093m
|
- Administered expenses by Department of Family and Community
Services: the amounts include $1,028.2m to the States and
Territories for the Commonwealth State Housing
Agreement.(4)
|
$1,951.9m
|
n/a
|
The total amount appropriated by the Bill is
$6 120 821 000 (clause
6).
Schedule 1 contains
appropriations for the States and Territories.
In relation to State payment items, the Minister
for Finance may issue the lesser of:
-
- the amount specified Schedule 1; and
-
- an amount, as he or she determines, having regard to the
relevant expenses incurred by the entity in the current financial
year (clause 7).
In relation to
administered items, the same basic provisions apply (clause
8).
In relation to 'other departmental items', the Minister must
issue:
-
- the amount specified in Schedule 1,
where an entity has a direct statutory entitlement to its own
appropriation; or
-
- any lesser amounts to that specified in
Schedule 1, where an entity does not have a direct
statutory entitlement to its own appropriation (clause
10)
The Minister for Finance may increase the amounts specified in
departmental items up to a maximum of $20 million over all
departmental items (clause 10). However, where
there are unforeseen circumstances and the need is urgent, the
Minister for Finance may increase expenditure by a total of $215
million (clause 11). Parliament must be notified
of increased spending under clauses 10 and
11.
The relevant Minister listed in column 4 of Schedule 1 will be
able to determine conditions under which payments to the States and
Territories can be made (clause 14).
Clause 15 formally appropriates funds for the
Bill from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Endnotes
- Richard Webb, The Commonwealth Budget: Process and
Presentation, Research
Paper No.10 2002-03, 19 March 2002.
- Webb, op. cit., p. 16.
- Department of Defence, Portfolio
Budget Statements 2002-03, p. 72.
- Department of Family and Community Services,
Portfolio Budget Statements 2002-03, p. 96.
Nathan Hancock
27 May 2002
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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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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