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User Guide
to the
Portfolio Budget Statements
Purpose of the Portfolio Budget Statements
The 2005-06 Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) provide information to the Senate about the planned outcome and outputs of the Department of the Senate (the department) and the funding proposed in the appropriation bills.
A key role of the department's PBS is to facilitate the understanding of Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2005-06. The PBS are Budget Related Papers and are declared by the appropriation bills to be ‘relevant documents’ to the interpretation of the bills according to section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
More generally, the PBS provide sufficient information, explanation and justification to enable Parliament to understand the purpose of each outcome proposed in the bills.
How to read the PBS
The PBS are presented in three sections, aligned in several ways to the Budget Papers, as outlined below.
| User Guide to the Portfolio Budget Statements |
An introduction, explaining the purpose of the PBS, the structure of the document, and styles and conventions used.
|
| Departmental Overview |
A brief overview of the department. Departmental outputs are depicted in a chart outlining the output structure.
|
| Departmental Budget Statements |
Section 1:
Appropriations |
A brief overview of the department's appropriations.
|
Section 2:
Outcome and outputs information |
A reconciliation of resourcing information from the 2004-05 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook to the 2005-06 Budget. Details the contribution of the agency’s outputs to the outcome, performance information for the outcome, outputs and administered items.
|
Section 3:
Budgeted financial statements |
The agency’s budgeted financial statements in accrual format, covering the budget year, the previous year and three out-years.
|
| Glossary |
Explains key terms. |
Departmental and administered items
Under the Australian Government’s accrual-based budgeting framework, and consistent with Australian Accounting Standards, transactions that agencies control (departmental transactions) are separately budgeted for and reported on from transactions agencies do not have control over (administered transactions). This ensures that agencies are only held fully accountable for the transactions over which they have control.
| Departmental items |
Assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in relation to an agency or authority that are controlled by the agency. Departmental expenses include employee and supplier expenses and other administrative costs, which are incurred by the agency in providing its goods and services.
|
| Administered items |
Revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities that are managed by an agency or authority on behalf of the government according to set government directions. Administered expenses include subsidies, grants and personal benefit payments and administered revenues include taxes, fees, fines and excises.
|
Appropriations in the accrual budgeting framework
In the accrual budgeting framework, separate annual appropriations are provided for:
- Departmental price of outputs appropriations: representing the government’s funding for outputs from agencies,
- Departmental capital appropriations: for investments by the government for either additional equity or loans to agencies or payments from previous years’ outputs,
- Administered expense appropriations: for the estimated administered expenses relating to an existing outcome, a new outcome or a Specific Purpose Payment to the states; and
- Administered capital appropriations: for increases in administered equity through funding non-expense Administered payments.
Special appropriations fund the majority of payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (especially those that are entitlement driven or involve transfers to State governments). The appropriation framework is discussed further in the introduction to Budget Paper No. 4: Agency Resourcing 2005-06.
Components of agency financial statements
Reporting requirements for budgeted financial statements differ between agencies (for example, according to whether the agency participates in administered transactions). Therefore, not all agencies are required to report against all schedules.
The budgeted financial statements contain the estimates prepared in accordance with the requirements of the government’s financial budgeting and reporting framework, including the principles of the Australian Accounting Standards and Statements of Accounting Concepts, as well as specific guidelines issued by the Department of Finance and Administration (DoFA). They show the planned financial performance for the 2005-06 Budget year and each of the forward years from 2006-07 to 2008-09. The statements also include the estimated actual for 2004-05 for comparative purposes.
The schedules included in the budgeted financial statements for 2005-06 are as follows.
| Statement/Schedule |
Purpose |
Budgeted departmental statement of financial performance
|
Shows the expected financial results for the agency. Identifies full accrual expenses and revenues, which highlights whether the agency is operating at a sustainable level. |
Budgeted departmental statement of financial position
|
The financial position of the agency. It helps decision makers to track the management of assets and liabilities. |
Budgeted departmental statement of cash flows
|
Provides information on the extent and nature of cash flows by categorising them into expected cash flows from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities. |
Departmental capital budget statement
|
Shows all planned departmental capital expenditure (capital expenditure on non-financial assets), whether funded through capital appropriations for additional equity or borrowings, or from funds from internal sources. |
Departmental property, plant, equipment and intangibles — summary of movement
|
Shows budgeted acquisitions and disposals of non-financial assets during the budget year. |
Schedule of budgeted revenues and expenses administered on behalf of government
|
Identifies the main revenues and expenses administered on behalf of government. |
Schedule of budgeted assets and liabilities administered on behalf of government
|
Shows the assets and liabilities administered on behalf of government. |
Schedule of budgeted administered cash flows
|
Shows cash flows administered on behalf of government. |
Abbreviations and conventions
The following notation may be used:
| DoFA |
Department of Finance and Administration |
| NEC/nec |
not elsewhere classified |
| - |
nil |
| .. |
not zero, but rounded to zero |
| na |
not applicable (unless otherwise specified) |
| nfp |
not for publication |
| $m |
$ million |
| $b |
$ billion |
Figures in tables and in the text may be rounded. Figures in text are generally rounded to one decimal place, whereas figures in tables are generally rounded to the nearest thousand. Discrepancies in tables between totals and sums of components are due to rounding.
Inquiries
Should you have any inquiries regarding this publication please contact
Mr Joe d’Angelo, Chief Finance Officer in the Department of the Senate on
(02) 6277 3077.
A copy of this document can be located on the Australian Government Budget website at: http://www.budget.gov.au.
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