BILLS DIGEST NO. 83, 2013–14              16 June 2014

Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013-2014 [and] Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013-2014

Tarek Dale and Daniel Weight
Economics Section 

Date introduced: 13 May 2014

House:  House of Representatives

Portfolio: Finance

Commencement:  Royal Assent

Links: The links to the Bills, their Explanatory Memoranda and second reading speeches can be found on the Bills’ home pages for the Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014 and the Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014, or through http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation

When Bills have been passed and have received Royal Assent, they become Acts, which can be found at the ComLaw website at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/.

The Bills Digest at a glance

Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014 underpin the Government’s decisions relating to the 2013–14 financial year, taken since the 2013–14 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). Additional Appropriation Bills tabled late in the year allow the Government to fund new programs announced in the Budget, but which commence before the start of the next financial year, and make other technical adjustments in anticipation of the next year’s Budget.

This Bills Digest contains background material including the Constitutional and other requirements for Appropriation Bills, and a summary of the information available on the purpose of the appropriations, including any gross or net amounts identified for redundancy payments.

Purpose of the Bill

The Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014 (the No. 5 Bill) seeks to appropriate $337,434,000 out of the consolidated revenue fund (CRF) for the ordinary annual services of the Government.

The Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014 (the No. 6 Bill) seeks to appropriate $972,365,000 out of the CRF for the other services of the Government that are not the ordinary annual services of the Government.

Structure of the Bill

Part 1 of each Bill deals with preliminary matters, including when the Acts commence, and how to interpret them.

Part 2 of each Bill outlines the quantum and types of appropriation from the consolidated revenue fund.

Part 3 of each Bill includes mechanisms for the Finance Minister to reduce the amount appropriated, and replenish the Finance Minister’s Advances.

Part 4 of the No. 6 Bill deals with the drawing right limits (an administrative restriction on spending, but not an appropriation).

Part 4 of the No. 5 Bill and Part 5 of the No. 6 Bill provide for several technical matters, including details relating to special accounts, formally appropriating the amounts required from the consolidated revenue fund, and the conditions applying to payments to state, territory and local governments.

Schedule 1 of each Bill provides detailed information about the appropriations to be made to the departments and bodies under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (‘CAC Act bodies’) listed.

Background

Appropriations

An appropriation is the legal release of moneys from the consolidated revenue fund (CRF).[1] The annual Appropriation Acts are the authoritative source for details of annual appropriations provided to agencies. The Acts take precedence over budget papers, portfolio budget statements and other associated materials.

There are certain unique constitutional requirements that a Bill proposing to appropriate moneys must satisfy. An appropriation Bill must also comply with certain presentational requirements.

Constitutional requirements

Section 81 of the Constitution provides that:

All revenues or moneys raised or received by the Executive Government of the Commonwealth shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund [CRF], to be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth …[2]

Section 83 of the Constitution provides that no money may be withdrawn from the CRF ‘except under appropriation made by law’.

The effect of these two sections is that all moneys received by the Commonwealth must be paid into the CRF, and must not be spent before there is an appropriation authorising specific expenditure.

Appropriation Acts do not create a source of power for the Commonwealth to spend money; they merely release that money from the CRF. The Commonwealth’s power to spend money must be found in other parts of the Constitution.[3]

Proposed laws appropriating moneys may not originate in the Senate.[4] Further, under section 56 of the Constitution, all proposed laws for the appropriation of money may only be introduced following a recommendation by the Governor-General.[5] As—by convention—the Governor–General only acts upon the advice of the Executive, this provision of the Constitution prevents non–government members of the House of Representatives introducing Bills that would propose to appropriate money from the CRF.[6]

The ‘ordinary annual services of government’ versus ‘other’ services of government

Section 54 of the Constitution requires that there be a separate law appropriating funds for the ‘ordinary annual services of government’, and that other matters must not be dealt with in the same Bill.[7] However, what constitutes the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ and ‘other’ services of the Government is not defined in the Constitution.

In the High Court case of Combet v Commonwealth, Gleeson CJ noted:

Section 53 of the Constitution provides that the Senate may not amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of government. Legislation appropriating funds for the costs and expenses of maintaining the ordinary annual services of government is dealt with separately from legislation dealing, for example, with extraordinary charges and appropriations. Quick and Garran wrote that "[t]he ordinary annual services include the various public departments manned and equipped to carry on the general work of the Government departments, such as customs and excise, posts and telegraphs, light-houses, light-ships, and quarantine, naval and military defence, the money to pay for which is voted by Parliament from year to year". The authors were writing at a time when the role of the Commonwealth was more modest than at present, but the idea they convey remains true…[8]

A working distinction between ordinary and other annual services was agreed in a ‘Compact’ between the Senate and the Government in 1965.[9] The substance of the compact is reflected in the following 1977 resolution of the Senate:

1. To reaffirm its constitutional right to amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for expenditure on all matters not involving the ordinary annual services of the Government.

2. That appropriations for expenditure on:

(a) the construction of public works and buildings;

(b) the acquisition of sites and buildings;

(c) items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure;

(d) grants to the States under Section 96 of the Constitution; and

(e) new policies not previously authorised by special legislation;

are not appropriations for the ordinary annual services of the government and that proposed laws for the appropriation of revenue or moneys for expenditure on the said matters shall be presented to the Senate in a separate Appropriation Bill subject to amendment by the Senate.[10]

In 1999 the Compact was altered to reflect the adoption of accrual accounting. The adjustments provided that:

(i) items regarded as equity injections and loans be regarded as not part of ordinary annual services

(ii) all appropriation items for continuing activities for which appropriations have been made in the past be regarded as part of ordinary annual services

(iii) all appropriations for existing asset replacement be regarded as provision for depreciation and part of ordinary annual services.[11]

Adherence to the compact has not always been strict, and the High Court has held that any disagreements between the Houses are not justiciable.[12] Any disputes are to be determined between the Houses themselves.

The Senate’s powers

Section 53 of the Constitution provides, among other things, that the Senate may not amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government. The Senate may, however, return to the House of Representatives any such proposed laws requesting, by message, the omission or amendment of any items or provisions.

The Senate may amend proposed laws appropriating revenue for purposes other than for the ordinary annual services of the Government, as long as it does not ‘increase any proposed charge or burden on the people.’[13] Conceivably, the Senate could amend an appropriation Bill for the other services of government so as to, for example, redirect the proposed appropriation to another purpose, or reduce the proposed appropriation to nil. The Senate may also request that, if new measures are included in a Bill for the ‘ordinary annual services of government’, the Bill be returned to the House with a message requesting those new measures be omitted from the Bill.

Appropriations through the year

Budget

Each year, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) is introduced with the Budget and appropriates funds for the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’. Appropriation Bill (No. 2)—which is also introduced with the Budget—appropriates funds for other annual services. A third Appropriation Bill—Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1)—funds the parliamentary departments.

Additional estimates

Funding requirements usually change after the Budget is brought down. The Government may require additional funding if the amounts in the three Budget Appropriation Acts are inadequate. If so, the Government has to seek parliamentary approval for the additional expenditure. The process whereby additional funds are provided is called ‘additional estimates’ and usually begins around November of the Budget year. The approved additional funding is incorporated into Appropriation Bills (No. 3) and (No. 4) and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2). These Bills are the counterparts of Appropriation Bills (No. 1) and (No. 2) and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) respectively.

Supplementary Additional Estimates

In some years, the Government may decide to introduce further Appropriation Bills following the additional estimates process. When this occurs, it is often done at the same time as the next year’s Budget Bills are tabled. Additional Appropriation Bills tabled late in the year allow the Government to fund new programs announced in the Budget, but which commence before the start of the next financial year, and make other technical adjustments in anticipation of the next year’s Budget.

Section 32 transfers

Following the election in September 2013 there were significant changes to portfolio structures, with a number of responsibilities moved between portfolios. Section 32 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMAA 1997) specifies that the Finance Minister may make a determination to effectively reallocate appropriations between portfolios (but not change the total amount).[14] Some Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements (the supporting documents for Appropriation Bills No. 5 and 6) list amounts related to section 32 transfers, while others appear to only record new changes after any relevant section 32 transfers.[15]

Special or ‘standing’ appropriations

In addition to the annual appropriation Bills, a number of other pieces of legislation contain appropriations (special or ‘standing’ appropriations) that enable payments to be made in relation to a variety of programs and purposes. Payments enabled by special appropriations are not affected by the passage of either of the annual Appropriation Bills. Some examples include:

•       welfare payments and pensions are enabled by a special appropriation in the Social Security Act 1999

•       Medicare payments are enabled by a special appropriation in the Health Insurance Act 1973

•       payments of the interest and principal on Australia’s debt are provided for by standing appropriations in sections 13AA, 13A, and 13B of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 and

•       payments to the states and territories are provided for by a special appropriation in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

The 2014–15 Budget estimated an expenditure of $320,643,884,000 from special appropriations in 2014–15, in comparison to $88,189,104,000 appropriated through Appropriation Bills No. 1 and 2, and $206,319,000 appropriated through the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2014–2015.[16]

Presentational requirements

Departmental and administered expenses

Australian Accounting Standard 1050 Administered Items requires that government agencies distinguish between revenues and expenses that they administer for the Government, and those over which they have some control.[17] Generally, administered expenses are the costs of programs that agencies run for the Government, while departmental expenses are the costs incurred in running agencies.

Appropriation Bills, therefore, distinguish between ‘administered’ expenses and ‘departmental’ expenses. An administered appropriation may only be used for the program or outcome that it is appropriated for, while a departmental appropriation may be moved between different departmental activities.[18]

Outcomes and programs

While the level of detail necessary for an Appropriation Act to be valid is generally low,[19] in the Pharmaceutical Benefits case[20] the High Court held that:

… there cannot be appropriations in blank, appropriations for no designated purpose, merely authorising expenditure ...

The Appropriation Bills must, therefore, also describe—in general terms—what the moneys are to be utilised for. This is done by allocating both departmental and administered appropriations to specific outcomes. Each outcome pursued by an agency will have one or more programs contributing to that outcome. The Department of Finance describes the distinction between outcomes and programs as follows:

Government outcomes are the intended results, impacts or consequences of actions by the Government on the Australian community. Commonwealth programmes are the primary vehicle by which government agencies achieve the intended results of their outcome statements.[21]

Advance to the Finance Minister

The Advance to the Finance Minister (AFM) is the appropriation of moneys to the Finance Minister without any particular outcome or purpose specified. The AFM is established in the first two Appropriation Acts each year, and is subsequently replenished whenever supplementary Appropriation Acts are passed. The Finance Minister may allocate the moneys appropriated as AFM to outcomes already provided for in that same Appropriation Act where the Finance Minister is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure, in the current year, that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in the existing Appropriation Act:

•       because of an erroneous omission or understatement or

•       the expenditure was unforeseen until after the last day on which it was practicable to provide for it in the Bill for the Act before that Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives.

The amount of appropriation allocated to the AFM each year has typically been limited to
$295 million for the ordinary annual services of government, and $380 million for the other annual services of government.[22]

Financial implications

The No. 5 Bill seeks to appropriate $337,434,000 from the CRF.[23] The No. 6 Bill seeks to appropriate $972,365,000 from the CRF.[24] The total amount of money sought to be appropriated by the two Bills is $1,309,799 000.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

The Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights can be found at page 4 of the Explanatory Memoranda to the Bills. As required under Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth), the Government has assessed the Bills’ compatibility with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of that Act. The Government considers that the Bills are compatible.

Key issues and provisions

Key provisions

Part 1 of each of the No. 5 and No. 6 Bills deals with preliminary matters, including when the Acts commence, and how to interpret the Acts. Clause 4 of each of the No. 5 and No. 6 Bills provides that the accompanying Portfolio Statements may be used as extrinsic materials to interpret the Acts.[25]

Part 2 of each of the No. 5 and No. 6 Bills outlines the quantum and types of appropriation from the consolidated revenue fund.

In the No. 5 Bill, the money is appropriated to departments or CAC Act bodies as either a departmental or administered appropriation—according to proposed Schedule 1 of that Bill.[26]

In the No. 6 Bill, the money is appropriated to departments and CAC Act bodies as either:

•       grants to the states, territories and local governments (see also clause 18 below)

•       new administered programs or

•       non-operating (or ‘capital’) appropriations.[27]

These three types of appropriations cannot be included in the No. 5 Bill as they do not relate to the ‘ordinary annual services of Government’.

Part 3 of both the No. 5 and No. 6 Bills includes mechanisms for the Finance Minister to reduce the amount appropriated, and for replenishing the Finance Minister’s Advances.

The reduction mechanisms effectively allow the Finance Minister to retain any moneys that have been appropriated but that are no longer required due to reductions in the program costs or changes in government priorities.

Part 4 of the No. 6 Bill deals with drawing right limits. Clause 16 sets appropriation limits for provisions of specific Acts – in this case, increasing the drawing rights limits for the Building Australia Fund by $249,990,000 to $1,198,990,000.[28]

Part 4 of the No. 5 Bill and Part 5 of the No. 6 Bill deal with several technical matters. Clause 14 of the No. 5 Bill and clause 17 of the No. 6 Bill ensure that if an appropriation is made for purposes that are covered by a Special Account, then the Special Account is replenished by the same amount as the appropriation. Clause 15 in the No. 5 Bill and clause 19 in the No. 6 Bill contain the provisions formally appropriating moneys from the CRF.

The intent of clause 18 in the No. 6 Bill is unclear. Clause 18 relates to conditions applying to payments to state, territory and local governments. Specifically, it seeks to ensure that financial assistance provided by the Commonwealth accords with the conditions established by the Minister in the relevant part of Schedule 1; however in this case Schedule 1 of the No. 6 Bill does not list the relevant Ministers. Typically annual Appropriation Bills that are not for the ordinary annual services of Government or for the Parliamentary departments (the even numbered Appropriation Bills; that is, Appropriation Bill No. 2 [Budget] and No. 4
[Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook]) include a Schedule 1 that specifies the Minister responsible for determining conditions, prior to a Schedule 2 which specifies the details of appropriations.[29] In Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014 only one schedule is included (Schedule 1), which provides detailed information about the appropriations to be made, but does not list any Ministers.

It appears that the inclusion of only one Schedule to the No. 6 Bill may be a drafting error, as that Bill makes numerous references to a non-existent Schedule 2.[30]

Schedule 1 in each of the No. 5 and No. 6 Bills provides detailed information about the appropriations to be made to the departments and CAC Act bodies listed.

Items associated with appropriations under Appropriation Bills 5 and 6 (2013–14)

The Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements (PSAESs) provide information on the additional appropriations included in Appropriation Bills 5 and 6, however the level of detail provided varies between portfolios. The following information summarises what detail is available from the PSAESs, the Appropriation Bills and the second reading speeches.

The appropriation amounts do not directly reflect the funding attached to particular measures – rather, the appropriation to a particular agency or department reflects the net appropriation requirements in 2013–14 after the interaction of a number of policy changes and other factors.

Agriculture Portfolio

•       The No. 5 Bill contains a departmental appropriation for $19.581 million. Of this, $19.114 million is to fund redundancies, while $0.467 million is associated with the Support to Drought Affected Farmers measure.[31]

•       The No. 6 Bill contains an appropriation for $40 million for non-operating administered assets and liabilities, which relates to drought concessional loans available in 2013–14 under the Support to Drought Affected Farmers measure.[32]

Attorney-General’s Portfolio

•       The Attorney-General’s Department will receive appropriations of:

–      $1.995 million in departmental appropriations

–      $0.914 million in administered appropriations and

–      $5.043 million in non-operating administered assets and liabilities.

•       The Australian Crime Commission will receive appropriations of $0.795 million to fund redundancies.[33]

•       The Australian National Maritime Museum will receive appropriations of $1.137 million to fund redundancies.[34]

•       The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia will receive appropriations of $1.26 million to fund redundancies.[35]

•       The National Museum of Australia will receive appropriations of $0.27 million to fund redundancies.[36]

•       Old Parliament House will receive a departmental appropriation of $0.168 million, which matches the amount in the PSAES for redundancies.[37]

Defence Portfolio

•       The Department of Defence will receive:

–      $58.495 million in departmental appropriations, which the Parliamentary Secretary to the Finance Minister identified as being related to:

•       ‘supplementation for Operation Southern Indian Ocean

•       Defence real estate sales and

•       foreign exchange movements’.[38]

–      $603.103 million as a non-operating equity injection. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance identified three ‘matters’ underlying this appropriation:

•       ‘the purchase of foreign military assets

•       supplementation for foreign exchange movements and

•       the re-appropriation of amounts between Appropriation Acts to better align with Defence’s current work programmes’.[39]

Environment Portfolio

•       The Department of the Environment will receive $2.716 million in departmental appropriations. This is the net requirement for funding of $9 million for redundancies, offset by the transfer of Indigenous policy areas to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and a reduction in spending on other programs.[40]

•       The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority will receive departmental appropriations of $0.42 million to fund redundancies.[41]

Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio

•       The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will receive $15.966 million in administered appropriations. This represents the net requirement of an increase in funding of $4.878 million in 2013–14 for the Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund, a $11.923 million ‘adjustment for payments made on behalf of Austrade’, a negative adjustment of $0.385 million for the administration of the New Colombo Plan, and a decrease of $0.45 million for a ‘transfer across financial years for the Bali Peace Park’.[42]

•       The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) will receive $0.626 million in funding; this is the net requirement after $0.76 million to fund redundancies, and a reduction of $0.134 million following the transfer of the Tourism International Policy division.[43]

Health Portfolio

•       The Department of Health will receive $10.085 million in departmental appropriations, reflecting the net effect of a number of policy changes, including $0.75 million for funding redundancies (see the Department of Health PSAES for further detail in relation to particular policy measures). The Department of Health will also receive $1.07 million in administered funding, also reflecting the net impact in 2013–14 of a number of policy changes.[44]

•       The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency will receive appropriations of $0.48 million to fund redundancies.[45]

•       The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority will receive appropriations of $0.671 million to fund redundancies.[46]

•       Food Standards Australia New Zealand will receive appropriations of $0.75 million to fund redundancies.[47]

Immigration Portfolio

•       The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service will receive appropriations of $6.986 million; this is a net requirement, after funding of $10.5 million for redundancies, offset by other policy and administrative changes.[48]

Industry Portfolio

•       The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation will receive appropriations of $0.26 million to fund redundancies.[49]

•       The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation will receive appropriations of $21.1 million. This is a net requirement after redundancy funding of $32.2 million and savings of $11.1 million in the 2013–14 financial year associated with the ‘Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation – Marine National Facility research vessel – continuation’ Budget measure.[50]

•       Geoscience Australia will receive appropriations of $4.295 million. This is a net amount, after funding of $4.464 million for redundancies, and a savings measure of $0.169 million.[51]

Infrastructure and Regional Development Portfolio

•       The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development will receive appropriations of $294.854 million for payments to states, territories and local government. The Department’s PSAES notes that the ‘variations are due to movements of administered funds between years and estimates adjustments announced since the 2013–14 Additional Estimates’.[52] The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance stated that this funding was for ‘off-network road projects, where milestones have been reached earlier than anticipated’.[53]

•       The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will receive departmental appropriations of $11.167 million; this reflects the net requirement after a number of smaller measures in addition to funding of $10.414 million for the measure ‘Malaysia Airline Flight MH370 – search’, and funding of $0.795 million for redundancies in 2013–14. The ATSB has been allocated $1.34 million in total for redundancies, with an additional $0.545 million allocated for 2014–15.[54]

Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio

•       The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) will receive:

–      a departmental appropriation of $40.206 million, which reflects the net requirement after both transfers from other departments (primarily with the shift of Indigenous policy to the Prime Minister’s Portfolio), and funding of $25 million for redundancies[55]

–      an administered appropriation of $128.862 million, reflecting transfers from other departments

–      an appropriation of $23.837 million for payments to state, territory and local governments, which appears to match a line entry in the PSAES for ‘Transfer from the Department of Education’[56] and

–      an appropriation of $5.528 million listed as ‘equity injection’.[57]

Social Services Portfolio

•       The Department of Social Services will receive a departmental appropriation of $6.272 million. This is a net amount, reflecting a number of policy changes including changes associated with the ‘Support to Drought Affected Farmers’, ‘Cessation of the Seniors Supplement – Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders’, and $13.3 million in funding for redundancies.[58]

Funding for redundancies

The 2013–14 MYEFO included a provision in the Contingency Reserve for ‘the unfunded redundancies associated with the reduction of 14,473 APS [Australian Public Service] staff implicit in the former Government’s policy settings’.[59] The 2013–14 MYEFO also included a measure in the Finance Portfolio entitled ‘Funding for pre-existing measures affecting the public sector’. That measure description stated:

The Government will provide additional funding to selected agencies for redundancies in 2013–14 and 2014–15 … Funding will be provided following an agency by agency assessment of the need for funding to reduce staffing levels …[60]

A number of PSAESs (but not all) identify increased funding provided in connection to this MYEFO policy measure. The departmental appropriation for a given agency or department through the No. 5 Appropriation Bill is a net amount, and therefore reflects both amounts allocated through the MYEFO measure and other policy and parameter changes.[61] In some cases the PSAESs identify the total amounts for 2013–14 that are linked to the MYEFO measure; the Infrastructure 2014–15 Portfolio Budget Statement identifies the total funding (over multiple financial years) linked to the MYEFO measure for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.[62] The following table identifies information available from the PSAESs (and where possible, portfolio budget statements) on redundancy funding. Unless otherwise noted, amounts reflect funding allocated to the 2013–14 financial year.

Table 1: Redundancy funding

Portfolio

Organisation

Redundancy funding ($’000)

Agriculture

Department of Agriculture

19,114

Attorney-General’s

Australian Crime Commission

795

Australian National Maritime Museum

1,137

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

1,260

National Museum of Australia

270

Old Parliament House

168

Environment

Department of the Environment

9,000

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

420

Foreign Affairs and Trade

Australian Trade Commission

760

Health

Department of Health

750

Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

480

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority

671

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

750

Immigration and Border Protection

Department of Immigration and Border Protection/Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

10,500

Industry

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

260

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

32,200

Geoscience Australia

4,464

Infrastructure and Regional Development

Australian Transport Safety Bureau (a)

1,340

Prime Minister and Cabinet

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

25,000

Social Services

Department of Social Services

13,300

Total

122,639

Source: Various PSAESs and Portfolio Budget statements, as listed above.

(a) The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau has been allocated $1.34m in total over the 2013–14 and 2014–15 financial years. Those PSAESs which did list redundancy costs typically only listed amounts in the 2013–14 financial year; it is unclear whether any additional funding has been allocated in the 2014–15 financial year.

Based on the information available in the PSAESs, $122.6 million has been allocated to fund redundancies across 20 departments and agencies in relation to the 2013–14 financial year. The Finance Minister stated that ‘last year’s MYEFO corrected this legacy issue by provisioning in the Contingency Reserve for what had been unfunded redundancies associated with these reductions’.[63] While the MYEFO measure allocates funding for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 financial years, details are not yet available for funding in the 2014–15 financial year.

Members, Senators and Parliamentary staff can obtain further information from the Parliamentary Library on (02) 6277 2500.

[1].              See: Department of Finance and Deregulation, ‘Annual appropriation rules - summarised’, Department of Finance and Deregulation website, 18 May 2010, accessed 3 June 2014.

[2].              Constitution, section 81, accessed 12 June 2014.

[3].              Pape v Commissioner of Taxation [2009] HCA 23 (7 July 2009), accessed 12 June 2014.

[4].              Constitution, section 53.

[5].              Constitution, section 56.

[6].              IC Harris, ed., House of Representatives practice, fifth edn, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 2005, p. 410, accessed 5 June 2014.

[7].              Ibid.

[8].              Combet v Commonwealth (2005) 224 CLR 494; [2005] HCA 61 (21 October 2005) at paragraph 8 and 9, emphasis added, accessed 12 June 2014.

[9].              See: H Evans and R Laing, Odgers’ Australian Senate practice, thirteenth edn, The Senate, Canberra, 2012, chapter 13, accessed 5 June 2014.

[10].              A Missen, ‘Speech’, Senate, Debates, 17 February 1977, p. 3, accessed 5 June 2014.

[11].              Department of the Senate, Odgers’ Australian Senate practice, op. cit.

[12].              Osborne v Commonwealth (1911) 12 CLR 321, per Griffith CJ at 336, accessed 12 June 2014.

[13].              Constitution, section 53.

[14].              Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, accessed 14 June 2014.

[15].              See for example Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Social Services Portfolio, pp. 7–11, accessed 6 June 2014.

[16].              Australian Government, Agency resourcing: budget paper no. 4: 2014–15, p. 75; Parliament of Australia, ‘Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2014–2015 homepage’, clause 6; ‘Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2014–2015 homepage’, clause 6; ‘Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2014–2015 homepage’, clause 6, Australian Parliament website, accessed 12 June 2014.

[17].               Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), Administered items, AASB 1050, December 2007, accessed 5 June 2014.

[18].              Combet v Commonwealth, op. cit., at paragraph 123.

[19].              See generally, Combet v Commonwealth, op. cit.

[20].               Attorney-General (Vic); Ex rel Dale v Commonwealth (‘Pharmaceutical Benefits case’) (1945) 71 CLR 237, per Latham CJ at 253, accessed 12 June 2014.

[21].              Department of Finance, Guidance for the preparation of the 2014–15 portfolio budget statements, Commonwealth of Australia, March 2014, p. 21, accessed 5 June 2014.

[22].              Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014, clause 13; Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014, clause 15.              

[23].              Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014, clause 6.

[24].              Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014, clause 6.

[25].              The portfolio statements are relevant documents for the purposes of section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

[26].              Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014, Schedule 1— Services for which money is appropriated.

[27].              Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014, Schedule 1— Services for which money is appropriated.

[28].              See subsection 16(1) of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2013–14, accessed 14 June 2014.

[29].              See for example Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2013–2014 or Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2014–2015, accessed 13 June 2014.

[30].              See definitions of ‘administered assets and liabilities item’ and ‘administered item’, ‘CAC Act body payment item’, ‘other departmental item’, ‘State, ACT, NT and local government item’ in clause 3, and clauses 6, 9, 11 of the Bill.

[31].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Agriculture Portfolio, p. 5, accessed 6 June 2014.

[32].              Ibid., p. 4; M McCormack, ‘Second reading speech: Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014’, House of Representatives, Debates, 13 May 2014, p. 68, accessed 6 June 2014.

[33].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Attorney–General’s Portfolio, p. 7, accessed 6 June 2014.

[34].              Ibid., p. 9. Because the Australian National Maritime Museum is a body under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act, the appropriation is listed as an administered appropriation under ‘Payments to CAC Act bodies’; this also applies to other CAC Act bodies.

[35].              Ibid., p. 11.

[36].              Ibid., p. 13.

[37].              Ibid., p. 15.

[38].              M McCormack, ‘Second reading speech: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–2014’, House of Representatives, Debates, 13 May 2014, p. 68, accessed 6 June 2014.

[39].              M McCormack, ‘Second reading speech: Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014’, op. cit., p. 68.

[40].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14: Environment Portfolio, pp. 3–4, accessed 6 June 2014.

[41].              Ibid., p. 9.

[42].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio, p. 3, accessed 6 June 2014.

[43].              Ibid., p. 9.

[44].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013-14: Health Portfolio, pp. 16–19, accessed 6 June 2014.

[45].              Ibid., p. 21.

[46].              Ibid., p. 24.

[47].              Ibid., p. 27.

[48].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio, p. 12, accessed 6 June 2014.

[49].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Industry Portfolio, p. 6, accessed 6 June 2014.

[50].              Ibid., p. 13; and Australian Government, Budget measures: budget paper no. 2: 2014–15, p. 164, accessed 6 June 2014.

[51].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Industry Portfolio, op. cit., p. 19.

[52].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Infrastructure and Regional Development Portfolio, p. 5, accessed 6 June 2014.

[53].              M McCormack, ‘Second reading speech: Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–2014’, op. cit., p. 68.

[54].              Australian Government, Portfolio budget statements 2014–15: budget related paper no. 1.13: Infrastructure and Regional Development Portfolio, p. 171, accessed 6 June 2014.

[55].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio, p. 2, accessed 6 June 2014.

[56].              Ibid., p. 2.

[57].              Ibid., p. 2.

[58].              Australian Government, Portfolio supplementary additional estimates statements 2013–14: Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013–14 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013–14: Social Services Portfolio, op. cit., pp. 7–11.

[59].              J Hockey (Treasurer) and M Cormann (Finance Minister), Mid-year economic and fiscal outlook 2013–14, p. 20, accessed 6 June 2014.

[60].              Ibid., p. 147; see also J Hockey (Treasurer), Labor’s hidden job cuts and unfunded redundancies, media release, 19 November 2013 and M Cormann (Finance Minister), Budget 2014: Budget does include funding for Labor’s Public Service job cuts, 16 May 2014, accessed 6 June 2014.

[61].              In the case of CAC Act bodies the appropriation may be an administered appropriation.

[62].              See for example Australian Government, Portfolio budget statements 2014–15: budget related papers no. 1.13: Infrastructure and Regional Development Portfolio, op. cit., p. 171.

[63].              M Cormann (Finance Minister), Budget 2014: Budget does include funding for Labor’s Public Service job cuts, op. cit.