BILLS DIGEST NO. 24, 2020–21              11 November 2020

Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 [and] Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021 [and] Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021

Phillip Hawkins
Economic Policy Section

Date introduced: 6 October 2020

House:  House of Representatives

Portfolio: Finance

Commencement: The Bills commence on Royal Assent

Links: The links to the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021, the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021 and the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 can be found on the relevant Bill’s home page, or through the Australian Parliament website.

When Bills have been passed and have received Royal Assent, they become Acts, which can be found at the Federal Register of Legislation website.

All hyperlinks in this Bills Digest are correct as at November 2020.

Purpose of the Bills

This Bills Digest refers to three Bills (jointly referred to as the Appropriation Bills).

The purpose of the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 (the No. 1 Bill) is to propose appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of $36,809,121,000 ($36.8 billion). This is equivalent to 5/12ths of the estimated 2020–21 annual appropriations for the ordinary annual services of Government. The balance of the appropriations for the ordinary annual services of the Government for the 2020–21 financial year ($76.4 billion) was contained in the Supply Act (No. 1) 2020–2021 (the No. 1 Supply Act) which received Royal Assent on 24 March 2020.[1]

Of the appropriations proposed in the No. 1 Bill:

•       $18,875,822,000 ($18.9 billion) is for the departmental activities of government entities and

•       $17,933,299,000 ($17.9 billion) is for activities that government entities administer on behalf of the Commonwealth Government.

The purpose of the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021 (the No. 2 Bill) is to propose appropriations in the amount of $14,854,576,000 ($14.9 billion) from the CRF. This is equivalent to 5/12ths of the 2020–21 annual appropriations that are not for the ordinary annual services of the Government. The balance of the appropriations for the other services of Government for the 2020–21 financial year was contained in the Supply Act (No. 2) 2020–2021 (the No. 2 Supply Act) which received Royal Assent on 24 March 2020.[2]

Of the appropriations proposed in the No. 2 Bill:

•       $1,318,257,000 ($1.3 billion) is for payments to states, ACT and NT and local governments and

•       $13,536,319,000 ($13.5 billion) is for non-operating activities.

The purpose of Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 (Parliamentary Departments Bill) is to propose appropriations in the amount of $141,746,000 ($141.7 million) from the CRF for expenditure related to parliamentary departments. This is equivalent to 5/12ths of the estimated 2020–21 annual appropriations for expenditure in relation to the parliamentary departments. The balance of the annual appropriations for the parliamentary departments for 2020–21 was contained in the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2020–2021 (the Parliamentary Departments Supply Act).[3]

Of the appropriations proposed in the Parliamentary Departments Bill:

•       $116,886,000 ($116.9 million) is for the activities of parliamentary departments

•       $3,810,000 ($3.8 million) is for the administrative functions of parliamentary departments and

•       $21,050,000 ($21 million) is for the non-operating expenses of the Department of Parliamentary Services.

Structure of the Bills

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

Part 2 of each Bill outlines the quantum and types of appropriation from the CRF.

Part 3 of the No. 1 and No. 2 Bill establish the Advance to the Finance Minister (AFM) for 2020–2021, whereas Part 3 of the Parliamentary Departments Bill establishes the Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer for 2020–2021.

Part 4 of each Bill deals with technical matters including crediting amounts to special accounts, the formal appropriation of moneys from the CRF, and the subsequent automatic repeal of the Acts.

Schedule 1 of the No. 2 Bill nominates the Ministers who are able to impose conditions on grants of financial assistance to the states and territories proposed in that Bill.

Schedule 1 of the No. 1 Bill and the Parliamentary Departments Bill and Schedule 2 of the No. 2 Bill contain the details of the amounts and types of appropriation to be made to each entity.

Background

About appropriations

An appropriation is the legal release of monies from the CRF.[4] Appropriation Acts, however, 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 Australian Constitution.[5]

Under the terms of the Constitution, there are certain unique requirements that a Bill proposing to appropriate monies from the CRF must satisfy.

Constitutional requirements

Section 81 of the Constitution provides:

All revenues or moneys raised or received by the Executive Government of the Commonwealth shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth …[6]

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.

Powers of the House of Representative to appropriate

Section 53 of the Constitution provides that laws appropriating money may not originate in the Senate.[7] Further, under section 56 of the Constitution, all proposed laws for the appropriation of money may only be passed following a recommendation by the Governor-General. By convention the Governor-General acts only upon the advice of the Executive, so in practice section 56 prevents non-government members of the House of Representatives introducing Bills that would propose to appropriate money from the CRF.[8]

Powers of the Senate to amend

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.[9]

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’.[10] Conceivably, the Senate could amend an appropriation Bill for the other services of Government 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.

The ‘ordinary annual services of government’ versus the ‘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. However, what constitutes the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ and ‘other’ services of the Government is not defined in the Constitution.

A working distinction between ordinary and other annual services was agreed in a ‘Compact’ between the Senate and the Government in 1965.[11] Several amendments have been made to the Compact since 1965, and in 2010 the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing recommended the Senate restate the Compact in a consolidated form.[12] On 22 June 2010, the Senate resolved as follows:

(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 (but not including the acquisition of computers or the fitting out of buildings);

              (d)               grants to the states under section 96 of the Constitution;

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

              (f)               items regarded as equity injections and loans; and

              (g)               existing asset replacement (which is to be regarded as depreciation),

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.

(3)               That, in respect of payments to international organisations:

              (a)               the initial payment in effect represents a new policy decision and therefore should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 2); and

              (b)               subsequent payments represent a continuing government activity of supporting the international organisation and therefore represent an ordinary annual service and should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 1).

(4)               That all appropriation items for continuing activities for which appropriations have been made in the past be regarded as part of ordinary annual services.[13]

Adherence to the Compact has not always been strict, and the High Court has held that any disagreements between the Houses are not justiciable.[14] Any disputes are to be determined between the Houses themselves.

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.[15] 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 be used only for the program or outcome that it is appropriated for, while a departmental appropriation may be moved between different departmental activities.[16]

Outcomes and programs

While the level of detail necessary for an Appropriation Act to be valid is generally low,[17] in the Pharmaceutical Benefits case the High Court held:

… there cannot be appropriations in blank, appropriations for no designated purpose, merely authorising expenditure ...[18]

The Appropriation Bills must, therefore, also describe—in general terms—what the moneys are to be utilised for. The Bills use four methods for describing the purposes of the proposed appropriations.

Appropriations for ‘outcomes’ of non-corporate Commonwealth entities

For non-corporate Commonwealth entities, the purposes of operating appropriations (both departmental and administered) are specified with reference to the ‘outcomes’ of those entities. In 2019, the Department of Finance explained ‘outcome statements’ in the following terms:

Outcome statements articulate Government objectives and serve three main purposes within the financial framework:

1.              to explain the purposes for which annual appropriations are approved by the Parliament for use by entities

2.               to provide a basis for budgeting and reporting against the use of appropriated funds

3.               to measure and assess entity and program non-financial performance in contributing to Government policy objectives.[19]

Appropriations for corporate Commonwealth entities

As corporate Commonwealth entities are legally distinct from the Commonwealth itself, money cannot be appropriated directly to those entities.[20] Instead, amounts are appropriated to relevant Departments for on-payment to corporate Commonwealth entities within Departments’ portfolios.

Non-operating appropriations

Non-operating appropriations are amounts designated for the capital needs of entities. Typically, these amounts are equity injections into entities, or monies for the purchase or development of the assets of entities. Under the Compact, they can only ever be proposed in a Bill dealing with the ‘other’ annual services of Government.

Appropriations for payments to the states

Under section 96 of the Constitution, the Commonwealth may make payments to the states with or without conditions, and amounts intended for payments to the states are identified separately. Again, because of the Compact, amounts to the states can only ever be proposed in a Bill dealing with the ‘other’ annual services of Government. Amounts to the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are also included with the amounts for the states.

Appropriations for the Parliament and the Judiciary

In 1981, the Senate Select Committee on Parliament’s Appropriations and Staffing considered the appropriations for the Parliament, in view of the unique constitutional position of the Parliament vis-à-vis the Executive. The Committee noted section 53 of the Constitution’s reference to the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ before observing:

… the Parliament may be ordinary; it may be annual; it may even be regarded as a service; but it is not a service of the Government. It is therefore inconsistent with the concept of the separation of powers and the supremacy of Parliament to treat the provisions made for the Parliament as being an ordinary annual service of the Government.[21]

The Committee recommended:

… all items of expenditure administered by the Executive departments on behalf of the Parliament be brought together in [a] Parliamentary Appropriation Bill …[22]

Since 1982, the appropriations for the Parliamentary departments have been provided for via a distinct Appropriation Bill.

Quarantining appropriations in this way only applies to the Parliamentary departments (of which there are currently four).[23] It does not extend to other aspects of the finances of the Parliament, such as providing for the remuneration and allowances of parliamentarians.

Despite the fact that, under the Constitution, the Judiciary is also distinct from the Executive, there is no equivalent practice whereby the Judiciary is provided for via a distinct Appropriation Bill.

Supply Acts

A Supply Act generally provides for interim appropriations out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to fund the core activities of the government until the passage of the annual Appropriation Bills. The use of Supply Acts was a common occurrence from Federation until 1993, as the practice of successive Commonwealth governments was to deliver the Budget and table the annual Appropriation Bills after the commencement of the financial year on 1 July. Since 1994, however, the Commonwealth has generally delivered the Budget and tabled the annual Appropriation Bills in May, prior to the commencement of the next financial year.[24]

The 2020–21 Supply Acts passed in March 2020 were necessary as a result of the Budget being delayed until October 2020 as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic.[25]

Advances to the Finance Minister and the Presiding Officers

The Advance to the Finance Minister or responsible Presiding Officers of Parliamentary Departments is an appropriation of moneys without any particular outcome or specific purpose specified. The Finance Minister or Presiding Officers may use the amount appropriated as an advance to modify the schedule to the Appropriation Act, but only where:

… the Finance Minister [or Presiding Officer] is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure, in the current year, that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, […]:

(a)              because of an erroneous omission or understatement; or

(b)               because the expenditure was unforeseen until after the last day on which it was practicable to provide for it in the Bill for this Act before that Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives.[26]

The appropriation allocated to the advance to the Finance Minister in the Appropriation Bills is $4.0 billion for the ordinary annual services of the Government[27] and $6.0 billion in relation to the other annual services of the Government.[28]

For the Presiding Officers of the Parliament, the amounts of the advance in the Parliamentary Departments Bill are limited to:

• $300,000 each in relation to the:

–      Department of the Senate

–      Department of the House of Representatives and

–      Parliamentary Budget Office and

• $1.0 million in relation to the Department of Parliamentary Services.[29]

The proposed amounts are less than those which were contained in the No. 1 Supply Act ($16 billion) and No. 2 Supply Act ($24 billion); those figures were particularly large in order ‘to provide the Government with the capacity to allocate additional appropriations for COVID-19 related responses’ which were not contemplated in the Government’s response at the time.[30] However, the amounts still remain higher than those allocated in previous years, for example, $295 million under the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2019–2020 and $380 million under the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2019–2020.[31] According to the Government:

The amount of the AFM [Advance to the Finance Minister] takes into consideration the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, allocations that have been made to date, the uncertainty around what may be required as part of the Government’s response and the likely need for the Government to act quickly.[32]

In order to access an advance, the Finance Minister or Presiding Officers, as the case may be, must issue a determination under the relevant Appropriation Act. A determination is a legislative instrument, but disallowance and sunsetting under section 42 and Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Legislation Act 2003 respectively do not apply.[33]

Further information on the Advance to the Finance Minister is available from the Parliamentary Library’s Advance to the Finance Minister: A Quick Guide.[34]

Committee consideration

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

At the time of writing the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills has not commented on the Bills.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

As required under Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth), the Government has assessed the Appropriation 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.[35]

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (PJCHR) considered the Appropriation Bills in its Scrutiny Digest of 15 October 2020.

The PJCHR has repeatedly raised concerns about whether or not the allocation of funding proposed in the No. 1 Bill and No. 2 Bill might engage human rights considerations; particularly given the capacity for Appropriation Bills to give effect to a reduction in funding for programs that might be aimed at the realisation of human rights.[36]

The PJCHR has recommended that statements of compatibility for the No. 1 Bill and No. 2 Bill should contain an assessment of overall trends in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights including any retrogressive measures, the impact of Budget measures on vulnerable groups and key individual Budget measures which engage human rights, including a brief assessment of their human rights compatibility.[37]

The Committee draws this matter to the attention of the Minister and the Parliament on an advice basis only.[38]

The Committee had no comment on the Parliamentary Departments Bill.[39]

Key provisions and funding comparison

No. 1 Bill

Clauses 6–9 of the No. 1 Bill outline the quantum and types of appropriation from the CRF.

Clause 10 of the No. 1 Bill establishes the Advance to the Finance Minister of $4.0 billion for 2020–2021.

Clauses 11–13 of the No. 1 Bill provide for several technical matters, including details relating to special accounts, formally appropriating the amounts required from the CRF and the future repeal of the Act on 1 July 2023.

Schedule 1 of the No. 1 Bill provides details about the appropriations to both non-corporate entities and to corporate entities as defined by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act).

Table 1 below sets out in summary form the amount of appropriations in Schedule 1 to the No. 1 Bill, the amounts in the No. 1 Supply Act and the total appropriations for 2020–21. These amounts are compared to the actual available appropriation in 2019–20.

Table 1:              Total Appropriation for 2020–21

Portfolio

Appropriation in Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021

Appropriation in Supply Act (No. 1) 2020–2021

Total 2020–21 Appropriation

Actual Available Appropriation 2019–20[40]

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

Agriculture, Water and the Environment

1,151,889

1,242,100

2,393,989

1,764,502

Attorney-General’s

770,946

1,047,123

1,818,069

1,855,034

Defence

9,439,756

21,990,934

31,430,690

35,651,616

Education, Skills and Employment

3,461,202

4,245,151

7,706,353

2,685,212

Finance

818,533

433,702

1,252,235

763,548

Foreign Affairs and Trade

3,587,557

3,859,128

7,446,685

6,506,274

Health

3,690,012

12,194,754

15,884,766

12,730,900

Home Affairs

3,181,812

4,104,656

7,286,468

7,482,146

Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

1,703,836

1,765,050

3,468,886

2,800,150

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications

3,160,951

2,666,955

5,827,906

5,189,743

Prime Minister and Cabinet

998,426

1,223,083

2,221,509

2,038,252

Social Services

3,640,427

17,110,349

20,750,776

16,856,281

Treasury

1,203,774

4,481,391

5,685,165

5,112,640

Total

36,809,121

76,364,376

113,173,497

101,436,298

No. 2 Bill

Clauses 6–11 of the No. 2 Bill outline the quantum and types of appropriation from the consolidated revenue fund.

Clause 12 of the No. 2 Bill establishes the Advance to the Finance Minister of $6.0 billion for 2020–2021.

The money in the No. 2 Bill is appropriated to incorporated and non-incorporated Government entities according to Schedule 2 of that Bill as either:

•       grants to the states, territories and local governments (see also clause 14 below)

•       new administered programs or

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

These three types of appropriations cannot be included in the No. 1 Bill as they do not relate to the ‘ordinary annual services of Government’.

Clauses 13–16 of the No. 2 Bill provide for several technical matters. In particular, clause 14 seeks to ensure that payments made by the states, territories and local governments from financial assistance provided by the Commonwealth accord with the conditions established by the relevant Minister listed in Schedule 1.

Table 2 below sets out in summary form the amount of appropriations in Schedule 2 to the No. 2 Bill, as well as the amounts in the No. 2 Supply Act and the total appropriations for 2020–21. These amounts are compared to the actual available appropriation in 2019–20.

Table 2:              Total Appropriation for 2020–21

Portfolio

Appropriation in Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021

Appropriation in Supply Act (No. 2) 2020–2021

Total 2020–21 Appropriation

Actual Available Appropriation 2019–20[41]

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

Agriculture, Water and the Environment

2,474,068

377,220

2,851,288

801,772

Attorney-General’s

10,135

1,164

11,299

31,787

Defence

8,495,030

3,433,328

11,928,358

4,234,299

Education, Skills and Employment

210,041

138,307

348,348

157,920

Finance

251,700

99,663

351,363

437,295

Foreign Affairs and Trade

73,313

77,045

150,358

705,121

Health

627,605

102,243

729,848

2,823,896

Home Affairs

85,497

60,064

145,561

186,561

Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

682,994

318,182

1,001,176

266,455

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications

1,427,598

1,908,427

3,336,025

5,245,487

Prime Minister and Cabinet

89,220

17,595

106,815

33,636

Social Services

190,009

8,112

198,121

164,970

Treasury

237,366

124,632

361,998

261,818

Total

14,854,576

6,665,982

21,520,558

15,351,017

Parliamentary Departments Bill

Clause 3 of the Parliamentary Departments Bill defines the term responsible presiding officer as being:

              (a)              in relation to the Department of the Senate—the President of the Senate

              (b)              in relation to the Department of the House of Representatives—the Speaker of that House

(c)              in relation to the Department of Parliamentary Services—the President and the Speaker together or

              (d)              in relation to the Parliamentary Budget Office—the President and the Speaker together.

Clauses 6–10 of the Parliamentary Departments Bill outline the quantum and types of appropriation from the consolidated revenue fund.

Clause 11 establishes the Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer for 2020–2021. The amount of appropriation is limited as follows:

•       for the Department of the Senate—$300,000

•       for the Department of the House of Representatives—$300,000

•       for the Department of Parliamentary Services—$1 million and

•       for the Parliamentary Budget Office—$300,000.

Clauses 12–14 of the Parliamentary Departments Bill provides for several technical matters, including details relating to special accounts, formally appropriating the amounts required from the CRF, and the repeal of the Act at the start of 1 July 2023.

Table 3 below sets out, in summary form, the amount of appropriations in Schedule 1 to the Parliamentary Departments Bill, as well as the amounts in the Parliamentary Departments Supply Act and the total appropriations for 2020–21. These amounts are compared to the actual available appropriation in 2019–20.

Table 3:              Total Appropriation for 2020–21

Portfolio

Appropriation in Appropriation Bill (Parliamentary Departments) 2020–2021

Appropriation in Supply Act (Parliamentary Departments) 2020–2021

Total 2020–21 Appropriation

Actual Available Appropriation 2019–20[42]

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

Department of the Senate

12,228

13,983

26,211

23,853

Department of the House of Representatives

10,487

14,686

25,173

25,968

Department of Parliamentary Services

115,474

116,865

232,339

203,916

Parliamentary Budget Office

3,557

4,980

8,537

8,258

Total

141,746

150,514

292,260

261,995

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[1].              For the originating Bill, see: Parliament of Australia, ‘Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 homepage’, Australian Parliament website.

[2].              For the originating Bill, see: Parliament of Australia, ‘Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021 homepage’, Australian Parliament website.

[3].              For the originating Bill, see: Parliament of Australia, ‘Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 homepage’, Australian Parliament website.

[4].              Department of Finance (DoF), ‘Guide to appropriations—RMG 100’, DoF website, last updated 6 July 2020.

[5].              Pape v Commissioner of Taxation (2009) 238 CLR 1, [2009] HCA 23.

[6].              Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (The Constitution), section 81.

[7].              Ibid., section 53.

[8].              D Elder, ed, House of Representatives practice, 7th edn, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 2018, p. 416.

[9].              The Constitution, section 53.

[10].              Ibid.

[11].              R Laing, ed, Odgers' Australian Senate practice, 14th edn, The Senate, Canberra, 2016, p. 386.

[12].              Senate Appropriations and Staffing Committee, Ordinary annual services of the government: 50th report, The Senate, Canberra, June 2010, p. 3.

[13].              Australia, Senate, Journals, 127, 22 June 2010, pp. 3642–3; Laing, op. cit., p. 387.

[14].              Osborne v Commonwealth (1911) 12 CLR 321 at [336], [1911] HCA 19.

[15].              Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), Administered items, AASB 1050, 2014.

[16].              Combet v Commonwealth (2005) 224 CLR 494, [2005] HCA 61 at [123].

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

[18].              Attorney-General (Vic); Ex rel Dale v Commonwealth (‘Pharmaceutical Benefits case’) (1945) 71 CLR 237, [1945] HCA 30, per Latham CJ at [253].

[19].              DoF, Outcome statements policy and approval process, March 2019, p. 3.

[20].              Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth), section 11, ‘Note’.

[21].              Australia, Parliament, Senate Select Committee on Parliament’s Appropriations and Staffing, Parliament’s appropriations and staffing: report of the Senate select committee, Parl. Paper 151, Canberra, 1981, p. 18.

[22].              Ibid., p. 22.

[23].              Namely: Department of the Senate, Department of the House of Representatives, Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Office.

[24].              D Weight, ‘Supply Bills—a reprise’, FlagPost, Parliamentary Library blog, 29 April 2015.

[25].              M Cormann, ‘Second reading speech: Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021, Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021, Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021’, Senate, Debates, 23 March 2020, p. 1855; Supply Act (No. 1) 2020–2021; Supply Act (No. 2) 2020–2021; Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2020–2021.

[26].              Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 (No. 1 Bill), subclause 10(1); Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021 (No. 2 Bill) subclause 12(1); Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021 (Parliamentary Departments Bill), subclause 11(1).

[27].              Subclause 10(3) of the No. 1 Bill.

[28].              Subclause 12(3) of the No. 2 Bill.

[29].              Subclauses 11(3)–(6) of the Parliamentary Departments Bill.

[30].              Supply Act (No. 1) 2020–2021 (No. 1 Supply Act), subsection 10(3), Supply Act (No. 2) 2020–2021 (No. 2 Supply Act), subsection 12(3); Explanatory Memorandum, Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021, p. 10; Explanatory Memorandum, Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021’, p. 10.

[31].              Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2019–2020, subsection 10(3); Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2019–2020, subsection 12(3). Note that these amounts were increased by, among other Acts, the Appropriation Act (No. 5) 2019–2020 and Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2019–2020.

[32].              Explanatory Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020–2021, p. 9; Explanatory Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020–2021, p. 10.

[33].              No. 1 Billhttps://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbillhome%2Fr6319%22, subclause 10(4); No. 2 Billhttps://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbillhome%2Fr6320%22, subclause 12(4); Parliamentary Departments Bill, subclause 11(7).

[34].              Parliamentary Library, Economic Policy Section, ‘Advance to the Finance Minister: a quick guide’, Research paper series, 2020–21, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 9 October 2020.

[35].              The Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights can be found at page 4 of the Explanatory Memoranda to the Appropriation Bills.

[36].              Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human rights scrutiny report, 12, 2020, 15 October 2020, pp. 20–24.

[37].              Ibid., p. 22.

[38].              Ibid., pp. 20, 23.

[39].              Ibid., p. 24.

[40].              No. 1 Bill, Schedule 1.

[41].              No. 2 Bill, Schedule 2.

[42].              Parliamentary Departments Bill, Schedule 1.