Report on financial performance

Overview

In 2023–24, the department was appropriated $26.97m by the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2023-2024.

The department ended the financial year with an operating loss of $1.12m (excluding asset-related adjustments). While additional ongoing funding was agreed in the 2023–24 Budget, the demand for the department's services continued at an elevated level, particularly in relation to committee support.

Net results

The following table outlines a summary of financial results between 202223 and 2023–24:

Statement of comprehensive income 2023–24
($'000)
2022–23
($'000)
Variance
($'000)
Variance
%
Total own-source revenue 526 499 27 5.4%
Total revenue from government 26,972 23,937 3,035 12.7%
Total expenses 28,854 26,568 2,286 8.6%
Net surplus/(deficit)* (1,356) (2,132)    

The department's operating expenses for 2023–24 were $28.61m (excluding asset-related adjustments). The majority of the expenditure is on employee benefits ($25.75m), with the remaining ten per cent on supplier related expenses. A further breakdown of the proportion of expenses is shown in figure 20.

Figure 20 – Expenses by type 2023–24

 
Employee benefits $25.752m, 90%
Other supplier expenses $0.913m, 3%
Travel $0.843m, 3%
Subscriptions, media and publications $0.610m, 2%
Consultants and contractors $0.494m, 2%

Financial position

The following table outlines a summary of financial position between 2022–23 and 2023–24:

Statement of financial position 2023–24
($'000)
2022–23
($'000)
Variance
($'000)
Variance
%
TotaI assets 16,262 17,068 (806) -4.7%
Total liabilities 8,819 8,562 257 3.0%
Equity/Net assets 7,443 8,506 (1,063) -12.5%

As at 30 June 2024, the department's net equity was $7.44m. Most of the assets and liabilities are of a financial nature, with the largest asset balance being appropriation and other receivables ($13.64m). Most of the department's liabilities relate to employee provisions ($7.61m) and the remainder largely to short term payables ($1.18m) in relation to accrued salaries and trade payables. The reduction in equity relates to the deficit described above.

Entity resource statement

The entity resource statement provides additional information about the funding sources that the department had access to during the year. Appendix 1 details the resources available to the department during 2023–24 and sets out a summary of total expenses for Outcome 1.

Sustainability

The department's financial performance for the last five years is demonstrated below:

Figure 21 – Financial performance 2019–20 to 2023–24

 
Financial year Income Expenses
2019–20 23905 23960
2020–21 26261 24463
2021–22 26314 24516
2022–23 24436 26359
2023–24 27498 28612

The demand for the department's services is driven by the needs of the Senate and senators. The previous financial year's high level of demand for services has continued, particularly in relation to committee support. These factors have put pressure on the department's budget and resulted in a significant operating loss in the 2023−24 financial year. The loss has been funded from cash reserves generated through prior year unspent appropriations.

The current level of activity is expected to continue until the next Federal election. The department continues to have sufficient cash reserves to meet short and long term liabilities and is financially sustainable.