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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Appropriation Bill (No. 2)
1999-2000
Date Introduced: 11 May 1999
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Treasury
Commencement: Royal Assent
To appropriate $5
735 million 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.
For further information on the changes to the
various portfolios, refer to the Library publication 'Budget
Review 1999-2000'.
This Bill, together with the Appropriation Bill
(No. 1) 1999-2000 and the Appropriation Bill (Parliamentary
Departments) 1999-2000 form the major part of the annual
appropriations and are used to introduce the annual Budget. For
further information on the Appropriation Bills, refer to the Digest
for the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 1999-2000.
As the Budget has for the first time been
prepared using accrual accounting, appropriations for the various
agencies are divided into specific payments for the States and
Territories, other administered expenses and equity injections and
loans. The Schedule to the Bill gives an agency comparison between
the 1998-99 estimates for these categories and the amounts proposed
to be appropriated by this Bill. The Schedule reflects not only
changes to funding levels but also in accounting methods,
particularly in the allocation of funds between administrative and
capital expenses and grants to the States and Territories being
allocated on an outcome basis.
In regard to allocation to the States for the
outcomes specified in the Schedule, clause 6
provides that the Finance Minister may issue the lesser of the
amount specified in the relevant Department allocation and the
amount determined by the Finance Minister to be the actual
expenditure incurred for that purpose. The clause also contains the
requirement that the funds may only be allocated to achieve the
specified outcome.
Clause 7 contains similar
provisions as clause 6 but relates to administered items.
Where an appropriation is made for an
administered capital purpose, the outcome that may be achieved must
be a purpose listed in Schedule 2 of the Bill or in the Schedule to
the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 1999-2000 (this reflects the
allocation of all capital expenditure in this Bill) (clause
8).
In relation to appropriations for capital
expenditure for a department, where an Act provides that an amount
is to be allocated to a Department and this Bill contains a capital
item for the Department, the Finance Minister must issue the full
amount of the item (clause 9). (This is similar to
provisions contained in Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 1999-2000 and
reflects the difference in the Minister's role in relation to
Departmental and administered capital items [ie the Minister has no
discretion in relation to Department items]).
The Minister will be given power to issue a
maximum of $215 million over the year to take account of unforeseen
expenditure or where there has been an 'erroneous omission or
understatement' in relation to extra expenses (clause
10).
The relevant Minister listed in Schedule 1 of
the Bill will be able to determine conditions under which payments
to the States and Territories may be made (clause
12).
Clause 13 will formally
appropriate the funds for the purposes of the Bill.
Chris Field
3 June 1999
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1999.
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