Public Accounts Committee Amendment Act 1979 (Cth)

Public Accounts Committee Amendment

Act 1979

N o. 187 of 1979

An Act to amend the Public Accounts Committee Act 1951.

BE IT E N A C T E D by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Rep-

resentatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Public Accounts Committee Short title, &c.

Amendment Act 1979. 1

(2) The Public Accounts Committee Act 1951 2 is in this Act referred

to as the Principal Act.

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives Commence-

the Royal Assent. 1 ment

3. After section 6 of the Principal Act the following section is

inserted:

"6A. (1) The Committee may meet at such times and at such places Meetings of

within Australia as the Committee, by resolution, determines or, subject

Committee

to any resolution of the Committee, as the Chairman determines, but

shall not meet at any place outside Australia.

" (2 ) At any time when the Chairman is absent from Australia or is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of his office or there is a vacancy in the office of Chairman, the Vice-Chairman may exercise the powers of the Chairman under sub-section (1).

sub-section (2), the duties";

" (3) The Committee may meet and transact business notwithstand-

ing any prorogation of the Parliament.".

4. Section 7 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from Quorum and

sub-section (1) "a majority of the members constitutes a quorum" and	voting
substituting "4 members constitute a quorum".

5. Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended—

Duties of the

Committee

(a ) by omitting "The duties" and substituting "Subject to

No. 187 Public Accounts Committee Amendment 1979

(b) by omitting paragraph (a) and substituting the following

paragraphs:

" (a ) to examine the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the Commonwealth including the financial statements transmitted to the Auditor-General under sub-section (4) of section 50 of the Audit Act 1901;

" ( aa ) to examine the financial affairs of authorities of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies and of inter- governmental bodies to which this Act applies;

" (ab) to examine all reports of the Auditor-General (including reports of the results of efficiency audits) copies of which have been laid before the Houses of the Parliament;"; and

(c) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-sections:

" (2) The duties of the Committee do not extend to—

(a)	an examination of the financial affairs of the Northern Territory or of the Administration of an External Territory (including the financial affairs of the Administration of an External Territory contained in any of the accounts and financial statements re- ferred to in paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) ); or
(b)	an examination of a report of the Auditor-General that relates to, or in so far as it relates to—

(i) the financial affairs of the Northern Territory or of the Administration of an External Territory (including the financial affairs of the Administration of an External Ter- ritory contained in any of the accounts and financial state- ments referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-section ( 1 ) ); or

(ii) the results of an efficiency audit of operations of the Administration of an External Territory.

" (3) For the purpose of this section, an authority of the Common-

wealth to which this Act applies is—

(a)	a body corporate or an unincorporated body established for a public purpose by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an en- actment, not being an inter-governmental body;
(b)	a body established by the Governor-General or by a Minister otherwise than in accordance with an enactment; or
(c)	an incorporated company over which the Commonwealth is in a position to exercise control.

" (4) Where the parties to an agreement relating to the establishment of an inter-governmental body consent to the examination, by the Com- mittee, of the financial affairs of that body, the Minister shall notify the fact that they have so consented in the Gazette and the body shall there- upon become an inter-governmental body to which this Act applies.

1979 Public Accounts Committee Amendment No. 187

" (5) Where a party to an agreement relating to the establishment of an inter-governmental body (being an inter-governmental body which, by virtue of sub-section (4), is an inter-governmental body to which this Act applies) withdraws its consent to the examination, by the Committee, of the financial affairs of that body, the Minister shall notify the fact that that party has withdrawn its consent in the Gazette and the body shall thereupon cease to be an inter-governmental body to which this Act applies.

" (6 ) In this section, unless the contrary intention appears—

'enactment ' means—

(a) an Act;

(b)	an Ordinance of the Australian Capital Territory; or
(c)	an instrument (including rules, regulations or by-laws) made under an Act or under such an Ordinance;

'inter-governmental body' means a body corporate or an unincorpor- ated body established by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an agreement between the Commonwealth and a State or States or between the Commonwealth and the government of another country or the governments of other countries;

'State ' includes the Northern Territory.".

6. Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended—

Sectional

committees

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1) "Subject to the next succeeding sub-section, the Committee" and substituting "The Committee"; and

(b) by omitting sub-section (2).

NOTES

1. Act No. 187, 1979; assented to 4 December 1979.

2. Act No. 60, 1951, as amended. For previous amendments see Act No. 79, 1965;