Audit Amendment Act 1984

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No. 40 of 1984

An Act to amend the Audit Act 1901

[Assented to 8 June 1984]

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

Short title, &c.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Audit Amendment Act 1984.

(2) The Audit Act 19011 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement

2. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(2) Sections 7 to 14 (inclusive) shall come into operation on 1 July 1984.

3. After section 4 of the Principal Act the following sections are inserted:

Leave of absence

“4a. The Minister may grant to the Auditor-General leave of absence from duty on such terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise as the Minister determines.

Resignation

“4b. The Auditor-General may resign the office of Auditor-General by writing signed by the Auditor-General and delivered to the Governor-General.”.

Incapacity for other position

4. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraphs (2) (c) and (d) and substituting the following word and paragraph:

“or (c) if he is absent from duty, except on leave of absence granted by the Minister, for 14 consecutive days or for 28 days in any 12 months.”.

How removed from office or suspended

5. Section 7 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting in sub-section (2) “physical or mental” before “incapacity”.

6. Sections 8 and 9 of the Principal Act are repealed and the following sections are substituted:

Acting appointment

“8. (1) The Governor-General may appoint a person to act in the office of Auditor-General—

(a) during a vacancy in that office; or

(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the person holding that office is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of that office,

but a person appointed to act during a vacancy shall not continue so to act for more than 6 months.

“(2) An appointment of a person under sub-section (1) may be expressed to have effect only in such circumstances as are specified in the instrument of appointment.

“(3) The Governor-General may—

(a) subject to this section, determine the terms and conditions of appointment, including remuneration and allowances, of a person acting in the office of Auditor-General; and

(b) terminate such an appointment at any time.

“(4) Where a person is acting in the office of Auditor-General in accordance with paragraph (1) (b) and that office becomes vacant while that person is so acting, that person may continue so to act until the Governor-General otherwise directs, the vacancy is filled or a period of 6 months from the date on which the vacancy occurred expires, whichever first happens.

“(5) While a person is acting in the office of Auditor-General in accordance with sub-section (1)—

(a) the person has, and may exercise, all the powers, and shall perform all the functions, of that office under this Act; and

(b) the person has, and may exercise, the powers (if any) exercisable by the Auditor-General by virtue of a delegation to the Auditor-General under any other law.

“(6) The validity of anything done by or in relation to a person purporting to act in the office of Auditor-General under an appointment made under sub-section (1) shall not be called in question on the ground that the occasion for his or her appointment had not arisen, that there is a defect or irregularity in or in connection with his or her appointment, that the appointment had ceased to have effect or that the occasion for him or her to act had not arisen or had ceased.

Superannuation

“9. For the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1976, the removal under section 7 of this Act of an Auditor-General from office following his or her suspension from office on the ground of physical or mental incapacity shall be deemed to be retirement on the ground of invalidity.”.

Private moneys collected by officers, &c.

7. Section 25 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (5) “may” and substituting “shall”.

8. Before section 31 of the Principal Act the following sections are inserted in Part V:

Notional items

“29. (1) Where a subdivision in a Schedule to an Appropriation Act for a financial year is not divided into items, the Minister may direct in writing that, for the purposes of this Part and of the regulations, that subdivision shall be taken to be divided into notional items set out in the direction.

“(2) Where, in the opinion of the Minister, it is desirable to do so, the Minister may approve in writing the variation of a direction under sub-section (1) by way of—

(a) the reduction, by an amount specified in the approval, of the amount in one of the notional items into which a subdivision referred to in that sub-section is to be taken to be divided; and

(b) the increase, by that amount specified in the approval, of the amount in another of those notional items into which that subdivision is to be taken to be divided,

and, where the Minister approves such a variation of a direction, the direction shall, for the purposes of this Part (including this sub-section) and of the regulations, be taken to be so varied.

Notional items taken to be items

“30. Where, because of a direction under sub-section 29 (1), a subdivision referred to in that sub-section is to be taken to be divided into notional items, sections 34, 35, 36a and 36c have effect as if those notional items were items of that subdivision.”.

Act of grace payments

9. Section 34a of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting after sub-section (1) the following sub-sections:

“(1a) A payment, or payments, to a person by virtue of a direction under sub-section (1) shall be made on such terms or conditions as are determined by an authorized person before the payment is, or the payments are, made, being such terms or conditions as the authorized person considers to be appropriate.

“(1b) Where a payment or payments to a person by virtue of a direction under sub-section (1) is or are subject to terms or conditions determined under sub-section (1a), in addition to those terms or conditions, that payment is, or those payments are, subject to the condition that, if any of those terms or conditions is not or are not complied with, the person will, on demand by an authorized person, pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the amount of that payment.

“(1c) Where a person is liable to pay an amount to the Commonwealth under sub-section (1b), the Commonwealth may recover that amount as a debt due to the Commonwealth by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (2) “$25,000” and substituting “$50,000”; and

Bank accounts

10. Section 63d of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (3) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(3) In this section, ‘approved bank’, in relation to an authority, means a trading bank as defined in sub-section 5 (1) of the Banking Act 1959 or another bank declared by the Treasurer or a person authorized by the Treasurer to give approvals under this section to be an approved bank in relation to that authority.”.

Investment of moneys

11. Section 63e of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (2) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(2) In sub-section (1), ‘approved bank’, in relation to an authority, means a trading bank as defined in sub-section 5 (1) of the Banking Act 1959 or another bank declared by the Treasurer or a person authorized by the Treasurer to give approvals under this section to be an approved bank in relation to that authority.”.

Bank accounts

12. Section 63j of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (3) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(3) In this section, ‘approved bank’, in relation to an authority, means the Reserve Bank of Australia or another bank for the time being declared by the Treasurer or a person authorized by the Treasurer to give approvals under this section to be an approved bank in relation to that authority.”.

Audit, &c., by arrangement

13. Section 63p of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (3) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(3) Arrangements for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) (a) (i) with a body, arrangements for the purposes of paragraph (1) (b) with a Government, or an arrangement made under sub-section (2) with a body, may include provision for the payment of a fee by the body or Government, as the case requires, to the Commonwealth in respect of the carrying out of an inspection and audit to which the arrangement relates.”.

Writing off, and waiver of rights to, certain moneys and stores

14. Section 70c of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from paragraph (2) (a) “and”;

(b) by adding at the end of sub-section (2) the following word and paragraph:

“; and (c) to allow an amount payable to the Commonwealth to be paid in instalments.”; and

Schedule 1

15. Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is repealed.

NOTE

1. No. 4, 1901, as amended. For previous amendments, see No. 8, 1906; No. 4, 1909; No. 6, 1912; No. 32, 1917; No. 23, 1920; No. 34, 1924; No. 18, 1926; No. 45, 1934; No. 52, 1947; No. 60, 1948; No. 51, 1950; No. 79, 1952; No. 12, 1953; No. 29, 1954; No. 18, 1955; No. 39, 1957; No. 8, 1959; Nos. 17 and 77, 1960; No. 89, 1961; No. 74, 1962; No. 75, 1964; No. 126, 1965; No. 93, 1966; No. 120, 1968; No. 20, 1969; No. 216, 1973; No. 56, 1975; No. 36, 1978; Nos. 8 and 155, 1979; Nos. 74 and 176, 1981; Nos. 26 and 80, 1982; and No. 62, 1983.

Overview

The Audit Amendment Act 1984, enacted by the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, amends the Audit Act 1901 to address various issues related to the role and management of the Auditor-General. The Act introduces provisions to allow the Auditor-General to be granted leave of absence and to resign, clarifies the conditions under which the Auditor-General can be removed from office due to absence, and adjusts the definition of incapacity. It also specifies that the Governor-General may appoint an acting Auditor-General during vacancies or periods of absence, and sets out the terms and conditions for such appointments. Additionally, the Act modifies the process for handling notional items in appropriations, introduces new conditions for payments made under certain circumstances, and adjusts the threshold amounts for various financial provisions. The policy objective of these amendments is to enhance the operational efficiency and administrative flexibility of the Auditor-General's role while ensuring accountability and integrity in financial oversight.

Scope and Application

The Audit Amendment Act 1984 amends the Audit Act 1901, primarily concerning the office of the Auditor-General. The Act applies to the Auditor-General, who is responsible for conducting audits of Commonwealth public sector entities. It also applies to the Minister, who is responsible for granting leave of absence to the Auditor-General, and the Governor-General, who has the authority to make acting appointments of the Auditor-General. The Act extends to the whole of the Commonwealth of Australia, including its territories. The amendments include provisions for the grant of leave of absence, resignation, and acting appointments of the Auditor-General, as well as the conditions under which an Auditor-General may be removed from office or suspended. The Act also includes provisions for the payment of superannuation to the Auditor-General upon removal from office due to physical or mental incapacity. The Act does not specify any exclusions or thresholds, but the operation of certain provisions may be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments.

Key Provisions

The Audit Amendment Act 1984 introduces several key amendments to the Audit Act 1901. Firstly, it allows the Minister to grant the Auditor-General leave of absence from duty on terms determined by the Minister (section 4a), and provides a mechanism for the Auditor-General to resign by delivering a signed written resignation to the Governor-General (section 4b). It also modifies the conditions under which the Auditor-General can be deemed absent from duty, specifying that being absent for 14 consecutive days or 28 days in any 12-month period without leave of absence will be considered an absence (section 4). Furthermore, the Act expands the circumstances under which the Auditor-General may be removed from office or suspended to include physical or mental incapacity (section 7). It also revises the provisions for acting appointments, clarifying that a person can be appointed to act as Auditor-General during a vacancy or when the officeholder is otherwise unable to perform their duties (section 8), and it specifies the circumstances under which such an appointment can be terminated and the powers that acting Auditors-General may exercise (section 8). The Act imposes several obligations on the parties it governs. For instance, it mandates that the Auditor-General must notify the Minister if they are absent from duty for more than 14 consecutive days or 28 days within any 12-month period unless they have obtained leave of absence (section 4). It also requires the Auditor-General to comply with any terms or conditions imposed on payments made under an act of grace, with the failure to comply resulting in a liability to repay the full amount of the payment to the Commonwealth (section 34a). Additionally, the Act mandates that payments to persons under an act of grace must be made on terms or conditions determined by an authorised person, and these terms or conditions must include a requirement to repay any amount if the conditions are not met (section 34a). The Act also outlines several offences and penalties for breaches of its provisions. For example, it provides that where a person fails to comply with terms or conditions attached to a payment made under an act of grace, they will be liable to pay an amount equal to the payment to the Commonwealth, which can be recovered as a debt (section 34a). While specific penalties are not detailed within the Act, it is implied that failure to adhere to the outlined obligations could result in civil or criminal consequences depending on the nature and severity of the breach. Additionally, any action that is taken under the authority of the Act but without proper authorisation could also lead to legal repercussions.

Area of Law: Administrative Law
Instrument: Act
Concepts: Commencement Provisions; Definitions & Interpretation; Repeal & Amendment; Offence Provisions; Regulatory Standards

Interactions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

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