Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

Administered by Services Australia

Legislation au F2009L02999 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 196

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Human Services

 

Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997

 

Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

 

Authority

 

  1. Section 6 of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997 (the Act) establishes the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency (Centrelink).  Section 29 of the Act provides for the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Centrelink.

 

2.      The functions of the CEO under section 8 of the Act include providing ‘Commonwealth services’ in accordance with ‘service arrangements’ (as defined in the Act) entered into in accordance with section 7 of the Act. 

 

3.      Under subsection 7 (1) of the Act, the CEO of Centrelink is authorised to enter into ‘service arrangements’ with the ‘principal officers’ of ‘Commonwealth authorities’.  These terms are defined in the Act.

 

4.      Under the Act, the ‘principal officer’ of a Commonwealth authority which is a Department is the Secretary of the Department.  The principal officer of a Commonwealth authority that is not a Department is the person identified as the principal officer of the authority by regulations made under section 41 of the Act. 

 

5.      Paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘principal officer’ in the Act provides that the regulations may identify the person who is the principal officer of a Commonwealth authority.

 

Background

 

6.      The Amendment Regulations amend the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Regulations (the Principal Regulations) to identify the principal officers of some Commonwealth authorities which are not Departments.  This amendment enables Centrelink’s CEO to enter into ‘service arrangements for the provision of Commonwealth services’, under subsection 7 (1) of the Act, with the principal officers of some Commonwealth authorities that are not Departments of State.

 

7.      For Commonwealth authorities that are prescribed agencies within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the FMA Act), the Amendment Regulations insert a regulation identifying the ‘principal officer’ as the person who is the ‘Chief Executive’ of the agency within the meaning of the FMA Act. 

 

8.      For Commonwealth authorities that are ‘Commonwealth authorities’ within the meaning of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (the CAC Act), the Amendment Regulations insert a regulation identifying the ‘principal officer’ as the person who performs the functions of ‘chief executive’ within the ordinary meaning of that term.

 

Commencement

 

9.      The Amendment Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.

 

Consultation

 

10.  Because the amendments deal with internal machinery matters and will not have any direct, or a substantial indirect, effect on business or on competition, there has not been any consultation regarding the Amendment Regulations outside of Government. 

 

11.  Details of the Amendment Regulations are set out below.

 

 

Details of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 — Name of Regulations

  1. This regulation provides that the Regulations are the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 — Commencement

2.      This regulation provides that the Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.

 

Regulation 3 — Amendment of the Commonwealth Service Delivery Regulations

3.      This regulation provides that Schedule 1 amends the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Regulations.

 

Schedule 1 — Amendments

 

Item [1] — Regulation 1

4.      Item [1] substitutes the name of the Regulations so that they are consistent with the current drafting practice of italicising the names of Regulations and inserting the year in which they were originally made at the end of the title.

 

Item [2] — Regulation 5

5.      Item [2] inserts new regulation 6 which provides that a person is a principal officer for paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘principal officer’ in the Act if:

(a)   the person is the Chief Executive of a prescribed Agency that is a Commonwealth authority; or

(b)   the person performs the functions of a chief executive of a Commonwealth authority that is a Commonwealth authority (as defined in the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (the CAC Act)).

6.      In relation to paragraph (a), the terms ‘Chief Executive’ and ‘prescribed Agency’ apply the meanings of those terms that are found in section 5 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the FMA Act).

7.      The FMA Act defines the term ‘prescribed Agency’ to mean, ‘a body, organisation or group of persons prescribed by the Regulations…’  The FMA Act also defines ‘Chief Executive’ for a ‘prescribed Agency’ as ‘the person identified by the regulations as the Chief Executive of the Agency’. 

8.      Schedule 1 to the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 lists the Chief Executive positions of the prescribed Agencies that only handle public money. 

9.      Proposed paragraph 6 (b) enables the CEO to enter into service agreements with persons who are chief executives – within the ordinary meaning of that term – of Commonwealth authorities that are ‘Commonwealth authorities’ within the meaning of the CAC Act. 

Overview

The Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1) were enacted to address the need for clarity and consistency in identifying the principal officers of certain Commonwealth authorities, as stipulated under the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997. This legislation was introduced by the Commonwealth of Australia under the authority of the Minister for Human Services and is designed to streamline the administrative processes of Centrelink, the agency responsible for delivering Commonwealth services. The primary objective of these regulations is to ensure that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Centrelink can effectively enter into service arrangements with the appropriate officials of non-Departmental Commonwealth authorities. By doing so, the regulations aim to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery across various Commonwealth authorities. These Amendment Regulations, which came into effect the day after their registration, specifically amend the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Regulations to clarify the definition of "principal officer" for certain Commonwealth authorities. For Commonwealth authorities that are prescribed agencies under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the regulations identify the principal officer as the Chief Executive of the agency. Similarly, for Commonwealth authorities defined under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, the regulations identify the principal officer as the individual who performs the functions of a chief executive. This amendment ensures that Centrelink's CEO can appropriately engage with the relevant authorities for service provision, thereby supporting the overarching goal of effective service delivery.

Scope and Application

The Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1) amends the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Regulations to clarify the identification of principal officers for certain Commonwealth authorities, thus enabling the CEO of Centrelink to enter into service arrangements for the provision of Commonwealth services. These Regulations apply to Commonwealth authorities that are not Departments and are particularly relevant to prescribed agencies under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, and Commonwealth authorities as defined in the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. For prescribed agencies, the principal officer is defined as the Chief Executive as identified by regulations under the Financial Management and Accountability Act, while for other Commonwealth authorities, the principal officer is the person performing the functions of a chief executive. The Amendment Regulations are issued under the authority of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997 and come into effect on the day after they are registered. These Regulations do not require external consultation as they pertain to internal administrative matters without significant impact on business or competition.

Key Provisions

The key provisions of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1) are found within the main operative sections, particularly in relation to the identification of 'principal officers' of Commonwealth authorities. Section 41 of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997 (the Act) provides for the regulation-making power to identify these principal officers, and Regulation 6 of the Amendment Regulations (2009 No. 1) enacts this by inserting new regulation 6 into the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Regulations. Specifically, regulation 6(b) identifies a 'principal officer' as either the Chief Executive of a prescribed Agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 or someone performing the functions of a chief executive of a Commonwealth authority under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. The Amendment Regulations impose obligations on the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Centrelink to ensure that they can enter into 'service arrangements' with the principal officers of Commonwealth authorities, as defined by the regulations. Under section 7(1) of the Act, the CEO is authorised to enter into these service arrangements, and the Amendment Regulations now clarify who these principal officers are for certain Commonwealth authorities. This facilitates the provision of 'Commonwealth services' as per section 8 of the Act. Breach of the provisions under the Act or the Amendment Regulations could result in legal consequences. However, the explanatory statement does not detail specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance with the Amendment Regulations. Typically, breaches of regulations under Australian law may incur fines or other penalties as prescribed by the relevant legislation or regulations. The exact penalties would depend on the nature and severity of the breach, and the specific provisions of the Act and any subsidiary regulations.

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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.