Explanatory Statement
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation
The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates
Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request (No.21 of 2010-2011)
Date instrument was made: 30 June 2011
The legislative authority under which the instrument is made
The legislative authority under which the Instrument is made is detailed in clause 3 of the Determination.
Purpose and effect of the instrument
Departmental items and administered assets and liabilities items remain available until the appropriation is spent. Provisions in the annual Appropriation Acts enable surplus appropriation amounts to be reduced to promote the efficient, effective and ethical management of surplus appropriations. Agencies should only spend from appropriations if there are government decisions to authorise that expenditure.
The effect of this Instrument is to reduce the appropriation items for the agencies listed in the Schedules by the amount indicated in Column 4 of each item.
Background
Schedule 1: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2005-2006
Item 1: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation (Finance Minister) on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s administered assets and liabilities item by $156,515,432.10. This amount relates to the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding.
Schedule 2: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2007-2008
Item 1: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s administered assets and liabilities item by $2,100,000.00. This amount relates to the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding.
Schedule 3: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2008-2009
Item 1: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s administered assets and liabilities item by $902,715.74. This amount relates to the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding.
Schedule 4: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2009-2010
Item 1: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s administered assets and liabilities item by $15,951,627.37. This amount relates to the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding.
Schedule 5: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2009-2010
Item 1: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s administered assets and liabilities item by $26,030,000.00. This amount relates to the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding.
Schedule 6: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2010-2011
Item 1: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s administered assets and liabilities item by $9,390,181.31. This amount relates to the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding and contract negotiations relating to pandemic flu vaccines.
Schedule 7: Reduction in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011
Item 1: The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry wrote to the Finance Minister on 24 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Australian Fisheries Management Agency’s departmental item by $15,890.00. This amount represents savings associated with increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management.
Item 2: The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs wrote to the Finance Minister in June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Veterans’ Affairs departmental item by $180,779.00. This amount represents savings associated with increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management.
Item 3: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Department of Health and Ageing’s departmental item by $367,490.00. This amount represents savings associated with increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management.
Item 4: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority’s departmental item by $409.00. This amount represents savings associated with increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management.
Item 5: The Minister for Health and Ageing wrote to the Finance Minister on 22 June 2011 requesting a determination to reduce the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s departmental item by $62,870.00. This amount represents savings associated with increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management.
Notes on the instrument
The Schedules to the Instrument contain a table listing the affected agency in column 1, the Appropriation Act and appropriation item in column 2, which through the request by the responsible minister in column 3, is reduced by the amount in column 4.
In accordance with the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, the agencies concerned were consulted in the preparation of this instrument.