Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request (No. 21 of 2010-2011)

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au F2011L01506 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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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.

Overview

The Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request (No. 21 of 2010-2011) was enacted on 30 June 2011 under the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. This instrument was developed to address the need for efficient and effective management of surplus appropriations within various government departments, as outlined in the annual Appropriation Acts. The objective of the instrument is to facilitate the reduction of appropriation items for specified agencies, ensuring that agencies only spend from appropriations when there are explicit government decisions to authorise such expenditure. The determination was made in response to requests from various ministers, including the Minister for Health and Ageing, who sought reductions in departmental and administered assets and liabilities items for the Department of Health and Ageing, and other agencies, primarily to account for the transition to accrual budgeting liability funding and increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management. This approach aligns with the policy objective of promoting the prudent and ethical use of public funds.

Scope and Application

The Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request (No.21 of 2010-2011) is a legislative instrument under clause 3 of the relevant appropriation acts, facilitating the reduction of surplus appropriations for specified agencies to promote efficient and ethical management of government funds. The Act applies to Commonwealth agencies as identified in the schedules of the Instrument, including the Department of Health and Ageing, Australian Fisheries Management Agency, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority, and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. The reductions are primarily due to the transition to accrual budgeting and increased efficiency in Commonwealth property management, with amounts specified in the schedules corresponding to the respective appropriation items. This Instrument applies nationally within the Commonwealth of Australia and is effective from 30 June 2011. The application of the Act is further extended or restricted by subordinate instruments, which may specify additional details or conditions for the reduction of appropriations.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request (No.21 of 2010-2011) (the Instrument) are those that list the appropriations to be reduced for various government agencies, as detailed in the Schedules. Section 3 of the Instrument specifies the legislative authority under which it was made, while the Schedules (Schedule 1 to Schedule 7) provide specific details on the agencies, the appropriation acts, and the amounts to be reduced. The Instrument’s primary purpose is to effectuate the reduction of specified appropriation items for various government agencies as requested by their respective ministers. This is done to facilitate the transition to accrual budgeting, enhance efficiency in property management, and account for liabilities related to pandemic flu vaccines. The Instrument imposes certain obligations and requirements on the relevant government agencies. These include ensuring that departmental items and administered assets and liabilities items are only available until the appropriation is spent. Agencies must only spend from appropriations if there are government decisions to authorise that expenditure. The Instrument also mandates that the agencies comply with the specific reductions as listed in the Schedules, which detail the appropriation act, the appropriation item, the responsible minister’s request, and the amount to be reduced. The Instrument does not explicitly outline offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for non-compliance with the specified reductions. However, the underlying legislation, such as the Appropriation Acts, may contain provisions that impose penalties for breaches. These could include fines or other sanctions for misusing or over-utilising appropriations. The exact penalties would depend on the specific provisions of the Appropriation Acts and any related legislation. It is also important to note that any significant deviation from the authorised appropriations without proper ministerial request and approval could be considered an administrative or budgetary irregularity, potentially leading to further scrutiny or corrective action by the relevant authorities.

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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.