The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates

Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request
(No. 5 of 2011-2012)

Date instrument was made

6 September 2011

The legislative authority under which the instrument is made

Subsection 13(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2009-2010 enables the Minister for Finance and Deregulation (Finance Minister) to make a determination reducing an other departmental item (Equity Injections) for an agency by the amount specified in the Determination, upon receipt of a written request from the Minister responsible for that agency.

Subsection 10(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011 enables the Finance Minister to make a determination reducing the departmental item for an agency by the amount specified in the Determination, upon receipt of a written request from the Minister responsible for that agency.

Determinations made under this subsection are legislative instruments and are disallowable.

Purpose and effect of the instrument

The purpose of the instrument is to reduce appropriation items that the Minister for Human Services has advised the Finance Minister are surplus to the requirements of the Department of Human Services (DHS).

Schedule 1 determines that the other departmental item (Equity Injections) for the former Medicare Australia (now integrated into DHS) in Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2009-2010 be reduced by $93,000.

Schedule 2 determines that the departmental item for the former Medicare Australia (now integrated into DHS) in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011 be reduced by $433,000.

Background

The Minister for Human Services wrote to the Finance Minister on 17 August 2011 requesting a determination to reduce appropriation items provided to Medicare Australia in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

On 1 July 2011 the Human Services Legislation Amendment Act 2011 integrated the services of Medicare Australia, Centrelink and CRS Australia into DHS.  The transitional provisions in that Act ensured that any of Medicare Australia’s annual appropriations from 2010-11 or earlier shifted to DHS on 1 July 2011.

The reduction in the departmental appropriation represents funds appropriated for the measure ‘Trialling MBS eligibility image only x-ray services’ which was announced in the
2009-10 Budget as part of the Diagnostic Imaging – reforms measure.  The funds are no longer required because, as part of the 2011-12 Budget, the Government decided not to proceed with the measure.

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, DHS was consulted in the preparation of this Instrument.