The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates

Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request
(No. 6 of 2011-2012)

Date instrument was made

28 November 2011

The legislative authority under which the instrument is made

Subsection 10(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011 enables the Minister for Finance and Deregulation (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 10(2) are legislative instruments and are disallowable.

Purpose and effect of the instrument

The purpose of the instrument is to reduce the appropriation item that the Minister for Trade has advised the Finance Minister is surplus to the requirements of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade).

Schedule 1 determines that the departmental item for Austrade in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011 be reduced by $10,694,223.56.

Background

The Minister for Trade wrote to the Finance Minister on 1 November 2011 requesting a determination to reduce Austrade’s departmental item in Appropriation Act (No. 1).

The reduction in the departmental appropriation represents:

• savings of $10,526,331.56 under the no win/no loss arrangements relating to Foreign Exchange due to the stronger Australian dollar in 2010-2011 (compared to the funded budget exchange rate); and

• unspent appropriation from the ICT BAU Reinvestment Fund of $167,892.00 no longer required as the scope for Austrade’s telecommunication project is smaller than initially envisaged.

Notes on the Instrument

The Schedules to the Instrument contain tables 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, Austrade was consulted in the preparation of this Instrument.