The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates

Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request
(No. 8 of 2011-2012)

Date instrument was made

20 January 2012

The legislative authority under which the instrument is made

Subsection 10(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2011-2012 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 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 Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations has advised the Finance Minister are surplus to the requirements of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).

Schedule 1 determines that the departmental item for TEQSA in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2011-2012 be reduced by $3.786 million.

Background

The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations wrote to the Finance Minister on 12 January 2012 requesting a permanent reduction for an amount appropriated to TEQSA as a departmental item in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2011-2012 of $3.786 million, with this amount to be re-appropriated as an equity injection

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, TEQSA was consulted in the preparation of this Instrument.

Human Rights Impact Statement

This determination reduces appropriated money from subsection 10(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2011-2012.

This determination does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms outlined in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

This determination is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 as it does not raise any human rights issues.