The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates

Determination to Reduce Appropriations Upon Request
(No. 9 of 2011-2012)

Date instrument was made

1 March 2012

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.

Subsection 13(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2010-2011 enables the Finance Minister to make a determination reducing another 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.

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 departmental item for DHS in Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011 be reduced by $14.194 million.

Schedule 2 determines that the other departmental item (Equity Injections) for DHS in Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2010-2011 be reduced by $13.300 million.

Background

The Minister for Human Services wrote to the Finance Minister on 6 February 2012 requesting a determination to reduce appropriation items provided to DHS in 2010-2011.

The Expenditure Review Committee previously agreed to the movement of $22.101 million in capital funding in Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2010-2011 from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012, which left $27.494 million relating to Centrelink and Medicare Australia as excess unspent capital appropriations in 2010-2011.

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.

Human Rights Impact Statement

This determination reduces appropriated money from subsection 10(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2010-2011; and subsection 13(2) of Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2010-2011.

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.