Determination to Reduce Departmental and Administered Appropriations in Previous Appropriation Acts (No. 1 of 2009-2010)

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au F2010L01431 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation

 

The instrument to which this explanatory statement relates

Determination to Reduce Departmental and Administered Appropriations in Previous Appropriation Acts (No. 1 of 20092010)

Date instrument was made

13 May 2010

The legislative authority under which the instrument is made

Subsection 14(1) of annual Appropriation Act (No.3) 20092010 and subsection 18(1) of annual Appropriation Act (No. 4) 20092010 enable the Minister for Finance and Deregulation (Finance Minister) to make a determination reducing a departmental item or an administered item for an agency in previous appropriation Acts.

The provisions were included to allow the Finance Minister to reduce amounts identified by the Finance Minister as having been appropriated to agencies for depreciation and make good, but not yet applied by agencies.

Determinations made under subsection 14(1) and subsection 18(1) are legislative instruments and are disallowable.

Purpose and effect of the instrument

Schedule 1, Item 1 of the Instrument determines that the departmental items and administered items in previous annual appropriation Acts for the listed agencies be reduced by a total amount of $512,616,399.31. This represents amounts identified by the Finance Minister as having been provided as depreciation and make good amounts for agencies, but not yet applied by agencies. Subsection 14(6) of annual Appropriation Act (No. 3) 20092010 and subsection 18(6) of annual Appropriation Act (No. 4) 20092010 define the depreciation and make good amount. The Minister has identified these amounts which are reproduced in the Attachment.

Background

With the introduction of accrual appropriations in 19992000, appropriations have included amounts for expected depreciation and make good expenses. Since then, unspent amounts have accumulated which have not yet been applied by agencies. That arrangement ceases as of the 2010 Budget and so agencies no longer need to retain access to those appropriation amounts. Therefore, the 2009-10 Additional Estimates Acts provided a process to reduce those amounts at law.

Notes on the Instrument

Schedule 1 to the Instrument contains a table listing the affected agency in column 1, the Appropriation Act and appropriation item in column 2, the legislative authority in column 3, is reduced by the amount in column 4.

In accordance with the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, the affected agencies were consulted in the preparation of this Instrument.

ATTACHMENT

 

Agency Name

Amount

Attorney-General’s Portfolio

 

Attorney-General’s Department

39,182,000.00

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

976,000.00

Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity

522,000.00

Australian Human Rights Commission

1,227,000.00

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

49,050,000.00

Family Court of Australia

12,610,000.00

Office of Parliamentary Counsel

1,398,000.00

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

5,487,000.00

Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Portfolio

 

Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

20,904,000.00

Australian Communications and Media Authority

2,828,000.00

Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Portfolio

 

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

74,000.00

Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator

735,000.00

Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio

 

Australian Industrial Registry

5,504,000.00

Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner

5,077,000.00

Office of the Workplace Ombudsman

27,408,000.00

Safe Work Australia

1,161,000.00

Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Portfolio

 

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts

4,905,000.00

Bureau of Meteorology

6,724,000.00

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

635,000.00

National Water Commission

246,000.00

Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Portfolio

 

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency

595,000.00

Finance and Deregulation Portfolio

 

Department of Finance and Deregulation

50,884,000.00

Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio

 

AusAID

2,511,000.00

Australian Secret Intelligence Service

25,983,000.00

Health and Ageing Portfolio

 

Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority

171,000.00

Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

1,266,000.00

Human Services Portfolio

 

Department of Human Services

4,002,000.00

Centrelink

4,347,000.00

Medicare Australia

27,016,000.00

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development Portfolio

 

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

36,257,399.31

Australian Transport Safety Bureau

1,225,000.00

Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Portfolio

 

Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

14,259,000.00

Australian Research Council

172,000.00

Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio

 

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

9,991,000.00

Australian Institute of Family Studies

9,000.00

National Archives of Australia

86,021,000.00

Office of National Assessments

6,964,000.00

Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security

36,000.00

Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General

1,344,000.00

Old Parliament House

3,349,000.00

Resources, Energy and Tourism Portfolio

 

Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism

1,170,000.00

Geoscience Australia

7,550,000.00

Treasury Portfolio

 

Department of the Treasury

643,000.00

Australian Office of Financial Management

2,177,000.00

Australian Taxation Office

1,163,000.00

Commonwealth Grants Commission

561,000.00

Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee

49,000.00

Inspector General of Taxation

50,000.00

National Competition Council

134,000.00

Productivity Commission

5,199,000.00

Parliamentary Departments

 

Department of Parliamentary Services

27,232,000.00

House of Representatives

3,633,000.00

Total

512,616,399.31

 

 

 

Overview

The Determination to Reduce Departmental and Administered Appropriations in Previous Appropriation Acts (No. 1 of 2009-2010) was enacted on 13 May 2010 under the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. This legislation aimed to address the issue of accumulated unspent appropriations for depreciation and make good expenses that had not yet been applied by various agencies since the introduction of accrual appropriations in 1999-2000. The primary policy objective was to reduce these appropriations, as agencies would no longer require access to these funds following the 2010 Budget. The legislation allows for the reduction of departmental and administered items in previous annual appropriation Acts, with the total reduction amounting to $512,616,399.31, as identified by the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. The affected agencies were consulted in the preparation of this instrument, which is a legislative instrument and is disallowable under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The instrument specifies the affected agencies, the appropriation Act and item, the legislative authority, and the reduction amount in a table within Schedule 1. The reductions were made based on amounts identified by the Minister for depreciation and make good expenses that had not yet been applied by the agencies. The enactment of this legislation ensures that the appropriations are reduced at law, reflecting the current financial needs of the agencies involved.

Scope and Application

The Determination to Reduce Departmental and Administered Appropriations in Previous Appropriation Acts (No. 1 of 2009-2010) applies to various Australian government agencies and departments that have been allocated appropriations for depreciation and make good expenses but have not yet applied these funds. The instrument, made under the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, reduces the appropriations for these unspent amounts as identified in the attached schedule. The affected entities span multiple portfolios and include departments such as the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. The geographic reach of this instrument is national, as it pertains to federal government agencies and their appropriations. The instrument does not apply to state or territory governments or private entities. The total reduction in appropriations amounts to $512,616,399.31, which is specified in Schedule 1 of the instrument. The Act extends its application through the legislative instrument, which is disallowable, meaning it can be subject to parliamentary scrutiny and disallowance if deemed necessary.

Key Provisions

The primary operative sections of this legislation are found in subsection 14(1) of the annual Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2009-2010 and subsection 18(1) of the annual Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2009-2010. These sections empower the Minister for Finance and Deregulation to make a determination reducing a departmental item or an administered item for an agency in previous appropriation Acts. This authority allows the Minister to address appropriations identified as having been allocated for depreciation and make good expenses that have not yet been applied by the relevant agencies. The reductions are detailed in Schedule 1 of the Instrument, which lists the specific agencies and the amounts being reduced. The Act imposes several obligations on the Minister for Finance and Deregulation and the affected agencies. The Minister is required to identify the appropriations for depreciation and make good that have not been applied and to make a determination to reduce those amounts as per the legislative authority provided. The affected agencies, which include a wide range of government departments and entities, must comply with the reductions as specified in the Instrument. The Minister has consulted with these agencies in the preparation of the Instrument, ensuring that they are aware of the changes being made. Failure to comply with the provisions of this legislation could result in civil or criminal consequences. The Minister's determinations are legislative instruments and, as such, are disallowable. This means that Parliament has the power to review and potentially disallow the determinations if they deem it necessary. Additionally, while the legislation does not specify explicit penalties for non-compliance, the broader legal framework may impose fines or other penalties for breaches of administrative or financial regulations. The maximum penalties would depend on the specific nature of the breach and applicable laws.

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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.