EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Subject - Audit Act 1901
Finance Regulations (Amendment)
STATUTORY RULES 1986 NO 36
ISSUED ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE
Sub-section 71(1) of the Audit Act 1901 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations (not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act) for carrying out the provisions of the Act. The attached Statutory Rules amend Finance Regulation 68 which was made pursuant to these provisions.
Regulation 68 prescribes, inter alia, the persons to whom payments may be made. Under the current arrangements for repetitive payments (eg salaries and pensions) payees can have entitlements paid to their bank, credit union or building society accounts. These options can be exercised by the payee lodging an appropriate authorisation, with the Commonwealth, in favour of the institution.
A new option, introduced by building societies, is a facility whereby moneys payable to a group of societies in a State may be paid to a clearing house company as agent for that group of societies. The option, for repetitive kinds of payments, has significant cost advantages over the traditional method of direct payment to each building society.
To enable its utilization by the Commonwealth, Finance Regulation 68 has been amended to prescribe that option.
The amendments inserted a hew paragraph (ca), in existing sub-regulation 68(2), which provides that payment may be made to a person authorised to receive payment by a financial institution authorised by the claimant to receive payment. The new regulation provides also for the possible future use of ‘clearing houses’ by all financial institutions, not only building societies.
The regulation also amended sub-regulation 68(3) to provide that the Secretary of the Department of Finance may give directions as to the method and circumstances under which such payments may be made.