EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation
Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997
Financial Management and Accountability (Abolition of 27 Special Account Determinations) Determination 2012/17
Purpose of the Determinations
This Determination is made under subsection 20(2) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) and revokes 27 redundant Special Account determinations, including six Services for Other Entities and Trust Moneys Special Account (SOETM) determinations. Section 48A of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 applies to this Determination.
Special Accounts generally
In accordance with the Constitution, all revenues or moneys raised or received by the Government of the Commonwealth form one Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and may not be spent unless under an appropriation by the Parliament for the purposes of the Commonwealth. A Special Account may be established by a determination that sets out the amounts that may be credited and the purposes for which it may be debited. Special Accounts established by determination are supported by an appropriation under section 20 of the FMA Act. In effect, Special Accounts allow amounts from the CRF to be spent on the purposes specified in the determination.
Determinations that establish Special Accounts under subsection 20(1) of the FMA Act or vary Special Accounts under subsection 20(2) of the FMA Act are subject to the tabling and disallowance procedures in section 22 of the FMA Act. Section 22 of the FMA Act requires the Finance Minister to table a copy of the determination in each House of the Parliament. Either House may pass a resolution disallowing a determination within five sitting days of tabling. If the determination is not disallowed, it comes into effect on the day immediately after the last day on which it could have been disallowed.
Subsection 20(6) of the FMA Act exempts determinations that establish Special Accounts under subsection 20(1) of the FMA Act or vary Special Accounts under subsection 20(2) of the FMA Act from the operation of Part 6 (sunsetting) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is not required for this legislative instrument. Subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 requires a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights for all legislative instruments subject to disallowance under section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. While legislative instruments made or varied under subsections 20(1) or 20(2) of the FMA Act are subject to disallowance under section 22 of the FMA Act they are not subject to disallowance under section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. Legislative instruments made under subsection 20(3) of the FMA Act are exempt from disallowance under subsection 20(7) of the FMA Act, as such a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is not required.
Operation of this Determination
The SOETMs combine the purposes of the Other Trust Moneys and the Services for other Governments and Non-agency Bodies Special Accounts into a single standard purpose Special Account. A SOETM enables an Agency to receive, hold and expend amounts on behalf of persons or entities other than the Commonwealth. Typically a SOETM will be used to accommodate small amounts of miscellaneous moneys. For example, amounts received for services performed on behalf of a State government, amounts held subject to a trust instrument, or amounts bequeathed to the Agency to carry out a particular non-departmental activity.
This Determination is part of the Department of Finance and Deregulation’s rationalisation of Special Accounts, which includes a gradual phasing out of SOETMs. As part of this rationalisation, the Determination revokes six determinations relating to SOETMS that are redundant to requirements, as well as a further 21 determinations relating to Special Accounts that have previously been abolished.
Consultation
The six Agencies affected by the determination (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and Defence Materiel Organisation) were given an opportunity to comment on the instrument. As the instrument is for internal machinery of government purposes only, no consultation was necessary with other persons (see sections 17 and 18 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).
Table of Balances and Transactions of the abolished Special Accounts
All six SOETM Special Accounts have balances of zero. There is no expected fiscal or underlying cash impact.