EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Administration

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997

Determination 2004/19 to vary and abolish a Special Account

The attached instrument makes a determination under section 20 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the Act) to vary a previous Special Account Determination and abolish a Special Account established by it.

Special Accounts Generally

Under the Constitution, all revenues or moneys raised or received by the Executive Government of the Commonwealth form one Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and may not be applied otherwise than in accordance with an appropriation by the Parliament for the purposes of the Commonwealth.  Special Accounts allow amounts from the CRF to be set aside (hypothecated) for a particular purpose and expended for that purpose.

The Finance Minister must cause a copy of a determination relating to a Special Account to be tabled in each House of Parliament.  Either House may disallow a determination within 5 sitting days of having been tabled.  If the determination is not disallowed, it comes into effect the calendar day after the last day on which it could have been disallowed.

The notes to the determination identify legislation and other laws that allow or require amounts to be credited to, or debited from, the Special Account.

Media Commissions Account

This determination varies the Initial Determination to Establish Components of the Reserved Money Fund, which established, among others, the Media Commissions Account. This determination also abolishes the Media Commissions Account subject to conditions being met.

This determination is required in order to vary the purposes of the Media Commissions Account prior to its abolition, to enable amounts to be credited to the Media Commissions Special Account, which will be used for activities related to processing media commissions through the Central Advertising System.

The purposes of the existing Media Commissions Account are to be amended to allow amounts to be debited from the Media Commissions Account and to be credited to the Media Commissions Special Account. The Media Commissions Special Account will be established by a separate determination, Financial Management and Accountability Determination 2004/20 – Media Commissions Special Account Establishment 2004.

Once the variation has taken effect and the balance of the Media Commissions Account reaches zero, the Media Commissions Account will be abolished. Both these conditions must be met so to prevent the situation of the Media Commissions Account being abolished before the variation has occurred and the amount standing to the credit of the Media Commissions Account is credited to the Media Commissions Special Account.

The existing Media Commissions Account required several amendments which are addressed by the establishment of this new Media Commissions Special Account.  The new Special Account introduces a capacity to make repayments to the original contributors, and a capacity to return excess amounts to the budget (that is, reduce the balance of the Special Account without a real or notional payment). This Media Commissions Special Account also has a clarified clause specifying the amounts that may be credited to the Special Account.

Estimates of transactions on the Special Account

1. Balance debited from the Media Commission Account and credited to the Media Commissions Special Account.