EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Administration

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997

Determination 2006/22 to establish a Special Account

Purposes of Determination 2006/22

The attached instrument makes a determination under subsection 20 (1) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) to establish a Special Account, entitled Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account.  It also specifies the nature of amounts that may be credited to, and the purposes for which amounts may be debited from, the Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account.

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 is 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 a purpose specified in the determination.

Determinations that establish Special Accounts, or vary determinations that establish Special Accounts, are subject to section 22 of the FMA Act. Section 22 of the FMA Act requires the Finance Minister to table a copy of the establishing or varying determination in each House of Parliament. Either House may disallow a determination within five sitting days of tabling.  If the determination is not disallowed, it comes into effect on the calendar day after the last day on which it could have been disallowed.

Regulation 10 of the Legislative Instruments Regulations 2004 preserves the disallowance provisions under section 22 of the FMA Act by exempting Special Account determinations from subsections 57(2) and 57(5) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Special Accounts can also be abolished by a determination of the Finance Minister.  However, there is no requirement to table such a determination.

Operation of Determination 2006/22

Purpose of the Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account

The Federation Fund was established in 1997 to mark the Centenary of Federation. Funding was made available for a range of projects from major capital works through to community events across the country. The Fund is now in the process of being finalised with a small number of projects yet to be completed. There is a need for the Special Account to remain in existence until such time as these projects are finalised.

Reasons for establishing a new Special Account

The Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account is required in order to give effect to changes that are required to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts’ existing Federation Fund Account (‘the old Account’), but which are not practical to make by variation to the old account, due to the way in which the determination that establishes the old account is structured.  The old Account was established by Determination Number 1998/10 which commenced on 1 December 1998. The Determination established eight Federation Fund Reserves (which later became Special Accounts) for various agencies and it is this aspect of the Determination’s structure that makes a varying determination difficult to effect.

The current purpose of the old Account is:

For expenditure on substantial capital projects throughout Australia which will mark the centenary of Federation and make a significant and lasting contribution to the Australian Community.

Changes required

The changes required to the old account are set out below:

• the name of the Special Account has changed from the Federation Fund Account to the Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account, in order to distinguish it from the other Federation Fund Special Accounts.

As part of a programme to enhance the clarity of Special Account determinations and to remove any areas of doubt over the scope of the purposes of Special Accounts, the following changes are being incorporated within the determinations of all Special Accounts, where appropriate, and where the need for other variations arise:

• a provision to debit amounts relating to incidental activities.  This allows administration costs, including such items as auditing, reporting, budgeting, accounting and information technology services incurred in the course of operating the Special Account, to be debited from the Special Account.  The existing purpose clause would often allow the debiting of the Special Account for these costs, depending on the degree of directness of connection of the costs with other purposes of the Special Account.  The inclusion of the new incidental clause removes the need to obtain legal advice on the degree of directness of connection for individual transactions;
• 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 provision does not allow amounts to be transferred to another Special Account, or to be allocated for any other purpose, that is not consistent with the purposes of the Special Account;
• a clause to allow for amounts to be repaid when another Act or law allows it.  This has always been permitted by section 28 of the FMA Act, but is now included in determinations to simplify accounting for these transactions; and
• notes that identify general credits and debits that can be made to Special Accounts, for information purposes, in reliance on other laws.

Limitations in the structure of Determination 1998/10

It is not practical to vary Determination number: 1998/10, the establishing determination signed by the delegate of the Minister for Finance and Administration on 9 November 1998. This is because the format of the determination constrains the amount of information that can be included. Accordingly, a new Account is being established (determination 2006/22) to provide for the continuation of the activities of the Federation Fund Account, the incorporation of the necessary changes, and to ensure that the determination is as clear and informative as possible.

Consultation

The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts is the agency affected by this instrument. The agency was provided with drafts of the instrument before it was finalised and agrees with the form of the instrument. As the instrument is for internal machinery of government purposes only, no consultation was considered necessary with other persons (see sections 17 and 18 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).

Estimates of transactions on the Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account

1. Includes balance debited from the old Account and credited to the new Federation Fund – Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Special Account.