EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997

Determination 2009/27 to vary a Special Account

Purposes of Determination 2009/27

The attached instrument makes a determination under subsection 20 (2) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) to vary the Commonwealth, State, Territory Disability Agreement 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 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, 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 the 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 be abolished by a determination of the Finance Minister.  However, such a determination is not subject to parliamentary disallowance.

Operation of Determination 2009/27

Reasons for varying the Special Account

The Determination to vary the Special Account is required because the Special Account operates in relation to an agreement with the States and Territories which has recently expired.  In December 2008 the basis of the Commonwealth, State, Territory Disability Agreement Special Account, the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement, expired and was replaced by the National Disability Agreement. 

There are no substantive changes to the Special Account.  A reference in the purpose clauses to the previous Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement has been removed and replaced with a generic reference to Commonwealth, State and Territory agreements.  One crediting clause has been removed; it allowed amounts from the Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement Account to be credited to the Commonwealth, State, Territory Disability Agreement Special Account.  This has been removed because the Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement Account has been abolished.

Effect of this Determination

This Determination varies the name of the Commonwealth, State, Territory Disability Agreement Special Account to the National Disability Special Account.  This change reflects the change to the name of the agreement under which the Special Account operates.

Purpose of the National Disability Special Account

The research projects to be administered through the Special Account seek to address national disability issues as agreed by Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers. 

Consultation

The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is the agency affected by this instrument.  The agency was provided with drafts of the instrument 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 National Disability Special Account