Explanatory Statement for the Instrument to Reduce Appropriations (No. 2 of 2013‑2014)
Name of the Instrument
The Instrument is called the Instrument to Reduce Appropriations (No. 2 of 2013‑2014). It has been provided this name, rather than being called a “determination”, on the basis that it is a legislative instrument, for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Purpose of the Instrument
The Instrument is made to reduce appropriation items for the agencies listed in the Instrument, through determinations made under the following provisions:
- section 11 of Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2013-2014;
- section 11 of Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2012-2013; and
- section 11 of Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2011-2012.
Legislative authority
The Instrument to which this explanatory statement applies reduces a range of appropriations in annual Appropriation Acts, consistent with the statutory process set out in those Acts, and are contained in section 11 of each of the Acts listed above. The processes are common in requiring a request to reduce an appropriation to be made to the Finance Minister (the Minister for Finance). The request may be made by a Minister with responsibility for:
- an agency, within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (including the Departments of the Parliament); or
- the High Court of Australia; or
- a body within the meaning of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act).
The common statutory processes allow a request to be made to the Finance Minister by the responsible Presiding Officer for the relevant Department of the Parliament, as defined in section 3 of each of the Acts listed above. The responsible Presiding Officer for the Parliamentary Departments in the Instrument is: the President, for the Department of the Senate; the Speaker, for the Department of the House of Representatives.
Section 11 of each of the Acts listed above enables the Finance Minister to make a determination reducing the departmental item for an agency covered by that Act.
Disallowance
This Instrument is a legislative instrument and is disallowable. Section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 applies to this Instrument (despite subsection 44(2) of that Act which exempts certain legislative instruments from disallowance). However, Part 6 (sunsetting) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply to this Instrument.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
The annual Appropriation Acts perform an important constitutional function, by authorising the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the broad purposes indentified in the annual Appropriation Acts.
However, as the High Court has emphasised, beyond this, the annual Appropriation Acts do not create rights and nor do they, importantly, impose any duties.
Given that the legal effect of annual Appropriation Acts is limited in this way, the reduction of amounts in the annual Appropriation Acts is not seen as engaging, or otherwise affecting, the rights or freedoms relevant to the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Consultation
Consistent with Part 3 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, all agencies included in the Instrument were consulted in the preparation of the Instrument.
Operation of the Instrument
The reductions to appropriations are made upon requests of the responsible Presiding Officer for the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives.
Format of Numerals in the Instrument
Requests for appropriation reductions were made to an amount to the dollar, which is reflected in the Instrument.
Overview of the Schedules
The three Schedules of this Instrument reduce appropriations by a total amount of $2,462,285.
Schedule 1: Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2013‑2014
Schedule 1 reduces departmental items for the two agencies listed in the Schedule to a total amount of $691,569.
Schedule 2: Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2012‑2013
Schedule 2 reduces departmental items for the two agencies listed in the Schedule to a total amount of $1,340,933.
Schedule 3: Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2011‑2012
Schedule 3 reduces a departmental item for the agency listed in the Schedule to a total amount of $429,783.