Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026

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Legislation au F2026L00795 In force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Issued by the Authority of the Special Minister of State

Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017

 

Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017

 

Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026

 

The Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 (the Act) and the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017 (the Regulations) provide a framework prescribing resources to parliamentarians in respect of their parliamentary business. Certain provisions of the Act and Regulations apply to members who are office holders.

 

Section 7 of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine:

 

  • that a member who holds a specified position in, or in relation to the Parliament or either House of the Parliament; or
  • who performs functions of a kind specified in the determination in, or in relation to the Parliament or either House of the Parliament,

 

is an office holder. The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 (Principal Determination) determines, for the purposes of the Act, and consequently the Regulations, the members that are office holders, by specifying the relevant positions and functions for the purposes of section 7 of the Act.

 

The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026 (Amending Determination) amends Schedule 1 of the Principal Determination to determine that the following positions are office holders for the purposes of the Act and Regulations:

 

  • Leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives; and
  • Manager of minority party Business in the Senate, where the party has at least 10 members in the Senate.

 

A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is included in Attachment A.  Details of the Amending Determination are included in Attachment B.

 

The Act does not impose any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Amending Determination may be exercised. This Amending Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

 

Commencement

 

Schedule 1 of the Amending Determination is expressed to commence on 21 May 2022. Schedule 2 of the Amending Determination commences on the day after the instrument is registered.

 

To the extent that any provision of the Amending Determination is taken to apply retrospectively, its operation is intended to be consistent with subsection 12(2) of the Legislation Act 2003, as it does not affect the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) to that person’s disadvantage, nor does it impose any liability on such a person.

The operation of subsection 12(1A) of the Legislation Act 2003, and whether the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 discloses a contrary intention for the purposes of subsection 12(4), has been considered in settling this Amending Determination.

 

Consultation

 

Consultation with the Remuneration Tribunal Secretariat, Department of the House of Representatives, Department of the Senate, Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

 

Authority:  Section 7 of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026

 

The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026 (the Amending Determination) is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the legislative instrument

 

This Amending Determination amends the Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 which determines, for the purposes of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 and consequently the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017, the members of parliament who are also office holders.

 

Where a member is an office holder they may be eligible to access public resources to conduct their parliamentary business in a broader range of circumstances, and may also be eligible to receive additional remuneration. Access to additional resources and remuneration is intended to be commensurate with the additional duties and functions that certain office holders perform.

 

Human rights implications

 

This Amending Determination does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

 

The Amending Determination is compatible with human rights as they do not raise any human rights issues.

 

Senator the Hon Don Farrell

Special Minister of State

 


Details of the Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026

 

Section 1 – Name

 

This section provides that the title of the instrument is the Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026 (the Amending Determination).

 

Section 2 – Commencement

 

This section provides for the commencement of each Schedule in the Amending Determination, as set out in the table.

 

  • Item 1 of the table provides that sections 1 to 4, concerning the formal aspects of the Amending Determination, as well as anything in the instrument not elsewhere covered by the table, would commence on the day after the instrument is registered.
  • Item 2 provides that Schedule 1 commences on 21 May 2022.
  • Item 3 provides that Schedule 2 commences on the day after the instrument is registered.

 

Section 3 – Authority

 

This section states that the Amending Determination is made under section 7 of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.

 

Section 4 – Schedules

 

This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017

 

Item 1 – Schedule 1 (table)

 

Item 1 repeals the table at Schedule 1 of the Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 and substitutes it with the table set out in Schedule 1 of the Amending Determination.

 

A new office holder is the ‘Leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives’, which identifies the position of Leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives as an office holder for the purposes of the Act. Provided the party is the third largest party in the House of Representatives at all relevant times, the leader of the party may sit in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.

 

At the time of commencement of the Amending Determination, the leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives is the Leader of the Nationals.

 

Schedule 2 – Amendments

 

Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017

 

Item 1 – Schedule 1 (table)

 

Item 1 repeals the table at Schedule 1 of the Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 and substitutes it with the table set out in Schedule 1 of the Amending Determination. A new office holder is the ‘Manager of minority party Business in the Senate, where the party has at least 10 members in the Senate’.

 

Human rights implications

 

The Amending Determination does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

 

The Amending Determination is compatible with human rights as they do not raise any human rights issues.

 

Senator the Hon Don Farrell

Special Minister of State

Overview

The Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, established a framework to prescribe resources to parliamentarians to facilitate their parliamentary business. This legislation aimed to address the need for a clear delineation of resources and entitlements for various roles within the parliamentary system. The Act, in conjunction with the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017, specifies the resources available to parliamentarians, particularly those who hold certain specified positions or perform designated functions. The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 further clarifies which members qualify as office holders, thereby determining their eligibility for additional resources and remuneration. The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026 amends the original determination to include the Leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives and the Manager of minority party Business in the Senate, provided the party has at least ten members in the Senate, as office holders. This amendment ensures these roles receive appropriate resources commensurate with their duties. The Act does not impose any specific conditions for exercising the power to make the amendment, and the Amending Determination operates in accordance with the Legislation Act 2003. The compatibility of the Amending Determination with human rights has been affirmed, as it does not engage any applicable rights or freedoms.

Scope and Application

The Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 and the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017 establish a framework that prescribes resources to parliamentarians for their parliamentary business. These legislative instruments apply to members of parliament who hold specified positions or perform certain functions, which are designated as office holders under section 7 of the Act. The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 originally defined which members are office holders, and this was subsequently amended by the Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026. The latter amendment adds the Leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives and the Manager of minority party Business in the Senate, provided the party has at least 10 members in the Senate, to the list of office holders. These office holders may access public resources and additional remuneration to support their broader duties and functions. The determinations have a Commonwealth jurisdictional reach, and the applicability of these provisions is not subject to any conditions, exclusions, or thresholds. The amendments are set to commence on specified dates, with certain provisions applying retrospectively in a manner that does not adversely affect the rights of individuals.

Key Provisions

The Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017, along with the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017, establishes a framework for prescribing resources to parliamentarians for their parliamentary business. Section 7 of the Act (1) allows the Minister to determine, through a legislative instrument, which members holding specified positions or performing certain functions are deemed as office holders. The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Determination 2017 (2) (Principal Determination) identifies these office holders by specifying relevant positions and functions under section 7 of the Act. The Parliamentary Business Resources (Office Holder) Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2026 (3) (Amending Determination) amends the Principal Determination to include additional positions as office holders: the Leader of the third largest party in the House of Representatives and the Manager of minority party Business in the Senate, provided the party has at least 10 members in the Senate. The Act imposes specific obligations on the parties and entities it governs, ensuring that office holders are clearly defined and that their entitlements to resources and remuneration are accurately assessed. Office holders must adhere to the provisions of the Act and the Regulations, which detail the types of resources and additional remuneration they may access. These resources and remuneration are intended to reflect the additional duties and functions performed by office holders, thereby supporting their role within the parliamentary framework. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Act and Regulations could lead to various consequences. While the explanatory statement does not explicitly detail offences, penalties, or specific civil or criminal consequences for breach, it is implied that non-compliance could result in the denial of legitimate entitlements to resources and remuneration for office holders. Given that the Act does not impose any specific conditions before the power to make the Amending Determination can be exercised, it is reasonable to infer that breaches of the Act’s provisions could be subject to general legal remedies, including fines and other penalties as stipulated under the Legislation Act 2003 (4). The Amending Determination itself, being a legislative instrument, is subject to the general rules and provisions of the Legislation Act 2003, which may include retrospective application provisions as per subsection 12(2) of the Act, provided they do not adversely affect the rights of individuals other than the Commonwealth or its authorities.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.