Parliamentary Entitlements Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au F2009L03463 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

Select Document

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 219 as amended

made under the

Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990

This compilation was prepared on 30 September 2009

[This Regulation was amended by SLI 2009 No. 250 (see F2009L03706)]

Amendments from SLI 2009 No. 250
[Schedule 1 (item 1) repealed and substituted item 2 of Schedule 1
Schedule 1 (item 2) repealed item 4 of Schedule 1
Schedule 1 (item 3) amended item 6 of Schedule 1

Schedule 1 (items 1–3) commenced on 30 September 2009]

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra

1 Name of Regulations

These Regulations are the Parliamentary Entitlements Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1).

2 Commencement

These Regulations commence on 1 October 2009.

3 Amendment of Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997

Schedule 1 amends the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997.

Schedule 1 Amendments

(regulation 3)

[1] Before regulation 3

insert in Part 2

Division 1 Printing and communications entitlement

[2] Regulations 3 and 3A

substitute

3 Application of this Division

This Division applies to all members.

3AA Printing and communications entitlement

(1) For paragraph 5 (1) (b) of the Act, the additional benefit of a printing and communications entitlement, as set out in this Division, is prescribed.

(2) The entitlement is for the cost of commercial services for:

(a) printing; and

(b) the communication and distribution of information both in hard copy and electronic format (including the establishment and maintenance of web sites).

(3) Subject to subregulation (4), the entitlement must only be used for parliamentary or electorate purposes and must not be used for party, electioneering, personal or commercial purposes, or for the production of how-to-vote material.

(4) If the entitlement is used on or after 1 October 2009 for the establishment or maintenance of a website, the entitlement must only be used for parliamentary or electorate purposes and must not be used for party, personal or commercial purposes.

(5) For paragraph (2) (a), the entitlement is limited to printing on:

(a) paper or card weighing not more than 700 grams per square metre; or

(b) flat magnetised material.

(6) All printed material (including flat magnetised material), other than personalised letterhead stationery, must include the following statement on each page:

This material has been produced at Australian Government expense by [insert name of member].

Note For material consisting of more than 1 page, the statement must appear on each page.

(7) The statement mentioned in subregulation (6) must:

(a) be in Times New Roman or Arial font; and

(b) be of a colour that allows the statement to be easily read; and

(d) for material larger than A4 size — be a minimum font size of 10 point, plus 1 point for each A4 size of material (or part thereof).

Example for paragraph (d)

If the material being printed on is the equivalent of 4 A4 sized pieces of paper (ie A2 sized), the minimum font size for the statement is 14 point.

(8) Subject to subregulation (9), printing on personalised letterhead stationery may include only the following:

(a) the member’s name and title;

(b) the address, postal address and contact details of the member’s electorate office, Parliament House office, and capital city office (if applicable);

Example

A member’s email address and web site.

(d) for a member of the House of Representatives — his or her electoral division;

(e) for a Senator — his or her State or Territory;

(f) an electorate, State or Territory map;

(g) a brief description of the electorate, State or Territory;

(h) a photograph of the member;

(i) the Commonwealth Coat of Arms;

(j) the Australian flag;

(k) a political party logo.

(9) If personalised letterhead stationery includes the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the stationery must not include the Australian flag or a political party logo.

(10) A member may use the entitlement to print the following number of postal vote applications for a federal election:

(a) for a member of the House of Representatives — a number equal to 50% of the number of enrolled voters in the member’s electorate (within the electoral boundaries for the member’s electorate as in place at the last general election) on the last working day of March before the election; and

(b) for a Senator — a number equal to 50% of the number of enrolled voters in the Senator’s State or Territory on the last working day of March before the election.

(11) In this regulation:

electioneering means a communication that explicitly:

(a) seeks support for, denigrates or disparages:

(i) the election of a particular person or persons; or

(ii) a particular political party or political parties; or

(b) encourages a person to become a member of a particular political party, or political parties; or

personalised letterhead stationery means letterhead paper, envelopes, compliments slips and business cards for the member.

3AB Entitlement for a member of the House of Representatives

2009–2010 financial year

(1) The printing and communications entitlement for a member of the House of Representatives, for the part of the 2009–2010 financial year commencing on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010, is the amount worked out using subregulation (2) or (3).

No aggregation of charter transport entitlement and communications allowance

(2) If, immediately before 1 October 2009, the member’s entitlements under clauses 6.2 and 10.4 of Remuneration Tribunal Determination 2006/18 (the Determination) were not aggregated as permitted by clause 11.1 of the Determination, the amount for the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010 is the lesser of the first and second amounts worked out using the following table.

Item	Amounts to be worked out and compared
1	(a) Add:
	(i) the amount of the member’s printing entitlement under the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997 for the 2009–2010 financial year; and
	(ii) the amount of the member’s communications allowance mentioned in clause 10.4 of the Determination for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (iii) any amount of the member’s communications allowance carried over on 1 July 2009 in accordance with clauses 10.5 and 10.6 of the Determination.
	(b) Subtract from the total in paragraph (a): (i) any amount of the member’s printing entitlement; and (ii) any amount of the member’s communications allowance; that the member spent during the period starting on 1 July 2009 and ending at the end of 30 September 2009.
	The result is the first amount.
2	(a) Multiply $75 000 by 0.7479. (This is the ratio of 273:365, where 273 is the number of days in the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010. The amount in paragraph (a) is therefore reduced for that period on a pro rata basis.)
	(b) Add:
	(i) the total in paragraph (a); and (ii) the amount of the member’s communications allowance mentioned in clause 10.4 of the Determination for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (iii) any amount of the member’s communications allowance carried over on 1 July 2009 in accordance with clauses 10.5 and 10.6 of the Determination.
	The result is the second amount.

Aggregation of charter transport entitlement and communications allowance

(3) If, immediately before 1 October 2009, the member’s entitlements under clauses 6.2 and 10.4 of the Determination were aggregated as permitted by clause 11.1 of the Determination, the amount for the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010 is the lesser of the first and second amounts worked out using the following table.

Item	Amounts to be worked out and compared
1	(a) Add: (i) the amount of the member’s printing entitlement under the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997 for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (ii) the amount of the member’s charter transport entitlement mentioned in clause 6.2 of the Determination for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (iii) the amount of the member’s communications allowance mentioned in clause 10.4 of the Determination for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (iv) any amount carried over on 1 July 2009 in accordance with clause 6.4, 10.5, 10.6 or 11.3 of the Determination.
	(b) Subtract from the amount under paragraph (a): (i) any amount of the member’s printing entitlement that the member spent during the period starting on 1 July 2009 and ending at the end of 30 September 2009; and (ii) the amount (if any) of: (A) the member’s entitlements, aggregated in accordance with clause 11.1 of the Determination, that the member spent during any part of the period starting on 1 July 2009 and ending at the end of 30 September 2009; and (B) for any part of the period starting on 1 July 2009 and ending at the end of 30 September 2009 during which the member did not aggregate the entitlements provided under clauses 6.2 and 10.4 of the Determination — any amount of charter transport entitlement or communications allowance that the member spent during that period.
	The result is the first amount.
2	(a) Multiply $75 000 by 0.7479. (This is the ratio of 273:365, where 273 is the number of days in the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010. The amount in paragraph (a) is therefore reduced for that period on a pro rata basis.)
	(b) Add: (i) the total in paragraph (a); and (ii) the amount of the member’s charter transport entitlement mentioned in clause 6.2 of the Determination for the 2009–2010 financial year; and
	(iii) the amount of the member’s communications allowance mentioned in clause 10.4 of the Determination for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (iv) any amount carried over on 1 July 2009 in accordance with clause 6.4, 10.5, 10.6 or 11.3 of the Determination.
	The result is the second amount.

(4) For this regulation:

(a) the amount worked out under subregulation (3) is to be used for:

(i) the member’s printing and communications entitlement; and

(ii) the member’s charter transport entitlement, to the extent to which the amount is within the monetary limits set by clauses 6.2 and 6.4 of the Determination; and

(b) the amount of entitlement to which the member would have been entitled under clauses 6.2 and 6.4 of the Determination on and after 1 October 2009 is taken to be the amount worked out in accordance with subregulation (1).

(5) If subregulation (3) applies, the amount under subregulation (1) that a member may carry over from the 2009–2010 financial year for the purposes of clause 6.4 of the Determination only is the lesser of:

(a) the maximum amount that would be available under clauses 6.2 and 6.4 of the Determination, if paragraph (4) (b) did not apply:

(i) reduced by the amount that the member spent on charter transport in the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010; and

(ii) further reduced (if necessary) to the amount specified in clause 6.4 of the Determination; and

(b) the amount under subregulation (1) that is unspent at the end of the 2009–2010 financial year.

Financial year after 2009–2010 financial year

(6) The printing and communications entitlement for a member of the House of Representatives, for a financial year after the 2009–2010 financial year, is the sum of:

(a) an amount being the product of the standard rate of postage and the number of enrolled voters (within the electoral boundaries for the member’s electorate as in place at the last general election), as at the last working day in the March before the financial year; and

(b) $75 000.

General

(7) For paragraph (6) (a), if an electorate comes into existence after the last working day in March of a calendar year, the entitlement for the following financial year is the product of the standard rate of postage and the number of enrolled voters within the electoral boundaries for the member’s electorate as at the close of the electoral roll for the last general election.

(8) In this regulation:

standard rate of postage means the rate of postage for carriage within Australia of standard postal articles by ordinary post as determined by the Board of Australia Post under paragraph 32 (2) (c) of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989.

3AC Entitlement for a Senator

(1) The printing and communications entitlement for a Senator for the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010 is the lesser of the first and second amounts worked out using the following table.

Item	Amounts to be worked out and compared
1	(a) Add:
	(i) the amount of the Senator’s printing entitlement under the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 2007 for the 2009–2010 financial year; and (ii) the amount of the Senator’s communications allowance mentioned in clause 10.4 of Remuneration Tribunal Determination 2006/18 (the Determination) for the 2009–2010 financial year; and
	(iii) any amount of the Senator’s communications allowance carried over on 1 July 2009 in accordance with clauses 10.5 and 10.6 of the Determination.
	(b) Subtract from the total in paragraph (a): (i) any amount of the Senator’s printing entitlement; and (ii) any amount of the Senator’s communications allowance; that the Senator spent during the period starting on 1 July 2009 and ending at the end of 30 September 2009.
	The result is the first amount.
2	(a) Multiply $12 500 by 0.7479. (This is the ratio of 273:365, where 273 is the number of days in the period starting on 1 October 2009 and ending at the end of 30 June 2010. The amount in paragraph (a) is therefore reduced for that period on a pro rata basis.)
	(b) Add:
	(i) the total in paragraph (a); and (ii) $27 500; and (iii) any amount of the Senator’s communications allowance carried over on 1 July 2009 in accordance with clauses 10.5 and 10.6 of the Determination.
	The result is the second amount.

(2) The printing and communications entitlement for a Senator for a financial year after the 2009–2010 financial year is $40 000.

[3] Before regulation 3B

insert

Division 2 Other additional benefits

[5] Schedule 1, before item [101]

insert

[100] Item 3

omit

[6] Schedule 1, item [104]

substitute

[104] Item 7

substitute

7. (1)

Office accommodation (including for personal staff) in the electorate, together with equipment, facilities, office requisites and stationery necessary to operate the office, as approved by the Minister, for purposes related to Parliamentary, electorate or official business, but not commercial business.

(2)

For subitem (1), office requisites and stationery, as approved by the Minister, must not exceed:

(a) from 1 October 2009 to 30 June 2010 — $26 178; and

(b) for each subsequent financial year — $35 000 indexed annually.

[7] Schedule 1, after item [104]

insert

[104A] After item 7

insert

7A. (1)

The cost of purchasing publications (including electronic publications) for purposes related to Parliamentary, electorate or official business, but not commercial business.

(2)

For subitem (1), the entitlement for a member of the House of Representatives representing an electorate with a demographic rating, as determined by the Australian Electoral Commission, of inner metropolitan or outer metropolitan, must not exceed:

(a) for the 2009–2010 financial year — $3 419; and

(b) for each subsequent financial year — $3 419 indexed annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.

(3)

For subitem (1), the entitlement for a Senator or a member of the House of Representatives not mentioned in subitem (2), must not exceed:

(a) for the 2009–2010 financial year — $4 572; and

(b) for each subsequent financial year — $4 572 indexed annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.

Overview

The Parliamentary Entitlements Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1) were enacted to amend the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997 under the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990. The primary objective of these regulations is to update and refine the entitlements available to members of Parliament, particularly concerning printing and communications, in line with evolving needs and practices. These amendments were made by the Australian Parliament and came into effect on 1 October 2009. The regulations address the need to ensure that parliamentary entitlements are used appropriately for parliamentary or electorate purposes, without encroaching into personal, party, or commercial activities. This includes specific guidelines on the use of printing and communications allowances, such as restrictions on the types of material that can be printed, the font and size requirements for disclaimers, and limitations on the use of personalised letterhead stationery. Additionally, the regulations establish clear financial limits and calculations for printing and communications entitlements for members of the House of Representatives and Senators, ensuring that these allowances are both fair and manageable within the fiscal constraints of the government.

Scope and Application

The Parliamentary Entitlements Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1) amends the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997 to modify the entitlements of members of the Parliament of Australia with respect to printing and communications, and office accommodation. These Regulations apply to all members of the Parliament, including members of the House of Representatives and Senators. They specify the parameters and limitations on the use of printing and communications allowances, detailing the types of services that can be covered, such as printing and electronic communications, and stipulating that these services must be used exclusively for parliamentary or electorate purposes. The Regulations also include provisions for the printing of postal vote applications and set out specific requirements for printed materials, such as the inclusion of a disclaimer statement and the limitation on the types of materials that can be used for printing. The Regulations further define the office accommodation entitlements, including the provision of office space, equipment, and stationery, and specify the maximum amounts that can be spent on these entitlements. The Regulations have a national jurisdictional reach, applying across all states and territories in Australia. They do not include any explicit exclusions or exemptions, but they do impose strict limitations on the use of entitlements for non-parliamentary purposes. The Regulations can be further extended or modified through subordinate instruments issued under the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990.

Key Provisions

The Parliamentary Entitlements Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1) amend the Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations 1997 under the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990. These Regulations, which came into effect on 1 October 2009, introduce changes to the entitlements for members of the Parliament, specifically relating to printing and communications, and office accommodation and stationery. The primary focus is on regulating the usage of these entitlements for parliamentary or electorate purposes and ensuring compliance with certain conditions. Under these Regulations, members are entitled to certain printing and communications benefits, which include the cost of commercial services for printing and the communication and distribution of information, both in hard copy and electronic format. These entitlements can only be used for parliamentary or electorate purposes and must not be used for party, electioneering, personal, or commercial purposes, or for the production of how-to-vote material. For printing, there are specific restrictions on the type of paper and materials that can be used, and printed materials must include a disclosure statement regarding the Australian Government's expense. Personalised letterhead stationery is also regulated, with specific permitted and prohibited elements. Furthermore, the Regulations detail the printing and communications entitlement for members of the House of Representatives and Senators for the 2009–2010 financial year and subsequent years. For the House of Representatives, the entitlement is calculated based on a pro-rata basis of their printing and communications allowance. For the Senate, the entitlement for the 2009–2010 financial year is determined by specific calculations, while for subsequent years, it is set at $40,000. In addition to printing and communications, the Regulations also address office accommodation and stationery entitlements for members. They specify the cost limits for office accommodation, equipment, facilities, office requisites, and stationery for both members of the House of Representatives and Senators. The entitlements are intended for parliamentary, electorate, or official business and must not be used for commercial purposes. The Regulations impose obligations on members to ensure that their use of the entitlements complies with the specified conditions. They must use the entitlements solely for parliamentary or electorate purposes and avoid any misuse for personal, commercial, or prohibited political activities. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in breaches of the Regulations, potentially leading to consequences under the Parliamentary Entitlements Act 1990. While the Regulations do not specify criminal or civil penalties for breaches, non-compliance could lead to scrutiny, investigation, and possible disciplinary action under the broader legislative framework governing parliamentary entitlements.

Instrument: Regulation
Concepts: Commencement Provisions; Regulatory Standards; Reporting & Disclosure Obligations; Licensing & Registration

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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.

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