EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and the Public Service
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
PGPA Act Determination (SDO Special Account 2018)
Purpose of this determination
This determination is made under subsection 78(1) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) to establish the SDO Special Account 2018 (the special account).
The special account is being established to enable the Department of Finance (Finance) to facilitate the activities of the Service Delivery Office, a provider hub under the Government’s Shared Services Program (the Program).
The Government announced the Program in the 2015-16 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook context, with the purpose of consolidating the provision of transactional and other common services to a small number of designated shared services provider hubs within Australian Government entities. The delivery of corporate services through a hub arrangement aims to help entities to free up resources to better focus on the delivery of their core services. The Program applies to all non-corporate Commonwealth entities, with corporate Commonwealth entities able to opt-in.
The Service Delivery Office (SDO) is one of the shared services provider hubs. The SDO provides corporate transactional and technical services to consuming entities (these include Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies in the General Government Sector, as well as territory governments). These services include: pay and conditions, payroll administration, accounts payable, accounts receivable, international travel, credit cards and ICT systems, software and other assets.
The operating context of special accounts
A special account may be established, varied or revoked by a determination made by the Minister for Finance and the Public Service under section 78 of the PGPA Act, or by an Act.
A special account is an appropriation mechanism that sets aside amounts within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for spending on specified purposes. The purposes of a special account are set out in the establishing determination or Act.
In accordance with section 81 of the Constitution, all revenues or moneys raised or received by the Commonwealth Executive Government form one CRF. Section 83 of the Constitution provides that such money may not be drawn from the Treasury except under an appropriation made by law.
- A special account enables revenues or moneys raised or received to be set aside for the purposes of that special account.
- Payments made for the purposes of a special account are supported by an appropriation in the PGPA Act; subsection 78(4) appropriates the CRF for the purposes of a special account established by a determination, and subsection 80(1) appropriates the CRF for the purposes of a special account established by an Act.
Special account determinations
Special account determinations are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003. Special account determinations may be varied or revoked by a subsequent determination being made in accordance with subsection 78(3) of the PGPA Act.
In accordance with subsection 79(3) of the PGPA Act, the Minister for Finance and the Public Service must table a copy of such determinations in each House of the Parliament. Subsection 79(4) of the PGPA Act provides that special account determinations are subject to disallowance by either House of the Parliament. The disallowance period starts on the day a special account determination is tabled in the House and ends on the fifth sitting day after the determination was tabled in that House.
Subsection 79(5) provides that, if neither House passes a resolution to disallow a special account determination, the determination commences on the day immediately after the last day on which it could have been disallowed, or on a later day if specified in the determination. The determination does not specify a later day, so commences on the day mentioned in paragraph 79(5)(a) of the PGPA Act.
Human Rights
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is not required for this determination. Subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 requires a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights for all legislative instruments subject to disallowance under section 42 of the Legislation Act 2003. While determinations made or varied under subsections 78(1) or 78(3) of the PGPA Act are subject to disallowance under section 79 of the PGPA Act, subsection 79(2) provides that they are not subject to disallowance under section 42 of the Legislation Act 2003. As such, a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is not required.
Consultation
The Australian Government Solicitor and the Department of Finance were consulted in the preparation of this determination.