Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au F2020L00677 Rules Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance

 

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014

 

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment

(Corporate Plans) Rules 2020

 

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) set out a framework for regulating resource management by Commonwealth entities and companies. Section 101 of the PGPA Act provides that the Finance Minister may make rules by legislative instrument to prescribe matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.

 

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020 (the Amending Rule) amends the PGPA Rule to enable accountable authorities of Commonwealth entities and directors of Commonwealth companies impacted by COVID-19 to defer the publication of corporate plans prepared for a reporting period beginning on 1 July 2020 up until 31 January 2021.

 

Details of the Amending Rule are set out at Attachment A. A statement of compatibility with human rights is at Attachment B.

 

The Amending Rule is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and is a disallowable instrument. 

 

Consultation

 

The Department of Finance worked with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in developing the Amending Rule. Commonwealth entities and companies have been informed of the proposed amendment of the PGPA Rule.

 

 

 


Attachment A

Details of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment
(Corporate Plans) Rules 2020

 

Section 1—Name of rule

 

This section provides that the title of the instrument is the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020 (the Amending Rule).

 

Section 2—Commencement

 

This section provides that each provision of the instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table.

 

The entire instrument commences on the day after the Amending Rule is registered.

 

Section 3—Authority

 

This section states that the Amending Rule is made under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act).

 

Section 4—Schedules

 

This section provides that each legislative instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Amending Rule is amended or repealed as set out, and that any item in a Schedule to this instrument operates or is applied as specified in the Schedule.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014

 

Item 1 – Subsections 16E(6) and (7)

 

Item 1 omits “last day of the second month of the reporting period for which the plan is prepared”, and substitutes “day specified in that subsection”. This is a technical amendment, recognising that the PGPA Rule specifies dates for the publication of corporate plans other than the last day of the second month of the reporting period. For example, subsection 40(2) provides that subsection 16E(3) applies as if it requires the plan to be published by 31 January 2021.

 

Item 2 – In the appropriate position in Chapter 5

 

Item 2 inserts a new Part 9 – Publication deadline for 2020-21 corporate plans.

 

Subsection 40(1) provides that section 40 applies in relation to a corporate plan for a Commonwealth entity that is prepared for a reporting period starting on 1 July 2020. For most Commonwealth entities, this means that the amendment will apply to their 2020-21 corporate plan.

 

Subsection 40(2) provides that if an accountable authority of a Commonwealth entity considers that, because of the impact of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 on the entity, it is not reasonably practicable for their corporate plan to be prepared and published by the day (‘the original specified day’) specified in subsection 16E(3), then:

  • subsection 16E(3) applies as if it requires the plan to be published by 31 January 2021; and
  • the plan must set out the accountable authority’s reasons for considering that, because of the impact of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 on the entity, it is not reasonably practicable for the plan to be prepared and published by the original specified day.

 

Subsection 40(3) clarifies that subsection 40(2) does not affect the operation of subsection 16E(6) (variation of corporate plan) or (7) (corporate plan for new entity). Under subsections 16E(6) and (7), in the case of a variation of corporate plan or new corporate plan, respectively, subsection 16E(3) applies as if it requires the plan to be published as soon as practicable after the plan is prepared.

 

Subsection 40(4) provides that subsections (1) to (3) apply to a Commonwealth company in the same way as those subsections apply to a Commonwealth entity.

 

Subsection 40(5) provides that, for the purposes of subsection (4), a reference in subsection (2) to the accountable authority of the Commonwealth entity is taken to be a reference to the directors of the Commonwealth company.


Attachment B

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

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

 

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020

 

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020 (Amending Rule) 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

 

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) establishes a framework for regulating resource management by the Commonwealth and relevant entities and companies. Section 101 of the PGPA Act provides that the Finance Minister may make rules by legislative instrument to prescribe matters giving effect to the Act.

 

The Amending Rule is being made to amend the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule). The PGPA Rule is to support the implementation of the PGPA Act.

 

The legislative instrument amends the PGPA Rule to set an alternative publication deadline for corporate plans for the 2020-21 reporting period for entities and companies impacted by the coronavirus known as COVID-19.

 

Human rights implications

 

The legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

 

Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

 

 

Overview

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020 (Amending Rule) was enacted to address the impact of COVID-19 on the publication timelines for corporate plans of Commonwealth entities and companies. This amendment was introduced under the authority of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) by the Minister for Finance. The policy objective of the Amending Rule is to provide flexibility to accountable authorities and directors, enabling them to defer the publication of corporate plans prepared for the reporting period beginning on 1 July 2020 until 31 January 2021, if they consider it not reasonably practicable due to the COVID-19 impact. The Amending Rule amends the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) to accommodate this flexibility while ensuring that any delay is adequately justified and documented in the corporate plans. This legislative instrument was developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders and is a disallowable instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Scope and Application

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020 amends the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014, which is a legislative instrument that supports the implementation of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The Act establishes a framework for regulating resource management by the Commonwealth and relevant entities and companies. The Rules are made under the authority of the Finance Minister and are applicable to Commonwealth entities and companies. The Rules provide an alternative publication deadline for corporate plans for the 2020-21 reporting period for entities and companies impacted by the coronavirus known as COVID-19. Specifically, the Rules allow the accountable authorities of Commonwealth entities and directors of Commonwealth companies to defer the publication of corporate plans prepared for a reporting period beginning on 1 July 2020 up until 31 January 2021 if they consider that, because of the impact of COVID-19 on the entity, it is not reasonably practicable for their corporate plan to be prepared and published by the original specified day. The Rules are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and are a disallowable instrument. The Rules do not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The Rules are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in those international instruments. The Rules have been developed by the Department of Finance in consultation with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, and Commonwealth entities and companies have been informed of the proposed amendment of the PGPA Rule.

Key Provisions

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment (Corporate Plans) Rules 2020 (Amending Rule) is a legislative instrument designed to amend the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) to allow for the deferral of corporate plan publication deadlines for Commonwealth entities and companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Section 40 of the Amending Rule introduces a new Part 9, which allows for a new publication deadline of 31 January 2021 for corporate plans that would otherwise be due in the second month of the reporting period starting on 1 July 2020. This applies to most Commonwealth entities’ 2020-21 corporate plans. The rule also clarifies that the new deadline does not affect the operation of subsections 16E(6) and (7) of the PGPA Rule, which relate to variations of corporate plans and new corporate plans, respectively. The Amending Rule imposes obligations on accountable authorities of Commonwealth entities and directors of Commonwealth companies to ensure that if they consider it not reasonably practicable to prepare and publish their corporate plans by the original specified day due to the impact of COVID-19, they must set out their reasons in the plan for the delay. This is a significant change from the previous requirement to publish plans by the last day of the second month of the reporting period. The rule also mandates that the new publication deadline of 31 January 2021 applies equally to Commonwealth companies, with the reference to the accountable authority of a Commonwealth entity being taken to mean the directors of the Commonwealth company. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Amending Rule, particularly in failing to set out the reasons for the delay in publishing the corporate plan, could result in non-compliance with the PGPA Act and Rule. While the Amending Rule does not specify explicit penalties for non-compliance, the PGPA Act and Rule do provide for potential civil and criminal consequences for breaches of the Act and Rule. These can include fines and other penalties as stipulated under the respective Acts. The Amending Rule, being a legislative instrument, is also subject to disallowance under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which provides mechanisms for parliamentary review and potential disallowance of the rule. In summary, the Amending Rule provides a temporary extension to the publication deadlines for corporate plans for the 2020-21 reporting period for entities and companies affected by COVID-19. It requires accountable authorities and directors to provide reasons for any delays in publication and ensures these changes are applied consistently across both Commonwealth entities and companies. While the rule itself does not outline specific penalties for non-compliance, the overarching framework under the PGPA Act and Rule provides for various enforcement mechanisms.

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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.