Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2020-2021 (No. 10)

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au F2022L01335 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013

Public Governance, Performance and Accountability

(Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 20202021 (No. 10)

Purpose of the determination

Section 75 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) enables the Finance Minister to determine that one or more Schedules to one or more Appropriation Acts are modified in a specified way in relation to the transfer of a function from one non-corporate Commonwealth entity to another. The power in section 75 recognises that the Executive Government will from time to time choose to reorganise the administration and delivery of its functions with commensurate transfers of resources, including appropriations, between entities.

Subsection 75(7) of the PGPA Act provides that a determination made under subsection (2) is a legislative instrument, but that section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination. The Explanatory Memorandum for the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Bill 2013 provides (at paragraph 370) that determinations made under section 75 are exempt from disallowance as the changes effected by determinations made under section 75 are in the nature of administrative changes only, relating to the Executive Government’s decisions about the allocation of functions to particular entities.

Under section 107 of the PGPA Act, the Finance Minister has delegated the power to make determinations under section 75 to the Secretary of the Department of Finance. Under section 109 of the PGPA Act, the Secretary has, in turn, subdelegated this power to certain officials within the Department of Finance.

Following the 2022 Federal Election, the Governor-General, acting on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, made an Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO) to commence on 1 July 2022. The new AAO available at https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/government/administrative-arrangements-order resulted in a number of machinery of government (MoG) changes.

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 20202021 (No. 10) (the amendment determination) amends the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Determination 20202021 (the principal determination) to reflect transfer of appropriations between MoG affected entities, as well as changes to outcome statement structures of transferring entities. The amendment determination does not change the total amount appropriated by the Parliament.

The principal determination modifies the 2020-21 Appropriation Acts to, among other things, increase or decrease appropriation items for affected entities to support the implementation of the new AAO.

The 2020-21 Appropriation Acts include:

  • the Supply Act (No. 1) 2020-2021;
  • the Supply Act (No. 2) 2020-2021;
  • the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2020-2021;
  • the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2020-2021;
  • the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2020-2021; and
  • the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2020-2021.

The amendment determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of section 8 of the Legislation Act 2003.

Commencement

The amendment determination commences immediately after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Statement of compatibility with human rights

A statement of compatibility with human rights is not required for the amendment 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. A determination made under subsection 75(2) of the PGPA Act is exempt from disallowance under subsection 75(7) of the PGPA Act. As such, a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required.

Consultation

Consistent with section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003, the affected entities were consulted in the preparation of the amendment determination.

Summary of amendments

  1. Item 1 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination has effect of amending outcome statement structures for transferring entities, i.e. those entities which have transferred some of their functions to receiving entities resulting in the loss or revision of some of the outcome statements for transferring entities.

The transferring entities in Item 1 include:

-          the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry;

-          the Attorney-General’s Department;

-          the Department of Education;

-          the Department of Industry, Science and Resources;

-          the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts; and

-          the Department of Home Affairs.

2.      Item 2 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination adds items 16 to 19 at the end of the table in subsection 5(3) of the principal determination, which has effect as if appropriation items in Schedule 1 to the Supply Act (No. 1) 2020-2021 were increased or decreased in accordance with the table included in the subsection. If an appropriation item exists only because of the principal determination, the increase is from a nil amount.

Item

Entity

Appropriation item

Previous increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

Current increase/ decrease by the amendment determination

 ($)

Total increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

16

National Recovery and Resilience Agency

Departmental item

0.00

-59,000.00

-59,000.00

17

National Emergency Management Agency

Departmental item

0.00

+59,000.00

+59,000.00

18

Department of Education

Administered item, Outcome 3

0.00

-1,552,561.07

-1,552,561.07

19

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Administered item, Outcome 2

0.00

+1,552,561.07

+1,552,561.07

Note: A positive amount reflects an increase in an appropriation item and a negative amount reflects a decrease in an appropriation item.

3.      Item 3 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination updates cumulative effect of the decrease in appropriation items for transferring entities and increase in appropriation items for receiving entities as set out in replacement items 9 and 15 of the table in subsection 7(2) of the principal determination.

Subsection 7(2) of the principal determination has effect as if appropriation items in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2020-2021 were increased or decreased in accordance with the table included in the subsection. If an appropriation item exists only because of the principal determination, the increase is from a nil amount.

Item

Entity

Appropriation item

Previous increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

Current increase/ decrease by the amendment determination

 ($)

Total increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

9

National Recovery and Resilience Agency

Departmental item

+6,271,000.00

-141,000.00

+6,130,000.00

15

National Recovery and Resilience Agency

Administered item, Outcome 1

+910,000.00

-99,000.00

+811,000.00

Note: A positive amount reflects an increase in an appropriation item and a negative amount reflects a decrease in an appropriation item.

4.      Item 4 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination adds items 27 to 32 at the end of the table in subsection 7(2) of the principal determination.

Item

Entity

Appropriation item

Previous increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

Current increase/ decrease by the amendment determination

 ($)

Total increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

27

National Emergency Management Agency

Administered item, Outcome 1

0.00

+99,000.00

+99,000.00

28

National Emergency Management Agency

Departmental item

0.00

+141,000.00

+141,000.00

29

Department of Education

Administered item, Outcome 3

0.00

-1,550,029,464.05

-1,550,029,464.05

30

Department of Education

Administered item, Outcome 4

0.00

-315,876,031.76

-315,876,031.76

31

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Administered item, Outcome 1

0.00

+315,876,031.76

+315,876,031.76

32

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Administered item, Outcome 2

0.00

+1,550,029,464.05

+1,550,029,464.05

Note: A positive amount reflects an increase in an appropriation item and a negative amount reflects a decrease in an appropriation item.

5.      Item 5 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination adds items 5 to 8 at the end of the table in subsection 9(2) of the principal determination, which has effect as if appropriation items in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2020-2021 were increased or decreased in accordance with the table included in the subsection. If an appropriation item exists only because of the principal determination, the increase is from a nil amount.

Item

Entity

Appropriation item

Previous increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

Current increase/ decrease by the amendment determination

 ($)

Total increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

5

Department of Education

Administered item, Outcome 3

0.00

-11,488,000.00

-11,488,000.00

6

Department of Education

Administered item, Outcome 4

0.00

-219,071,000.00

-219,071,000.00

7

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Administered item, Outcome 1

0.00

+219,071,000.00

+219,071,000.00

8

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Administered item, Outcome 2

0.00

+11,488,000.00

+11,488,000.00

Note: A positive amount reflects an increase in an appropriation item and a negative amount reflects a decrease in an appropriation item.

6.      Item 6 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination adds new subsection 10(2A) to the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2020-2021 which has effect as if Schedule 1 to the Act included an administered assets and liabilities item for the National Emergency Management Agency.

7.      Item 7 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination updates cumulative effect of the decrease in appropriation items for transferring entities and increase in appropriation items for receiving entities as set out in replacement item 2 of the table in subsection 10(3) of the principal determination.

Subsection 10(3) of the principal determination has effect as if appropriation items in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2020-2021 were increased or decreased in accordance with the table included in the subsection. If an appropriation item exists only because of the principal determination, the increase is from a nil amount.

Item

Entity

Appropriation item

Previous increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

Current increase/ decrease by the amendment determination

 ($)

Total increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

2

National Recovery and Resilience Agency

Administered assets and liabilities item

5,143,609.00

-4,428,505.00

715,104.00

Note: A positive amount reflects an increase in an appropriation item and a negative amount reflects a decrease in an appropriation item.

8.      Item 8 of Schedule 1 to the amendment determination adds item 5 at the end of the table in subsection 10(3) of the principal determination.

Item

Entity

Appropriation item

Previous increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

Current increase/ decrease by the amendment determination

 ($)

Total increase/ decrease by the principal determination

($)

5

National Emergency Management Agency

Administered assets and liabilities item

0.00

+4,428,505.00

+4,428,505.00

Note: A positive amount reflects an increase in an appropriation item and a negative amount reflects a decrease in an appropriation item.

Overview

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2020-2021 (No. 10) amends the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Determination 2020-2021. Enacted in 2013, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act was introduced to address the need for clear guidelines and accountability in the management of public funds and resources by the Commonwealth. The Act aims to ensure that public sector entities operate efficiently and effectively, providing value for money and achieving desired outcomes. The determination was made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Federal Executive Council and reflects the transfer of appropriations between entities as a result of the 2022 Administrative Arrangements Order. The amendment determination does not alter the total amount appropriated by Parliament but modifies the 2020-21 Appropriation Acts to support the implementation of the new Administrative Arrangements Order, including changes to outcome statement structures of transferring entities. The determination was prepared in consultation with the affected entities.

Scope and Application

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2020-2021 (No. 10) amends appropriations for specified non-corporate Commonwealth entities in light of machinery of government changes that followed the 2022 federal election. The amendment determination applies to appropriations as set out in the 2020-21 Appropriation Acts, including the Supply Acts and the Appropriation Acts (No. 1 to No. 4). The amendment determination modifies appropriations for entities such as the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the Attorney-General’s Department; the Department of Education; and others, by increasing or decreasing certain appropriation items as a result of the transfer of functions between these entities. The amendment determination does not alter the total amount appropriated by Parliament but ensures that the changes reflect the new administrative arrangements. The amendment determination is a legislative instrument and commences immediately after its registration on the Federal Register of Legislation. It is exempt from disallowance, hence a statement of compatibility with human rights is not required. The amendment determination was made after consultation with the affected entities.

Key Provisions

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2020–2021 (No. 10) modifies the appropriations of several non-corporate Commonwealth entities, as required by changes in administrative arrangements under the new Administrative Arrangements Order. This determination is an amendment to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Determination 2020–2021, reflecting the transfer of appropriations between affected machinery of government entities and changes to outcome statement structures. The amendment does not alter the total amount appropriated by Parliament. Entities impacted by the amendment include the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Attorney-General’s Department, the Department of Education, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and the Department of Home Affairs. The amendment involves specific increases and decreases to appropriation items for these entities. For instance, the National Recovery and Resilience Agency sees a decrease of $59,000, while the Department of Education experiences a decrease of $1,552,561. Conversely, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations sees an increase of $1,552,561. The determination imposes specific obligations on the entities affected by the appropriation changes. These obligations include adjusting their budget allocations to reflect the changes outlined in the amendment, ensuring compliance with the new administrative arrangements, and updating their financial records accordingly. The amendment also requires entities to review and, if necessary, revise their outcome statement structures to align with the new functions and responsibilities assigned to them. Breaching the provisions of this determination could result in administrative penalties, as there are no specific criminal or civil penalties outlined for non-compliance. However, failure to adhere to the appropriation changes and administrative adjustments could lead to financial mismanagement and potential audits by the Australian National Audit Office or the Department of Finance. The amendment determination is a legislative instrument and thus subject to the general legal framework governing legislative instruments in Australia. The amendment determination is effective immediately upon its registration on the Federal Register of Legislation. This swift implementation ensures that the changes are applied without delay, facilitating the smooth transition of resources and functions between the affected entities. The amendment is designed to be administrative in nature and, therefore, does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights. Consultation with the affected entities was undertaken as part of the legislative process, consistent with the requirements of the Legislation Act 2003.

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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.