Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2022-2023 (No. 3)

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au F2022L01336 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 20222023 (No. 3)

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 20222023 (No. 3) (the amendment determination) amends the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Determination 20222023 (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 Supply Act (No. 1) 2022-2023 and the Supply Act (No. 2) 2022-2023 to, among other things, increase or decrease appropriation items for affected entities to support the implementation of the new AAO and other smaller MoG changes that did not require consideration by the Federal Executive Council.

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 updates the 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 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 50 of the table in subsection 6(4) of the principal determination.

Subsection 6(4) of the principal determination has effect as if appropriation items in Schedule 1 to the Supply Act (No. 1) 2022-2023 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

($)

1

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Departmental item

-152,957,000.00

+39,233,522.28

-113,723,477.72

2

AttorneyGeneral’s Department

Departmental item

-6,998,662.83

+6,399,370.00

-599,292.83

3

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Departmental item

+197,103,400.00

-37,393,719.60

+159,709,680.40

5

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Departmental item

+279,320,768.83

+984.00

+279,321,752.83

7

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Departmental item

-7,104,016.00

-372,984.00

-7,477,000.00

8

Department of Home Affairs

Departmental item

-9,982,772.00

-11,064,579.46

-21,047,351.46

11

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Administered item, Outcome 1

-171,207,000.00

-5,806,668.00

-177,013,668.00

13

AttorneyGeneral’s Department

Administered item, Outcome 1

+9,200,000.00

+2,626,980.00

+11,826,980.00

15

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Administered item, Outcome 1

+190,355,000.00

+1,028,750.00

+191,383,750.00

16

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Administered item, Outcome 2

+171,207,000.00

+5,806,668.00

+177,013,668.00

17

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Administered item, Outcome 4

+149,151,938.80

+2,519,522.48

+151,671,461.28

20

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Administered item, Outcome 1

+804,946,438.66

+561.34

+804,947,000.00

23

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Administered item, Outcome 1

-13,644,438.66

-1,029,311.34

-14,673,750.00

24

Department of Home Affairs

Administered item, Outcome 1

-14,380,897.00

-10,262,219.50

-24,643,116.50

45

National Emergency Management Agency

Departmental item

+56,331,772.00

+4,665,209.46

+60,996,981.46

46

National Recovery and Resilience Agency

Administered item, Outcome 1

-110,000,000.00

-102,924,974.40

-212,924,974.40

47

National Emergency Management Agency

Administered item, Outcome 1

+115,443,897.00

+110,560,213.90

+226,004,110.90

48

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Departmental item

-5,008,490.00

-1,467,802.68

-6,476,292.68

50

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Administered item, Outcome 3

-5,899,938.80

-2,519,522.48

-8,419,461.28

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 adds items 51 and 52 at the end of the table in subsection 6(4) 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

($)

51

Department of Finance

Administered item, Outcome 3

0.00

-106,000.00

-106,000.00

52

Australian Public Service Commission

Administered item, Outcome 1

0.00

+106,000.00

+106,000.00

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 updates the 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 2, 6 and 17 of the table in subsection 7(5) of the principal determination.

Subsection 7(5) of the principal determination has effect as if appropriation items in Schedule 2 to the Supply Act (No. 2) 2022-2023 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

Attorney-General’s Department

Other departmental item (Equity Injections)

+1,898,000.00

+1,369,000.00

+3,267,000.00

6

Department of Home Affairs

Other departmental item (Equity Injections)

-3,225,333.00

-1,695,667.00

-4,921,000.00

17

National Emergency Management Agency

Other departmental item (Equity Injections)

+1,035,333.00

+326,667.00

+1,362,000.00

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 2022-2023 (No. 3) was enacted to address the need for adjustments in appropriations following the reorganisation of machinery of government changes resulting from the 2022 Federal Election. This amendment determination, introduced by the Governor-General on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, modifies the appropriations in the Supply Acts for entities affected by the new Administrative Arrangements Order. The determination was made under section 75 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which empowers the Finance Minister to adjust appropriations during transfers of functions between non-corporate Commonwealth entities. This power ensures that administrative changes are efficiently managed without altering the total appropriations approved by Parliament. The amendment determination, which is exempt from disallowance under section 42 of the Legislation Act 2003, updates the appropriation items for various departments and agencies, reflecting both decreases and increases as a result of the machinery of government changes. This adjustment facilitates the implementation of the new administrative arrangements while maintaining fiscal integrity.

Scope and Application

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2022-2023 (No. 3) applies to the transfer of appropriations between entities affected by machinery of government changes that followed the 2022 Federal Election. The amendment determination reflects the administrative changes arising from the new Administrative Arrangements Order and is limited to changes in appropriations without altering the total amount appropriated by the Parliament. The determination affects several Commonwealth entities, including the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Department of Education, among others. The amendment determination modifies the Supply Act (No. 1) 2022-2023 and the Supply Act (No. 2) 2022-2023 to adjust appropriation items for affected entities, ensuring alignment with the new administrative arrangements. The amendment determination is a legislative instrument and, consistent with the Legislation Act 2003, the affected entities were consulted during its preparation. The amendment determination does not require a statement of compatibility with human rights as it is exempt from disallowance under the Legislation Act 2003.

Key Provisions

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Amendment Determination 2022-2023 (No. 3) (Amendment Determination) amends the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Section 75 Transfers) Determination 2022-2023 (Principal Determination) to reflect transfers of appropriations between entities affected by machinery of government changes, as well as changes to outcome statement structures of transferring entities. These changes follow the Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO) made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, which commenced on 1 July 2022. The amendment does not change the total amount appropriated by the Parliament. Instead, the principal determination modifies the Supply Act (No. 1) 2022-2023 and the Supply Act (No. 2) 2022-2023 to adjust appropriation items for affected entities to support the implementation of the new AAO and other minor machinery of government changes. The amendment determination itself modifies the principal determination by updating outcome statement structures for transferring entities, including 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. Furthermore, it adjusts appropriation items for these entities as well as for receiving entities, as detailed in the amendment's schedule. The Act imposes specific obligations on the Finance Minister and officials within the Department of Finance, who are responsible for making determinations under section 75 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). These determinations must reflect the transfer of appropriations between entities affected by machinery of government changes and adjust outcome statement structures for transferring entities. The Secretary of the Department of Finance, who has been delegated this power, must consult with affected entities before making any determinations. This ensures that the changes made are aligned with the Executive Government's decisions about the allocation of functions to particular entities and support the implementation of the new Administrative Arrangements Order. The amendment determination itself does not create any new offences or penalties. However, any failure to comply with the requirements of the PGPA Act or the Supply Acts may result in civil or criminal consequences. For instance, section 128 of the PGPA Act provides that an entity that fails to comply with an administrative direction issued by the Finance Minister may be subject to a pecuniary penalty. Similarly, section 134 of the PGPA Act provides that an entity that fails to comply with a direction issued by the Finance Minister in relation to the preparation or audit of financial statements may be subject to a pecuniary penalty. Furthermore, section 30 of the Legislation Act 2003 provides that a person who contravenes a provision of a legislative instrument is liable to a penalty. The maximum penalty for a corporation is 500 penalty units, and for an individual, it is 100 penalty units. These penalties may be increased if the contravention is deliberate or reckless.

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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.