Treasury Regulations (Amendment)

Legislation au C2004L00840 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Statutory Rules

1976 No. 260

REGULATIONS UNDER THE AUDIT ACT 1901.*

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Audit Act 1901.

Dated this seventh day of December, 1976.

John R. Kerr

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

Treasurer.

 

Amendments of the Treasury Regulations†

1. Regulation 1 of the Treasury Regulations is repealed and the following regulation substituted:—

Citation.

“ 1. These Regulations may be cited as the Finance Regulations.”.

Parts.

2. Regulation 3 of the Treasury Regulations is repealed.

Interpretation.

3. Regulation 4 of the Treasury Regulations is amended—

(a) by inserting in sub-regulation (1), before the definition of “ Authorizing Officer ”, the following definition:—

“ ‘ Accounting Office ’ means an office of the Department of Finance established under regulation 123;”; and

(b) by omitting from sub-regulation (1) the definition of “ Sub-Treasury ”.

Repeal of regulation 108.

4. Regulation 108 of the Treasury Regulations is repealed.

Heading to Division 4 of Part III.

5. The heading to Division 4 of Part III of the Treasury Regulations is repealed and the following heading substituted:—

“ Division 4—Accounting Offices ”.

* Notified in the Australian Government Gazette on 7 December 1976.

† Statutory Rules 1942, No. 523 as amended to date. For previous amendments of the Treasury Regulations see footnote † to Statutory Rules 1976, No. 91 and see also Statutory Rules 1976, No. 91.

17240/76—Recommended retail price 15c 15/2.12.1976


Accounts kept by Departments to be subsidiary to Department of Finance accounts.

6. Regulation 127 of the Treasury Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-regulation (1) the words “ system of Treasury accounts ” and substituting the words “ Department of Finance system of accounts ”; and

(b) by omitting from sub-regulation (2) the words “ his Department ” and substituting the words “ the Department of Finance ”.

Additional amendments.

7. The Treasury Regulations are further amended as set out in the Schedule.

Saving-things done before commencement of Regulations.

8. Any advice, approval, authorization, certificate, permission, requirement or warrant that—

(a) was issued given or made before the commencement of these Regulations by—

(i) the Secretary to the Department of the Treasury;

(ii) a person holding an office in the Department of the Treasury of Deputy Secretary or First Assistant Secretary; or

(iii) a person authorized for the purpose by the Secretary to the Department of the Treasury,

under or in accordance with the Treasury Regulations as in force from time to time before the commencement of these Regulations; and

(b) had effect as such an advice, approval, authorization, certificate, per-mission, requirement or warrant immediately before the commencement of these Regulations,

has effect after the commencement of these Regulations as if issued, given or made immediately after the commencement of these Regulations by the Secretary to the Department of Finance under the Treasury Regulations as amended by these Regulations.

Saving—headings to Forms.

9. A statement, return or other document that is required to be in accordance with a form in the Schedule to the Treasury Regulations as amended by these Regulations shall not be treated as not being in accordance with that form by reason only that the heading to the statement, return or document—

(a) includes the words “ Treasury Regulations ”; or

(b) does not include the words “ Finance Regulations ”,

and any reference in the statement, return or document to the Treasury Regulations shall be read as a reference to the Treasury Regulations as amended by these Regulations.

Saving directions under the Treasury Regulations.

10. Any directions that were—

(a) given by the Secretary to the Department of the Treasury under the Treasury Regulations as in force from time to time before the commencement of these Regulations; and

(b) in force immediately before the commencement of these Regulations,

have effect after the commencement of these Regulations as if they were directions given immediately after the commencement of these Regulations by the Secretary to the Department of Finance under the Treasury Regulations as amended by these Regulations.


Saving—approvals given under directions before commencement of Regulations.

11. Any approval or authorization that—

(a) was issued or given before the commencement of these Regulations under a direction to which regulation 10 applies; and

(b) had effect for the purposes of that direction immediately before the commencement of these Regulations,

has effect after the commencement of these Regulations as if issued or given immediately after the commencement of these Regulations by the person or other approving or authorizing authority empowered under that direction as in force immediately after the commencement of these Regulations to issue or give such an approval.

SCHEDULE Regulation 7

Additional Amendments

1. The following provisions of the Treasury Regulations are amended by omitting the words “ Department of the Treasury ” and substituting the words “ Department of Finance ”:—

sub-regulation 4 (1) (definition of “ the Secretary ”), sub-regulations 41 (2), 61 (4), 71 (2), 74 (5), 84 (6), 86 (1) and 109 (2) and regulation 123.

2. The following provisions of the Treasury Regulations are amended by omitting the words “ Department of Works ” (wherever occurring) and substituting the words “ Department of Construction ”:—

sub-paragraph 46 (1) (b) (i), regulation 48 and paragraph 52aa (3) (c).

3. The following provisions of the Treasury Regulations are amended by omitting the words “Minister of Stale for Works” and substituting the words “Minister of State for Construction”:—

sub-paragraph 46 (1) (b) (i) and paragraph 49 (b).

4. The following provisions of the Treasury Regulations are amended by omitting the word “ Sub-Treasury ” (wherever occurring) and substituting the words “ Accounting Office ”:—

paragraph 12 (1) (b), regulations 26 and 27, sub-regulations 28 (2) and 73 (2) and regulation 126.

5. The Schedule to the Treasury Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting from the following forms the words “ Treasury Regulations ” and substituting the words “ Finance Regulations ”:—

Forms 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 12a, 13, 15, 16, 17, 26, 28, 28a, 28b, 28c, 35 and 38; and

(b) by omitting from the following forms the word “ Sub-Treasury ” and substituting the words “ Accounting Office ”:—

Forms 1, 3 and 28a.

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Overview

The Statutory Rules 1976 No. 260, made under the Audit Act 1901, were enacted to amend the Treasury Regulations and bring them into alignment with the re-structuring of the Department of the Treasury into the Department of Finance. The Regulations were made by the Governor-General, acting on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, and came into effect on 7 December 1976. The policy objective was to reflect the organisational changes by updating references and terminology throughout the regulations, thereby ensuring consistency and continuity in the administration of financial affairs. The Regulations repealed and substituted certain provisions of the Treasury Regulations, redefined terms such as "Accounting Office," and made specific amendments to clarify the role and scope of the Department of Finance. These amendments aimed to maintain the effectiveness and legality of actions taken under the previous regulations until the new ones took full effect.

Scope and Application

The Statutory Rules 1976 No. 260, which are Regulations under the Audit Act 1901, establish the Finance Regulations in lieu of the previous Treasury Regulations. These Regulations, made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, primarily focus on the amendments and repeals of certain provisions within the Treasury Regulations, thereby altering the administrative framework under which financial and accounting matters are managed within the Commonwealth. These changes include the renaming of the "Treasury Regulations" to "Finance Regulations" and the replacement of terms such as "Department of the Treasury" with "Department of Finance" and "Sub-Treasury" with "Accounting Office." The Regulations also provide for the continuity of actions taken under the old regulations before their commencement, ensuring that approvals, authorizations, and other formalities remain valid post-implementation. Furthermore, the Regulations contain provisions to adjust existing forms and references to align with the new nomenclature and structural changes.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of these Regulations under the Audit Act 1901 (C2004L00840) involve several amendments to existing Treasury Regulations, primarily to reflect changes in departmental names and responsibilities. For instance, Regulation 1 renames the Treasury Regulations to Finance Regulations (Section 1). The definitions within these Regulations are also updated; "Accounting Office" is introduced to replace "Sub-Treasury," and certain definitions are omitted or modified (Section 3). Regulation 108 is repealed (Section 4), and the heading to Division 4 of Part III is updated to reflect the new focus on Accounting Offices (Section 5). Additionally, Regulation 127 mandates that departmental accounts must align with the Department of Finance's system of accounts (Section 6). These Regulations impose specific obligations on the Department of Finance, ensuring that it maintains and updates the system of accounts to which departmental accounts must conform. The Regulations also require that any approvals, authorizations, or certificates issued before the commencement of these Regulations by the Department of the Treasury continue to be valid, as if issued by the Department of Finance (Sections 8 and 11). Furthermore, they provide for the transition of certain forms and references from "Treasury Regulations" to "Finance Regulations" and from "Sub-Treasury" to "Accounting Office" (Sections 8 and 9). There are no explicit provisions detailing offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaches of these Regulations. However, as they are regulations made under the Audit Act 1901, any non-compliance with these provisions could potentially lead to legal consequences under that Act, including fines and other penalties as prescribed by the relevant legislation.

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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.