Bills Digest No. 114 2004–05
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No.
2) 2004–2005
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Bill
(No. 2) 2004–2005
Date Introduced: 10 February 2005
House: House
of Representatives
Portfolio: Finance and Administration
Commencement: Royal
Assent
To appropriate an additional $349 000 for the
operation of the parliamentary departments during 2004-2005.
Since 1982 the appropriations for the parliamentary departments have
been effected by a separate Bill. This follows the Fraser Government’s
consideration of the Report of the Senate Select Committee on Parliamentary
Appropriations and Staff which was tabled on 18 August 1981. Under current
arrangements, the executive Government maintains control over the contents
of the Bill as introduced. In theory, however, as the Appropriations (Parliamentary
Departments) Bill is not for the ordinary annual services of the Government,
it may be amended by the Senate.
The Parliamentary Services Act 1999 provides that the administration
of the Parliament is undertaken by at least two parliamentary departments.
Only the Departments of the Senate and the House of Representatives (the
chamber departments) are created by force of law. Other departments may
be established or abolished by resolutions passed by each House.(1)
In August 2003 the Senate and the House of Representatives both resolved
that there would be a Department of Parliamentary Services to support
the work of the Parliament,(2) and that it would be established
by amalgamating the Joint House Department with the Departments of the
Parliamentary Reporting Staff and the Parliamentary Library. The new
Department of Parliamentary Services commenced on 1 February 2004. The
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
are joint Presiding Officers responsible for the Department.
This Bill seeks additional funding for the two Chamber departments for
this financial year. According to the Parliamentary Secretary to the
Treasurer in his second reading speech on this Bill, the largest component
of these funds relates to increased expenditure on the Citizenship Visits
Program (CVP). The CVP is funded jointly by the Department of the House
of Representatives and the Department of the Senate and is managed by
the Serjeant-at-Arms Office in the Department of the House of Representatives.
The Citizenship Visits Program (CVP) provides a subsidy for secondary
students and final year primary students who travel more than 1000 kilometres
to visit Canberra on an organised school excursion. Funds are made available
on a per student basis at rates varying according to distances travelled.
The rates are $40 for students travelling between 1000 and 2000 kilometres,
$110 for students travelling between 2000 and 3000 kilometres and $230
for those students travelling more than 3000 kilometres. Tasmanian students
receive $110. This amount has regard to the additional expenses of the
sea/air crossing.
The subsidy is only available to students who participate in the range
of programs offered in Parliament House including a parliamentary education
program lasting one hour and a guided tour that takes in a visit to both
Chambers. Students whose principal purpose for visiting Canberra is to
engage in sporting or other cultural activities are not eligible to receive
funding under the program.
The CVP has been running since 1988 and the number of students visiting
Parliament House each year under the program has been growing. In the
last calendar year (2004) more than 108 500 students visited the
Parliament on organised school visits. So far this financial year (2004-2005),
103 560 bookings have been made.(3)
Clause 4 provides that Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) and Portfolio
Additional Estimates Statements (PAES) are to be considered as relevant
extrinsic material which may assist in the interpretation of the Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) legislation. PBS and PAES are statements prepared
by portfolios (or by departments in the case of parliamentary departments)
to explain the Budget appropriations in terms of outcomes. Their purpose
is to assist in explaining the proposed appropriations in the Appropriation
Bills.
Clause 6 lists the total amount appropriated by this Bill – that
is $349 000.
The Bill distinguishes between the basic appropriations for departmental
items and administered expenses. Departmental items are those over which
an agency has control, for example, salaries and operating expenses such
as depreciation. Administered expenses are funds administered by the parliamentary
department on behalf of the Commonwealth for its purposes. The Citizenship
Visits Program for which some additional funds are sought in this Bill,
is an example of administered expenses.
Clause 7 provides that for departmental items, the Finance Minister
may issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund amounts that do not exceed
that listed in the Schedule to the Bill, and that such funds must be used
for the departmental expenses of the relevant departments in providing
programs and services. Subclause 7(3) provides that where the amount
is for remuneration or allowances payable under the Remuneration Tribunal
Act 1973 or the Remuneration and Allowances Act 1990, the Minister
for Finance must issue that amount.
For administered expenses, clause 8 provides that the Finance
Minister may issue the lesser of two amounts; either the amount specified
in the item or the amount the Minister determines to be the administered
expenses incurred by the parliamentary department during the current year.
Clause 11 provides that the responsible Presiding Officer may
request the Finance Minister to make a written determination reducing
the appropriation for an item in the budget of a parliamentary department
by an amount specified in the determination. The amount of reduction is
to be no greater than the amount requested, or, where payments have already
been made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the difference between the
amount appropriated to an item and the amount already paid (proposed
paragraph 11(4)(b).) Reductions can only be made at the request of
the responsible Presiding Officer (proposed subclauses 11(1) and
99(3)). Proposed subclause 11(8) provides that a determination
made under this section may be disallowed by either House of Parliament
in accordance with section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Under section 31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act
1997, departments have access to certain monies received in payment
for services (clause 12). Services provided by parliamentary departments
that may attract receipts include contributions from participants towards
the cost of conferences and seminars conducted by departments, asset sales,
monies for accrued leave entitlements of transferred employees, and interest
earned on fixed term deposits with the Reserve Bank of Australia. It should
be noted that resources received free of charge are not covered by section
31 receipts but are part of the price of outputs. Revenues from other
sources are applied to the department’s operating expenses.
Under clause 13, the responsible Presiding Officer/s will be able
to increase the amount allocated to a departmental item to a maximum of
$200 000 for each of the three departments.
Clause 14 is similar to clause 13 but deals with increases
in items due to unforseen and urgent circumstances. The maximum increase
under clause 14 is a total of $300 000 each for the Departments
of the Senate and House of Representatives, and a total of $1 million
for the Department of Parliamentary Services.
Clause 17 appropriates the funds for services specified in Schedule
1 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
-
Parliamentary Services Act 1999, section 54.
-
The House of Representatives agreed to the resolution on 14 August
2003 and the Senate on 18 August 2003.
-
Information supplied by the Office of the Serjeant-at-Arms, 11/2/2005.
Rosemary Bell
16 February 2005
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament
using information available at the time of production. The views expressed
do not reflect an official position of the Information and Research Service,
nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of the
public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2005
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Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2005.
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