Overview
In 2020–21, the department was appropriated $25.810m by the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No.1) 2020–21. This revenue included one-off departmental supplementation of $2.241m to support the elevated levels of committee activity during the financial year.
The department ended the financial year with an operating surplus of $1.798m (excluding asset related adjustments). The delayed timing of the 2020 budget and the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in delays in recruiting additional staff and a reduction in large expenditure items such as staff travel to support committees. Without the supplementary funding received in the October 2020 budget, the department would have been overspent against current resourcing levels.
Net results
The following table outlines a summary of financial results between 2019–20 and 2020–21:
| Statement of comprehensive income |
2020–21 ($’000) |
2019–20 ($’000) |
Variance ($’000) |
Variance
% |
| Total own-source revenue |
451 |
453 |
(2) |
0.4% |
| Total revenue from government |
25,810 |
23,452 |
2,358 |
10.1% |
| Total expenses |
24,909 |
24,185 |
724 |
3.0% |
| Net surplus/(deficit)* |
1,352 |
(280) |
|
|
* including asset related adjustments
The department’s operating expenses for 2020–21 were $24.463m (excluding asset related adjustments). The majority of the expenditure is on employee benefits ($22.163m), with the remaining nine per cent on supplier related expenses. A further breakdown of the proportion of expenses is shown in the following figure:
Figure 20 – Expense by type 2020–21
Financial position
The following table outlines a summary of financial position between 2019–20 and 2020–21:
| Statement of financial position |
2020–21 ($’000) |
2019–20 ($’000) |
Variance ($’000) |
Variance
% |
| Total assets |
17,461 |
15,951 |
1,510 |
9.5% |
| Total liabilities |
8,674 |
8,352 |
322 |
3.9% |
| Equity/Net assets |
8,787 |
7,599 |
1,188 |
15.6% |
As at 30 June 2021, the department’s net equity was $8.787m, representing $17.461m of assets offset by $8.674m of liabilities. Most of these assets and liabilities are of a financial nature, with the largest balance being appropriation and other receivables ($14.848m). The majority of the department’s liabilities relate to employee provisions ($7.778m) and the remainder to short term payable ($0.863m) for accrued salaries and trade payables.
Entity resource statement
The entity resource statement provides additional information about the funding sources that the department had access to during the year. Appendix 1 details the resources available to the department during 2020–21 and sets out a summary of total expenses for Outcome 1.
Sustainability
The department’s financial performance for the last five years is demonstrated below:
Figure 21 – Financial performance 2016–17 to 2020–21
While the department received one-off supplementation in 2020–21 and 2021–22, the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in department not spending the full allocation in 2020–21. If the number and duration of committees established by the Senate continues at this level in future parliaments, the cost of these services cannot be accommodated without further supplementation.