Chapter 1Overview
1.1On 7 February 2024, the Senate referred the following to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (the committee) for examination and report:
particulars of estimates proposed additional expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2024 [Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2023-2024].
particulars of certain proposed additional expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2024 [Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2023-2024].
particulars of proposed additional expenditure in relation to the parliamentary departments in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2024 [Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 2) 2023-2024].
1.2A reporting date of 19 March 2024 was set for the committee to report to the Senate on its consideration of Additional Estimates 2023–24.
1.3In accordance with a resolution of the Senate on 27 July 2022, the committee has responsibility for examining the expenditure and outcomes of the following departments and agencies:
Parliamentary departments;
Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC) portfolio;
Finance portfolio; and
cross-portfolio on Indigenous matters.
1.4Departments and agencies under the committee's oversight are listed in Appendix 1 of this report.
Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2023-24
1.5The Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES) 2023–24 for the PMC portfolio, the Finance portfolio and the Parliamentary departments were tabled in the Senate on 7 February 2024.
Public hearings
1.6In accordance with a resolution of the Senate, the committee held public hearings for Budget Estimates 2023–24 on the following dates:
Monday 12 February 2024—Parliamentary Departments, PMC portfolio, and Finance portfolio;
Tuesday 13 February 2024—PMC portfolio and Finance portfolio; and
Friday 16 February 2024—Cross-portfolio Indigenous Matters.
1.7The committee heard evidence from Senator the Hon Sue Lines, President of the Senate and the following Ministers:
Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, Minister for Women, Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service
Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade, Assistant Minister for Manufacturing
Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health
1.8The committee called the following departments and agencies to appear:
Parliamentary departments
Parliamentary Budget Office
Department of the Senate
Department of Parliamentary Services
Prime Minister & Cabinet portfolio
Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Office of National Intelligence
Workplace Gender Equality Agency
Australian Public Service Commission
Australian National Audit Office
Finance portfolio
Department of Finance
Australian Electoral Commission
Parliamentary Workplace Support Service
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
ASC Pty Ltd
Australian Naval Infrastructure Pty Ltd
Future Fund Management Agency
Digital Transformation Agency
Cross-portfolio on Indigenous matters
National Indigenous Australians Agency
Department of Health and Aged Care
Anindilyakwa Land Council
Central Land Council
Northern Land Council
Tiwi Land Council
Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council
Torres Strait Regional Authority
Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations
Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation
Indigenous Business Australia
Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation
Office of Township Leasing
1.9The following agencies were released on the day of their respective hearings:
Department of Health; and
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
1.10Documents tabled during the hearings are listed in Appendix 2.
1.11Documents received as additional information are listed in Appendix 3.
Questions on notice and Hansard transcripts
1.12The committee set Thursday, 4 April 2024 as the return date for answers to questions on notice arising from the Additional Estimates 2023–24 hearings.
1.13Answers to questions on notice are published on the committee's estimates webpage as they are received, along with the Hansard transcripts of the proceedings of the hearings.
Timeliness of Answers to Questions on Notice
1.14For Supplementary Budget Estimates 2023-24, the committee set Friday, 15December 2023 as the due date for the return of answers to questions on notice.
1.15Some answers from the Finance portfolio and the PMC portfolio were provided after the due date. However, the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) provided 144 answers to questions on notice the evening prior to the Indigenous Matters cross-portfolio hearing. The provision of answers so close to the hearing inhibited the committee's efforts to examine the operations of the NIAA and several Indigenous Portfolio Bodies. The committee encourages the NIAA to provide answers to questions on notice in line with the due date set by the committee.
1.16The committee is also concerned with the content of some answers to questions on notice from the PMC portfolio. Several answers referenced hyperlinks that were broken or blank and did not contain useful information.
1.17The committee considers incomplete answers not conducive to the transparency and accountability of government expenditure and departmental administration. The committee encourages portfolio departments and agencies to provide answers that do not unnecessarily reference hyperlinks or external online material.
Note on References
1.18References to the Hansard transcript are to the proof Hansard; page numbers may vary between the proof and official Hansard transcripts.
Record of proceedings
1.19This report does not attempt to analyse the evidence presented during the hearings. Instead, it provides a summary of some of the key issues that were examined by the committee for each portfolio.