Budget Resources
Philip Hamilton
The Budget includes pre-announced funding for new agencies
and statutory office-holders, particularly in the Defence and
Attorney-General’s portfolios. Some entities will transition through an interim
form before being established under legislation. The Australian
Government Organisations Register (AGOR) administered by the Department of
Finance categorises
Commonwealth entities by form. A Department of Finance
webpage and Parliamentary
Library Quick Guide further describe these categories.
A notable feature of this Budget is the relatively high
number of new entities being established, and equity investments in Government
Business Enterprises (GBEs), including the intention to eventually acquire
100% ownership in a company that is currently privately-owned.
New
agencies and statutory office-holders
Several new entities will be established in the Defence
portfolio to perform roles associated with the nuclear-powered
submarine program (for more on the program, refer to the ‘Nuclear’ Budget
Review article).
From 1 July the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) will
manage
and oversee Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program, succeeding the current
Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce. The
Minister has stated that the ASA will be established by Executive Order,
which suggests an Executive Agency under section 65 of the Public Service
Act 1999. The Budget allocated the ASA $4.2 billion over 10 years from
2023–24 and $482.7 million per year ongoing. This includes $15.3 million over
10 years from 2023–24 and $1.5 million per year ongoing to establish an Independent
Monitor and Adviser (IMA). The IMA will provide ‘independent assurance for
the nuclear-powered submarine program through periodic health-checks and
proactive advice’. The Budget papers note that ‘the Agency will be funded
through the Department of Defence until the Agency has been formally
established’ (page 94).
In addition, $7.9 million is allocated in 2023–24 for the ASA
to establish the Australian Nuclear-Powered Submarine Safety Regulator
and ‘develop associated nuclear regulatory standards and frameworks’ (page 95).
The
Minister has stated that ‘the Regulator will be independent of the
Australian Defence Force’s chain of command and directions from the Department
of Defence [and] both the ASA and the Regulator will be non-corporate
Commonwealth entities within the Defence portfolio and report directly to the
Minister for Defence’. In his second
reading speech for the Defence
Legislation Amendment (Naval Nuclear Propulsion) Bill 2023, the Minister
anticipated legislation to establish the Regulator ‘later this year’.
The Defence Innovation Hub and Next Generation Technologies
Fund will be replaced by the Advanced
Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA). Recent
reporting noted that ‘ASCA is the Australian Strategic Research Agency
Labor committed to in the 2022 election campaign but did not fund in its first
budget last year’. The Defence
Strategic Review report stated ‘it is our
view that ASCA must be an unencumbered entity outside of Defence’ (page 73). A Department
of Defence media release states that ‘from 1 July 2023 the operating model
will be developed, tested, refined and progressively implemented over 18
months.’ ASCA has been allocated $3.4 billion over 10 years from 2023–24 to
‘translate disruptive new technologies into Defence capability rapidly, in
close partnership with Australian industry. The cost of this measure will be
met from within the existing resourcing of the Department of Defence’ (page
91). In June 2022, the Parliamentary Library published a Flagpost
article on ASCA’s US equivalent, the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA), outlining how the ‘DARPA model’ could be implemented in an
Australian context.
In the Attorney-General’s portfolio, the Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission will receive $3.0 million over 4 years from 2023–24 and
$0.8 million per year ongoing (page 60). This is a statutory position under the
National
Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022.
The Budget provides $8.0 million over 4 years from 2023–24
and $2.0 million per year ongoing to establish an Anti-Slavery Commissioner
(page 60). As part of a statutory
review into the Modern
Slavery Act 2018, an issues
paper foreshadowed that establishing an Anti-Slavery Commissioner would
require legislation or legislative amendments (page 49). The review’s report
was due to be completed by 31 March 2023 and will subsequently be tabled
in Parliament.
In December 2022, the Government announced its intention
to abolish the Administrative
Appeals Tribunal (AAT). A public
consultation concluded on 12 May 2023. To support the establishment of a
new federal administrative review body, and for transitional activities, the
Budget provides $89.5 million over 5 years from 2022–23 and $1.5 million per
year ongoing. The funding comprises:
-
$63.4 million over two years from 2023–24 to ‘appoint additional
full-time members to address the backlog of AAT cases’
-
$14.4 million over 5 years from 2022–23 and $1.5 million per year
ongoing for the Attorney-General’s Department to ‘manage the transition to the
new administrative review body’
-
$11.7 million over two years from 2022–23 to ‘develop a modern
case-management system for the new administrative review body’.
The Budget notes that ‘funding for this measure has already
been provided for by the Government’ (page 61). In a related measure, the
Budget provides $4.0 million in 2023–24 for the Immigration Assessment Authority (in the
Home Affairs portfolio) to continue merits review of ‘unsuccessful protection
visa applications eligible for fast track review under the Migration Act
1958’ (page 155).
A week before the Budget, it was reported
that the Government would appoint a dedicated Privacy Commissioner. This
would restore the Office
of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to a three-commissioner
structure (the other office-holders being the Information Commissioner and the
Freedom of Information Commissioner). The Budget provides $44.3 million over 4
years from 2023‐24 and $8.4 million per year ongoing to support the
Privacy Commissioner, and ‘progress investigations and enforcement action in response
to privacy and data breaches, and enhance its data and analytics capability’ (page
64).
The Budget provides $83.2 million over 4 years from 2023–24
to establish a national Net Zero Authority (the Authority) to ‘promote
orderly and positive economic transformation associated with decarbonisation
and energy system change in regional areas, including support for impacted
workers’. Establishing the Authority requires legislation, so from 1 July 2023 the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet will establish an interim agency
to perform the relevant functions and develop the necessary legislation (page
192).
Following passage of the National
Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023 in April 2023, the Budget
provides $8.2 million over 4 years from 2023–24 and $1.2 million per year
ongoing for the Department of Industry, Science and Resources to establish and
oversee the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC). In
addition, $53.2 million is allocated for the NRFC’s establishment and
operational costs in 2023–24, with ongoing funding expected from investment revenues.
It is estimated the NRFC will earn $188.7 million over the forward estimates
from its $15.0 billion investment in loans, equity investments and guarantees
(page 165).
The Budget includes $91.1 million over two years from
2023–24 including $0.2 million in capital funding to ‘commence the
establishment of the Australian Centre for Disease Control’ (page 131). A ministerial
media release referred to an ‘interim’ arrangement in the Department of
Health and Aged Care, which suggests that the final structure is yet to be
determined, or may require legislation (page 117).
In the Finance portfolio, $51.7 million over 4 years from
2023–24 and $12.4 million per year ongoing has been allocated to establish the Parliamentary
Workplace Support Service as an independent statutory authority. The new
body will provide human resources and work health and safety support to
parliamentarians and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff)
Act 1984 (page 113), services which are currently provided by the
Department of Finance.
The Budget provides information about Government investments
in several companies, but financial information is unreported due to ‘commercial
sensitivities’.
The Budget provides equity funding
to WSA
Co Limited, a GBE, for ‘the construction of facilities to support border
services and law enforcement operations at the Western Sydney International
(Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport’ (page 172).
In the Defence portfolio the
Government will provide an equity injection over 5 years from 2023–24 to Australian
Naval Infrastructure Pty Ltd, a GBE, for ‘early construction and design
works for a submarine construction yard and to design the Skills and Training
Academy, in South Australia’ (page 96).
The Government also intends to eventually acquire 100%
ownership of CEA Technologies Pty Ltd, an
Australian company that designs, develops and manufactures highly-regarded
civil and military radar and communications systems for land, sea and air. Describing
the deal as ‘unusual’, the Australian
Financial Review has reported that:
under the agreement the federal
government will buy out American defence giant Northrop Grumman’s 49 per
cent stake by July. Eighteen months later, CEA Technologies will become majority-owned
by the Commonwealth and converted to a government business enterprise (GBE) as
other minority shareholders are bought out.
At the end of that 18 months,
the company’s co-founder, Ian Croser, will remain the lone minority
shareholder. The Commonwealth has first rights to buy those shares if Mr Croser
wants to divest them, or dies, meaning that over time the company will become
100 per cent owned by taxpayers. … Government sources maintained the deal was a
one-off and it was not looking to buy other defence companies.
The Budget provides $3.2 million over 4 years from 2023–24
and $0.8 million per year ongoing to ‘support effective governance of the
Commonwealth interest in CEA Technologies Pty Limited’ (page 114).
All online articles accessed May 2023
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