Bills Digest No. 114,
2016–17
PDF version [586KB]
Phillip Hawkins
Economics Section
15
June 2017
Contents
Purpose of the Bill
Structure of the Bill
Background
Constitutional requirements
Powers of the House of
Representatives to appropriate
The ‘ordinary annual services of
Government’ versus ‘other services of Government’
Presentational requirements
Departmental and administered
expenses
Outcomes and programs
Appropriations for ‘outcomes’ of
non-corporate Commonwealth entities
Appropriations for corporate
Commonwealth entities
Non-operating appropriations
Appropriations for payments to the
states
Advances to the Finance Minister and
the Presiding Officers
Debit limits
Committee consideration
Senate Standing Committee for the
Scrutiny of Bills
Financial implications
Statement of Compatibility with Human
Rights
Date introduced: 9
May 2017
House: House of
Representatives
Portfolio: Finance
Commencement: The
later of 1 July 2017 and Royal Assent
Links:
The links to the Appropriation
Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading
speech can be found on the Bill’s home page.
The links to the Appropriation
Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading
speech can be found on the Bill’s home page.
The links to the Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, its Explanatory
Memorandum and second reading speech can be found on the Bill’s home page.
All three Bills can be accessed through the Australian Parliament
website.
When Bills have been passed and have received Royal Assent,
they become Acts, which can be found at the Federal Register of Legislation
website.
All hyperlinks in this Bills Digest are correct as
at June 2017.
Purpose of
the Bill
The purpose of the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018
(the No. 1 Bill) is to seek an appropriation from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
(CRF) of $88,751,598,000 ($88.8 billion) for the ordinary services of
Government.[1]
Of this appropriation:
- $54,495,023,000
($54.5 billion) is for the departmental activities of government entities[2]
and
- $34,256,575,000
($34.3 billion) is for activities that government entities administer on behalf
of the Commonwealth Government.[3]
The purpose of the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018
(the No. 2 Bill) is to seek an appropriation for the other services of
Government. The No. 2 Bill seeks to appropriate $15,599,238,000 ($15.6 billion)
from the CRF:[4]
- $751,905,000
($752 million) for payments to states, ACT and NT and local governments[5]
and
- $14,847,333,000
($14.8 billion) for non-operating activities.[6]
The purpose of the Appropriation (Parliamentary
Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018 (the Parliamentary Departments Bill) is to
appropriate $326,129,000 ($326.1 million) for the Parliamentary departments.[7]
Structure
of the Bill
Part 1 of each Bill deals with preliminary matters,
including when the Acts commence, and how to interpret the Acts.
Part 2 of each Bill outlines the quantum and types
of appropriation from the CRF.
Part 3 of each Bill provides for either an Advance
to the Finance Minister (AFM) or an Advance to the Presiding Officers of the
Parliamentary departments, whichever is appropriate.
Part 4 of both the No. 1 Bill and the Parliamentary
Departments Bill and Part 5 of the No. 2 Bill deal with technical
matters including crediting amounts to special accounts, the formal
appropriation of moneys from the CRF, and the automatic repeal of the
subsequent Acts.
Part 4 of the No. 2 Bill sets the maximum amounts
that can be drawn each year from the CRF for three types of grant to the states
and territories that the Commonwealth may make. These limits are known as
‘debit limits’.
Schedule 1 of the No. 2 Bill nominates the
Ministers who are able to impose conditions on grants of financial assistance
to the states and territories proposed in that Bill.
Schedule 1 of the No. 1 Bill and the Parliamentary
Departments Bill and Schedule 2 of the No. 2 Bill contain the details of
the amounts and types of appropriation to be made to each entity.
Background
There are certain unique constitutional requirements that
a Bill proposing to appropriate moneys must satisfy. An appropriation Bill must
also comply with certain presentational requirements. The No. 1 and No. 2 and
Parliamentary Departments Bills do not deal with standing appropriations.
Constitutional
requirements
Section 81 of the Constitution provides:
All revenues or moneys raised or received by the Executive
Government of the Commonwealth shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund [CRF],
to be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth ...[8]
Section 83 of the Constitution provides that no
money may be withdrawn from the CRF ‘except under appropriation made by law’.[9]
The effect of these two sections is that all moneys received by the
Commonwealth must be paid into the CRF, and must not be spent before there is
an appropriation authorising specific expenditure.
Powers of
the House of Representatives to appropriate
Section 53 of the Constitution provides that
proposed laws appropriating money may not originate in the Senate.[10]
Further, under section 56 of the Constitution, all proposed laws for the
appropriation of money, may only be introduced following a recommendation by
the Governor-General.[11]
By convention the Governor‑General acts only upon the advice of the
Executive, so section 56 prevents non–government members of the House of
Representatives introducing Bills that would propose to appropriate money from
the CRF.[12]
Powers of the Senate to amend
The Senate may not amend proposed laws appropriating
revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government. The
Senate may, however, return to the House of Representatives any such proposed
laws requesting, by message, the omission or amendment of any items or
provisions.[13]
The Senate may amend proposed laws appropriating revenue
for purposes other than for the ordinary annual services of the Government, as
long as it does not ‘increase any proposed charge or burden on the people’.[14]
Conceivably, the Senate could amend an appropriation Bill for the other
services of Government so as to, for example, redirect the proposed
appropriation to another purpose, or reduce the proposed appropriation to nil.
The Senate may also request that, if new measures are included in a Bill for
the ‘ordinary annual services of Government’, the Bill be returned to the House
with a message requesting those new measures be omitted from the Bill.
The
‘ordinary annual services of Government’ versus ‘other services of Government’
Section 54 of the Constitution requires that there
be a separate law appropriating funds for the ‘ordinary annual services of
Government’, and that other matters must not be dealt with in the same Bill.[15]
However, what constitutes the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ and
the ‘other’ services of the Government is not defined in the Constitution.
A working distinction between ordinary and other annual
services was agreed in a ‘Compact’ between the Senate and the Government in
1965.[16]
The Compact has subsequently undergone several amendments. During 2010 the
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing recommended the Senate
restate the Compact in a consolidated form.[17]
On 22 June 2010, the Senate resolved as follows:
(1) To
reaffirm its constitutional right to amend proposed laws appropriating revenue
or moneys for expenditure on all matters not involving the ordinary annual
services of the Government.
(2) That appropriations for expenditure on:
(a) the construction of public works and
buildings;
(b) the acquisition of sites and buildings;
(c) items
of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure (but
not including the acquisition of computers or the fitting out of buildings);
(d) grants to the states under section 96 of
the Constitution;
(e) new policies not previously authorised by
special legislation;
(f) items regarded as equity injections and
loans; and
(g) existing asset replacement (which is to be
regarded as depreciation),
are not appropriations for the ordinary annual services of
the Government and that proposed laws for the appropriation of revenue or
moneys for expenditure on the said matters shall be presented to the Senate in
a separate appropriation bill subject to amendment by the Senate.
(3) That, in respect of payments to international
organisations:
(a) the
initial payment in effect represents a new policy decision and therefore should
be in Appropriation Bill (No. 2); and
(b) subsequent
payments represent a continuing government activity of supporting the
international organisation and therefore represent an ordinary annual service
and should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 1).
(4) That
all appropriation items for continuing activities for which appropriations have
been made in the past be regarded as part of ordinary annual services.[18]
Adherence to the Compact has not always been strict, and
the High Court has held that any disagreements between the Houses are not
justiciable.[19]
Any disputes, therefore, are to be determined between the Houses themselves.
Presentational requirements
Departmental and administered expenses
Australian Accounting Standard 1050 Administered Items
requires that government agencies distinguish between revenues and expenses
that they administer for the Government, and those over which they have some
control.[20]
Generally, administered expenses are the costs of programs that entities run
for the Government, while departmental expenses are the costs incurred in
running these entities.
Appropriation Bills, therefore, distinguish between
‘administered’ expenses and ‘departmental’ expenses. An administered
appropriation may be used only for the program or outcome that it is
appropriated for, while a departmental appropriation may be moved between
different departmental activities.[21]
Outcomes and programs
While the level of detail necessary for an Appropriation
Act to be valid is generally low, in the Pharmaceutical Benefits case
the High Court held:
... there cannot be appropriations in blank, appropriations for
no designated purpose, merely authorising expenditure ...[22]
The Appropriation Bills must therefore describe—in general
terms—the purpose for which moneys are to be used. The Bills use four methods
for describing the purposes of the proposed appropriations.
Appropriations for ‘outcomes’
of non-corporate Commonwealth entities
For non-corporate Commonwealth entities, the purposes of
operating appropriations (both departmental and administered) are specified
with reference to the ‘outcomes’ of those entities. In 2017, the Department of
Finance explained ‘outcome statements’ in the following terms:
Outcome statements articulate Government objectives and form
an integral part of the appropriations framework. They:
a) explain
the purpose for which annual appropriations are approved by the Parliament for
use by entities;
b) provide
a basis for budgeting and reporting against the use of appropriated funds; and
c) measure and assess entity and program non-financial performance in
contributing to Government objectives.
An outcome statement should provide an immediate impression
of what success looks like.[23]
Outcome statements, therefore, tend to be aspirational in
nature.
Appropriations for corporate
Commonwealth entities
As corporate Commonwealth entities are legally distinct
from the Commonwealth itself, moneys cannot be appropriated directly to those
entities.[24]
Instead, amounts are appropriated to relevant departments for on‑payment
to corporate Commonwealth entities within departments’ portfolios.
Non-operating appropriations
Non-operating appropriations are amounts designated for
the capital needs of entities. Typically, these amounts are equity injections
into entities, or moneys for the purchase or development of the assets of
entities. Under the Compact, they can only ever be proposed in a Bill dealing
with the ‘other’ annual services of Government.
Appropriations for payments to
the states
Under section 96 of the Constitution, the
Commonwealth Parliament may make payments to the states with or without
conditions. Amounts intended for payment to the states are identified
separately in appropriation Bills. Again, because of the Compact, amounts to
the states can only ever be proposed in a Bill dealing with the ‘other’ annual
services of Government. Amounts to the Australian Capital Territory and the
Northern Territory are also included with the amounts for the states.
Appropriations for the Parliament and the Judiciary
In 1981, the Senate Select Committee on Parliament’s
Appropriations and Staffing considered the appropriations for the Parliament.
That Committee noted the unique constitutional position of the Parliament
vis-à-vis the Executive. That Committee noted section 53 of the Constitution’s
reference to the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ before observing:
the Parliament may be ordinary; it may be annual; it may
even be regarded as a service; but it is not a service of the Government.
It is therefore inconsistent with the concept of the separation of powers and
the supremacy of Parliament to treat the provisions made for the Parliament as
being an ordinary annual service of the Government.[25]
(emphasis added)
That Committee recommended:
... all items of expenditure administered by the Executive
departments on behalf of the Parliament be brought together in [a]
Parliamentary Appropriation Bill ...
Since 1982, the appropriations for the Parliamentary
departments have been provided for via a distinct Appropriation Bill.
Quarantining appropriations in this way only applies to
the Parliamentary departments (of which there are currently four).[26]
It does not extend to other aspects of the finances of the Parliament, such as
providing for the remuneration and allowances of parliamentarians.
Despite the fact that, under the Constitution, the
Judiciary is also distinct from the Executive, there is no equivalent practice
whereby the Judiciary is provided for via a distinct Appropriation Bill.
Advances to
the Finance Minister and the Presiding Officers
The advance to the Finance Minister and the advance to the
responsible Presiding Officers is an appropriation of moneys without any
particular outcome or purpose specified. The advances are established in the
first Appropriation Acts each year. The advances are then replenished whenever
supplementary Appropriation Acts are passed.
The Finance Minister may use the amount appropriated as an
advance to modify the schedule to the Appropriation Act, but only where:
... the Finance Minister is
satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure, in the current year,
that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, [...]:
(a) because of an erroneous
omission or understatement; or
(b) because
the expenditure was unforeseen until after the last day on which it was
practicable to provide for it in the Bill for this Act before that Bill was
introduced into the House of Representatives.[27]
The Explanatory Memorandum asserts that an advance may
also be used to add a new item or outcome to the schedule.[28]
An equivalent legislative scheme is proposed for the
Presiding Officers.[29]
The amount of appropriation proposed to be allocated to
the advance to the Finance Minister in 2017–2018 is $295 million in relation to
the ordinary annual services of the Government;[30]
and $380 million in relation to the other annual services of the Government.[31]
For the Presiding Officers of the Parliament, the amounts
of appropriation proposed to be allocated to the advance in 2017–2018 are:
- $300,000 each in relation to the:
- Department of the Senate[32]
- Department of the House of Representatives[33] and
- Parliamentary Budget Office[34]
and
- $1,000,000 in relation to the Department of Parliamentary Services.[35]
In order to access an advance, the Finance Minister or
Presiding Officers, as the case may be, must issue a determination under the
relevant Appropriation Act. A determination is a legislative instrument, but
disallowance and sunsetting under section 42 and Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Legislation Act
2003 respectively do not apply.[36]
Debit
limits
In addition to appropriating moneys for the other annual
services of the Government, Part 4 of the No. 2 Bill also sets a maximum amount—known
as a ‘debit limit’—that may be provided to the states and territories under
three specific grant programs.
The legal appropriation for the three grant programs is
provided by the special appropriation in section 80 of the Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which provides a standing
appropriation for debits from special accounts. However, the design of the
legislative schemes associated with each of the three grant programs requires
that the maximum annual amount that may be debited under each program each year
is to be set in an annual appropriation Bill. The three grant programs are as
follows:
- grants
from the Education Investment Fund provided for by Part 3.2 of the Nation-building
Funds Act 2008,[37]
limited in the No. 2 Bill at $2,000,000[38]
- grants
of general purpose financial assistance (other than the revenue from the Goods
and Services Tax) provided under section 9 of the Federal Financial
Relations Act 2009,[39]
limited at $5,000,000,000[40]
and
- grants
made as National Partnership Payments via section 16 of the Federal
Financial Relations Act, limited at $25,000,000,000.[41]
Because the Compact prevents the No. 1 Bill from dealing
with grants to the states and territories, the debit limits are set in the No.
2 Bill.
Committee
consideration
Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
At the time of writing, the Bills that are the subject of
this Bills Digest had not been considered by the Senate Standing Committee for
the Scrutiny of Bills.
Financial
implications
The No. 1 Bill proposes to appropriate $88,751,598,000
($88.8 billion) from the CRF.[42]
The No. 2 Bill proposes to appropriate $15,599,238,000 ($15.6
billion) from the CRF.[43]
The Parliamentary Departments Bill proposes to appropriate
$326,129,000 ($326.1 million) from the CRF.[44]
The total amount of money proposed to be appropriated by
the three Bills is $104,676,965,000 ($104.7 billion).
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
As required under Part 3 of the Human Rights
(Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) the Government has assessed the
three Bills’ compatibility with the human rights and freedoms recognised or
declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of that Act. In
relation to the human rights implications of the Bills, the Government states:
The Bill seeks to appropriate money for the ordinary annual
services of the Government [or services that are not considered to be ordinary
annual services; or expenditure by the Parliamentary departments, as relevant].
Accordingly, the Bill performs an important constitutional
function, by authorising the withdrawal of money from the CRF for the broad
purposes identified in the Bill.
However, as the High Court has emphasised, beyond this,
Appropriation Acts do not create rights and nor do they, importantly, impose
any duties.
Given that the legal effect of Appropriation Bills is limited
in this way, the Bill is not seen as engaging, or otherwise affecting, the
rights or freedoms relevant to the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act
2011.
Detailed information on the relevant appropriations, however,
is contained in the portfolio statements.[45]
At the time of writing, the Bills that are the subject of
this Bills Digest had not been considered by the Parliamentary Joint Committee
on Human Rights.
Key issues and provisions
First covered are changes in the Bills from last year,
followed by the key provisions. The Parliamentary Library’s Budget Review
provides commentary on budget measures.[46]
Changes in Bill No. 1
The Schedule 1 summary, at page 11 of the No. 1
Bill shows that appropriations are expected to increase from $85.9 billion
during the 2016–17 financial year to an expected $88.8 billion in 2017–2018, an
increase of 3.3 per cent:
- departmental
appropriations increase from $52.9 billion to $54.5 billion (2.9 per cent)
- administered
appropriations increase from $33.0 billion to $34.3 billion (3.9 per cent).
Changes in Bill No. 2
The Schedule 2 summary, page 14 of the No. 2 Bill
shows that appropriations are expected to increase from $13.6 billion during
the 2016–17 financial year to an expected $15.6 billion in 2017–2018, an
increase of 14.7 per cent:
- payments
to the states, ACT, NT and local government are expected to decrease from $896.1
million to $751.9 million (‑16.0 per cent), largely due to decreases to
the Infrastructure and Regional Development, Education and Training and
Attorney-General’s portfolios
- there
are no New Administered Outcomes
- non-operating
(capital) increase from $12.7 billion to $14.8 billion (16.8 per cent).
Changes to the Parliamentary
Departments Bill
The Schedule 1 summary, at page 11 of the
Parliamentary Departments Bill shows that appropriations are expected to
increase from $244.0 million during the 2016–17 financial year to an expected
$326.1 million in 2017–18, an increase of 33.7 per cent
- departmental
appropriations are not expected to change significantly from 2016–17 to 2017–18,
remaining around $197 million in both years
- administered
appropriations are expected to decrease from $7.3 million to $5.7 million (–23
per cent)
- appropriations
for non-operating expenses are expected to increase from $40.1 million to
$123.9 million (209 per cent). This entirely represents an increase in
non-operating expense appropriations to the Department of Parliamentary
Services. The second reading speech for the Parliamentary Departments Bill
states that this funding is ‘to maintain the integrity and amenity of
Parliament House’.[47]
[1]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, clause 6.
[2]. Ibid.,
Schedule 1, Summary of appropriations.
[3]. Ibid.
[4]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, clause 6.
[5]. Ibid.,
Schedule 2, Summary of appropriations.
[6]. Ibid.
[7]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, clause 6.
[8]. Constitution, section
81.
[9]. Constitution,
section 83.
[10]. Constitution,
section 53.
[11]. Constitution,
section 56.
[12]. BC
Wright and PE Fowler, eds, House
of Representatives practice, 6th edn, Department of the House of
Representatives, Canberra, 2012, p. 424.
[13]. Constitution, section
53.
[14]. Ibid.
[15]. Constitution,
section 54.
[16]. J
Odgers, H Evans and R Laing, eds, Odgers’
Australian Senate practice, 13th edn, Department of the Senate,
Canberra, 2012, p. 369.
[17]. Senate
Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing, 50th
report: ordinary annual services of the government, The Senate,
Canberra, June 2010.
[18]. Australia,
Senate, Journals,
127, 2008–10, 22 June 2010, pp. 3642–3.
[19]. Osborne
v Commonwealth (1911) 12 CLR 321, [1911]
HCA 19, per Griffith CJ at [336].
[20]. Australian
Accounting Standards Board (AASB), Australian
Accounting Standards Board 1050 administered items, AASB, Melbourne,
December 2013.
[21]. Combet
v Commonwealth (2005) 224 CLR 494, [2005]
HCA 61, per Gummow, Hayne, Callinan and Heydon JJ at [123].
[22]. Attorney-General
(Vic); Ex rel Dale v Commonwealth (‘Pharmaceutical Benefits case’) (1945) 71
CLR 237, [1945]
HCA 30, per Latham CJ at [253].
[23]. Department
of Finance (DoF), Guide
to preparing the 2017–18 portfolio budget statements, DoF, Canberra,
May 2017, p. 32.
[24]. Public Governance,
Performance and Accountability Act 2013, section 11, ‘Note’.
[25]. Australia,
Parliament, Parliament’s
appropriations and staffing: report of the Senate select committee, Parl.
Paper 151/1981, Canberra, 1981, p. 18.
[26]. Namely:
Department of the Senate, Department of the House of Representatives;
Department of Parliamentary Services, and the Parliamentary Budget Office.
[27]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, clause 10; Appropriation
Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, clause 12.
[28]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, p. 8; Explanatory
Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, p. 10.
[29]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, clause 11.
[30]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, subclause 10(3).
[31]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, subclause 12(3).
[32]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, subclause 11(3).
[33]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, subclause 11(4).
[34]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, subclause 11(6).
[35]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, subclause 11(5).
[36]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, subclause 10(4); Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018,
subclause 12(4); Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1)
2017–2018, subclause 11(7).
[37]. Nation-building
Funds Act 2008, section 199.
[38]. Appropriation
(No. 2) Bill 2017–2018, subclause 13(1).
[39]. Federal Financial
Relations Act 2009.
[40]. Appropriation
(No. 2) Bill 2017–2018, subclause 13(2).
[41]. Appropriation
(No. 2) Bill 2017–2018, subclause 13(3).
[42]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, clause 6.
[43]. Appropriation
Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, clause 6.
[44]. Appropriation
(Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, clause 6.
[45]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018, p. 3; Explanatory
Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2017–2018, p. 4; Explanatory
Memorandum, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018,
p. 4.
[46]. Australia,
Parliamentary Library, Budget
review 2017–18, Research paper series, 2017–18, Parliamentary
Library, Canberra, May 2017.
[47]. M
McCormack, ‘Second
reading speech: Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2017–2018’,
House of Representatives, Debates, 9 May 2017, p. 73.
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.
© Commonwealth of Australia
Creative Commons
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and to the extent that copyright subsists in a third party, this publication, its logo and front page design are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence.
In essence, you are free to copy and communicate this work in its current form for all non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to the author and abide by the other licence terms. The work cannot be adapted or modified in any way. Content from this publication should be attributed in the following way: Author(s), Title of publication, Series Name and No, Publisher, Date.
To the extent that copyright subsists in third party quotes it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
Inquiries regarding the licence and any use of the publication are welcome to webmanager@aph.gov.au.
Disclaimer: Bills Digests are prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament. They are produced under time and resource constraints and aim to be available in time for debate in the Chambers. The views expressed in Bills Digests do not reflect an official position of the Australian Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion. Bills Digests reflect the relevant legislation as introduced and do not canvass subsequent amendments or developments. Other sources should be consulted to determine the official status of the Bill.
Any concerns or complaints should be directed to the Parliamentary Librarian. Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications with Senators and Members and their staff. To access this service, clients may contact the author or the Library‘s Central Enquiry Point for referral.