Review of the Accrual Budget Documentation

Terms of reference

The Committee will inquire into the effectiveness of, and options for enhancing the format and content of, the current budget documentation including the Portfolio Budget Statements, Annual Reports and the Portfolio Additional Estimates, for the purposes of Parliamentary scrutiny.

Of particular concern to the Committee are the following:

• the link between the information contained in the PBSs and annual reports of agencies;
• the explanatory information in each PBS to assist Members and Senators to understand how funds were expended and the measures used to assess performance in achieving government outcomes;
• the explanation of significant variations in budgeted program expenditure;
• the relationship of the outcomes/outputs framework with the existing organisational structure of agencies;
• the level of aggregation of appropriations within portfolio agencies and in particular for administered items;
• the level of detail and consistency in the recording of forward estimates for outcomes and outputs;
• the form of recording of asset values and the capital use charge;
• the presentation of revenue estimates and variations;
• the presentation of budget aggregates, budget parameters, budget assumptions, forward estimates, reconciliation tables, and historical tables;
• explanations of departures from relevant ABS and accounting standards;
• the level of detail provided in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook; and
• the presentation of budgeted program expenditure and year on year variations.

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