Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016-2017 [and] Appropration Bill (No. 4) 2016-2017

Bills Digest no. 80, 2016–17

PDF version [611KB]

Daniel Weight
Economics Section
27 March 2017

Contents

Constitutional requirements
The ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ and ‘other’ annual services of the Government
The Senate’s powers
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
Notional payments

Advance to the Finance Minister

Committee consideration

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016–2017

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Concluding comments

Date introduced: 9 February 2017
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Finance
Commencement: Both Bills would commence on Royal Assent.

Links: The links to the No. 3 Bill, its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech can be found on the Bill’s homepage.

The links to the No. 4 Bill, its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech can be found on the Bill’s homepage.

Both of the Bills can be accessed through the Australian Parliament website.

If 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 March 2017.

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017 (the ‘No. 3 Bill’) is to appropriate an additional $1,961,181,000 ($2.0 billion) from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)[1] in the 2016–17 financial year for the ordinary annual services of the Government.

The purpose of the Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016–2017 (the ‘No. 2 Bill’) is to appropriate an additional $284,283,000 ($284.3 million) from the CRF in the 2016–17 financial year for the other annual services of the Government.

These amounts are in addition to amounts appropriated for the Executive Government and Judiciary in May and December 2016 by:

the Supply Act (No. 1) 2016–2017[2]
the Supply Act (No. 2) 2016–2017[3]
the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017[4] and
the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017.[5]

The details of the additional amounts proposed to be appropriated were set out in the 2016–17 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) that was released by the Treasurer on 19 December 2016.[6]

The ‘Abstracts’ to Schedule 1 of the No. 3 Bill and Schedule 2 to the No. 4 Bill provide the following summaries of the amounts proposed to be appropriated by Portfolio by each Bill.[7]

Portfolio	No. 3 Bill Total	No. 4 Bill Total
	$'000	$'000
Agriculture and Water Resources	12,474	5,456
Attorney‑General’s	169,557	31,486
Communications and the Arts	14,443	3,815
Defence	818,084	267
Education and Training	14,484	2,992
Employment	19,712	1,063
Environment and Energy	7,553	10,740
Finance	18,862	218
Foreign Affairs and Trade	99,631	9,680
Health	143,127	18,496
Immigration and Border Protection	199,729	300
Industry, Innovation and Science	39,660	313
Infrastructure and Regional Development	93,854	119,168
Prime Minister and Cabinet	118,217	-
Social Services	168,470	79,928
Treasury	23,324	361
Total	1,961,181	284,283

Significant items within each Portfolio are identified in the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Mr Sukkar’s, second reading speeches to each Bill.[8]

Structure of the Bills

Part 1 of each Bill deals with preliminary matters, including when the Acts commence, how to interpret the Acts, and the deeming of notional payments between non-corporate Commonwealth entities to be real transactions.[9]

Part 2 of each Bill outlines the quantum and types of appropriation from the CRF.

Part 3 of each Bill provides for an Advance to the Finance Minister (AFM).[10]

Part 4 of each Bill deals 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.

Schedule 1 of the No. 4 Bill nominates the Ministers that are able to impose conditions on grants of financial assistance to the states and territories proposed in that Bill.

Schedule 1 of the No. 3 Bill and Schedule 2 of Bill No. 4 contain the details of the amounts and types of appropriation proposed to be made to each entity.

Appropriations generally

An appropriation is the legal release of moneys from the CRF. Appropriation Acts, however, do not create a source of power for the Commonwealth to spend money; they merely release that money from the CRF. The Commonwealth’s power to spend money must be found in other parts of the Constitution.[11]

Under the terms of the Constitution, a Bill proposing to appropriate moneys from the CRF must satisfy certain unique requirements. An Appropriation Bill must also comply with certain presentational requirements.

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 ...[12]

Section 83 of the Constitution provides that no money may be withdrawn from the CRF ‘except under appropriation made by law’.[13] 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.

Section 53 of the Constitution prevents proposed laws appropriating moneys originating in the Senate.[14] Further, under section 56 of the Constitution, all proposed laws for the appropriation of moneys may only be introduced into the House of Representatives following a recommendation by the Governor-General.[15] As the Governor‑General only acts upon the advice of the Executive, this provision of the Constitution prevents non‑government members of the House of Representatives from introducing Bills that would propose to appropriate money from the CRF.[16]

The ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ and ‘other’ annual services of the Government

Section 54 of the Constitution requires that there be a separate law appropriating funds for the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’, and that other matters must not be dealt with in the same Bill.[17] However, neither the ‘ordinary annual services of the Government’ nor the ‘other’ annual services of the Government are 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.[18] Several amendments have been made to the Compact since 1965 and, in 2010, the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing recommended that the Senate restate the Compact in a consolidated form.[19] 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.[20]

Adherence to the Compact has not always been strict, and the High Court has held that any disagreements between the Houses are not justiciable.[21] Any disputes, therefore, are to be determined between the Houses themselves.

The Senate’s powers

Section 53 of the Constitution provides, among other things, that the Senate may not amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government. The Senate may, however, return such proposed laws to the House of Representatives and request, by message, the omission or amendment of any items or provisions.

The Senate may amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys 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’.[22] Conceivably, the Senate could amend an appropriation Bill for the other annual services of Government in order to, for example, redirect the proposed appropriation to another purpose, or reduce the proposed appropriation to nil.

Where a Bill for the ordinary annual services of the Government includes amounts that the Senate considers should, because of the Compact, be included in a Bill for the other annual services of the Government, the Senate may elect to deal with that Bill as if it were a Bill for the other annual services of government. In other words, the Senate may treat such a Bill as being susceptible to amendment.[23]

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.[24] Generally, administered expenses are the costs of providing the programs that agencies run for the Government, while departmental expenses are the costs incurred in running agencies.

Appropriation Bills, therefore, distinguish between ‘administered’ expenses and ‘departmental’ expenses. Administered appropriation may only be used for the program or outcome that it is appropriated for, while departmental appropriation may be moved between different departmental activities.[25]

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 ...[26]

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, as articulated in an entity’s outcome statement. The Department of Finance’s Guide to preparing the 2016-17 Portfolio Budget Statements advised as follows with respect to outcome statements:

... outcome statements articulate Government objectives and form an integral part of the appropriations framework. They:

1. explain the purpose for which annual appropriations are approved by the Parliament for use by entities;

2. provide a basis for budgeting and reporting against the use of appropriated funds; and

3. measure and assess entity and program non-financial performance in contributing to Government policy objectives.

An outcome statement should provide an immediate impression of what success looks like. It should provide readers with a sense of what performance information is likely to be useful in assessing whether a specific outcome is delivered satisfactorily.[27] [emphasis added]

Outcome statements 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.[28] Instead, amounts are appropriated to relevant departments for on‑payment to corporate Commonwealth entities within the department’s 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.

Notional payments

Because of section 83 of the Constitution, all withdrawals of monies from the CRF require an appropriation. Constitutionally, however, payments between entities that are both part of the Commonwealth, such as between two non-corporate Commonwealth entities, do not require an appropriation as they are movements of moneys within the CRF, not a withdrawal.

To avoid the difficulties that might arise in working out whether or not an individual payment does or does not require an appropriation—that is, whether a payment is between entities that are both part of the Commonwealth (such as between two departments), or whether a payment is from the Commonwealth to an entity outside of the Commonwealth (such as to an individual or a corporation)—the Appropriation Bills contain a deeming provision that requires that all notional transactions between non-corporate Commonwealth entities to be nonetheless treated as withdrawals from the CRF.[29]

Advance to the Finance Minister

An advance to the Finance Minister is an appropriation of moneys without any particular outcome or purpose specified. Typically, the advance is established in the first Appropriation Acts each year and then replenished whenever supplementary Appropriation Acts are passed.[30]

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.[31]

The amount of appropriation allocated to the Advance to the Finance Minister in 2016–17 was $295 million in relation to the ordinary annual services of the Government and $380 million in relation to the other annual services of the Government.[32]

In order to access an advance, the Finance Minister 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[33] respectively do not apply.[34] The Federal Register of Legislation shows that, so far in 2016–17, there have been no amounts drawn against either advance, as no instruments have been registered.[35]

Despite no monies having been drawn against either Advance to the Finance Minister so far in 2016–17, clause 10 of the No. 3 Bill would reset the amount available under the Advance to the Finance Minister in relation to the ordinary annual services of the Government to $295 million and clause 12 of the No. 4 Bill would reset the amount other annual services of the Government, had any monies been drawn thus far in 2016–17.

Committee consideration

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

In its Scrutiny Digest No. 2 2017, the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills made comments in relation to both Bills.[36]

Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017

In relation to the No. 3 Bill, the Committee noted that initial expenditure for some items of expenditure announced in the 2016–17 Budget were inappropriately being treated as part of the ordinary annual services of Government because of their inclusion in the No. 3 Bill. These measures were:

‘Launch into Work pilot—establishment’ that is budgeted to cost $10 million over four years[37]
‘Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory’ that is budgeted to cost $57.1 million over two years[38] and
‘Rural Health Commissioner and Pathway for Rural Professionals—establishment’ that is budgeted to cost $4.4 million over four years.[39]

In relation to this matter, the Committee said:

The committee again notes that the government's approach to the classification of items that constitute ordinary annual services of the government is not consistent with the Senate resolution of 22 June 2010 relating to the classification of ordinary annual services expenditure in appropriation bills.

...

The committee draws the 2010 Senate resolution to the attention of Senators and notes that the inappropriate classification of items in appropriation bills undermines the Senate's constitutional right to amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for expenditure on all matters not involving the ordinary annual services of the government. Such inappropriate classification of items impacts on the Senate's ability to effectively scrutinise proposed appropriations as the Senate may be unable to distinguish between normal ongoing activities of government and new programs or projects.

The committee draws this matter to the attention of Senators as it appears that the initial expenditure in relation to some items in the latest set of appropriation bills may have been inappropriately classified as ordinary annual services (and therefore improperly included in Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017 which should only contain appropriations that are not amendable by the Senate).

The committee will continue to draw this important matter to the attention of Senators where appropriate in the future.[40]

Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016–2017

In relation to the No. 4 Bill, the Committee raised a specific concern with clause 14 of the Bill, which would allow the Executive to determine the terms and conditions that attach to the grants of financial assistance to the states and territories proposed to be provided by that Bill without further recourse to the Parliament. The Committee noted that under section 96 of the Constitution, the Parliament, not the Executive, is vested with the power to make grants to the states, but that typically the Parliament delegates that power to the Executive via legislation.[41]

The Committee discussed similar concerns about earlier Appropriation Bills, and noted the response provided by the Finance Minister,[42] and which was considered by the Committee in its Report No. 8 of 2016. In that Report, the Finance Minister is quoted as stating as follows:

I will ask my Department, in consultation with the Treasury, to review the current suite of Budget documentation and give consideration to including additional information on payments to the States, Territories and local government in time for the next Budget.[43]

In its Scrutiny Report No. 2 of 2017, the Committee thanked the Finance Minister for his continued engagement on the issue before asking the Minister as follows:

... the committee ... seeks the Minister's advice in relation to any progress that has been made in relation to including additional information on payments to the States, Territories and local government in this year's Budget documentation.[44]

The Committee also drew the attention of Senators to its concerns regarding clause 14.[45]

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

As required under Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth),[46] the Government has assessed both 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:

1 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].

2 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.

3 However, as the High Court has emphasised, beyond this, Appropriation Acts do not create rights and nor do they, importantly, impose any duties.

4 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.

5 Detailed information on the relevant appropriations, however, is contained in the portfolio statements.[47]

However, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has previously raised concerns about whether or not the allocation of funding proposed in Appropriation Bills might engage human rights considerations; particularly given the capacity for Appropriation Bills to give effect to a reduction in funding for programs that might be aimed at the realisation of human rights.

In its assessment of the No. 3 and No. 4 Bills, the Committee referred to its comments in relation to prior Appropriation Bills before stating as follows:

The committee notes that the statements of compatibility for the bills provide no assessment of their compatibility with human rights on the basis that they do not engage or otherwise create or impact on human rights. However, while the committee acknowledges that appropriations bills present particular challenges in terms of human rights assessments, the appropriation of funds may engage and potentially limit or promote a range of human rights that fall under the committee's mandate.

Given the difficulty of conducting measure-level assessments of appropriations bills, the committee recommends that consideration be given to developing alternative templates for assessing their human rights compatibility, drawing upon existing domestic and international precedents. Relevant factors in such an approach could include consideration of:

whether the bills are compatible with Australia's obligations of progressive realisation with respect to economic, social and cultural rights; and

whether any reductions in the allocation of funding are compatible with Australia's obligations not to unjustifiably take retrogressive or backward steps in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.[48]

The Committee stated that it did not require a response from the Minister in relation to these concerns.[49]

Concluding comments

The requirement for the Executive to secure the passage of Appropriation Bills from the Parliament is an important financial control on the Executive by the Parliament. These Bills, if passed, will be effective in releasing the proposed appropriations from the CRF.

If the comments by Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills about the inappropriate allocation of funding between the two Bills was to be addressed, Schedule 1 to the No 3. Bill and Schedule 2 to the No. 4 Bill would need to be amended to reallocate from the No. 3 Bill the proposed appropriation for the measures identified by that Committee as properly belonging in the No. 4 Bill.

[1]. The CRF consists of all revenues and moneys raised or received by the executive government of the Commonwealth. The CRF is self-executing, which means that all money received by the Commonwealth automatically becomes part of the CRF.

[2]. Supply Act (No. 1) 2016–2017.

[3]. Supply Act (No. 2) 2016–2017.

[4]. Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017.

[5]. Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017.

[6]. S Morrison (Treasurer) and M Cormann (Minister for Finance), ‘2016–17 mid-year economic and fiscal outlook’, media release, 19 December 2016.

[7]. Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017, Schedule 1, p. 9; Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016–2017, Schedule 2, p. 11.

[8]. M Sukkar (Assistant Minister to the Treasurer), ‘Second reading speech: Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017’, House of Representatives, Debates, 9 February 2017, p. 477; M Sukkar (Assistant Minister to the Treasurer), ‘Second reading speech: Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016–2017,’ House of Representatives, Debates, 9 February 2017, p. 478.

[9]. The need for notional payments to be deemed to be real payments is explained on page 6 of this Digest.

[10]. A provision in the Annual Appropriation Acts that enables the Finance Minister to provide additional appropriation to entities for urgent and unforeseen expenditure in the current year. This is known as an Advance to the Finance Minister. The Advance to the Finance Minister is explained further on page 7 of this digest.

[11]. Pape v Commissioner of Taxation (2009) 238 CLR 1, [2009] HCA 23.

[12]. Australian Constitution, section 81.

[13]. Ibid., section 83.

[14]. Ibid., section 53.

[15]. Ibid., section 56.

[16]. B Wright and P Fowler, House of Representatives practice, 6th edn, Department of the House of Representatives, Canberra, 2012, p. 424.

[17]. Australian Constitution, section 54: ‘The proposed law which appropriates revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government shall deal only with such proposed appropriation’.

[18]. J Odgers, Odgers' Australian Senate practice, 14th edn, Department of the Senate, Canberra, 2016, p. 386.

[19]. Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing, 50th report: ordinary annual services of the government, The Senate, Canberra, June 2010.

[20]. Australia, Senate, Journals, 127, 2008–10, 22 June 2010, pp. 3642–43.

[21]. Osborne v Commonwealth (1911) 12 CLR 321, [1911] HCA 19 per Griffith CJ at [336].

[22]. Australian Constitution, section 53.

[23]. Wright and Fowler, House of Representatives practice, op. cit., p. 430.

[24]. Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), Administered items, AASB 1050, December 2013.

[25]. Combet v Commonwealth (2005) 224 CLR 494, [2005] HCA 61, per Gummow, Hayne, Callinan and Heydon JJ at [123].

[26]. Attorney-General (Vic); Ex rel Dale v Commonwealth (‘Pharmaceutical Benefits case’) (1945) 71 CLR 237, [1945] HCA 30, per Latham CJ at [253].

[27]. Department of Finance, Guidance for preparing the 2016–17 portfolio budget statements, March 2016, p. 31.

[28]. Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, section 11, ‘Note’.

[29]. Appropriation Bill (No. 3), clause 5; Appropriation Bill (No. 4), clause 5.

[30]. For 2016–17, a smaller Advance to the Finance Minister was set by Supply Act (No. 1) 2016–2017 and the Supply Act (No. 2) 2016–2017, pending the passage of the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017 and the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017.

[31]. Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017, section 10; Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017, section 12.

[32]. Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017, subsection 10(3); Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017, subsection 12(3).

[33]. Legislation Act 2003.

[34]. Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017, subsection 10(5); Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017, subsection 12(5).

[35]. Supply Act (No. 1) 2016–2017; Supply Act (No. 2) 2016–2017; Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2016–2017; Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2016–2017.

[36]. Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny digest, 2, 2017, The Senate, 15 February 2017.

[37]. S Morrison (Treasurer) and M Cormann (Minister for Finance), Mid-year economic and fiscal outlook 2016–17, Commonwealth of Australia, 19 December 2016, p. 150.

[38]. Ibid., p. 137.

[39]. Ibid., p. 173.

[40]. Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny digest, 2, 2017, op. cit., pp. 4–5.

[41]. See, for example, Appropriation Bill (No. 4), clause 14 and Schedule 1.

[42]. Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Alert digest, 2, 2016, 24 February 2016; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Report, 8, 2016, 9 November 2016.

[43]. Ibid.

[44]. Ibid., p. 8.

[45]. Ibid., p. 8.

[46]. Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

[47]. Explanatory Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016–2017, p. 3; Explanatory Memorandum, Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016–2017, p. 4.

[48]. Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Scrutiny Report, 2, 2017, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 21 March 2017, p. 46.

[49]. Ibid., p. 44.

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