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2013-2014-2015
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROPRIATION BILL (NO. 6) 2014-2015
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Finance,
Senator the Honourable Mathias Cormann)
Table of Acronyms and Defined Terms
AAO Administrative Arrangements Order
Act (No. 2) Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2014-2015
Act (No. 4) Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2014-2015
AFM Advance to the Finance Minister
AI Act Acts Interpretation Act 1901
CAC Act Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act
1997
Commonwealth An entity as defined in section 10 of the PGPA Act
entity
CRF Consolidated Revenue Fund
Finance Minister Minister for Finance
FMA Act Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997
GST Goods and Services Tax
LI Act Legislative Instruments Act 2003
MoG Machinery of Government
non-corporate Non-corporate Commonwealth entities as defined in
entities the PGPA Act or the High Court
PGPA Act Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013
PGPA (C&T) Act Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability (Consequential and Transitional
Provisions) Act 2014
PGPA Rules Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Rule 2014
portfolio Portfolio Budget Statements, Portfolio Additional
statements Estimates Statements and Portfolio Supplementary
Additional Estimates Statements
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 1
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Outline
Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015
General Outline
1 This Explanatory Memorandum accompanies Appropriation Bill (No. 6)
2014-2015 (the Bill).
2 The main purpose of the Bill is to propose appropriations from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for services that are not the ordinary annual
services of the Government in addition to amounts appropriated through the
Appropriations Acts that implemented the 2014-2015 Budget and the 2014-2015
Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
3 Appropriations for the ordinary annual services of the Government must be
contained in a separate Bill from other appropriations in accordance with
sections 53 and 54 of the Australian Constitution (the Constitution).
Consequently, the Bill proposes appropriations that are not for the ordinary annual
services of the Government. Annual appropriations that are for the ordinary
annual services of the Government are proposed in Appropriation Bill (No. 5)
2014-2015. Together these Bills are termed the Supplementary Additional
Estimates Appropriation Bills.
4 The Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements are published
and tabled in the Parliament in relation to the Bill. This Explanatory
Memorandum should be read in conjunction with the various 2014-2015 portfolio
statements (being the Portfolio Budget Statements that accompanied the
2014-2015 Budget, the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements and the
Portfolio Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements), which contain details
on the appropriations set out in the Schedules of the Bills.
5 Importantly, the Bill has been drafted to take account of the Public
Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), which came
into effect on 1 July 2014 and replaces the Financial Management and
Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) and the Commonwealth Authorities and
Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act). As part of the transition of the Acts
appropriating money, the Bill includes notes to provide clarity around provisions
within the FMA and CAC Acts that continue to operate until the completion of the
actions involved.
Structure of appropriations in the Bill
6 The Bill provides for the appropriation of specified amounts for expenditure
by Australian Government entities, primarily being non-corporate Commonwealth
entities (non-corporate entities) under the PGPA Act. These entities were
previously Agencies under the FMA Act or bodies under the CAC Act and
transitional amendments were made to the 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015
Appropriation Acts to replace references to or reliance on provisions in the FMA
and CAC Acts with equivalent provisions in the PGPA Act.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 2
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Outline
7 During the transition, it is important that Australian Government entities,
whether classified or recognised as an Agency under the FMA Act, a
Commonwealth authority or Commonwealth company under the CAC Act, or a
Commonwealth entity under the PGPA Act, continue to have access to such
resources as has been appropriated under the relevant Appropriation Acts as
intended by Parliament.
8 Part 1 of the Bill deals with definitions, the interpretative role of the
portfolio statements and the concept of notional transactions. Part 2 of the Bill
proposes appropriations to make payments of the amounts in Schedule 1 for State,
ACT, NT and local government items (clause 7), administered items (clause 8),
administered assets and liabilities items (clause 9), other departmental items
(clause 10) and corporate entity items (clause 11). Part 3 of the Bill specifies the
way in which the amounts in Schedule 1 may be adjusted.
9 Part 4 deals with credits to special accounts (clause 13), provides for
amounts to be appropriated as necessary (clause 14) and specifies the cessation
date of the Bill, once enacted (Clause 15). In addition to the adjustment provision
in Part 3, clause 14 also recognises that the appropriations proposed in the Bill
may be varied by both the PGPA Act and the FMA Act, as it continues to apply
due to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential
and Transitional Provisions) Act 2014 (PGPA (C&T) Act).
Financial Impact
10 The Bill, if enacted, would appropriate the amounts specified in Schedule 1.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 3
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Statement of compatibility with human rights
Statement of compatibility with human rights
1 The Bill seeks to appropriate money for services that are not considered to
be the ordinary annual services of the Government.
2 Accordingly, this Appropriation Bill performs an important constitutional
function, by authorising the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue
Fund for the broad purposes identified in the Bill.
3 However, as the High Court has emphasised, beyond this, the 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
Appropriation 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.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 4
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Notes on clauses
Notes on clauses
Part 1--Preliminary
Clause 1--Short title
1 This clause specifies that the short title of the Bill, once enacted, will be
Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2014-2015.
Clause 2--Commencement
2 Clause 2 provides for the Bill to commence as an Act on the day of the
Royal Assent.
Clause 3--Definitions
3 Clause 3 defines the key terms used in the Bill, such as "administered item",
"corporate entity", "non-corporate entity", "other departmental item", and "State,
ACT, NT and local government item".
Clause 4--Portfolio statements
4 Clause 4 declares that the portfolio statements are relevant documents under
paragraph 15AB(2)(g) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (AI Act) that may be
used to ascertain the meaning of certain provisions in accordance with
subsection 15AB(1) of the AI Act. Paragraph 15AB(2) of the AI Act effectively
provides that the material that may be considered in the interpretation of a
provision of an Act includes any document that is declared by the Act to be a
relevant document.
5 The purpose of the portfolio statements is to provide information on the
proposed allocation of resources to Government outcomes by Commonwealth
entities within each portfolio. The portfolio statements provide information to
enable Parliament to understand the purpose of appropriations proposed in the
Bill. The term "portfolio statements" is defined in the Bill, at clause 3, to mean the
Portfolio Budget Statements (that accompanied the Appropriation Bills tabled at
the last Budget), the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements and the Portfolio
Supplementary Additional Estimates Statements (tabled with this Bill).
Clause 5--Notional transactions between entities that are part
of the Commonwealth
6 Clause 5 ensures that payments between non-corporate entities result in a
debit from the appropriation for the paying non-corporate entity. For example, the
payments of the amounts in Schedule 1 from one non-corporate entity to another
do not require, in a constitutional sense, an appropriation, because both
non-corporate entities operate within the CRF. However, for reasons of financial
discipline and transparency, the practice has arisen for these payments between
non-corporate entities to be treated as though they required an appropriation, and
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 5
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Notes on clauses
to debit an appropriation when such notional payments are made. This is
consistent with section 76 of the PGPA Act.
7 Clause 5 provides that notional transactions between non-corporate entities
are to be treated as if they are real transactions. Notional transactions, therefore,
require the debiting of an appropriation made by Parliament. When a non-
corporate entity makes a payment, whether to another non-corporate entity or
another part of the same non-corporate entity (such as a different "business unit"
within the entity), it is to be treated as a "real" payment.
8 This means that the appropriation made by Parliament is extinguished by the
amount of the notional payment, even though no payment is actually made from
the CRF. Similarly, a notional receipt in such a situation is to be treated by the
receiving non-corporate entity (where relevant) as if it were a real receipt. This
does not mean every internal transfer of public money involves a notional
payment and receipt.
Part 2--Appropriation items
Clause 6--Summary of appropriations
9 Clause 6 sets out the total of the appropriations in Schedule 1 of the Bill.
Importantly, the amounts in Schedule 1 may be adjusted under Part 3 of the Bill.
10 The amounts in Schedule 1 of the Bill may be adjusted further in accordance
with sections 30A and 31 of the FMA Act, which continue to apply due to the
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential and
Transitional Provisions) Act 2014 (PGPA (C&T) Act), as well as sections 74 and
75 of the PGPA Act. Specifically:
Appropriations may be adjusted by amounts recoverable by an Agency (or
non-corporate entity) from the Australian Taxation Office for Goods and
Services Tax (GST), in accordance with section 30A of the FMA Act. The
amounts specified in Schedule 1 exclude recoverable GST. The
appropriations shown represent the net amount that Parliament is asked to
allocate to particular purposes.
Section 30A has the effect of increasing an appropriation by the amount of
the GST qualifying amount arising from payments in respect of the
appropriation. As a result, there is sufficient appropriation for payments
under an appropriation item, provided that the amount of those payments,
less the amount of recoverable GST, can be met from the initial amount
shown against the item in Schedule 1. Section 30A also applies to notional
transactions between and within non-corporate entities.
Section 74 of the PGPA Act, when read with Rule 27 of the Public
Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule),
permits non-corporate entities to retain certain types of receipts by adding
them to their most recent departmental item or other type of appropriation in
an Appropriation Act when prescribed.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 6
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Notes on clauses
Items may be adjusted to take into account the transfer of functions between
non-corporate entities, in accordance with section 75 of the PGPA Act. It is
possible that adjustments under section 75 may result in new items and/or
outcomes being created in an Appropriation Act.
Clause 7--State, ACT, NT and local government items
11 Clause 7 provides administered appropriations for financial assistance to the
States, ACT, NT and local governments. State, ACT, NT and local government
items are appropriated separately for outcomes, making it clear what the funding
is intended to achieve. The amount specified in Schedule 1 for an outcome may be
applied by a non-corporate entity for the purpose of making payments to any of
the States, ACT, NT or local government authorities for the purpose of achieving
that outcome.
12 The Minister for Finance (Finance Minister) manages payments to State,
ACT, NT and local governments using a discretionary power under section 51 of
the PGPA Act. Section 51 allows the Finance Minister to manage the timing and
the amount of appropriated money to be made available to State, ACT, NT and
local governments, except as required by law.
13 Until 30 June 2015, the Finance Minister may also manage payments
through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance with sections 26 and 27 of the
FMA Act, which continue to apply because of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the
PGPA (C&T) Act. Drawing rights control who may spend money from
appropriations, and allow for conditions and limits to be set by the Finance
Minister (or the Finance Minister's delegate) in relation to those activities.
Clause 8--Administered items
14 Subclause 8(1) provides for the appropriation of new administered outcome
amounts to be applied by a non-corporate entity for the purpose of contributing to
the outcome for a non-corporate entity. An "administered item" is defined in
clause 3 to be an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a
non-corporate entity under the heading "New Administered Outcomes". New
Administered Outcomes are those administered by a non-corporate entity on
behalf of the government (e.g. certain grants, benefits and transfer payments).
15 As with administered items in Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2014-2015, New
Administered Outcomes are appropriated separately for outcomes. This is unlike
departmental items, where the split across outcomes is not notional, and makes it
clear what the funding is intended to achieve. Schedule 1 specifies how much can
be expended on each outcome.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 7
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Notes on clauses
16 New Administered Outcomes are typically proposed when:
a non-corporate entity seeks administered operating appropriations for the
first time (including existing non-corporate entities that have received
departmental operating appropriations in the past);
annual administered operating appropriations are proposed for the first time,
for programmes previously funded by special appropriations; and
a non-corporate entity's outcomes are changed to reflect new programme
objectives, strategies and/or activities.
17 The purposes for which each administered item can be spent are set out in
subclause 8(2). Subclause 8(2) provides that where the portfolio statements
indicate a particular activity is in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure
on that activity is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to
achieving that outcome.
18 New Administered Outcomes are those administered by a non-corporate
entity on behalf of the Government (e.g. certain grants, benefits and transfer
payments). These payments are usually made pursuant to eligibility rules and
conditions established by the Government or the Parliament. Specifically,
administered items are tied to outcomes (departmental items are not).
19 The Finance Minister manages payments from administered items by
non-corporate entities using a discretionary power under section 51 of the PGPA
Act. Section 51 allows the Finance Minister to manage the timing and the amount
of appropriated money to be made available to a Commonwealth entity, except as
required by law.
20 Until 30 June 2015, the Finance Minister may also manage payments
through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance with sections 26 and 27 of the
FMA Act, which continue to apply because of the PGPA (C&T) Act. Drawing
rights control who may spend money from appropriations, and allow for
conditions and limits to be set by the Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's
delegate) in relation to those activities.
Clause 9--Administered assets and liabilities items
21 Clause 9 provides amounts in Schedule 1 to acquire administered assets,
enhance existing administered assets and/or discharge administered liabilities
relating to activities administered by non-corporate entities on behalf of the
Government. Administered assets and liabilities appropriations are provided for
functions managed by a non-corporate entity on behalf of the Government.
Administered assets and liabilities items can be applied for any outcomes of the
non-corporate entity in Schedule 1 of this Bill; Schedule 1 to Appropriation Bill
(No. 5) 2014-2015; Schedule 2 to Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2014-2015;
Schedule 1 to Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2014-2015; Schedule 2 to Appropriation
Act (No. 2) 2014-2015 or Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2014-2015.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 8
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Notes on clauses
22 The Finance Minister manages payments from administered assets and
liabilities items by non-corporate entities using a discretionary power under
section 51 of the PGPA Act. Section 51 allows the Finance Minister to manage
the timing and the amount of appropriated money to be made available to a
Commonwealth entity, except as required by law.
23 Until 30 June 2015, the Finance Minister may also manage payments
through the issuing of drawing rights, in accordance with sections 26 and 27 of
the FMA Act, which continue to apply because of the PGPA (C&T) Act. Drawing
rights control who may spend money from appropriations, and they allow for
conditions and limits to be set by the Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's
delegate) in relation to those activities.
Clause 10--Other departmental items
24 Clause 10 appropriates departmental non-operating appropriations in the
form of equity injections, over which the non-corporate entity also exercises
control. This clause provides that the amount specified in other departmental
items for a non-corporate entity may be applied for the departmental expenditure
of the entity. In short, "equity injections" can be provided to non-corporate
entities to, for example, enable investment in assets to facilitate departmental
activities and for Designated Collecting Institutions to purchase heritage and
cultural assets.
25 Other departmental items are not expressed in terms of a particular financial
year and do not automatically lapse. Other departmental items are available until
they are spent, or the Act through which they were appropriated is repealed or
sunsets. For example, equity injection appropriations provide funding to meet the
cost expected to be incurred in the Budget year to acquire a new asset; however,
for a number of reasons, some part of the appropriation might not be required
until a later financial year.
26 The Finance Minister manages the payment from other departmental items
by non-corporate entities using a discretionary power under section 51 of the
PGPA Act, except as required by law.
27 Until 30 June 2015, the Finance Minister may also manage payments
through the issuing of drawing rights, in accordance with sections 26 and 27 of
the FMA Act, which continue to apply because of the PGPA (C&T) Act. Drawing
rights control who may spend from appropriations, and allow for conditions and
limits to be set by the Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's delegate) in
relation to those activities.
Clause 11--Corporate entity items
28 Clause 11 provides for direct appropriations of money for corporate entities
to be paid from the CRF by the relevant Department. Clause 11 provides that
payments for corporate entities must be used for the purposes of those entities.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 9
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Notes on clauses
29 A "corporate entity" is defined in clause 3 to be a corporate Commonwealth
entity or a Commonwealth company within the meaning of the PGPA Act. Many
corporate entities receive funding directly from appropriations. However, these
entities are legally separate from the Commonwealth, and as a result, do not debit
appropriations or make payments from the CRF.
30 Corporate entity payments are initiated by requests to the relevant portfolio
Departments from the corporate entities. The Finance Minister manages
appropriations for corporate entities through a discretionary power to control the
timing and amount made available under section 51 of the PGPA Act. Section 51
allows the Finance Minister to manage the timing and the amount of appropriated
money to be made available to a Commonwealth entity, except as required by
law.
31 Until 30 June 2015, the Finance Minister may also manage appropriations
through the issuing of drawing rights in accordance with sections 26 and 27 of the
FMA Act, which continue to apply because of the PGPA (C&T) Act. Drawing
rights control who may spend money from appropriations, and allow for
conditions and limits to be set by the Finance Minister (or the Finance Minister's
delegate) in relation to those payments. Corporate entities hold the amounts paid
to them on their own account.
32 Subclause 11(2) provides that if a corporate entity is subject to another Act
that requires amounts appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of that entity to
be paid to the entity, then the full amount of the corporate entity payment must be
paid to the entity. The purpose of subclause 11(2) is to clarify that subclause 11(1)
is not intended to qualify any obligations in other legislation regulating a
corporate entity, where that other legislation requires the Commonwealth to pay
the full amount appropriated for the purposes of the entity.
33 In addition to the annual appropriations, some corporate entities may also
receive public money from related entities such as a portfolio Department and
from special appropriations managed by those Departments. Many corporate
entities also receive funds from external sources.
Part 3-- Advance to the Finance Minister
Clause 12--Advance to the Finance Minister
34 Clause 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2014-2015 (Act (No. 2)) enables
the Finance Minister to provide additional appropriations for items when satisfied
there is an urgent need for that expenditure, and the existing appropriation is
inadequate. This additional appropriation is referred to as the Advance to the
Finance Minister (AFM). Subclause 12(3) provides that the total amount that can
be determined under the AFM provision is $380 million.
35 Clause 12 of the Bill provides that irrespective of the amounts issued from
the AFM before the commencement of the Bill, the amount available under
section 12 of Act (No. 2) will be restored to the original amount of $380 million.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 10
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Notes on clauses
The provision has been added to the Bill to ensure that there will be sufficient
scope to provide amounts from the AFM for the remainder of the financial year.
36 Subclause 12(1) specifies that if the Finance Minister has determined under
subsection 12(2) of Act (No. 2) to increase an amount in Schedule 2 of
Act (No. 2) from the AFM, then the amount is to be disregarded for the purposes
of subsection 12(3) of Act (No. 2) when the Bill commences. From the date this
Bill commences as an Act the total amount that can be determined under the AFM
will again be $380 million.
37 Subclause 12(2) prevents appropriations for the same expenditure from both
the AFM and the Bill. Subclause 12(2) ensures that if Schedule 1 of the Bill
provides an amount for a particular expenditure and, prior to the commencement
of the Bill, the Finance Minister determines an amount from the AFM under
section 12 of Act (No. 2) for the same expenditure (the advanced amount), then
the appropriation in the Bill will be reduced by the amount of the advanced
amount. The appropriated amount cannot be reduced below nil. For example if the
Bill provides $20 million for a programme and an advanced amount of $5 million
is determined by the Finance Minister under Act (No. 2) for a particular payment
under that programme, then the amount appropriated by the Bill, once enacted,
will be reduced by $5 million (i.e. appropriating only $15 million for the
programme).
38 The Finance Minister may continue to make determinations under
subsection 12(2) of Act (No. 2) to add an amount from the AFM to an item of a
Commonwealth entity if the criteria in subsection 12(1) of that Act are satisfied.
Part 4--Miscellaneous
Clause 13--Crediting amounts to special accounts
39 Clause 13 provides that if the purpose of an item in Schedule 1 is also the
purpose of a special account (regardless of whether the item expressly refers to the
special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that
item and credited to the special account. Special accounts may be established
under the PGPA Act by a determination of the Finance Minister (section 78) that
is disallowable by Parliament or by another Act (sections 79 and 80). The
determination or Act that establishes the special account will specify the purposes
of the special account.
Clause 14--Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
40 Clause 14 provides that the CRF is appropriated as necessary for the
purposes of the Bill. Significantly, this clause means that there is an appropriation
in law when the Act commences. That is, the appropriations are not made or
brought into existence just before they are paid, but when the Royal Assent is
given. This clause indicates that the amounts appropriated may be affected by the
PGPA Act and the FMA Act (as it continues to apply because of Schedule 2 to the
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 11
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Notes on clauses
PGPA (C&T) Act), in particular sections 30A and 31 (see clause 6), after the Bill
receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 15--Act ceases to be in force
41 Clause 15 specifies that the Bill, once enacted, will cease to be in force at
the start of 1 July 2017. As the Appropriation Acts will sunset, there is no longer a
requirement for the reduction of appropriations during the year. As such, the
reduction sections that applied previously are no longer required (e.g. section 12
of Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2013-2014) and have been excluded from this Bill.
Schedule 1--Services for which money is appropriated
42 Schedule 1 specifies the services for which amounts will be appropriated by
the Bill. Schedule 1 contains a summary table which lists the total amounts for
each portfolio. A separate summary table is included with further detail for each
portfolio, with other tables detailing the appropriations for each Commonwealth
entity.
43 Schedule 1 includes, for information purposes, the amount appropriated in
Act (No. 2) and Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2014-2015 (Act (No. 4)), which is
printed in italics and labelled as "Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures)--
2014-2015". The amount printed as the Actual Available Appropriation is an
estimate that does not affect the amount available at law.
44 Schedule 1 also includes, for information purposes, a figure for the previous
financial year printed in light figures labelled the "Actual Available Appropriation
(light figures)--2013-2014". That figure provides a comparison with the proposed
appropriations.
45 It is calculated for each item by adding the amounts appropriated in the
previous year's annual Appropriation Acts, amounts adjusted under certain
provisions of the PGPA Act and FMA Act (as they continue to apply due to the
PGPA (C&T) Act) plus adjustments such as AFMs. In addition, where a non-
corporate entity's outcome structure has changed since the last Appropriation Act,
only ongoing outcomes are shown in the Bill. In some instances the figure may
also be affected by limits applied administratively by the Department of Finance.
46 The Actual Available Appropriation is an estimate that does not affect the
amount available at law. For these reasons, the Actual Available Appropriation
figures may be different from the sum of amounts provided in earlier
Appropriation Acts.
47 More details about the appropriations in Schedule 1 are contained in the
portfolio statements and the second reading speech for the Bill.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 12
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Notes on clauses
Machinery of Government changes
48 Since the commencement of Act (No. 2), there have been changes to
Departments and Commonwealth entities pursuant to the MoG changes from the
Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO) of 23 December 2014.
49 On 23 December 2014, the Governor-General in Council acting on the
Prime Minister's recommendation under section 64 of the Constitution renamed
the Departments of State in the first column to the names in the second column:
Before 23 December 2014 From 23 December 2014
Department of Education Department of Education and Training
Department of Industry Department of Industry and Science
50 These AAOs were implemented through section 75 determinations. The
determination altered references to the names of Departments in Schedules 1 and
2 of Act (No. 2), as well as Outcome 3 of the Department of Education and
Training to reflect these AAOs.
51 The MoG changes also resulted in the transfer of legislative responsibility
and related functions between various Commonwealth entities. Full details of the
Machinery of Government (MoG) changes as expressed in the 23 December AAO
can be found at http://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/publication/administrative-
arrangements-order-made-23-december-2014.
52 These changes were reflected in Act (No. 4), and are reflected in this Bill.
Explanatory Memorandum to Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2014-2015 13
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