{"id":"C2023A00030","name":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2023-2024","slug":"appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"30 of 2023","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436375,"registerId":"C2023A00030-fast-fetch-1775953592223","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2023-2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2023‑2024\n\n \n\nNo. 30, 2023\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definitions\n\n4 Portfolio statements\n\n5 Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth\n\nPart 2—Appropriation items\n\n6 Summary of appropriations\n\n7 Departmental items\n\n8 Administered items\n\n9 Administered assets and liabilities items\n\n10 Other departmental items\n\nPart 3—Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer\n\n11 Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer\n\nPart 4—Miscellaneous\n\n12 Crediting amounts to special accounts\n\n13 Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund\n\n14 Repeal of this Act\n\nSchedule 1—Services for which money is appropriated\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.002.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2023-2024\n\nNo. 30, 2023\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 28 June 2023]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2023‑2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this Act The later of:(a) 1 July 2023; and(b) the day this Act receives the Royal Assent. 1 July 2023 (paragraph (a) applies)\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n3  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\nadministered assets and liabilities item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department opposite the heading “Administered Assets and Liabilities”.\n\nadministered item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a Parliamentary Department under the heading “Administered”.\n\ncurrent year means the financial year ending on 30 June 2024.\n\ndepartmental item means the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department under the heading “Departmental”.\n\nNote: The amounts set out opposite outcomes, under the heading “Departmental”, are “notional”. They are not part of the item, and do not in any way restrict the scope of the expenditure authorised by the item.\n\nexpenditure means payments for expenses, acquiring assets, making loans or paying liabilities.\n\nitem means any of the following:\n\n (a) a departmental item;\n\n (b) an administered item;\n\n (c) an administered assets and liabilities item;\n\n (d) an other departmental item.\n\nnon‑corporate entity means:\n\n (a) a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; or\n\n (b) the High Court.\n\nNote: Each Parliamentary Department is a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\nother departmental item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department opposite the heading “Equity Injections”.\n\nParliamentary Department means any of the following:\n\n (a) the Department of the Senate;\n\n (b) the Department of the House of Representatives;\n\n (c) the Department of Parliamentary Services;\n\n (d) the Parliamentary Budget Office.\n\nPortfolio Budget Statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for this Act.\n\nportfolio statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements.\n\nPresident means the President of the Senate.\n\nresponsible Presiding Officer means:\n\n (a) in relation to the Department of the Senate—the President; or\n\n (b) in relation to the Department of the House of Representatives—the Speaker; or\n\n (c) in relation to the Department of Parliamentary Services—the President and the Speaker together; or\n\n (d) in relation to the Parliamentary Budget Office—the President and the Speaker together.\n\nSpeaker means the Speaker of the House of Representatives.\n\nspecial account has the same meaning as in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n4  Portfolio statements\n\n  The portfolio statements are declared to be relevant documents for the purposes of section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\nNote: See paragraph 15AB(2)(g) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 which 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.\n\n5  Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth\n\n  For the purposes of this Act, notional transactions between non‑corporate entities are to be treated as if they were real transactions.\n\nNote: This section applies, for example, to a “payment” between non‑corporate entities that are both part of the Commonwealth. One of the effects of this section is that the payment will be debited from an appropriation for the paying non‑corporate entity, even though no payment is actually made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This is consistent with section 76 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\nPart 2—Appropriation items\n\n \n\n6  Summary of appropriations\n\n  The total of the items specified in Schedule 1 is $314,465,000.\n\nNote 1: Items in Schedule 1 can be adjusted under Part 3 of this Act.\n\nNote 2: Sections 74 to 75 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 also provide for the adjustment of amounts appropriated by this Act.\n\n7  Departmental items\n\n  The amount specified in a departmental item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary Department.\n\n8  Administered items\n\n (1) The amount specified in an administered item for an outcome for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving that outcome.\n\n (2) If the portfolio statements indicate that activities of a particular kind were intended to be treated as activities in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure for the purpose of carrying out those activities is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving the outcome.\n\n9  Administered assets and liabilities items\n\n (1) The amount specified in an administered assets and liabilities item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving any outcome specified in Schedule 1 for the Parliamentary Department.\n\n (2) If the portfolio statements indicate that activities of a particular kind were intended to be treated as activities in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure for the purpose of carrying out those activities is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving the outcome.\n\n10  Other departmental items\n\n  The amount specified in an other departmental item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary Department.\n\nPart 3—Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer\n\n \n\n11  Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer\n\n (1) This section applies if the responsible Presiding Officer is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure in relation to a Parliamentary Department, in the current year, that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in Schedule 1:\n\n (a) because of an erroneous omission or understatement; or\n\n (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.\n\n (2) This Act has effect as if Schedule 1 were amended, in accordance with a determination of the responsible Presiding Officer, to make provision for so much (if any) of the expenditure as the responsible Presiding Officer determines.\n\n (3) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Department of the Senate cannot be more than $300,000.\n\n (4) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Department of the House of Representatives cannot be more than $300,000.\n\n (5) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Department of Parliamentary Services cannot be more than $1 million.\n\n (6) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) for the Parliamentary Budget Office cannot be more than $300,000.\n\n (7) A determination made under subsection (2) is a legislative instrument, but neither section 42 (disallowance) nor Part 4 of Chapter 3 (sunsetting) of the Legislation Act 2003 applies to the determination.\n\nPart 4—Miscellaneous\n\n \n\n12  Crediting amounts to special accounts\n\n  If any of the purposes of a special account is a purpose that is covered by an item (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that special account.\n\n13  Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund\n\n  The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act, including the operation of this Act as affected by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n14  Repeal of this Act\n\n  This Act is repealed at the start of 1 July 2026.\n\nSchedule 1—Services for which money is appropriated\n\nNote: See sections 6 and 13.\n\n \n\n| Abstract |  |\n| --- | --- |\n| Department | Total |\n|  | $'000 |\n|  |  |\n| Department of the Senate | 27,265 |\n| Department of the House of Representatives | 27,276 |\n| Department of Parliamentary Services | 250,787 |\n| Parliamentary Budget Office | 9,137 |\n|  |  |\n| Total | 314,465 |\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n|  |\n| --- |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n| APPROPRIATIONS |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- SUMMARYSummary of Appropriations (plain figures)—2023‑2024 Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures)—2022‑2023\n- Entity Departmental Administered Non- operating Total\n- $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000\n- Department of the Senate 27,265 ‑ ‑ 27,265\n- 24,202 ‑ ‑ 24,202\n- Department of the House of 26,929 347 ‑ 27,276\n- Representatives 25,092 334 ‑ 25,426\n- Department of Parliamentary Services 189,547 6,040 55,200 250,787\n- 175,392 5,633 48,358 229,383\n- Parliamentary Budget Office 9,137 ‑ ‑ 9,137\n- 8,823 ‑ ‑ 8,823\n- Total: Parliamentary Departments 252,878 6,387 55,200 314,465\n- 233,509 5,967 48,358 287,834\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- PARLIAMENTAppropriation (plain figures)—2023‑2024 Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures)—2022‑2023\n- Departmental Administered Total\n- $'000 $'000 $'000\n- DEPARTMENT OF THE SENATE\n- Operating\n- Outcome 1 ‑\n- Advisory and administrative support services to 27,265 ‑ 27,265\n- enable the Senate and Senators to fulfil their 24,202 ‑ 24,202\n- representative and legislative duties\n- Total: Department of the Senate 27,265 ‑ 27,265\n- 24,202 ‑ 24,202\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- PARLIAMENTAppropriation (plain figures)—2023‑2024 Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures)—2022‑2023\n- Departmental Administered Total\n- $'000 $'000 $'000\n- DEPARTMENT OF THE HOUSE OF\n- REPRESENTATIVES\n- Operating\n- Outcome 1 ‑\n- Advisory and administrative services support the 26,929 347 27,276\n- House of Representatives to fulfil its 25,092 334 25,426\n- representative and legislative role\n- Total: Department of the House of 26,929 347 27,276\n- Representatives 25,092 334 25,426\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- PARLIAMENTAppropriation (plain figures)—2023‑2024 Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures)—2022‑2023\n- Departmental Administered Total\n- $'000 $'000 $'000\n- DEPARTMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY\n- SERVICES\n- Operating\n- Outcome 1 ‑\n- Support the functions of Parliament and 189,547 6,040 195,587\n- parliamentarians through the provision of 175,392 5,633 181,025\n- professional services, advice and facilities and\n- maintain Australian Parliament House\n- Total: Operating 189,547 6,040 195,587\n- 175,392 5,633 181,025\n- Non‑operating\n- Administered Assets and Liabilities 55,200\n- 48,358\n- Total: Non‑operating 55,200\n- 48,358\n- Total: Department of Parliamentary Services 189,547 6,040 250,787\n- 175,392 5,633 229,383\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- PARLIAMENTAppropriation (plain figures)—2023‑2024 Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures)—2022‑2023\n- Departmental Administered Total\n- $'000 $'000 $'000\n- PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE\n- Operating\n- Outcome 1 ‑\n- Inform the Parliament by providing independent 9,137 ‑ 9,137\n- and non‑partisan analysis of the budget cycle, 8,823 ‑ 8,823\n- fiscal policy and the financial implications of\n- proposals\n- Total: Parliamentary Budget Office 9,137 ‑ 9,137\n- 8,823 ‑ 8,823\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 9 May 2023\n\nSenate on 16 June 2023]\n\n(57/23)\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation maintains its original narrow purpose as an annual appropriation for parliamentary departments. The structure and scope are consistent with longstanding Appropriation Act conventions, providing one year's funding with standard machinery provisions (advances, special accounts, notional transactions). No scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused legislation (14 sections plus Schedule)","Straightforward purpose: single-year appropriation with standard machinery provisions","Limited cross-referencing: primarily references to Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and Acts Interpretation Act 1901","12 defined terms in section 3, all standard appropriation terminology","Simple conditional logic: only substantive conditionality is in section 11 (advance provisions) with clear monetary caps","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions","Schedule 1 is essentially a table of figures with minimal legal text","Self-repealing provision (section 14) with clear date (1 July 2026)"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation is the **annual budget for Australia's parliamentary departments** for the 2023-2024 financial year. It authorises spending of **$314.465 million** from government revenue (the Consolidated Revenue Fund) to run the four departments that support Parliament.\n\n**Who gets what:**\n- **Department of Parliamentary Services** ($250.8m): The biggest share, covering Parliament House operations, security, catering, IT, and building maintenance\n- **Department of the Senate** ($27.3m): Support services for Senators\n- **Department of the House of Representatives** ($27.3m): Support services for MPs\n- **Parliamentary Budget Office** ($9.1m): Independent budget analysis for parliamentarians\n\n**What the money covers:**\n- **Departmental items**: Day-to-day running costs (salaries, rent, equipment)\n- **Administered items**: Specific programs and services\n- **Administered assets and liabilities**: Capital works and major purchases (like building upgrades)\n- **Other departmental items**: Equity injections (government investment in the departments)\n\n**Emergency backup fund:**\nThe Act includes an \"advance\" provision allowing the President of the Senate and/or the Speaker of the House to approve urgent unplanned spending if something was forgotten or unforeseen—capped at $300,000 for most departments and $1 million for Parliamentary Services.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this Act, these departments legally cannot spend money. It's the constitutional mechanism that gives parliamentary departments their annual budget, ensuring Parliament can function, MPs and Senators can do their jobs, and Parliament House remains operational."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act’s scope is to appropriate and regulate the use of specified funds for Parliamentary Departments for the 2023–24 financial year (total $314,465,000) and to provide limited mechanisms for urgent adjustments (s6; Schedule 1; s11). It does not expand appropriations beyond those amounts but provides procedural authorities affecting allocation and accounting: it (a) declares Portfolio Budget Statements relevant for interpretation (s4), (b) treats notional intra‑Commonwealth transactions as debits against appropriations (s5), (c) allows credited transfers to special accounts where purposes overlap (s12), and (d) permits capped urgent advances by responsible Presiding Officers as legislative instruments (s11). The Act is time‑limited (repeal starts 1 July 2026) and otherwise stays within the ordinary appropriation function; therefore its substantive scope has not changed from the Act’s stated appropriation purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Concentration of mechanics in a short text: the Act is small but ties into other regimes (Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and Acts Interpretation Act 1901) which increases interpretive complexity (see notes at sections 4, 5, 6 and 13).","Multiple appropriations types: departmental, administered and administered assets/liabilities and equity injections are defined and treated differently (see definitions in s3 and application in ss7–10).","Notional transaction rule: treats intra‑Commonwealth notional transactions as if real for appropriation accounting, affecting how debits are allocated without cash movement (s5).","Advance power to Presiding Officers with monetary caps and procedural quirks: allows on‑the‑spot Schedule 1 amendments by determination, subject to per‑entity caps and declared as a legislative instrument but exempt from disallowance and sunsetting (s11(1)–(7)).","Interaction with special accounts: permits debiting appropriations and crediting special accounts where purposes overlap, which affects cashflow and accounting treatment (s12).","Defined commencement and sunset: staggered commencement detail and a fixed repeal date (ss2, 14) create temporal limits on authority.","Notional breakdown note: Schedule items include ‘notional’ outcome figures that do not constrain expenditure, requiring reference to accompanying Portfolio Budget Statements for intended activities (s3 note; ss8–9).","Adjustability under other legislation: Schedule amounts can be adjusted under the PGPA Act and by the Act’s Part 3 mechanism, creating multiple adjustment pathways (see s6 notes and s11)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises $314,465,000 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for 2023–24 to fund the Department of the Senate, Department of the House of Representatives, Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Office. It specifies how those amounts may be applied across departmental, administered and asset/liability purposes and declares the accompanying Portfolio Budget Statements as relevant interpretive material.\n\nThe Act also allows the responsible Presiding Officer to make capped urgent adjustments to Schedule 1, treats intra‑Commonwealth (notional) transactions as debits against appropriations, and permits amounts to be credited to relevant special accounts."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024","history":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2023-2024/documents"}}