{"id":"C2026A00056","name":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2026-2027","slug":"appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"56 of 2026","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":542104,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2026A00056-1786147795459","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-08-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2026-2027.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"2  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 2026; and(b) the day this Act receives the Royal Assent. 1 July 2026(paragraph (a) applies)\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted.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.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"3  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 2027.\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.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Portfolio statements","content":"4  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.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth","content":"5  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.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Appropriation items","content":"Part 2—Appropriation items","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Summary of appropriations","content":"6  Summary of appropriations\n\n  The total of the items specified in Schedule 1 is $345,353,000.\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.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Departmental items","content":"7  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.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Administered items","content":"8  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.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Administered assets and liabilities items","content":"9  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.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Other departmental items","content":"10  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.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer","content":"Part 3—Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer","content":"11  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.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"Part 4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"Part 4—Miscellaneous","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Crediting amounts to special accounts","content":"12  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.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund","content":"13  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.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Repeal of this Act","content":"14  Repeal of this Act\n\n  This Act is repealed at the start of 1 July 2029.","sortOrder":17}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based solely on this text, the Act functions as an annual appropriation measure for Parliamentary Departments: it authorises a fixed total ($345,353,000 — section 6), describes how that money may be applied (sections 7–10), gives a narrowly‑framed urgent advance power with per‑department caps (section 11(3)–(6)), and contains standard technical provisions (commencement, notional transactions, crediting to special accounts, repeal). The instrument does not, on its face, expand departmental functions or add new substantive powers beyond funding and the limited advance mechanism. \n\nThis is general legal information, not legal advice. I can make mistakes. Before you act on, rely on, or use this information, get a qualified Australian lawyer to check it."},"complexity_factors":["Single, short Schedule (Schedule 1) with a single total amount: $345,353,000 (section 6).","Several narrowly defined appropriation item types (departmental, administered, administered assets and liabilities, other departmental) in section 3.","Cross-references to other statutes: Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (definitions and section 76 example), Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (section 15AB) and Legislation Act 2003 (section 11(7) exemption from disallowance and sunsetting).","Conditional advance power with multiple numeric caps for each Parliamentary Department: $300,000, $300,000, $1,000,000, $300,000 (section 11(3)–(6)).","Notional transaction treatment between non‑corporate Commonwealth entities (section 5) — introduces accounting/legal fiction that affects debiting appropriations.","Commencement rule uses a ‘later of’ clause (the later of 1 July 2026 and Royal Assent) rather than a single date (section 2).","Explicit statement that some ‘Departmental’ amounts are notional and do not limit expenditure (note to definition of departmental item in section 3).","Repeal date fixed in the Act (section 14), so temporal scope is limited and predictable."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Act does:** Authorises $345,353,000 for Parliamentary Departments for the 2026–27 financial year (see section 6). It sets how those funds may be used (departmental, administered, administered assets/liabilities, and equity injections), allows limited urgent top‑ups by the responsible Presiding Officer (with per‑department caps), treats notional payments between Commonwealth non‑corporate entities as real for appropriation purposes, and repeals on 1 July 2029."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027","history":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027/history","analysis":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-1-2026-2027/documents"}}