{"id":"C1997A00037","name":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 1996-97","slug":"appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"37 of 1997","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2626,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1997A00037-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-29","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 1996-97","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary\n\nDepartments) Act (No. 2) 1996‑97\n\nNo. 37, 1997\n\n \n![](image.002.png)\n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary\n\nDepartments) Act (No. 2) 1996‑97\n\nNo. 37, 1997\n\nAn Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, additional to the money appropriated by the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97, for certain expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments in respect of the year ending on 30 June 1997, and for related purposes\n\nContents\n\n```html\n

Part 1 — General

1

1 Short title...............................................

1

2 Commencement...........................................

1

3 Issue and application of $ 363 000...............................

2

4 Additional appropriation in respect of increases in salaries...............

2

5 Accounting errors etc. may be corrected after close of financial year.........

2

Part 2 — Special application of Act

3

6 Definition..............................................

3

7 Application of Part........................................

3

8 Act to have effect subject to modifications.........................

3

9 Modification relating to the debiting of the Consolidated Revenue Fund after the close of a financial year

3

10 Modification relating to act of grace payments.......................

4

Schedule — Services for which money is appropriated

5

\n```\n\n![](image.003.png)\n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary\n\nDepartments) Act (No. 2) 1996‑97\n\nNo. 37, 1997\n\nAn Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, additional to the money appropriated by the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97, for certain expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments in respect of the year ending on 30 June 1997, and for related purposes\n\n\\[Assented to 17 April 1997\\]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1 Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 1996‑97.\n\n2 Commencement\n\nThis Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\nPart 1 General\n\nSection 3\n\n3 Issue and application of $ 363 000\n\n(1) The Minister may issue out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and apply for the services specified in the Schedule, in respect of the year ending on 30 June 1997, the sum of $ 363 000.\n\n(2) The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of subsection (1).\n\n4 Additional appropriation in respect of increases in salaries\n\nSection 5 of the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97 has effect, on and from the commencement of this Act, as if any reference in that section to Schedule 3 to that Act included a reference to the Schedule to this Act.\n\n5 Accounting errors etc. may be corrected after close of financial year\n\nDespite section 36 of the Audit Act 1901, the Minister may take action after 30 June 1997:\n\n(a) to correct errors or mispostings in the official accounting records of the Commonwealth for the year ending on that day; or\n\n(b) to balance the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the Trust Fund or the Loan Fund;\n\nif the action does not result in an amount being debited from one of those Funds otherwise than for the purpose of being credited to another of those Funds.\n\nNote: Section 36 of the Audit Act 1901 provides that (except in a particular case provided for in that section) every appropriation out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the service of a financial year lapses and ceases to have effect at the end of that year (the unspent balance of any appropriated amount lapsing) and that the accounts of the year are then closed.\n\n \nPart 2 Special application of Act\n\nSection 6\n\nPart 2 — Special application of Act\n\n6 Definition\n\nIn this Part:\n\nFinancial Management and Accountability Act means the Act to be cited as the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.\n\n7 Application of Part\n\nThis Part applies if the Financial Management and Accountability Act commences before 1 July 1997.\n\n8 Act to have effect subject to modifications\n\nThis Act has effect after the commencement of the Financial Management and Accountability Act subject to the modifications set out in the following sections.\n\n9 Modification relating to the debiting of the Consolidated Revenue Fund after the close of a financial year\n\nSection 5 is repealed and the following section is substituted:\n\n5 Consolidated Revenue Fund not to be debited after close of financial year\n\n(1) An amount appropriated under section 3 may not be debited from the Consolidated Revenue Fund after 30 June 1997.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the Minister from taking action after 30 June 1997:\n\n(a) to correct errors or mispostings in the financial accounting records of the Commonwealth for the year ending on that day; or\n\n(b) to balance the Funds (within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997);\n\n \nPart 2 Special application of Act\n\nSection 9\n\nif the action does not result in an amount being debited from a Fund otherwise than for the purpose of being credited to another Fund.\n\n10 Modification relating to act of grace payments\n\nItem 3 of subdivision 2 of Division 104 in the Schedule is modified by adding at the end “or under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997”.\n\n![](image.004.png) \nServices for which money is appropriated\n\nSchedule\n\nSchedule — Services for which money is appropriated\n\nNote : See section 3\n\nAbstract\n\n| Page Reference | Departments and Services | Total |\n| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |\n| | | $ |\n| 7 | Senate............................................ | 20 000 |\n| 7 | Provision for Running Costs Borrowings..................... | 150 000 |\n| 8 | House of Representatives................................ | 23 000 |\n| 8 | Provision for Running Costs Borrowings..................... | 150 000 |\n| 9 | Joint House Department................................ | 20 000 |\n| | Total......................................... | 363 000 |\n\n \nSchedule\n\nSUMMARY\n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 1996‑97, Heavy figures\n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97, Light figures\n\n```html\n

Division

Running Costs

Other Services

Total

$

$

$

101

Senate................................

—

20 000

20 000

23 759 000

400 000

24 159 000

104

House of Representative....................

—

23 000

23 000

22 769 000

429 000

23 198 000

107

Parliamentary Reporting Staff................

—

—

—

30 330 000

3 155 000

33 485 000

108

Parliamentary Library......................

—

—

—

15 340 000

—

15 340 000

109

Joint House Department....................

—

20 000

20 000

36 536 000

2 573 000

39 109 000

Total.................................

—

63 000

63 000

128 734 000

6 557 000

135 291 000

\n```\n\n \nSchedule\n\n```html\n

Additional appropriation for 1996‑97

Information with respect to previous appropriation and expenditure

Appropriation made by Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97

Expenditure for 1995‑96

$

$

$

Division 101.—SENATE

2.— Other Services

01. Citizenship visits program...............

20 000

394 000

427 425

Total: Senate.......................

20 000

PROVISION FOR RUNNING COSTS BORROWINGS

Division 103.— PROVISION FOR RUNNING COSTS BORROWINGS

To enable the President to make money available for expenditure:

(a) for the purposes of running costs for which an appropriation has been made under an item, subdivision or Division in Schedule 3 to Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97; and

(b) particulars of which will afterwards be submitted to the Parliament

150 000

50 000

•

* Expenditure in 1995‑96 from the Provision for Running Costs Borrowings to the President of the Senate is shown under the appropriation to which it has been charged.

\n```\n\n \nSchedule\n\n```html\n

Additional appropriation for 1996‑97

Information with respect to previous appropriation and expenditure

Appropriation made by Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97

Expenditure for 1995‑96

$

$

$

Division 104.— HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

2.— Other Services

01. Citizenship visits program..................

20 000

394 000

433 250

03. Payments under subsection 34A(1) of the Audit Act 1901.

3 000

—

3 303

23 000

Total: House of Representatives............

23 000

PROVISION FOR RUNNING COSTS BORROWINGS

Division 106.— PROVISION FOR RUNNING COSTS BORROWINGS

To enable the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make money available for expenditure:

(a) for the purposes of running costs for which an appropriation has been made under an item, subdivision or Division in Schedule 3 to Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97; and

(b) particulars of which will afterwards be submitted to the Parliament

150 000

50 000

*

* Expenditure in 1995‑96 from the Provision for Running Costs Borrowings to the Speaker of the House of Representatives is shown under the appropriation to which it has been charged.

\n```\n\n \nSchedule\n\n```html\n

Additional appropriation for 1996‑97

Information with respect to previous appropriation and expenditure

Appropriation made by Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97

Expenditure for 1995‑96

$

$

$

Division 109.—JOINT HOUSE DEPARTMENT

3.— Other Services

01. Compensation and legal expenses..........

20 000

—

—

Total: Joint House Department..........

20 000

\n```\n\n\\[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 5 February 1997\n\nSenate on 6 March 1997\\]\n\n(3/97)\n\n88208 Cat. No. 96 75981 ISBN 0644 501391\n\n![](image.005.png)\n\n![](image.006.png)Printed by Authority by the Commonwealth Government Printer (3/97)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-realtime","completionTokens":1809},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation remains consistent with its original purpose as stated in the long title: to provide additional appropriations for Parliamentary Departments for the 1996-97 financial year. The scope has not expanded beyond this supplementary budgeting function."},"complexity_factors":["Contingent Part 2 provisions that only activate if the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 commences before 1 July 1997","Cross-references to three other Acts (Audit Act 1901, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996-97, and Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997)","Schedule contains detailed appropriation tables with comparative expenditure data from previous year","Section 5 creates an exception to the general rule in the Audit Act 1901 that unspent appropriations lapse at year-end"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act provides an extra **$363,000** to run Australia's Parliamentary Departments for the 1996-97 financial year, supplementing the main budget passed earlier that year.\n\n**Where the money goes:**\n- **Senate**: $20,000 for citizenship visits programs, plus $150,000 for 'running costs borrowings' (temporary advances for day-to-day operations)\n- **House of Representatives**: $23,000 for citizenship programs and audit-related payments, plus $150,000 for running costs borrowings \n- **Joint House Department**: $20,000 for compensation and legal expenses\n\n**Key technical features:**\n- Allows the government to fix accounting errors and balance the books even after the financial year ends (normally, unspent money would lapse)\n- Contains contingency rules that automatically update the Act if the *Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997* commenced before 1 July 1997, ensuring the new financial framework applies to these appropriations"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Act extends and alters the earlier Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97 by (a) adding a $363,000 additional appropriation and specifying its application (s3 and Schedule), (b) treating the earlier Act’s salary‑increase provision as including this Schedule (s4), and (c) changing year‑end accounting rules — permitting corrections (s5) but, if the Financial Management and Accountability Act commences before 1 July 1997, substituting a prohibition on debiting the CRF after 30 June while still allowing error corrections and internal Fund balancing (ss7–9). It also expands an act‑of‑grace payment reference to include the FM&A Act (s10)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple other Acts and instruments increase interpretive complexity (references to Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act 1996‑97 in s4; Audit Act 1901 in s5; Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 in ss6–9).","Contingent modifications triggered by the commencement timing of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (ss6–9) create alternative legal states to apply.","Ministerial discretion to issue funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund under the Schedule (s3) requires administrative decisions and recordkeeping.","Post‑financial‑year accounting permissions and limits (original s5 and its replacement in s9) interact with closed‑year auditing processes and may impose procedural compliance burdens on finance officers.","Schedule provides line‑item allocations across several Parliamentary departments and borrowing provisions (Senate, House, Joint House Department) requiring internal appropriation and reporting (Schedule).","Modification of an act‑of‑grace payment reference ties this appropriation to payments under the new FM&A framework (s10), affecting how discretionary payments are authorised."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises an additional $363,000 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for specified Parliamentary Departments for the year ending 30 June 1997 and empowers the Minister to issue and apply that money (s3). It allows limited post‑year accounting corrections and Fund balancing (s5), but — if the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 begins before 1 July 1997 — it replaces the post‑year debiting rule to forbid debiting the CRF after 30 June while still permitting error corrections and internal Fund transfers (ss7–9)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97","history":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97/history","analysis":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-1996-97/documents"}}