{"id":"C2026A00016","name":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026","slug":"appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-2025-2026","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"16 of 2026","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436462,"registerId":"C2026A00016-fast-fetch-1775953653881","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026","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. 2) 2025‑2026\n\nNo. 16, 2026\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to appropriate additional 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 \n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.002.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nAppropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 2) 2025-2026\n\nNo. 16, 2026\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to appropriate additional money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 27 March 2026]\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. 2) 2025‑2026.\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 day this Act receives the Royal Assent. 27 March 2026\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\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 Additional Estimates Statements means the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for this Act.\n\nPortfolio Budget Statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026.\n\nportfolio statements means:\n\n (a) the Portfolio Budget Statements; and\n\n (b) the Portfolio Additional Estimates 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 $9,183,000.\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) If a responsible Presiding Officer determined an amount under subsection 11(2) of the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026 or subsection 11(2) of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026 before the commencement of this Act, the amount is to be disregarded for the purposes of subsections 11(3), (4), (5) and (6) of the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026.\n\nNote: This means that, after the commencement of this Act, the responsible Presiding Officers have access to the following amounts under section 11 of the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026, regardless of amounts that have already been determined under that section:\n\n(a) for the Department of the Senate—$300,000;\n\n(b) for the Department of the House of Representatives—$300,000;\n\n(c) for the Department of Parliamentary Services—$1 million;\n\n(d) for the Parliamentary Budget Office—$300,000.\n\n (2) If:\n\n (a) this Act appropriates an amount for particular expenditure; and\n\n (b) before the commencement of this Act, a responsible Presiding Officer determined an amount (the advanced amount) under section 11 of the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026 or section 11 of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026 for the expenditure;\n\nthe amount appropriated by this Act for the expenditure is taken to be reduced (but not below nil) by the advanced amount.\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 2028.\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 House of Representatives | 670 |\n| Department of Parliamentary Services | 8,513 |\n|  |  |\n| Total | 9,183 |\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- SUMMARYAdditional Appropriation (bold figures)—2025‑2026 Budget Appropriation (italic figures)—2025‑2026\n- Entity Departmental Administered Non- operating Total\n- $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000\n- Department of the Senate ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑\n- 29,281 ‑ ‑ 29,281\n- Department of the House of 670 ‑ ‑ 670\n- Representatives 29,777 362 ‑ 30,139\n- Department of Parliamentary Services 8,513 ‑ ‑ 8,513\n- 209,819 6,315 49,645 265,779\n- Parliamentary Budget Office ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑\n- 9,463 ‑ ‑ 9,463\n- Total: Parliamentary Departments 9,183 ‑ ‑ 9,183\n- 278,340 6,677 49,645 334,662\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- PARLIAMENTAdditional Appropriation (bold figures)—2025‑2026 Budget Appropriation (italic figures)—2025‑2026 Actual Available Appropriation (light figures)—2024‑2025\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 670 ‑ 670\n- House of Representatives to fulfil its 29,777 362 30,139\n- representative and legislative role 29,801 357 30,158\n- Total: Department of the House of 670 ‑ 670\n- Representatives\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n- PARLIAMENTAdditional Appropriation (bold figures)—2025‑2026 Budget Appropriation (italic figures)—2025‑2026 Actual Available Appropriation (light figures)—2024‑2025\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 8,513 ‑ 8,513\n- parliamentarians through the provision of 209,819 6,315 216,134\n- professional services, advice and facilities and 210,169 6,432 216,601\n- maintain Australian Parliament House\n- Non‑operating\n- Administered Assets and Liabilities ‑\n- 49,645\n- 41,133\n- Total: Non‑operating ‑\n- Total: Department of Parliamentary Services 8,513 ‑ 8,513\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 5 February 2026\n\nSenate on 25 March 2026]\n\n(9/26)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation maintains the standard scope of a parliamentary departments appropriation bill. It provides supplementary funding ('No. 2' appropriation) consistent with the established budget process, covering the same four parliamentary departments as previous iterations. The advance to Presiding Officers mechanism and the treatment of notional transactions are long-standing features of appropriation legislation. No expansion beyond traditional parliamentary funding purposes is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused legislation (14 sections plus Schedule)","Standard appropriation structure with familiar defined terms (12 defined terms in section 3)","Minimal cross-referencing – primarily references to the companion Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013","Simple conditional logic limited to Part 3 (advance provisions) with straightforward deeming provisions","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions beyond standard commencement and repeal clauses","Schedule 1 presents appropriations in tabular form with clear departmental allocations"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation authorises the Australian Government to spend an additional **$9.183 million** from the national budget (the Consolidated Revenue Fund) to run Australia's parliamentary departments during the 2025-2026 financial year.\n\n**What this money is for:**\n\n- **$670,000** for the **Department of the House of Representatives** – to support MPs and the running of the lower house\n- **$8.513 million** for the **Department of Parliamentary Services** – to maintain Parliament House and provide services to parliamentarians\n\n**The four Parliamentary Departments covered by this Act are:**\n- Department of the Senate\n- Department of the House of Representatives  \n- Department of Parliamentary Services\n- Parliamentary Budget Office\n\n**How the money can be used:**\n\n- **Departmental items**: Day-to-day running costs like staff salaries and office expenses\n- **Administered items**: Money for specific government programs and outcomes\n- **Administered assets and liabilities**: Funding for major assets or to settle debts\n- **Other departmental items**: Special capital injections (equity funding)\n\n**Key features:**\n\n- This is a **\"No. 2\" appropriation bill** – meaning it provides **additional** funding on top of what was already budgeted earlier in the year (the \"No. 1\" Act)\n- It includes an **\"advance\" provision** allowing the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to access emergency funds ($300,000-$1 million per department) for urgent, unforeseen expenses without waiting for further parliamentary approval\n- The Act automatically **repeals itself on 1 July 2028**, which is standard for appropriation bills to keep the statute book tidy\n- **Notional transactions** between government entities are treated as real payments for accounting purposes, even though no actual cash moves between them\n\n**Why this matters:**\nThis is part of the parliamentary \"supply\" process – the mechanism by which Parliament legally authorises the Executive to spend public money. Without these appropriation acts, government departments would have no legal authority to pay staff or bills. This particular bill covers the parliamentary departments that serve the Parliament itself, ensuring the legislative branch can function independently of the executive government."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act does not expand the set of entities or outcomes eligible for Parliamentary Departments’ funding; it provides an additional appropriation ($9,183,000) and mechanics for its use (see s6 and Schedule 1). It confirms portfolio statements as interpretive material (s4), treats intra‑Commonwealth notional transactions as real for accounting (s5), and adjusts access to advances previously determined (s11). These are procedural and accounting rules rather than a change in the substantive scope of who may receive funds."},"complexity_factors":["Limited subject-matter and single-year appropriation (total $9.183m) reduces procedural complexity (see s6 and Schedule 1).","Cross-references to other legislation and instruments increase legal linkages: Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (note and s13) and earlier Appropriation/Supply Acts (see s11).","Notional transaction treatment requires intra‑Commonwealth accounting adjustments rather than cash movements (s5), creating bookkeeping but not cash-flow complexity.","Interpretive reliance on external portfolio statements declared relevant for statutory interpretation (s4) adds evidentiary dependence.","Advance access and reconciliation mechanics interact with prior determinations under related Acts, requiring tracking of prior advances (s11).","Authority to debit appropriations and credit special accounts permits off‑balance transfers that require administrative coordination (s12).","Repeal date (s14) makes the measure time‑limited and limits long‑term regulatory complexity."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act appropriates an additional $9,183,000 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for Parliamentary Departments, chiefly $670,000 for the Department of the House of Representatives and $8,513,000 for the Department of Parliamentary Services. It authorises that money to be applied to departmental and administered expenditure for the 2025–26 year. Mechanically, the Act treats internal Commonwealth (notional) transactions as real for accounting, permits crediting to special accounts, confirms portfolio statements as interpretive material, provides for advance reconciliation, and expires on 1 July 2028."},"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-2-2025-2026","history":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-2025-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-2025-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-2025-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-2025-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/appropriation-parliamentary-departments-act-no-2-2025-2026/documents"}}