{"id":"financial-management-regulations-1995","name":"FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1995","slug":"financial-management-regulations-1995","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176822,"registerId":"nt-financial-management-regulations-1995-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1995","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1995\nAs in force at 28 March 2024\nTable of provisions\n1 Citation ............................................................................................ 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1\n4 Loss of money held by employee .................................................... 1\n5 Recovery of overpayments .............................................................. 2\n6 Damage to, or loss or destruction of, public property ...................... 4\n7 Other right of recovery ..................................................................... 5\n9 Repeal ............................................................................................. 5\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 28 March 2024\n____________________\nFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1995\nRegulations under the Financial Management Act 1995\n1 Citation\nThese Regulations may be cited as the Financial Management\nRegulations 1995.\n2 Commencement\nThese Regulations shall come into operation on the\ncommencement of the Financial Management Act 1995.\n3 Interpretation\nIn these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears:\ngross salary means the total amount of remuneration payable to\nan employee as part of his or her employment or contract of service\nor, where the employee is employed under an Executive Contract\nof Employment, within the meaning of the Public Sector\nEmployment and Management Act 1993, means the amount that, in\nthe opinion of the Treasurer, is equal to the monetary value to the\nemployee of the employee’s remuneration and other entitlements\nunder that contract.\noverpayment means an amount specified in regulation 5(2).\npublic property means all property held for or on behalf of the\nTerritory or an Agency, but does not include money.\n4 Loss of money held by employee\n(1) Where there occurs a loss of money while the money is under the\ncontrol of an employee, the amount of the loss is a debt due and\npayable by the employee to the Territory or relevant Agency.\n(2) Where an employee defends an action brought to recover money\nunder subsection (1), the Territory or relevant Agency is entitled to\njudgment if it is proved that:\n(a) the defendant is an employee;\n\nFinancial Management Regulations 1995 2\n(b) the money the subject of the action was under the control of\nthe defendant; and\n(c) the defendant converted the money to his or her own use or\nwas guilty, by act or omission, of culpable negligence in\nrelation to the control he or she exercised over the money.\n(3) For the purposes of this regulation, money is taken to be under the\ncontrol of an employee if it has been collected or received by or has\ncome into the custody of the employee but has not been paid to\nanother person or to the credit of an account with a bank, building\nsociety or credit union as required by or under an instrument of a\nlegislative or administrative character.\n5 Recovery of overpayments\n(1) The Territory and an Agency must recover any overpayment made\nby the Territory or the Agency to the following:\n(a) an employee;\n(b) a person who holds office under an Act and is remunerated by\nthe Territory or the Agency;\n(c) a person who met the criteria of paragraph (a) or (b) when the\noverpayment was made;\n(d) a superannuation fund for the benefit of a person specified in\nparagraph (a), (b) or (c);\n(e) a third party for the benefit of, or on behalf of, a person\nspecified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) in accordance with a\ndirection from or agreement with the person.\n(2) The following amounts paid by the Territory or an Agency are taken\nto be overpayments:\n(a) a salary, allowance or reimbursement payment to which a\nperson is not entitled;\n(b) a benefit for which a person is not eligible;\n(c) a contribution to a superannuation fund in excess of the\namount to which a person is entitled;\n(d) a payment to a third party that a person is not entitled to have\npaid;\n(e) any other amount paid in error that benefits a person.\n\nFinancial Management Regulations 1995 3\n(2A) The amount of the overpayment made by the Territory or an\nAgency is a debt due and payable by the person specified in\nsubregulation (1)(a), (b) or (c) to the Territory or the Agency and\nmay be recovered from the person by the Territory or Agency:\n(a) in accordance with subregulations (3) to (7); or\n(b) otherwise in a court of competent jurisdiction.\n(3) If an overpayment is not repaid as soon as practicable, the\noverpayment may be recovered from the person specified in\nsubregulation (1)(a), (b) or (c) by deducting or withholding any\namount or entitlement due to the person from the Territory or\nAgency.\n(4) A deduction from a person's gross salary under subregulation (3)\nmust not exceed 10% of the gross salary except with the written\nconsent of the person.\n(5) Before an amount or entitlement is deducted or withheld under\nsubregulation (3), the person must be given:\n(a) written notice of details of the overpayment and the amount\nproposed to be deducted or withheld; and\n(b) a reasonable opportunity to propose an alternative\narrangement to repay the overpayment.\n(6) The Accountable Officer for an Agency, or the Treasurer, may enter\ninto an alternative arrangement with a person to repay an\noverpayment if:\n(a) the arrangement is reasonable in the circumstances; and\n(b) the risk of not being able to recover the entire overpayment is\nlow; and\n(c) the arrangement would not result in any added costs to the\nTerritory or Agency.\nExample for subregulation (6)\nAn employee who is having financial difficulties could be allowed a longer\npayment plan with lower individual deductions, as long as the plan does not\nresult in additional fringe benefits tax.\n\nFinancial Management Regulations 1995 4\n(7) Despite subregulations (4) to (6), if recovering an overpayment from\na person on the cessation of the person's employment or office, any\namount or entitlement due to the person must be first used to repay\nthe overpayment.\nExample for subregulation (7)\nWhen an employee who received an overpayment leaves the public service, the\nperson's long service leave must be used to pay off the overpayment. Any\namount left over is then paid out to the employee.\n6 Damage to, or loss or destruction of, public property\n(1) Where:\n(a) damage to public property has occurred, the value of the\nproperty or, where the damage to the property may be\nrepaired, the cost of repairing the damage; or\n(b) public property has been lost or destroyed, the value of the\nproperty,\nis a debt to and payable to the Territory or relevant Agency by:\n(c) the employee in whose care the property was at the material\ntime; or\n(d) another employee who contributed to the damage to or loss or\ndestruction of the property.\n(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), public property is taken to be\nin the care of an employee if it has been received by the employee\nand has not been returned or delivered to another person entitled to\nreceive it on behalf of the Territory or the relevant Agency.\n(3) Where an employee defends an action brought under this\nregulation, the Territory or relevant Agency is entitled to judgment if\nthe defendant:\n(a) was at the material time an employee; and\n(b) converted the property to his or her own use or by his or her\nculpable negligence caused or contributed to the damage to or\nloss or destruction of the property.\n(4) Where the negligence or misconduct of an employee was not the\nsole cause of the damage to or loss or destruction of the property,\nthe Territory or Agency may recover from the employee only so\nmuch of the damage, or the cost of replacing the property, as is just\nand equitable having regard to the contribution made by the\nemployee to the damage, loss or destruction as determined by the\n\nFinancial Management Regulations 1995 5\ncourt.\n7 Other right of recovery\nThese Regulations do not affect any other right that the Territory or\nan Agency may have to recover an amount from a person.\n9 Repeal\nThe Treasury Regulations 1978 continued in force by section 45 of\nthe Act, are repealed.\n\nENDNOTES\nFinancial Management Regulations 1995 6\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nFinancial Management Regulations (SL No. 10, 1995)\nNotified 31 March 1995\nCommenced 1 April 1995 (r 2, s 2 Financial Management Act 1995 (Act\nNo. 4, 1995) and Gaz S13, 31 March 1995)\nFinancial Institutions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1997 (Act No. 23, 1997)\nAssent date 2 June 1997\nCommenced 2 June 1997\nStatute Law Revision Act 2008 (Act No. 6, 2008)\nAssent date 11 March 2008\nCommenced 11 March 2008\nFinancial Management Amendment Regulations 2020 (SL No. 10, 2020)\nNotified 10 June 2020\nCommenced 10 June 2020\nFinancial Management Amendment Regulations 2024 (SL No. 2, 2024)\nDate made 27 March 2024\nCommenced 28 March 2024\n3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: rr 1, 3 and 9.\n4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\nr 3 amd No. 10, 2020, r 4\nr 4 amd Act No. 23, 1997, s 6(2)\n\nENDNOTES\nFinancial Management Regulations 1995 7\nr 5 sub No. 10, 2020, r 5\namd No. 2, 2024, r 4\nr 7 sub No. 10, 2020, r 6\nr 8 rep Act No. 6, 2008, s 4","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, this appears to be a reprint (REPF031R1) of existing regulations rather than a substantive change in scope. The regulations remain focused on financial management within government, consistent with their original purpose under the Financial Management Act 1995. No evidence of scope expansion or contraction can be confirmed from the metadata provided."},"complexity_factors":["The document provided contains very limited substantive content — mostly metadata — making full complexity assessment difficult","Financial management regulations typically involve detailed technical accounting and reporting obligations that require specialist knowledge","Regulations interact with and are subordinate to a parent Act, requiring readers to cross-reference multiple documents","Government financial frameworks often use specialised terminology (appropriations, consolidated fund, etc.) unfamiliar to laypeople","As a reprint, changes from previous versions are not clearly flagged in this document, making it harder to identify what has changed"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations, made under the Financial Management Act and administered by the Department of Treasury and Finance, set the detailed rules for how government agencies and public servants must handle, account for and report public money. They shape how contractors and suppliers are paid and, indirectly, protect taxpayers by standardising financial processes to promote accountability and transparency. Reprint consolidates prior amendments."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of providing mechanisms for the Northern Territory to recover financial losses from employees. The 2020 and 2024 amendments updated the overpayment recovery procedures (Regulation 5) to make them more flexible and detailed, but this represents refinement within the original scope rather than expansion beyond it. The repeal of Regulation 8 (which previously dealt with specific accounting procedures) actually narrowed the scope slightly."},"complexity_factors":["Short length (7 substantive regulations, approximately 5 pages)","Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('gross salary' and 'overpayment')","Minimal cross-referencing (only references to the parent Act and one other Act regarding Executive Contracts)","Clear conditional structure with straightforward 'if-then' logic","Some nested conditions in Regulation 5 (recovery of overpayments) with multiple categories of affected persons and multiple methods of recovery","Includes helpful examples in Regulations 5(6) and 5(7) that clarify practical application","No exceptions to exceptions or deeply layered provisos"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations set out the rules for recovering money and property from Northern Territory public servants when things go wrong financially. They operate under the main Financial Management Act 1995.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Public sector employees** – anyone working for the Northern Territory Government or its agencies\n*   **Office holders** – people appointed under legislation who get paid by the Territory\n*   **Former employees** – people who used to work there but were overpaid while employed\n\n**The three main situations covered:**\n\n1.  **Lost money** (Regulation 4): If an employee loses cash that was in their care, they must pay it back. The Territory can sue them and will win if the employee was negligent or stole the money.\n\n2.  **Overpayments** (Regulation 5): If the government accidentally pays someone too much salary, allowances, or superannuation, it can recover the money by:\n    *   Deducting up to 10% from their pay (with notice and a chance to negotiate)\n    *   Taking it from their final pay or leave entitlements when they quit\n    *   Going to court if necessary\n    *   The rules allow flexible repayment plans for people in financial hardship.\n\n3.  **Damaged or lost property** (Regulation 6): If an employee damages, loses, or destroys government property (computers, vehicles, equipment, etc.) through negligence or theft, they must pay for repairs or replacement. If they weren't entirely at fault, the court decides a fair amount.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThese rules protect taxpayer money by ensuring public servants are financially responsible for cash and assets under their control. They balance the Territory's right to recover losses against fairness to employees – for example, by limiting pay deductions and requiring notice before money is taken."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Regulations have been amended since original enactment. The Endnotes record amendments to the interpretation and substantive recovery provisions (r 3; r 4 amended 1997), substitution of regulation 5 in 2020 and a further amendment in 2024, substitution of r 7 in 2020, and repeal of r 8 in 2008. These changes modify definitions and the mechanics of overpayment recovery (see 'List of Amendments' in the Endnotes)."},"complexity_factors":["Defined liability triggers use ordinary‑language standards but hinge on legal concepts like 'culpable negligence' and 'conversion' (regs 4(2), 6(3)), which require factual assessment in litigation.","Multiple recovery routes: administrative deductions, negotiated arrangements by Accountable Officer or Treasurer, and court proceedings (reg 5(2A), (3), (6)).","Statutory limit on payroll deductions (10% of gross salary) but with written consent carve‑out, creating compliance and consent management (reg 5(4)).","Priority on cessation of employment: amounts due on leaving must first satisfy overpayments, affecting final entitlements (reg 5(7)).","Apportionment where multiple employees contributed to damage requires courts to determine 'just and equitable' shares (reg 6(4)), adding case‑by‑case complexity.","Broad definitions and cross‑references (eg. 'gross salary' definition, 'public property' exclusion of money) mean administrators must interpret terms before recovery (reg 3).","Preservation of other recovery rights creates interaction with external remedies and potential overlap (reg 7).","Amendments over time alter scope and require keeping processes and forms up to date (see Endnotes and List of Amendments)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations require people who hold Territory money or public property — especially employees and office‑holders — to repay losses or overpayments and set how recovery is done. Liability arises where money/property was under a person’s control or where culpable negligence or conversion is proved (regs 4, 6). The Territory or Agency can deduct repayments from entitlements (deduction cap 10% of gross salary without consent), agree alternative repayment plans (reg 5(3)–(6)), or pursue recovery in court (reg 5(2A))."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/financial-management-regulations-1995","history":"/api/acts/financial-management-regulations-1995/history","analysis":"/api/acts/financial-management-regulations-1995/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/financial-management-regulations-1995/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/financial-management-regulations-1995/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/financial-management-regulations-1995/documents"}}