{"id":"C1951A00060","name":"Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951","slug":"public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"60 of 1951","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":1008,"registerId":"C2017C00109","compilationNumber":"13","startDate":"2017-03-22","status":"InForce","reasons":[{"affect":"Amend","markdown":"sch 1 (items 23-25) of the [Statute Update (A.C.T. Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Regulations) Act 2017](/C2017A00013)","dateChanged":null,"amendedByTitle":null,"affectedByTitle":{"name":"Statute Update (A.C.T. Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Regulations) Act 2017","year":2017,"number":13,"titleId":"C2017A00013","provisions":"sch 1 (items 23-25)","seriesType":"Act","optionalSeriesNumber":null}}],"registeredAt":"2017-03-22T14:18:24.293Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 4 Interpretation\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Audit Office means the Australian National Audit Office established by section 38 of the Auditor‑General Act 1997.\n\n> Auditor‑General means the Auditor‑General for the Commonwealth referred to in section 7 of the Auditor‑General Act 1997.\n\n> Chair means the Chair of the Committee.\n\n> Deputy Chair means the Deputy Chair of the Committee.\n\n> Finance Minister means the Minister who administers the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n> Independent Auditor means the Independent Auditor referred to in section 41 of the Auditor‑General Act 1997.\n\n> member means a member of the Committee.\n\n> the Committee means the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit for the time being constituted under this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of the Criminal Code","content":"#### 4A Application of the Criminal Code\n\n  Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences against this Act.\n\n> Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit","content":"#### 5 Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit\n\n  (1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of this subsection and the first session of each Parliament, a joint committee of members of the Parliament, to be known as the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, is to be appointed.\n  (2) The Committee is to consist of 16 members of the Parliament. 6 members must be members of, and be appointed by, the Senate. 10 members must be members of, and be appointed by, the House of Representatives. The members must be appointed according to the practice of the Parliament for the appointment of members to serve on joint select committees of both Houses of the Parliament.\n  (3) Each member shall hold office during the pleasure of the House by which he or she was appointed.\n  (4) Either House of the Parliament may appoint one of its members to fill a vacancy amongst the members of the Committee appointed by that House.\n  (5) Each member shall cease to hold office when the House of Representatives expires by effluxion of time or is dissolved.\n  (6) At any time at which:\n    (a) there is constituted a Standing Committee of the House of Representatives known as the Expenditure Committee; and\n    (b) the Chair of that Committee is not a member of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit by virtue of an appointment under subsection (2);\n  that Chair shall, by virtue of his or her office as Chair of the Expenditure Committee, be a member of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in addition to the members referred to in subsection (2), but is not eligible to be elected as Chair of the last‑mentioned Committee.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Chair and Deputy Chair","content":"#### 6 Chair and Deputy Chair\n\n  (1) There shall be a Chair and a Deputy Chair of the Committee, who shall be elected by the members from time to time and shall hold office as Chair and Deputy Chair during the pleasure of the Committee.\n  (2) The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Committee at which he or she is present.\n  (2A) In the event of the absence of the Chair from a meeting of the Committee, the Deputy Chair shall, if he or she is present at that meeting, preside at that meeting.\n  (3) In the event of the absence of both the Chair and the Deputy Chair from a meeting of the Committee, the members present may appoint one of their number to preside at the meeting, and the member so presiding shall, in relation to the meeting, have all the powers and functions of the Chair.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Meetings of Committee","content":"#### 6A Meetings of Committee\n\n  (1) The Committee may meet at such times and at such places within Australia as the Committee, by resolution, determines or, subject to any resolution of the Committee, as the Chair determines, but shall not meet at any place outside Australia.\n  (2) At any time when the Chair is absent from Australia or is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of his or her office or there is a vacancy in the office of Chair, the Deputy Chair may exercise the powers of the Chair under subsection (1).\n  (3) The Committee may meet and transact business notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Quorum and voting","content":"#### 7 Quorum and voting\n\n  (1) At a meeting of the Committee 6 members constitute a quorum.\n  (2) All questions to be decided by the Committee shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present.\n  (3) The Chair or other member presiding shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.\n  (4) Where the members present do not vote unanimously, the manner in which each member votes shall, if a member so requires, be recorded in the minutes and in the Committee’s report.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Duties of the Committee","content":"#### 8 Duties of the Committee\n\n  (1) The duties of the Committee are:\n    (a) to examine the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the Commonwealth, including the financial statements given to the Auditor‑General under paragraphs 42(1)(b) and 48(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; and\n    (b) to examine the financial affairs of authorities of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies and of intergovernmental bodies to which this Act applies; and\n    (c) to examine all reports of the Auditor‑General (including reports of the results of performance audits) that are tabled in each House of the Parliament; and\n    (d) to report to both Houses of the Parliament, with any comment it thinks fit, on any items or matters in those accounts, statements and reports, or any circumstances connected with them, that the Committee thinks should be drawn to the attention of the Parliament; and\n    (e) to report to both Houses of the Parliament any alteration that the Committee thinks desirable in:\n    (i) the form of the public accounts or in the method of keeping them; or\n    (ii) the mode of receipt, control, issue or payment of public moneys; and\n    (f) to inquire into any question connected with the public accounts which is referred to the Committee by either House of the Parliament, and to report to that House on that question; and\n    (g) to consider:\n    (i) the operations of the Audit Office; and\n    (ii) the resources of the Audit Office, including funding, staff and information technology; and\n    (iii) reports of the Independent Auditor on operations of the Audit Office; and\n    (h) to report to both Houses of the Parliament on any matter arising out of the Committee’s consideration of the matters listed in paragraph (g), or on any other matter relating to the Auditor‑General’s functions and powers, that the Committee considers should be drawn to the attention of the Parliament; and\n    (i) to report to both Houses of the Parliament on the performance of the Audit Office at any time; and\n    (j) to consider draft estimates for the Audit Office submitted under section 53 of the Auditor‑General Act 1997; and\n    (k) to consider the level of fees determined by the Auditor‑General under subsection 14(1) of the Auditor‑General Act 1997; and\n    (ka) to consider the level of fees determined by the Auditor‑General under subsection 16(1) of the Auditor‑General Act 1997; and\n    (l) to make recommendations to both Houses of Parliament, and to the Minister who administers the Auditor‑General Act 1997, on draft estimates referred to in paragraph (j); and\n    (m) to determine the audit priorities of the Parliament and to advise the Auditor‑General of those priorities; and\n    (n) to determine the audit priorities of the Parliament for audits of the Audit Office and to advise the Independent Auditor of those priorities; and\n    (o) any other duties given to the Committee by this Act, by any other law or by Joint Standing Orders approved by both Houses of the Parliament.\n  (1A) Nothing in subsection (1) authorises the Committee to direct the activities of the Auditor‑General or the Independent Auditor.\n  (2) The duties of the Committee do not extend to:\n    (a) an examination of the financial affairs of the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory or of the Administration of an External Territory (including the financial affairs of the Administration of an External Territory contained in any of the accounts and financial statements referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1)); or\n    (b) an examination of a report of the Auditor‑General that relates to, or in so far as it relates to:\n    (i) the financial affairs of the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory or of the Administration of an External Territory (including the financial affairs of the Administration of an External Territory contained in any of the accounts and financial statements referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1)); or\n    (ii) the results of an efficiency audit of operations of the Administration of an External Territory.\n  (2A) For the purposes of subsection (2), an External Territory does not include the Territory of Christmas Island or the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.\n  (3) For the purpose of this section, an authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies is:\n    (a) a body corporate or an unincorporated body established for a public purpose by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an enactment, not being an inter‑governmental body;\n    (b) a body established by the Governor‑General or by a Minister otherwise than in accordance with an enactment; or\n    (c) an incorporated company over which the Commonwealth is in a position to exercise control.\n  (4) Where the parties to an agreement relating to the establishment of an inter‑governmental body consent to the examination, by the Committee, of the financial affairs of that body, the Minister shall notify the fact that they have so consented in the Gazette and the body shall thereupon become an inter‑governmental body to which this Act applies.\n  (5) Where a party to an agreement relating to the establishment of an inter‑governmental body (being an inter‑governmental body which, by virtue of subsection (4), is an inter‑governmental body to which this Act applies) withdraws its consent to the examination, by the Committee, of the financial affairs of that body, the Minister shall notify the fact that that party has withdrawn its consent in the Gazette and the body shall thereupon cease to be an inter‑governmental body to which this Act applies.\n  (6) In this section, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> enactment means:\n\n    (a) an Act;\n    (b) an Ordinance of the Australian Capital Territory; or\n    (c) an instrument (including rules, regulations or by‑laws) made under an Act or under such an Ordinance.\n\n> inter‑governmental body means a body corporate or an unincorporated body established by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an agreement between the Commonwealth and a State or States or between the Commonwealth and the government of another country or the governments of other countries.\n\n> State includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Committee may approve or reject recommendation for appointment of Auditor‑General or Independent Auditor","content":"#### 8A Committee may approve or reject recommendation for appointment of Auditor‑General or Independent Auditor\n\n  (1) If the Audit Minister refers a proposed recommendation for an appointment of the Auditor‑General or Independent Auditor to the Committee for approval, the Committee must:\n    (a) approve or reject the proposal within 14 days after receiving it; or\n    (b) notify the Audit Minister as provided for in subsection (2).\n\n> Note: Clauses 2 of Schedule 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 of the Auditor‑General Act 1997 require proposed recommendations to be referred to the Committee for approval.\n\n  (2) The Committee may notify the Audit Minister within 14 days after receiving a proposal that it needs more time to consider the proposal. If the Committee does so, the Committee must approve or reject the proposal within 44 days after receiving it.\n  (3) The decision to approve or reject a proposal is to be by majority of the members of the Committee for the time being holding office.\n  (4) If the Committee does not make a decision on a proposal by the required time, the Committee is taken, at that time, to have approved the proposal.\n  (5) The Committee must notify the Audit Minister of its decision on a proposal as soon as practicable after making the decision.\n  (6) A notification under this section must be in writing.\n  (7) The Committee must report to both Houses of the Parliament on its decision on a proposal.\n  (8) In this section:\n\n> Audit Minister means the Minister administering the Auditor‑General Act 1997.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"8B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Annual report","content":"#### 8B Annual report\n\n  (1) The Committee must, in relation to each financial year, prepare a report on the performance of its duties during the year.\n  (2) The Committee must table the report in each House of the Parliament.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Sectional Committees","content":"#### 9 Sectional Committees\n\n  (1) The Committee may appoint a Sectional Committee or Sectional Committees of three or more of its members to inquire into and report to the Committee upon such matters with which the Committee is concerned as the Committee directs.\n  (3) The provisions of this Act (other than this section and section 5, subsection 7(1) and sections 8, 8A, 8B and 12) apply in relation to a Sectional Committee in the same way as they apply in relation to the Committee.\n  (3AA) In applying any of the provisions, a reference to the Chair or the Deputy Chair of the Committee (except a reference in section 22) is instead a reference to the Chair or the Deputy Chair of the Sectional Committee.\n  (3A) At a meeting of a Sectional Committee, a quorum is constituted by:\n    (a) in the case of a Sectional Committee of no more than 5 members—2 members;\n    (b) in the case of a Sectional Committee of 6 or 7 members—3 members; and\n    (c) in the case of a Sectional Committee of 8 or more members—4 members.\n  (4) A Sectional Committee shall report in writing to the Committee as soon as practicable on each matter referred to that Sectional Committee by the Committee.\n  (5) A Sectional Committee may sit at any time notwithstanding that the Committee is sitting at the same time.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power to take evidence","content":"#### 10 Power to take evidence\n\n  (1) The Committee may take evidence on oath or affirmation and the Chair or the Deputy Chair may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before the Committee.\n  (2) The oath or affirmation administered to a witness may be in accordance with Form A or Form B in the Schedule, as the case requires.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Sittings to be public except in certain cases","content":"#### 11 Sittings to be public except in certain cases\n\n  (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Committee must take all evidence in public.\n  (2) If, in the Committee’s opinion, evidence relates to a secret or confidential matter:\n    (a) if the witness giving the evidence requests the Committee to do so—the Committee must take the evidence in private; or\n    (b) in any other case—the Committee may take the evidence in private.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"11A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Disclosure and publishing of evidence taken in private","content":"#### 11A Disclosure and publishing of evidence taken in private\n\n  (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the Committee may publish or disclose any evidence taken in private.\n  (2) If evidence is taken in private at the request of a witness and has not already been published:\n    (a) the Committee or a member of the Committee must not disclose or publish any of the evidence without the consent of the witness who gave it; and\n    (b) any other person must not disclose or publish any of the evidence without the consent of the witness who gave it and without the authorisation of the Committee.\n  (3) If evidence is taken in private other than at the request of a witness and has not already been published, a member of the Committee or any other person must not disclose or publish any of the evidence without the authorisation of the Committee.\n  (4) The Committee may, in writing signed by the Chair, give an authorisation for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) or subsection (3).\n  (5) This section has effect in spite of section 2 of the Parliamentary Papers Act 1908.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Continuance of evidence","content":"#### 12 Continuance of evidence\n\n  Where the Committee as constituted at any time, or a Sectional Committee of the Committee as constituted at any time, has taken evidence in relation to a matter, but the Committee as so constituted has ceased to exist before reporting on the matter, the Committee as next constituted may consider that evidence as if it had been given before it.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power to summon witnesses","content":"#### 13 Power to summon witnesses\n\n  (1) The Committee may summon a person to appear before it to give evidence and produce documents.\n  (2) A summons to a witness may be in accordance with Form C in the Schedule and shall be signed by the Chair or the Deputy Chair.\n  (3) A summons to a witness may be served upon the witness either personally or by being left at, or sent by post to, his or her usual place of business or of abode.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Warrant in case of disobedience of summons","content":"#### 14 Warrant in case of disobedience of summons\n\n  (1) If a person upon whom a summons under the last preceding section has been served and to whom reasonable expenses of conveyance have been tendered fails to appear, or, having appeared, fails to continue in attendance, in obedience to the summons, the Chair or the Deputy Chair may issue a warrant for his or her apprehension.\n  (2) The warrant may be in accordance with Form D in the Schedule.\n  (3) The person executing a warrant under this section may:\n    (a) apprehend the person in respect of whom it is issued;\n    (b) bring that person before the Committee; and\n    (c) detain that person in custody until he or she is released by order of the Chair or the Deputy Chair.\n  (4) The warrant may be executed by the person to whom it is addressed or by a person appointed by him or her to assist him or her in its execution, and the person executing the warrant may break and enter a building, place or ship for the purpose of executing the warrant.","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"15","sectionType":"section","heading":"Witness to obey summons","content":"#### 15 Witness to obey summons\n\n  (1) A person upon whom a summons under section 13 has been served shall not fail to appear or to continue in attendance in obedience to the summons.\n  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the person proves that he or she has a reasonable excuse.\n\n> Note: A defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2) (see section 13.4 of the Criminal Code).","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"16","sectionType":"section","heading":"Preventing witnesses from giving evidence","content":"#### 16 Preventing witnesses from giving evidence\n\n  A person shall not dissuade or prevent a person from obeying a summons under section 13.","sortOrder":19},{"sectionNumber":"17","sectionType":"section","heading":"Witnesses not to refuse to be sworn etc.","content":"#### 17 Witnesses not to refuse to be sworn etc.\n\n  (1) A person summoned to appear before the Committee shall not refuse:\n    (a) to be sworn or make an affirmation;\n    (b) to answer a question put to him or her by the Committee or by any member thereof; or\n    (c) to produce a document which he or she is required by the Committee or by a member thereof to produce.\n  (2) Paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) does not apply if the person proves that he or she has just cause for the refusal.\n\n> Note: A defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2) (see section 13.4 of the Criminal Code).","sortOrder":20},{"sectionNumber":"18","sectionType":"section","heading":"False evidence","content":"#### 18 False evidence\n\n  A person shall not give false evidence on oath or affirmation before the Committee.\n\nPenalty: Five years’ imprisonment.","sortOrder":21},{"sectionNumber":"19","sectionType":"section","heading":"Privileges and protection of witnesses","content":"#### 19 Privileges and protection of witnesses\n\n  (1) A person summoned to appear or appearing before the Committee as a witness shall have the same protection and privileges as a witness in proceedings in the High Court.\n  (2) A person shall not use, cause or inflict any violence, punishment, damage, loss or disadvantage on or to a person for or on account of his or her having appeared as a witness before the Committee, or for or on account of any evidence lawfully given by him or her before the Committee.","sortOrder":22},{"sectionNumber":"20","sectionType":"section","heading":"Witnesses’ expenses","content":"#### 20 Witnesses’ expenses\n\n  A witness appearing before the Committee shall be entitled to be paid such fees and travelling expenses as the Chair or the Deputy Chair allows in accordance with the prescribed scale.","sortOrder":23},{"sectionNumber":"21","sectionType":"section","heading":"Offences","content":"#### 21 Offences\n\n  (1) A person who contravenes, or fails to comply with, a provision of this Act (other than section 18) commits an offence against this section.\n  (2) An offence against this section may be prosecuted either summarily or upon indictment, but an offender is not liable to be punished more than once in respect of the same offence.\n  (3) The punishment for an offence against this section is:\n    (a) if the offence is prosecuted summarily—a fine not exceeding Two hundred dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months; or\n    (b) if the offence is prosecuted upon indictment—a fine not exceeding Four hundred dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.","sortOrder":24},{"sectionNumber":"22","sectionType":"section","heading":"Allowances","content":"#### 22 Allowances\n\n  (1) The Chair and other members of the Committee shall be paid such allowances as are prescribed.\n  (2) However, the prescribed allowances are not payable unless the Chair or Deputy Chair certifies in writing that they are payable.\n  (3) Prescribed allowances in respect of which such certification has been given are payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.","sortOrder":25},{"sectionNumber":"23","sectionType":"section","heading":"Limitation of annual expenditure","content":"#### 23 Limitation of annual expenditure\n\n  (1) The total amount paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in respect of allowances payable under the last preceding section shall not exceed $20,000 in any financial year.\n  (2) Where, in any financial year, the amount of $20,000 would, but for subsection (1), be exceeded, a proportionate abatement, to be determined by the Finance Minister, shall be made in the sums payable, so as to reduce the amount so payable to the sum of $20,000.","sortOrder":26},{"sectionNumber":"24","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 24 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":27},{"sectionNumber":"Form A","sectionType":"part","heading":"Form A","content":"## Form A\n\nSection 10\n\nOATH OF WITNESS\n\nThe evidence you shall give before the Committee shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God!","sortOrder":28},{"sectionNumber":"Form B","sectionType":"part","heading":"Form B","content":"## Form B\n\nSection 10\n\nAFFIRMATION OF WITNESS\n\nYou do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that the evidence you shall give before the Committee shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.","sortOrder":29},{"sectionNumber":"Form C","sectionType":"part","heading":"Form C","content":"## Form C\n\nSection 13\n\nCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA\n\nPublic Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951\n\nSUMMONS TO A WITNESS\n\nTo (here insert name, address and occupation of witness)\n\nYou are hereby summoned to appear before the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (or a Sectional Committee of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit) on the day of , 20 , at o’clock in the noon, at , then and there to give evidence and then and there to produce ; and you are required to continue in attendance as directed by the said Committee (or Sectional Committee) or the Chair thereof, until your attendance is no longer required.\n\nDated the day of , 20 .\n\n(Chair or Deputy Chair of the  \nCommittee or Sectional Committee)","sortOrder":30},{"sectionNumber":"Form D","sectionType":"part","heading":"Form D","content":"## Form D\n\nSection 14\n\nCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA\n\nPublic Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951\n\nWARRANT FOR THE APPREHENSION OF A WITNESS WHO HAS DISOBEYED A SUMMONS\n\nWhereas (name, address and occupation of witness) has been summoned to appear as a witness before the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (or a Sectional Committee of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit), but has failed to appear in obedience to the summons; these are therefore to command and authorize you forthwith to apprehend the said (name of witness) and to bring him or her before the said Committee (or Sectional Committee), and to detain him or her in custody for that purpose until he or she is released by order of the Chair.\n\nGiven at the\n\nday of , 20 .\n\n(Chair or Deputy Chair of the  \nCommittee or Sectional Committee)\n\nTo (name of person to whom warrant is addressed).","sortOrder":31}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act has expanded significantly beyond its original 1951 purpose of simply establishing a committee to examine public accounts. Over time, amendments added duties related to overseeing the Audit Office and the Auditor-General's appointment (Section 8A), determining audit priorities (paragraphs 8(1)(m) and (n)), and considering draft estimates and fees for the Audit Office. Originally, the committee only reviewed accounts and audit reports; now it also plays a role in approving or rejecting the proposed appointment of the Auditor-General and the Independent Auditor, which was not an original function."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple other Acts (Auditor-General Act 1997, Criminal Code, Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, Parliamentary Papers Act 1908).","17 defined terms in the interpretation section, including 'enactment' and 'inter-governmental body' with specific meanings.","Conditional provisions such as 'unless the contrary intention appears' and exceptions for external territories.","Detailed procedures for appointments of Auditor-General (Section 8A) with time limits and default approval.","Nested rules for Sectional Committees (Section 9) with varying quorums and application of provisions.","Offence provisions that apply both summarily and on indictment with different penalties.","Schedules with prescribed forms (Oath, Affirmation, Summons, Warrant) requiring formal wording."],"plain_english_summary":"The **Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951** sets up the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA), a team of 16 federal politicians (6 Senators, 10 MPs) who keep tabs on how the Commonwealth government spends money. Their main job is to examine the government's financial accounts, audit reports from the Auditor-General (the independent watchdog that checks government finances), and the operations of the Australian National Audit Office. They can also suggest improvements to how public money is handled, and they have a say in who becomes the Auditor-General. The committee can summon witnesses, take evidence under oath (a formal promise to tell the truth), and require documents to be produced. Anyone who lies to the committee or ignores a summons can face fines or up to five years in prison. The committee reports its findings to Parliament. Importantly, the committee cannot direct the Auditor-General — it only reviews and advises. The act also allows the committee to form smaller sub-committees for specific investigations."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act has expanded significantly beyond its original 1951 purpose of examining public accounts. While initially focused on reviewing receipts and expenditure, it now encompasses: performance audits (not just financial); oversight of the Audit Office's operations, resources and IT; approval of Auditor-General appointments; setting audit priorities; and scrutiny of intergovernmental bodies. The 1997 amendments (Auditor-General Act integration) and 2013 PGPA Act updates represent major scope expansions into governance and performance monitoring, not just accounting."},"complexity_factors":["Moderate length (24 sections plus 4 schedule forms) but highly structured and procedural","8 defined terms in section 4, with additional definitions nested within operative sections (e.g., 'enactment', 'inter-governmental body', 'State' in section 8(6))","Cross-references to multiple other Acts: Auditor-General Act 1997, Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, Criminal Code, Parliamentary Papers Act 1908","Conditional logic in section 8(2) with territorial exclusions that are then partially reversed by section 8(2A)","Complex appointment mechanics in section 5(6) creating an ex officio member position tied to another committee chair","Nested exceptions and procedural safeguards in sections 11-11A regarding public vs private evidence and publication restrictions","Dual enforcement pathways (summary vs indictment) in section 21 with different penalty scales","Specific quorum calculations for Sectional Committees based on committee size (section 9(3A))","Time-bound procedural requirements in section 8A (14-day and 44-day deadlines for approval decisions)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a parliamentary watchdog committee called the **Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit** (often called the \"JCPAA\" or just \"the Committee\").\n\n**What it does:**\n- Establishes a 16-member committee made up of MPs and Senators (10 from the House of Representatives, 6 from the Senate) to scrutinise how the Australian Government spends public money.\n- Gives the Committee broad powers to:\n  - Examine Commonwealth accounts, financial statements, and the finances of government bodies and companies\n  - Review all reports from the Auditor-General (the government's independent financial auditor)\n  - Set audit priorities for the Parliament\n  - Oversee the Australian National Audit Office itself, including its budget and operations\n  - Recommend improvements to how public money is managed\n  - Hold public hearings, summon witnesses, and take evidence under oath\n- Requires the Committee to approve (or reject) proposed appointments of the Auditor-General and the Independent Auditor who audits the Audit Office.\n- Allows the Committee to create smaller \"Sectional Committees\" to investigate specific issues.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Federal politicians:** The Committee members are parliamentarians who hold the government to account.\n- **Public servants and government bodies:** They can be summoned to give evidence and produce documents.\n- **The Auditor-General:** Their work is reviewed by this Committee, and the Committee advises on their priorities and budget.\n- **Taxpayers:** Ultimately, this Committee exists to ensure public money is spent properly and efficiently.\n\n**Key limitations:**\n- The Committee **cannot** examine the finances of the ACT, Northern Territory, or most external territories (though Christmas Island and Cocos Islands are treated differently).\n- The Committee **cannot** direct the Auditor-General how to do their job—only advise on priorities.\n- Hearings are usually public, but can be held in private for confidential matters.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is one of Parliament's key accountability mechanisms. It ensures that someone is watching how the government spends billions of taxpayer dollars, and that the government's own auditor is properly resourced and independent. The Committee's reports can expose waste, mismanagement, or inefficiency and recommend fixes."},"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act originally focused narrowly on examining public accounts and expenditure. Over time its scope expanded significantly to include: oversight of the Australian National Audit Office itself (including its resources, budget estimates, and fee levels); the power to approve or reject proposed appointments of the Auditor-General and Independent Auditor; setting parliamentary audit priorities; and considering performance audit reports. The Committee evolved from a pure financial scrutiny body into a broader parliamentary oversight mechanism for Australia's entire national audit function."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple other Acts (Auditor-General Act 1997, Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013, Criminal Code) requiring knowledge of those laws to fully understand obligations","Distinction between intergovernmental bodies and Commonwealth authorities, with consent-based inclusion/exclusion mechanisms","Nuanced exclusions for territories (ACT, NT, external territories, with specific carve-outs for Christmas Island and Cocos Islands)","Dual prosecution pathway (summary or indictment) for offences, with different penalties for each","Committee approval process for senior appointments with strict timelines and deemed-approval default provisions","Complex rules around private evidence — different disclosure rules depending on whether evidence was taken in private at witness request or Committee initiative","Sectional Committee provisions with their own quorum rules that vary by committee size","Outdated monetary penalty figures (e.g. $200, $400 fines; $20,000 annual expenditure cap) suggesting the Act has not been fully modernised despite amendments"],"plain_english_summary":"## What is this law about?\n\nThis Act creates and governs the **Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit** — a powerful parliamentary watchdog made up of 16 elected Members of Parliament (10 from the House of Representatives, 6 from the Senate) whose job is to keep a close eye on how the Commonwealth government spends public money.\n\n## Who does it affect?\n\n- **All Australians** — indirectly, because this Committee scrutinises how your tax dollars are spent\n- **Commonwealth government agencies and authorities** — their finances can be examined by the Committee\n- **Anyone summoned to give evidence** — they are legally required to appear and can be arrested if they don't\n- **The Auditor-General** — the Committee oversees Australia's national auditing office but cannot direct how it operates\n\n## What does the Committee actually do?\n\nThe Committee has wide-ranging powers to:\n- **Examine government spending** — reviewing financial accounts and statements of Commonwealth agencies\n- **Review audit reports** — scrutinising all reports from the Australian National Audit Office (the government's independent financial watchdog)\n- **Approve or reject appointments** — the Committee has a say in who becomes Auditor-General or Independent Auditor (Australia's top financial watchdogs)\n- **Set audit priorities** — telling the Auditor-General what areas Parliament thinks need to be audited\n- **Investigate financial concerns** — looking into any money-related question referred to it by Parliament\n- **Report to Parliament** — publishing findings and recommendations on government financial management\n\n## Powers the Committee holds\n\nThis is not a toothless body. The Committee can:\n- **Summon (legally order) anyone to appear** and give evidence under oath\n- **Issue an arrest warrant** if someone ignores a summons\n- **Hold hearings in private** if sensitive information is involved\n- **Recommend changes** to how public money is managed\n\n## What are the consequences for non-compliance?\n\n- Ignoring a summons: fine or up to **1 year imprisonment**\n- Giving false evidence: up to **5 years imprisonment**\n- Interfering with witnesses: criminal offence\n\n## What it does NOT cover\n\nThe Committee cannot examine the financial affairs of the **ACT, Northern Territory, or external territories** (except Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands).\n\n## Why does this matter to you?\n\nThis Committee is one of Parliament's most important tools for **financial accountability**. It ensures that governments of all stripes are held responsible for how they spend public money, and that Australia's auditing system itself remains independent and well-resourced."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"23","severity":"high","reasoning":"A cap of $20,000 across 16 members (plus a Chair and Deputy Chair) equates to roughly $1,250 per member per year in nominal dollars. In 2017 terms, this is a negligible sum relative to any realistic allowance scale. If regulations prescribed meaningful allowances, the cap would be breached almost immediately, triggering the abatement mechanism in s23(2) and reducing all allowances to near-zero. The provision is therefore self-defeating: it authorises allowances under s22 but makes any substantial allowance practically impossible under s23.","confidence":0.88,"description":"The $20,000 annual expenditure cap on allowances has not been updated since 1951 and is manifestly inadequate for a 16-member committee conducting ongoing parliamentary oversight work, rendering the allowances regime effectively inoperable or trivially small in real terms."},{"type":"other","section":"21(3)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Indictment is the most serious mode of criminal prosecution, involving a grand jury or presentment, full trial by jury, and significant court resources. Yet the maximum fine for an indictable offence under this Act is $400 and the maximum imprisonment is one year. In modern Australian criminal practice, indictment is reserved for serious offences. Prosecuting an offence summarily yields a maximum of $200 fine or 6 months imprisonment, while indictment only doubles these — a wholly inadequate incentive for the vastly greater procedural burden of indictment. The monetary penalties have not been updated since enactment and are now trivially small.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The maximum fine for offences prosecuted upon indictment is only $400, making indictment an absurdly disproportionate and expensive procedure relative to the maximum penalty available."},{"type":"other","section":"5(6)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 5(6) contemplates a 'Standing Committee of the House of Representatives known as the Expenditure Committee' and grants its Chair automatic membership of the Joint Committee. No such committee has existed in the House of Representatives for many decades. The provision cannot be triggered and serves no practical function, yet it remains in force and could theoretically be activated if such a committee were re-established, creating latent uncertainty about committee composition.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The Expenditure Committee of the House of Representatives referenced in s5(6) appears to no longer exist as a standing committee, meaning this provision is permanently inoperative but remains on the face of the Act, creating a zombie provision."},{"type":"other","section":"14(4)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The power to forcibly enter premises — including ships — to apprehend a witness who has merely failed to appear before an accounts committee is disproportionate and anomalous. Parliamentary committees routinely deal with non-compliance through contempt powers. The provision was drafted in 1951 and predates modern privacy and human rights frameworks. There is no warrant requirement from a court, no judicial oversight, and no limitation on which premises may be entered, creating a potentially unconstitutional executive power exercised without judicial authorisation.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 14(4) authorises the person executing a warrant to 'break and enter a building, place or ship' to apprehend a non-appearing witness, which is an extraordinarily coercive power for what is ultimately a parliamentary committee oversight function, and sits awkwardly with modern human rights and search and seizure frameworks."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"8(1)(m) and 8(1A)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Determining and communicating 'audit priorities' to the Auditor-General is functionally indistinguishable from directing the Auditor-General's activities if those priorities are to have any practical meaning. If the Auditor-General is free to ignore them entirely, the duty to 'determine' priorities is an empty formality. The Act creates an obligation to determine priorities while simultaneously denying any mechanism for those priorities to be enforced, leaving the provision in a state of internal incoherence.","confidence":0.8,"description":"The Committee is empowered to 'determine the audit priorities of the Parliament and to advise the Auditor-General of those priorities' under s8(1)(m), but s8(1A) expressly states that nothing in s8(1) authorises the Committee to 'direct the activities of the Auditor-General'. This renders the audit priority determination function largely without legal effect."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"8B","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 5(5) provides that each member ceases to hold office when the House of Representatives is dissolved. Section 8B requires the Committee to table an annual report in each House. If the House is dissolved before the report for a financial year is tabled, the Committee no longer legally exists and cannot discharge its tabling obligation. There is no saving provision analogous to s12 (continuance of evidence) that would allow the next Committee to table reports for prior periods.","confidence":0.7,"description":"The Committee is required to prepare and table an annual report on its performance, but no mechanism or deadline exists for tabling, and the Committee may have ceased to exist between financial years due to s5(5) (dissolution of the House of Representatives), making it potentially impossible for a dissolved committee to comply."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"8(1)(m)","section_b":"8(1A)","confidence":0.85,"description":"Section 8(1)(m) imposes a duty on the Committee to 'determine the audit priorities of the Parliament and to advise the Auditor-General of those priorities', while s8(1A) provides that nothing in s8(1) authorises the Committee to 'direct the activities of the Auditor-General or the Independent Auditor'. Determining and formally advising an officer of priorities is substantively equivalent to directing that officer, creating a direct contradiction between a positive duty and an express prohibition."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"7(1)","section_b":"8A(3)","confidence":0.82,"description":"Section 7(1) establishes that 6 members constitute a quorum for Committee meetings, and s7(2) provides decisions are made by majority of members present. However, s8A(3) requires that the decision to approve or reject a proposed appointment of the Auditor-General or Independent Auditor must be 'by majority of the members of the Committee for the time being holding office' — a higher threshold. A decision reached by a quorum of 6 under the general voting rule could be defeated under s8A(3) if the majority of the full committee of 16 (i.e., at least 9) is required. The two provisions create different and potentially conflicting decision-making thresholds for acts of the same Committee."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"11(1)","section_b":"11A(1)","confidence":0.62,"description":"Section 11(1) requires the Committee to 'take all evidence in public' (subject to the private sitting exception in s11(2)), suggesting public evidence-taking is the default and mandatory norm. Section 11A(1) then provides that the Committee 'may publish or disclose any evidence taken in private', which presupposes that private evidence exists and is within the Committee's discretionary control. Read together with s11A(2) and (3), a regime of significant publication restrictions applies — but these restrictions only make operational sense if there is a meaningful body of private evidence, which s11(1) structurally minimises. The tension between mandatory public evidence-taking and the elaborate private evidence publication regime creates a structural incoherence."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"9(3)","section_b":"9(3A)","confidence":0.58,"description":"Section 9(3) applies the provisions of the Act to Sectional Committees in the same way as to the Committee, but expressly excludes s7(1) (quorum). Section 9(3A) then establishes separate quorum rules for Sectional Committees. However, s9(3) also excludes s5 (composition), meaning a Sectional Committee must have 3 or more members per s9(1) but the quorum provisions in s9(3A) contemplate committees of up to 8 or more members — far exceeding what s9(1) requires as a minimum. While not a direct contradiction, the quorum tiers in s9(3A)(c) (8 or more members) assume Sectional Committees far larger than the minimum of 3, creating potential ambiguity about whether a Sectional Committee can even reach 8 members given it is drawn from a 16-member parent committee."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"6A(1)","section_b":"6A(2)","confidence":0.55,"description":"Section 6A(1) prohibits the Committee from meeting 'at any place outside Australia', while s6A(2) grants the Deputy Chair power to exercise the Chair's powers under s6A(1) when the Chair is 'absent from Australia'. The fact that absence from Australia is expressly contemplated as a trigger condition for s6A(2) implicitly acknowledges that the Chair (and by extension members) may be overseas, yet the Committee itself cannot meet outside Australia. This is not a direct contradiction but creates a structural tension: if the Chair is overseas and the Deputy Chair calls a meeting, the Deputy Chair is exercising meeting powers that exist solely to prohibit overseas meetings — a circularity in the delegation of the prohibition power."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951","history":"/api/acts/public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-accounts-and-audit-committee-act-1951/documents"}}