{"id":"public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014","name":"Public Finance and Audit Regulations 2014","slug":"public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":236820,"registerId":"sa-public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public Finance and Audit Regulations 2014","content":"South Australia\nPublic Finance and Audit Regulations 2014\nunder the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tPublic authority (section 4 of Act)\n5\tApplication of money received by Crown instrumentalities (section 7 of Act)\n6\tInvestment of public money by Treasurer—prescribed person (section 11 of Act)\n7\tDeclaration by Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General (section 29 of Act)\n8\tAuditor-General's annual report (section 36 of Act)\n9\tRefund or recovery of small amounts (section 41AA of Act)\nSchedule 1—Declaration by the Auditor-General or Deputy Auditor‑General\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Public Finance and Audit Regulations 2014.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987.\n4—Public authority (section 4 of Act)\nEach of the following bodies is a public authority for the purposes of the definition of public authority in section 4(1) of the Act:\n\t(a)\tThe Flinders University of South Australia;\n\t(b)\tThe University of Adelaide;\n\t(c)\tUniversity of South Australia;\n\t(d)\tAdelaide University.\n5—Application of money received by Crown instrumentalities (section 7 of Act)\nSection 7 of the Act applies to the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service.\n6—Investment of public money by Treasurer—prescribed person (section 11 of Act)\nFor the purposes of section 11(g) of the Act, the Local Government Finance Authority of South Australia is a prescribed person.\n7—Declaration by Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General (section 29 of Act)\nFor the purposes of section 29 of the Act, a declaration by the Auditor‑General and the Deputy Auditor‑General must be made in the form set out in Schedule 1.\n8—Auditor-General's annual report (section 36 of Act)\nFor the purposes of section 36(2) of the Act, the prescribed date is 30 September.\n9—Refund or recovery of small amounts (section 41AA of Act)\nFor the purposes of section 41AA(3) and (4) of the Act, the prescribed amount is $5.\nSchedule 1—Declaration by the Auditor-General or Deputy Auditor‑General\nI,                                declare that I will act impartially in carrying out my functions as Auditor‑General (or Deputy Auditor‑General) under the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation revoked by principal regulations\nThe Public Finance and Audit Regulations 2014 revoked the following:\nPublic Finance and Audit Regulations 2002\nPrincipal regulations and variations\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2014\n253\nGazette 23.10.2014 p6186 \n23.10.2014: r 2\n2024\n7\nGazette 7.3.2024 p373\n8.3.2024: r 2\nProvisions varied\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\nr 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n8.3.2024\nr 4\namended by 7/2024 r 3\n8.3.2024\nSch 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n8.3.2024\n","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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulations alter the Act's operational scope by specifying which entities count as public authorities (naming specific universities and applying section 7 to the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service), by designating the Local Government Finance Authority as a prescribed person for investments, and by prescribing the Auditor‑General's declaration form, the annual report date (30 September) and a $5 threshold for small refunds/recoveries. The legislative history records an amendment to rule 4 in 2024, indicating the public‑authority list has been altered since the principal 2014 instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Direct cross‑references to multiple sections of the Public Finance and Audit Act (requires reading both instruments together).","List‑based scope setting (named bodies) requires accuracy and may need amendment when institutions change.","Delegated technical details (fixed dates, monetary threshold, prescribed declaration form) create maintenance tasks for future policy changes.","Low statutory ambiguity but procedural precision (form, signature, deadlines) increases compliance technicalities."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations name particular organisations as \"public authorities\" under the Public Finance and Audit Act (several state universities and the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service), specify the Local Government Finance Authority as a prescribed investment counterparty, fix the Auditor‑General's declaration form, set the annual report date (30 September) and set a $5 threshold for small refunds/recoveries. They affect the named bodies (which must comply with the Act's finance and audit rules), the Treasurer's investment choices, and the Auditor‑General's reporting formalities, producing modest administrative and financial effects."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available for review. The page returned was an error page from the SA legislation website, not the regulations themselves."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 error","Analysis is impossible without the substantive content of the regulations","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The Public Finance and Audit Regulations 2014 (SA) set out operational rules under the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 for how South Australian government entities manage public money, maintain financial records, and meet audit requirements.  \n\nThey affect SA public servants, agency finance teams, statutory authorities, and the Auditor‑General’s Office — important because they govern accountability, financial control and audit compliance across state government."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly scoped to their original purpose: operationalising specific sections of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987. The 2024 amendment simply updated the list of universities (adding 'Adelaide University' — likely reflecting a merger or restructure) and removed spent provisions (commencement rule and spent schedule). This is maintenance, not scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 9 substantive regulations plus a schedule","Minimal defined terms: only 'Act' is defined in the interpretation section","No nested exceptions or conditional logic — each regulation is a straightforward prescription","No cross-references between regulations — each stands alone","Schedule 1 contains a single, simple declaration form with blank spaces for names","Legislative history table is administrative metadata, not substantive law"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations are the \"fine print\" that sits underneath South Australia's Public Finance and Audit Act 1987. They fill in specific details that the main Act leaves blank — like naming exactly which organisations count as \"public authorities,\" setting dollar thresholds, and specifying deadlines.\n\n**Key things it covers:**\n\n* **Which universities are public authorities:** Flinders University, University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, and Adelaide University are officially declared \"public authorities.\" This matters because it determines which organisations must follow the Act's financial rules and can be audited by the Auditor-General.\n\n* **Fire service finances:** The South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service must apply its money according to section 7 of the Act (meaning it has to follow specific rules about how it handles revenue).\n\n* **Who can invest public money:** The Local Government Finance Authority is named as a \"prescribed person\" allowed to invest public money on behalf of the Treasurer.\n\n* **Auditor-General's oath:** Provides the exact wording of the declaration that the Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General must sign, promising to act impartially.\n\n* **Reporting deadline:** The Auditor-General must submit their annual report by **30 September** each year.\n\n* **Small amounts threshold:** Sets **$5** as the cut-off for when the government can write off small debts or overpayments without going through full recovery processes.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nPublic servants handling money, the four named universities, the Metropolitan Fire Service, the Auditor-General's office, and the Local Government Finance Authority.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nWithout these regulations, the main Act wouldn't work properly. The Act says \"public authorities must do X\" and \"the prescribed amount is Y\" — but someone has to name the actual organisations and set the actual numbers. That's what these regulations do. They're the practical nuts and bolts that make the financial accountability system function."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014","history":"/api/acts/public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-finance-and-audit-regulations-2014/documents"}}