An Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes
Contents
Part 1,Preliminary 2
1 Short title 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Definitions 2
4 Portfolio statements 4
5 Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth 4
Part 2,Appropriation items 5
6 Summary of appropriations 5
7 Departmental items 5
8 Administered items 5
9 Administered assets and liabilities items 5
10 Other departmental items 6
Part 3,Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer 7
11 Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer 7
Part 4,Miscellaneous 9
12 Crediting amounts to special accounts 9
13 Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund 9
14 Repeal of this Act 9
Schedule 1,Services for which money is appropriated 10
An Act to appropriate money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for expenditure in relation to the Parliamentary Departments, and for related purposes
[Assented to 29 October 2025]
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
Part 1,Preliminary
1 Short title
This Act is the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026.
2 Commencement
(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.
Commencement information
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Provisions
Commencement
Date/Details
The whole of this Act
The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.
29 October 2025
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted.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.
(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.
3 Definitions
In this Act:
administered 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”.
administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 opposite an outcome for a Parliamentary Department under the heading “Administered”.
current year means the financial year ending on 30 June 2026.
departmental item means the total amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department under the heading “Departmental”.
Note: 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.
expenditure means payments for expenses, acquiring assets, making loans or paying liabilities.
item means any of the following:
(a) a departmental item;
(b) an administered item;
(c) an administered assets and liabilities item;
(d) an other departmental item.
non‑corporate entity means:
(a) a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; or
(b) the High Court.
Note: Each Parliamentary Department is a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
other departmental item means an amount set out in Schedule 1 in relation to a Parliamentary Department opposite the heading “Equity Injections”.
Parliamentary Department means any of the following:
(a) the Department of the Senate;
(b) the Department of the House of Representatives;
(c) the Department of Parliamentary Services;
(d) the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Portfolio Budget Statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements 2025-26.
portfolio statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements.
President means the President of the Senate.
responsible Presiding Officer means:
(a) in relation to the Department of the Senate,the President; or
(b) in relation to the Department of the House of Representatives,the Speaker; or
(c) in relation to the Department of Parliamentary Services,the President and the Speaker together; or
(d) in relation to the Parliamentary Budget Office,the President and the Speaker together.
Speaker means the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
special account has the same meaning as in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
4 Portfolio statements
The portfolio statements are declared to be relevant documents for the purposes of section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
Note: 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.
5 Notional transactions between entities that are part of the Commonwealth
For the purposes of this Act, notional transactions between non‑corporate entities are to be treated as if they were real transactions.
Note: 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.
Part 2,Appropriation items
6 Summary of appropriations
The total of the items specified in Schedule 1 is $195,149,000.
Note 1: Items in Schedule 1 can be adjusted under Part 3 of this Act.
Note 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.
7 Departmental items
The amount specified in a departmental item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary Department.
8 Administered items
(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.
(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.
9 Administered assets and liabilities items
(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.
(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.
10 Other departmental items
The amount specified in an other departmental item for a Parliamentary Department may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the Parliamentary Department.
Part 3,Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer
11 Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer
(1) This section applies if the responsible Presiding Officer is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure in relation to a Parliamentary Department, in the current year, that is not provided for, or is insufficiently provided for, in Schedule 1:
(a) because of an erroneous omission or understatement; or
(b) because the expenditure was unforeseen until after the last day on which it was practicable to provide for it in the Bill for this Act before that Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives.
(2) This Act has effect as if Schedule 1 were amended, in accordance with a determination of the responsible Presiding Officer, to make provision for so much (if any) of the expenditure as the responsible Presiding Officer determines.
(3) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) of this section and subsection 11(2) of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026 for the Department of the Senate cannot be more than $300,000.
(4) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) of this section and subsection 11(2) of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026 for the Department of the House of Representatives cannot be more than $300,000.
(5) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) of this section and subsection 11(2) of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026 for the Department of Parliamentary Services cannot be more than $1 million.
(6) The total of the amounts determined under subsection (2) of this section and subsection 11(2) of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026 for the Parliamentary Budget Office cannot be more than $300,000.
(7) A determination made under subsection (2) is a legislative instrument, but neither section 42 (disallowance) nor Part 4 of Chapter 3 (sunsetting) of the Legislation Act 2003 applies to the determination.
No further advances under Supply Act
(8) A responsible Presiding Officer must not make a determination under subsection 11(2) of the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Act (No. 1) 2025-2026 after this section commences.
Part 4,Miscellaneous
12 Crediting amounts to special accounts
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.
13 Appropriation of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
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.
14 Repeal of this Act
This Act is repealed at the start of 1 July 2028.
Schedule 1,Services for which money is appropriated
Note: See sections 6 and 13.
Abstract
Department
Total
$'000
Department of the Senate
17,061
Department of the House of Representatives
17,555
Department of Parliamentary Services
155,013
Parliamentary Budget Office
5,520
Total
195,149
APPROPRIATIONS
SUMMARY
Summary of Appropriations (plain figures),2025‑2026
Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures),2024‑2025
Entity
Departmental
Administered
Non- operating
Total
$'000
$'000
$'000
$'000
Department of the Senate
17,061
‑
‑
17,061
29,061
‑
‑
29,061
Department of the House of
17,344
211
‑
17,555
Representatives
29,801
357
‑
30,158
Department of Parliamentary Services
122,371
3,683
28,959
155,013
210,169
6,432
41,133
257,734
Parliamentary Budget Office
5,520
‑
‑
5,520
9,895
‑
‑
9,895
Total: Parliamentary Departments
162,296
3,894
28,959
195,149
278,926
6,789
41,133
326,848
PARLIAMENT
Appropriation (plain figures),2025‑2026
Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures),2024‑2025
Departmental
Administered
Total
$'000
$'000
$'000
DEPARTMENT OF THE SENATE
Operating
Outcome 1 ‑
Advisory and administrative support services to
17,061
‑
17,061
enable the Senate and Senators to fulfil their
29,061
‑
29,061
representative and legislative duties
Total: Department of the Senate
17,061
‑
17,061
29,061
‑
29,061
PARLIAMENT
Appropriation (plain figures),2025‑2026
Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures),2024‑2025
Departmental
Administered
Total
$'000
$'000
$'000
DEPARTMENT OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Operating
Outcome 1 ‑
Advisory and administrative services support the
17,344
211
17,555
House of Representatives to fulfil its
29,801
357
30,158
representative and legislative role
Total: Department of the House of
17,344
211
17,555
Representatives
29,801
357
30,158
PARLIAMENT
Appropriation (plain figures),2025‑2026
Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures),2024‑2025
Departmental
Administered
Total
$'000
$'000
$'000
DEPARTMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY
SERVICES
Operating
Outcome 1 ‑
Support the functions of Parliament and
122,371
3,683
126,054
parliamentarians through the provision of
210,169
6,432
216,601
professional services, advice and facilities and
maintain Australian Parliament House
Total: Operating
122,371
3,683
126,054
210,169
6,432
216,601
Non‑operating
Administered Assets and Liabilities
28,959
41,133
Total: Non‑operating
28,959
41,133
Total: Department of Parliamentary Services
122,371
3,683
155,013
210,169
6,432
257,734
PARLIAMENT
Appropriation (plain figures),2025‑2026
Actual Available Appropriation (italic figures),2024‑2025