NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1995
As in force at 28 March 2024
Table of provisions
1 Citation ............................................................................................ 1
2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1
3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1
4 Loss of money held by employee .................................................... 1
5 Recovery of overpayments .............................................................. 2
6 Damage to, or loss or destruction of, public property ...................... 4
7 Other right of recovery ..................................................................... 5
9 Repeal ............................................................................................. 5
ENDNOTES
NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
As in force at 28 March 2024
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1995
Regulations under the Financial Management Act 1995
1 Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Financial Management
Regulations 1995.
2 Commencement
These Regulations shall come into operation on the
commencement of the Financial Management Act 1995.
3 Interpretation
In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears:
gross salary means the total amount of remuneration payable to
an employee as part of his or her employment or contract of service
or, where the employee is employed under an Executive Contract
of Employment, within the meaning of the Public Sector
Employment and Management Act 1993, means the amount that, in
the opinion of the Treasurer, is equal to the monetary value to the
employee of the employee’s remuneration and other entitlements
under that contract.
overpayment means an amount specified in regulation 5(2).
public property means all property held for or on behalf of the
Territory or an Agency, but does not include money.
4 Loss of money held by employee
(1) Where there occurs a loss of money while the money is under the
control of an employee, the amount of the loss is a debt due and
payable by the employee to the Territory or relevant Agency.
(2) Where an employee defends an action brought to recover money
under subsection (1), the Territory or relevant Agency is entitled to
judgment if it is proved that:
(a) the defendant is an employee;
Financial Management Regulations 1995 2
(b) the money the subject of the action was under the control of
the defendant; and
(c) the defendant converted the money to his or her own use or
was guilty, by act or omission, of culpable negligence in
relation to the control he or she exercised over the money.
(3) For the purposes of this regulation, money is taken to be under the
control of an employee if it has been collected or received by or has
come into the custody of the employee but has not been paid to
another person or to the credit of an account with a bank, building
society or credit union as required by or under an instrument of a
legislative or administrative character.
5 Recovery of overpayments
(1) The Territory and an Agency must recover any overpayment made
by the Territory or the Agency to the following:
(a) an employee;
(b) a person who holds office under an Act and is remunerated by
the Territory or the Agency;
(c) a person who met the criteria of paragraph (a) or (b) when the
overpayment was made;
(d) a superannuation fund for the benefit of a person specified in
paragraph (a), (b) or (c);
(e) a third party for the benefit of, or on behalf of, a person
specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) in accordance with a
direction from or agreement with the person.
(2) The following amounts paid by the Territory or an Agency are taken
to be overpayments:
(a) a salary, allowance or reimbursement payment to which a
person is not entitled;
(b) a benefit for which a person is not eligible;
(c) a contribution to a superannuation fund in excess of the
amount to which a person is entitled;
(d) a payment to a third party that a person is not entitled to have
paid;
(e) any other amount paid in error that benefits a person.
Financial Management Regulations 1995 3
(2A) The amount of the overpayment made by the Territory or an
Agency is a debt due and payable by the person specified in
subregulation (1)(a), (b) or (c) to the Territory or the Agency and
may be recovered from the person by the Territory or Agency:
(a) in accordance with subregulations (3) to (7); or
(b) otherwise in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) If an overpayment is not repaid as soon as practicable, the
overpayment may be recovered from the person specified in
subregulation (1)(a), (b) or (c) by deducting or withholding any
amount or entitlement due to the person from the Territory or
Agency.
(4) A deduction from a person's gross salary under subregulation (3)
must not exceed 10% of the gross salary except with the written
consent of the person.
(5) Before an amount or entitlement is deducted or withheld under
subregulation (3), the person must be given:
(a) written notice of details of the overpayment and the amount
proposed to be deducted or withheld; and
(b) a reasonable opportunity to propose an alternative
arrangement to repay the overpayment.
(6) The Accountable Officer for an Agency, or the Treasurer, may enter
into an alternative arrangement with a person to repay an
overpayment if:
(a) the arrangement is reasonable in the circumstances; and
(b) the risk of not being able to recover the entire overpayment is
low; and
(c) the arrangement would not result in any added costs to the
Territory or Agency.
Example for subregulation (6)
An employee who is having financial difficulties could be allowed a longer
payment plan with lower individual deductions, as long as the plan does not
result in additional fringe benefits tax.
Financial Management Regulations 1995 4
(7) Despite subregulations (4) to (6), if recovering an overpayment from
a person on the cessation of the person's employment or office, any
amount or entitlement due to the person must be first used to repay
the overpayment.
Example for subregulation (7)
When an employee who received an overpayment leaves the public service, the
person's long service leave must be used to pay off the overpayment. Any
amount left over is then paid out to the employee.
6 Damage to, or loss or destruction of, public property
(1) Where:
(a) damage to public property has occurred, the value of the
property or, where the damage to the property may be
repaired, the cost of repairing the damage; or
(b) public property has been lost or destroyed, the value of the
property,
is a debt to and payable to the Territory or relevant Agency by:
(c) the employee in whose care the property was at the material
time; or
(d) another employee who contributed to the damage to or loss or
destruction of the property.
(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), public property is taken to be
in the care of an employee if it has been received by the employee
and has not been returned or delivered to another person entitled to
receive it on behalf of the Territory or the relevant Agency.
(3) Where an employee defends an action brought under this
regulation, the Territory or relevant Agency is entitled to judgment if
the defendant:
(a) was at the material time an employee; and
(b) converted the property to his or her own use or by his or her
culpable negligence caused or contributed to the damage to or
loss or destruction of the property.
(4) Where the negligence or misconduct of an employee was not the
sole cause of the damage to or loss or destruction of the property,
the Territory or Agency may recover from the employee only so
much of the damage, or the cost of replacing the property, as is just
and equitable having regard to the contribution made by the
employee to the damage, loss or destruction as determined by the
Financial Management Regulations 1995 5
court.
7 Other right of recovery
These Regulations do not affect any other right that the Territory or
an Agency may have to recover an amount from a person.
9 Repeal
The Treasury Regulations 1978 continued in force by section 45 of
the Act, are repealed.
ENDNOTES
Financial Management Regulations 1995 6
ENDNOTES
1 KEY
Key to abbreviations
amd = amended od = order
app = appendix om = omitted
bl = by-law pt = Part
ch = Chapter r = regulation/rule
cl = clause rem = remainder
div = Division renum = renumbered
exp = expires/expired rep = repealed
f = forms s = section
Gaz = Gazette sch = Schedule
hdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision
ins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation
lt = long title sub = substituted
nc = not commenced
2 LIST OF LEGISLATION
Financial Management Regulations (SL No. 10, 1995)
Notified 31 March 1995
Commenced 1 April 1995 (r 2, s 2 Financial Management Act 1995 (Act
No. 4, 1995) and Gaz S13, 31 March 1995)
Financial Institutions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1997 (Act No. 23, 1997)
Assent date 2 June 1997
Commenced 2 June 1997
Statute Law Revision Act 2008 (Act No. 6, 2008)
Assent date 11 March 2008
Commenced 11 March 2008
Financial Management Amendment Regulations 2020 (SL No. 10, 2020)
Notified 10 June 2020
Commenced 10 June 2020
Financial Management Amendment Regulations 2024 (SL No. 2, 2024)
Date made 27 March 2024
Commenced 28 March 2024
3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS
General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table
of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation
Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: rr 1, 3 and 9.
4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS
r 3 amd No. 10, 2020, r 4
r 4 amd Act No. 23, 1997, s 6(2)
ENDNOTES
Financial Management Regulations 1995 7
r 5 sub No. 10, 2020, r 5
amd No. 2, 2024, r 4
r 7 sub No. 10, 2020, r 6
r 8 rep Act No. 6, 2008, s 4