8 Unidentified and surplus money and unpresented cheques 4
Part 3—Investigation of loss or damage 5
9 Preliminary notice before investigation 5
10 Appointment of investigator 5
11 Relevant employee representation 6
12 Access to assistance and information 6
13 Notice to relevant employee 6
14 Conduct of investigation 7
15 Witness suspected of causing or contributing to incident 8
16 Report on completed investigation 8
17 Copies of report 10
Part 4—Inspection of records 11
18 Inspection of records of authorities 11
Schedule 1—Prescribed authorities 12
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Endnotes 13
1 General information 13
2 Table of Amendments 15
3 Explanatory details 16
Version No.001
Financial Management Regulations 2024
S.R. No. 28/2024
Version as at
12 May 2024
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Objectives
The objectives of these Regulations are—
(a) to facilitate economic, effective and efficient financial management; and
(b) to facilitate the efficient and fair investigation of losses of or deficiencies in public money, and loss or destruction of, or damage to, other property of the State.
2 Authorising provision
These Regulations are made under section 59 of the Financial Management Act 1994.
3 Commencement
These Regulations come into operation on 12 May 2024.
(b) the Financial Management Amendment Regulations 2014[2].
5 Definitions
In these Regulations—
employee has the same meaning as in the Public Administration Act 2004;
empowered officer means an accountable officer or a chief finance and accounting officer;
incident means—
(a) loss of or deficiency in public money; or
(b) loss or destruction of, or damage to, other property of the State;
investigation means an investigation under section 57 of the Act;
investigator means a person appointed under regulation 10;
relevant employee, in relation to an investigation, means the employee in relation to whom the investigation is being, or is proposed to be, conducted;
relevant incident, in relation to an investigation, means the incident to which the investigation relates;
the Act means the Financial Management Act 1994.
6 Prescribed authorities
For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of authority in section 3 of the Act, a body specified in Schedule 1 is prescribed as an authority.
7 Application
(1) These Regulations (other than Part 3) apply to—
(a) all departments; and
(b) the bodies specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 with respect to the money specified in Column 3 of Schedule 1 in relation to the bodies.
(2) Part 3 applies to all departments.
Part 2—Administration of income and expenditure
8 Unidentified and surplus money and unpresented cheques
(1) Money received that cannot be identified or that is surplus must be paid to the Treasury Trust Fund until the relevant circumstances are clarified.
(2) If a cheque remains unpresented after 15 months after the date it is issued—
(a) the cheque must be cancelled; and
(b) on the day the cheque is cancelled, an amount equal to the face value of the cheque must be paid into the Treasury Trust Fund from the account on which the cheque was drawn.
Part 3—Investigation of loss or damage
9 Preliminary notice before investigation
If, under section 57(3) of the Act, an empowered officer directs that an investigation be held, the empowered officer must cause to be served on the relevant employee a preliminary notice—
(a) specifying the name, position and address of the empowered officer; and
(b) informing the relevant employee of the direction that an investigation is to be held; and
(c) specifying, in relation to the relevant incident—
(i) the date and time the incident occurred; and
(ii) all persons involved in the incident; and
(iii) a detailed description of the circumstances of the incident; and
(iv) the nature of any breach of the employee's obligations; and
(d) drawing the attention of the relevant employee to section 57 of the Act and these Regulations.
10 Appointment of investigator
(1) An empowered officer who has complied with regulation 9 must appoint a person to carry out the investigation.
(2) The empowered officer must not appoint as the investigator a person who is, or was at the time of the relevant incident, an empowered officer of the department employing the relevant employee.
11 Relevant employee representation
(1) A relevant employee may make a written nomination of a person to assist the relevant employee in relation to the investigation, including by acting on the relevant employee's behalf as required.
(2) Only a person nominated under subregulation (1) may act on the relevant employee's behalf in relation to the investigation.
(3) If a nomination has not been made under subregulation (1) within 7 days after the preliminary notice is served on the relevant employee, the empowered officer may nominate a suitable person to assist the relevant employee during the conduct of the investigation.
12 Access to assistance and information
(1) The empowered officer, on request by an investigator, may make officers available or engage other persons to assist the investigator to conduct the investigation.
(2) For the purposes of conducting and reporting on the investigation, the investigator—
(a) is entitled to full and free access to accounts and records relating to the relevant incident; and
(b) may make copies of, and take extracts from, those accounts and records.
13 Notice to relevant employee
(1) Within 7 days after appointing an investigator, the empowered officer must cause to be served on the relevant employee a notice—
(a) specifying the name of—
(i) the investigator; and
(ii) the person nominated under regulation 11(3), if applicable; and
(b) specifying the place, date and time appointed for any interview of the relevant employee; and
(c) inviting the relevant employee to make—
(i) a written submission in relation to the relevant incident; or
(ii) a written request that a nominated person be included in the investigation as a witness; and
(d) specifying the period within which, and the address to which, a written submission or request must be sent; and
(e) informing the relevant employee of the relevant employee's entitlement to make an oral submission to the investigator instead of, or in addition to, a written submission.
(2) The relevant employee may make a written submission or request referred to in subregulation (1)(c) within—
(a) the period specified in the notice; or
(b) a different period agreed to by the investigator.
14 Conduct of investigation
(1) In conducting an investigation, including any interview of the relevant employee—
(a) the procedure is at the discretion of the investigator; and
(b) the investigation must be conducted in private with as little formality and technicality and with as much expedition as the matters being investigated permit; and
(c) the investigator is not bound by the rules of evidence; and
(d) any reasonable written request by the relevant employee for the inclusion of a witness in the investigation must be agreed to by the investigator.
(2) In any interview of the relevant employee, the relevant employee must be—
(a) given a reasonable opportunity to make oral submissions; and
(b) invited to make a further written submission.
15 Witness suspected of causing or contributing to incident
If the investigator considers that a witness (other than the relevant employee) who is an employee may have caused or contributed to the relevant incident, the investigator must as soon as practicable notify the witness in writing of section 57 of the Act and the requirements of these Regulations.
16 Report on completed investigation
(1) The investigator must give a report on the investigation to the empowered officer within—
(a) 3 months after completing the investigation; or
(b) such further period as the empowered officer allows.
(2) The investigation report must state all relevant facts and findings.
(3) In addition, the investigation report must include the following—
(a) reasons for the findings of the investigator;
(b) a statement of any defects in administrative practices and procedures that, in the opinion of the investigator, contributed to the relevant incident;
(c) a statement of the amount that, in the opinion of the investigator, is equal to—
(i) in the case of loss of or deficiencies in money, the amount of the loss or deficiency; or
(ii) in the case of loss or destruction of property, the value of the property lost or destroyed; or
(iii) in the case of damage to property, the expense of repairing the damage to the property or the value of the property, whichever is less;
(d) if the report contains a finding that the relevant employee has caused or contributed to the relevant incident, particulars of any mitigating circumstances, including the following—
(i) the extent of the work experience of the employee;
(ii) the extent to which the employee was supervised in the performance of those duties of the employee that related to the money or property in relation to which the relevant incident occurred;
(iii) the adequacy of official instructions given to the employee with respect to those duties;
(iv) the conditions under which, at the time of the relevant incident, the employee was required to perform those duties, including the workload and the facilities for the performance of those duties;
(v) the reliability and efficiency of the employee's work performance generally;
(vi) the amount of any allowances to which the employee was entitled by way of compensation for the assumption of responsibility for public money or other property of the State;
(e) a record of any objection made by the relevant employee or any witness in relation to the procedure followed in the course of the investigation;
(f) the reasons for refusing any request by the relevant employee for a witness to be examined.
17 Copies of report
The empowered officer must send a copy of the investigation report to the relevant employee within 7 days after receiving the report.
Part 4—Inspection of records
18 Inspection of records of authorities
A person employed in the Department of Treasury and Finance may—
(a) inspect the accounting and financial records of an authority; and
(b) report to the Minister—
(i) any lack of uniformity in the form of the accounts; or
(ii) any deficiency in the authority's system of accounts or internal controls.
Schedule 1—Prescribed authorities
Regulation 6
Column 1<br>Item No.
Column 2<br>Authority
Column 3<br>Specified money
1
Environment Protection Authority continued under section 356 of the Environment Protection Act 2017
Money forming part of the Public Account
2
Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission established under section 6 of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission Act 2011
Money forming part of the Public Account
3
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation established under section 16 of the Tobacco Act 1987
Money forming part of the Public Account
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Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
The Financial Management Regulations 2024, S.R. No. 28/2024 were made on 30 April 2024 by the Governor in Council under section 59 of the Financial Management Act 1994, No. 18/1994 and came into operation on 12 May 2024: regulation 3.
The Financial Management Regulations 2024 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 30 April 2034 (see section 5 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994).
INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)
Style changes
Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.
References to ILA s. 39B
Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.
Interpretation
As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:
• Headings
All headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after
1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.
This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.
See section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).
• Examples, diagrams or notes
All examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).
• Punctuation
All punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after
1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.
See section 36(3B).
• Provision numbers
All provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after
1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).
• Location of "legislative items"
A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.
• Other material
Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).
2 Table of Amendments
There are no amendments made to the Financial Management Regulations 2024 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.
3 Explanatory details
Reg. 4(a): S.R. No. 29/2014 as amended by S.R. No. 161/2014. ↑