Several core legal and administrative concepts operate through the Determination. These are defined or illustrated in the text and shape eligibility, approved use and limits.
Resources provider and Act authority. The Determination is made under section 16 of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 (Authority, s 3). The Act, and the Regulations made under it, provide the statutory framework within which a resources provider allocates goods, services and staff to office holders and former office holders. The Determination therefore operates within that statutory delegation: it specifies what the resources provider must supply to particular former Prime Ministers, subject to the Act and Regulations (s 3; s 4 note).
Official business, dominant purpose test and express exclusions. The Determination supplies a working definition of “official business” for former Prime Ministers (s 6). Official business is business undertaken in the capacity of former Prime Minister and includes, by way of example, preparing for or attending government, parliamentary or vice‑regal meetings or events to which the former Prime Minister is invited in their official capacity (s 6(1)(a)-(b)); representing the Government or Australia, but only with the approval of the Prime Minister (s 6(1)(c)); research, communication or administration connected with the role (s 6(1)(d)); communications with the public (s 6(1)(e)); and “other activities directly related to, and engaged in for the purposes of, performing the role of former Prime Minister” (s 6(1)(f)). Conversely, official business does not include activities that are for a commercial purpose or private purpose or for personal benefit (s 6(2)). The Determination therefore operates a dominant‑purpose test and draws a bright line excluding commercial/private purposes (s 6(2)).
Named, personalised Schedules. The instrument lists named former Prime Ministers and attaches a Schedule to each (s 5(1)(a)-(h)). Each Schedule is bespoke in its combination of entitlements and conditions. Common resource types recur across Schedules but with differences in grade descriptions, time limitations and conditions (examples: non‑ongoing staff for 12 months in some Schedules; permanent staff positions under the MOP(S) Act in others).
Interaction with other enactments and entitlements. The Determination explicitly states that resources provided under the Schedules are in addition to entitlements under other enactments (s 5(4)). It also references the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MOP(S) Act) for staff employment arrangements (s 4 Definitions note; numerous schedule items reference sections 11 and 12 of the MOP(S) Act), the Parliamentary Retirement Travel Act 2002 for the Parliamentary Retirement Travel Entitlement (s 4 Definitions), and the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017 for definitions such as international travel expenses (s 4 Definitions). The Schedules also allocate roles to the Minister or the Presiding Officers for approval of particular items, signalling shared administrative control.
Choice and revocability. The Determination gives the named former Prime Minister an active administrative right to decline some or all of the resources listed in their Schedule by written notice (s 5(2)), and to reverse that decision later by written notice (s 5(3)). This creates an opt‑out mechanism.
Value for money and single claim rule. Administrative constraints appear in s 7: a former Prime Minister should only claim a resource once for the same activity if an equivalent resource is available under another enactment (s 7(1)); and former Prime Ministers should seek to comply with the requirement for value for money as defined in section 5 of the Act when accessing resources under the Determination (s 7(2)). These provisions embed an administrative control principle rather than statutory sanctions.
Approval and discretion nodes. Several entitlements are subject to approval by discrete actors. International travel for former Prime Ministers, and whether a spouse or de facto partner may accompany them on international travel, requires Prime Ministerial approval in writing “from time to time” in many Schedules (for example, Keating item 16; Howard item 13; Rudd items 22; Gillard items 22; Abbott items 22; Turnbull items 22; Morrison item 22). Office ICT, telephone devices and the type of mobile phone are sometimes subject to approval by the Presiding Officers (see Howard item 12; Rudd item 9; Gillard item 9; Abbott item 9; Turnbull item 9; Morrison item 9). Provision of some office accommodation or vehicle standards is “as approved by the Minister” in specified Schedules (for example, Abbott item 8; Turnbull item 8).
Temporal and conditional limits. Many staff entitlements are time limited, described as “non‑ongoing” staff for a specified period (for example, Hawke items 1-2 state 12 months from 10 January 1992; Howard item 1 limited “for a period of up to 12 months commencing from 4 December 2007”; Rudd items 1 and 4 commence from 29 November 2013). Several Schedules note that positions do not carry an entitlement to Parliamentary Staff Allowance or overtime. Travel budgets for staff are commonly capped at up to $15,000 annually and are to be reviewed annually in some Schedules (for example, Hawke item 11; Keating item 12; Howard item 11; Rudd item 20; Morrison item 20).
Restrictions on overseas car hire and spouse travel. Most Schedules make clear that access to cars at overseas posts is for specific journeys only, and excludes the use of commercial hire car vehicles (e.g. Hawke item 8; Keating item 9; Howard item 7; Rudd item 18; Gillard item 18; Abbott item 18). Several Schedules require the Prime Minister to expressly approve a spouse or de facto partner accompanying the former Prime Minister on international travel (e.g. Keating item 16(b); Howard item 13(b); Rudd item 22(b)).
These main concepts together delineate an administrative regime specifying who is entitled to what resources, for what purposes (the official business test), with specified limits and authorisations, while situating those entitlements within other statutory frameworks such as the MOP(S) Act and the Parliamentary Retirement Travel Act 2002.