65Act of grace payments by the Commonwealth

#### 65 Act of grace payments by the Commonwealth (1) The Finance Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, authorise, in writing, one or more payments to be made to a person if the Finance Minister considers it appropriate to do so because of special circumstances. > Note 1: A payment may be authorised even though the payment or payments would not otherwise be authorised by law or required to meet a legal liability. > Note 2: Act of grace payments under this section must be made from money appropriated by the Parliament. Generally, an act of grace payment can be debited against a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity’s annual appropriation, providing that it relates to some matter that has arisen in the course of the administration of the entity. (2) An authorisation of a payment must be in accordance with any requirements prescribed by the rules. (3) Conditions may be attached to a payment. If a condition is contravened, the payment is recoverable by the Commonwealth as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction. (4) An authorisation of a payment is not a legislative instrument.