Western Australian Future Fund Act 2012

The legislation organises its architecture around a few recurring legal and policy constructs. Each of these is defined in the Act or implemented by a specific Part, and the definitions/mechanics carry operational consequences.

• Qualifying activities. Defined in s 3 to include any type of medical or other research in human health, medical innovation and other innovation in human health, and the commercialisation/utilisation/development of outcomes of such research or innovation. This is a deliberately wide rubric and governs the permissible object of arrangements and applications of Account money (see s 4A(1), s 4C(1)).
• FHRI Fund vs FHRI Account distinction. The Fund is a capital vehicle (Treasurer’s special purpose account), intended to hold money “in perpetuity” (s 5(1A), s 9(2)). The Account is the spending vehicle under the Minister for Health (agency special purpose account) from which “arrangements” are funded (s 4A(1)-(3), s 4C(2)). Section 9 establishes the mechanistic flow: forecast royalties -> FHRI Fund; forecast investment income -> FHRI Account.
• Forecast royalty income and forecast investment income. Both are statutory concepts defined in s 3 and tied to budget papers (primarily the Economic and Fiscal Outlook part) or, where budget papers are not tabled before the start of the financial year, to a statement under s 9B. Those definitions fix the reference point for the automatic credits (s 7, s 9(1)). The payment rules therefore rely on the State’s budget process and stated forecasts rather than realised figures.
• Ministerial discretion and procedural constraints. The Minister for Health has broad discretion to make or approve arrangements the Minister “considers will further” the Act’s purpose (s 4C(1)). That discretion is constrained procedurally by the requirement to direct and consider the advisory group’s recommendation before applying Account money for a financial year (s 4D(1)-(2)), and by the statutory requirement to prioritise qualifying activities relating to human coronaviruses with pandemic potential when deciding arrangements or Account application for the 2020-21 financial year (s 4C(10)).
• Advisory group. Statutorily mandated, with membership defined by s 4G(3) to include public service nominees (non-voting) and ministerially appointed experts, community representatives and executives. The Act prescribes minimum representation for Aboriginal health experience and regional health experience (s 4G(4)-(5)), and requires disclosure and record-keeping for conflicts of interest (s 4I).
• Governance framework and transparency. Section 10A requires a governance framework that includes a strategy and priorities, mechanisms for making/approving arrangements, and provides for laying the framework, strategy, priorities and “strategic documents”/details of “strategic arrangements” before Parliament and publishing them on a public website (s 10A(2)-(5)).
• Financial protections and limits. The Treasurer is prevented from giving directions under FMA s 20(1) in relation to the FHRI Account (s 4E(2)) and FHRI Fund (s 9(3)). The FHRI Fund is excluded from FMA s 12 (s 9(4)). The FHRI Account remains subject to the FMA and Auditor General Act reporting and audit provisions (s 4E(3)-(6)), and annual reports must disclose how money was applied (s 4E(5)-(6), s 9A(1)-(2)).

These concepts interact to produce the operational routines of the scheme. The definitions tie the funding flows to budget forecasts; the capital/expense separation is intended to preserve corpus; advisory and governance duties aim to create expert input and transparency; and statutory limits on Treasurer directions and on amendment during the establishment period provide legal stability for the funding model.

The Act creates and confines duties and rights among named offices, public bodies and persons involved in qualifying activities. It also has fiscal effects on the Consolidated Account and public sector agencies.

• Ministers and departments. The FHRI Fund is administered by the Treasurer (s 5(3)); the FHRI Account by the Minister for Health (s 4A(3)). The FHRI Fund Department and the FHRI Account Department are the departments “principally assisting” those ministers. Accountable authorities of those departments have reporting duties under the FMA and the Auditor General Act as applied by the Act (s 4E(3), s 4E(5)-(6), s 9A(1)-(2)).
• Advisory group members. The Minister for Health must establish and maintain the advisory group (s 4G(1)). Membership includes the CEO (or nominee) and a chief executive officer of another department (or nominee) as non-voting members; the remainder are ministerially appointed experts, a community representative, and others (s 4G(3), s 4H(4)). Appointees are subject to appointment instruments, terms up to five years, conditions of remuneration and allowances (as set by the Minister on the Public Sector Commissioner’s recommendation) and conflict-of-interest conditions (s 4H(1), s 4I(1)).
• Public and private providers of qualifying activities. The Minister may make or approve arrangements with persons who carry out or support qualifying activities or who administer programmes or schemes for supporting qualifying activities (s 4C(5)(a)). Arrangements may involve payments to or for the benefit of such persons (s 4C(6)). That captures universities, research institutes, health service providers, firms engaged in commercialisation, and intermediaries who administer grant programmes; their eligibility depends on Ministerial selection and the advisory group process (s 4C(5)-(6), s 4D).
• The State’s budget and Consolidated Account. Section 7 requires the Consolidated Account to be charged with an amount equal to 1% of forecast royalty income each relevant financial year and credited to the FHRI Fund. That is an appropriation-style operation: the funding commitment is specified in the Act and is charged to the Consolidated Account (s 7).
• Taxpayers and other appropriation beneficiaries. By spelling a legislated flow from forecast royalties to the FHRI Fund and then to the FHRI Account (via forecast investment income), the Act reallocates projected public resources. Those resources will not be available for alternative appropriation in the normal annual estimates process once credited as required by the Act (s 7-9). The impact is diffuse across taxpayers through the Consolidated Account and public finances.
• Auditors, parliamentary officers and the public. The Act imposes public-facing obligations, such as the laying of advisory group direction and recommendation documents before both Houses within 14 days (s 4D(3)), annual report contents for both FHRI Account and FHRI Fund Departments (s 4E(5)-(6), s 9A(1)-(2)), and the requirement to publish governance framework documents and strategic arrangements on a public website (s 10A(4)-(5)). The CEO must keep a record of conflict-of-interest disclosures and make a summary available on request (s 4I(4)-(5)).

Who decides. The Minister for Health decides which arrangements to make or approve and how to apply FHRI Account money, subject to the advisory group recommendation requirement (s 4C(1), s 4D). The Treasurer controls the FHRI Fund in terms of administration and investment within the FMA framework (s 5(3)-(4)), but is constrained from issuing FMA s 20(1) directions for the Fund (s 9(3)) and for the Account (s 4E(2)). The advisory group provides expert advice but, by statute, the Minister must only “consider” its recommendation (s 4D(1)(b)), and the Act leaves substantial choice and discretion to the Minister about priorities and arrangements (s 4C).

The Act distributes operational duties, procedural obligations and statutory rights in a compact set of provisions. The following are the principal duties and entitlements created by the text.

Minister for Health duties and discretions:

• Establish and maintain an advisory group (s 4G(1)).
• Administer the FHRI Account (s 4A(3)) and exercise its spending functions to make or approve arrangements to further the Act’s object (s 4C(1)-(2)).
• Prioritise qualifying activities relating to human coronaviruses with pandemic potential when deciding arrangements and Account application for the financial year beginning 1 July 2020 (s 4C(10)).
• Before applying FHRI Account funds for a financial year, direct the advisory group to make a recommendation and consider that recommendation (s 4D(1)-(2)). The Minister must cause the direction and the recommendation to be laid before each House within 14 days (s 4D(3)-(5)).
• Prepare and maintain a governance framework, strategy and priorities for the FHRI scheme and lay them and strategic documents/arrangements before Parliament and have them published (s 10A(2)-(5)).
• Delegate, in writing, functions under s 4A and s 4C to the CEO of the FHRI Account Department; the CEO may delegate to a public service officer but that officer cannot further delegate (s 4F(1)-(3), (4)).

Treasurer duties and constraints:

• Administer the FHRI Fund (s 5(3)).
• Credit the FHRI Fund with an amount equal to 1% of forecast royalty income each financial year and charge it to the Consolidated Account (s 7).
• Ensure an amount equal to forecast investment income is charged to the FHRI Fund and credited to the FHRI Account annually (s 9(1)).
• The Treasurer cannot give an FMA s 20(1) direction in relation to the FHRI Account (s 4E(2)) nor in relation to the FHRI Fund (s 9(3)). The FHRI Fund is excluded from FMA s 12 (s 9(4)).
• Joint directions of Treasurer and Minister for Health may transfer money from the FHRI Account to the FHRI Fund (s 4E(1)); additional money may be credited to the FHRI Fund by such joint direction (s 8(b)).

Advisory group duties and protections:

• Provide recommendations when directed about how FHRI Account funds should be applied for a financial year, and provide other advice or assistance when directed (s 4G(2)(a)-(b)).
• Observe appointment conditions including disclosure of actual or potential material conflicts of interest, and record keeping by the CEO (s 4I(1)-(4)).
• Members enjoy protection from civil liability for acts or omissions in good faith in performing advisory group functions (s 4H(8)-(9)).

Administrative and reporting duties:

• The CEO must keep a record of conflict-of-interest disclosures and make a summary available on request (s 4I(4)-(5)).
• The FHRI Account Department’s annual report must include information about the operation of the FHRI Account and details of how its money was applied (s 4E(5)-(6)).
• The FHRI Fund Department’s annual report must include information about the operation of the FHRI Fund and the amount charged to the FHRI Fund under s 9(1) (s 9A(1)-(2)).
• The Minister must lay the governance framework, strategy and priorities, and copies of strategic documents and details of strategic arrangements before each House (s 10A(4)) and ensure they are published on a public website (s 10A(5)).

Rights and protections:

• The Act protects the FHRI Fund capital by declaring it to be held in perpetuity and “cannot be applied for any purpose” other than the annual charge of forecast investment income to the FHRI Account (s 9(2)).
• Advisory group members have statutory immunity for acts/omissions done in good faith (s 4H(9)(a)-(b)).
• Procedural transparency rights are created: the Parliament is to receive advisory group directions and recommendations (s 4D(3)), and public publication of governance materials is required (s 10A(4)-(5)).

Duties imposed by reference to other laws:

• The FHRI Account is an agency special purpose account under FMA s 16 (s 4A(2)) and is subject to the FMA and Auditor General Act reporting and audit requirements (s 4E(3)). That imports the FMA’s standards of financial administration, subject to explicit exclusions noted above (s 4E(2), s 9(3)-(4)).

These duties and rights make the Treasurer the custodian of capital, the Minister for Health the gatekeeper of spending, and the advisory group the expert consultative body whose recommendations must be sought and considered before spending occurs.

The Act contains few direct criminal or civil penalties within its text. Enforcement and compliance mechanisms are instead administrative, procedural and public‑law oriented.

• No express civil penalties or criminal offences. The Act does not specify fines, imprisonment or other penal sanctions for non‑compliance in the text provided. It creates administrative duties (for example to direct the advisory group, lay documents, prepare and publish governance materials, and to include required information in annual reports) but does not attach explicit penal sanctions to breach of those duties.
• Audit and parliamentary oversight. The FHRI Account is subject to the Financial Management Act and the Auditor General Act in relation to financial administration, audit and reporting requirements (s 4E(3)). Those statutes provide the State’s standard audit, reporting and compliance mechanisms, including potential Auditor General reports and public parliamentary scrutiny, which function as enforcement levers in practice. The Act also requires annual report disclosures about how FHRI Account money was applied (s 4E(5)-(6)) and the FHRI Fund Department’s annual report to include amounts charged under s 9(1) (s 9A(1)-(2)).
• Parliamentary visibility requirements. Section 4D(3) requires the Minister for Health to cause both the Minister’s direction to the advisory group and the advisory group’s recommendation to be laid before each House within 14 days of receipt. Section 10A(4) requires the governance framework, strategy, priorities, strategic documents and details of strategic arrangements to be laid before each House. Those laying requirements provide a parliamentary enforcement mechanism,non-compliance is a matter for parliamentary procedure and political accountability rather than criminal sanction.
• Delegation and administrative accountability. The Minister may delegate functions under s 4A and s 4C to the CEO (s 4F(1)), and the CEO may delegate to a public service officer (s 4F(2)). Delegations must be in writing (s 4F(4)). Administrative law remedies (judicial review) are available at common law against public decision‑makers for jurisdictional error, failure to follow statutory requirements and improper exercise of power; the Act itself does not spell these out. The Act does, however, create preconditions (such as the requirement to direct and consider advisory group recommendations) that would be relevant to judicial review arguments about compliance with statutory procedure if litigated.
• Immunities and protections. Advisory group members are protected from civil liability for acts or omissions done in good faith in the performance or purported performance of their functions (s 4H(9)(a)-(b)). That limits civil enforcement against individual advisory group members for authorised acts done in good faith.
• Restrictions on ministerial direction. The Treasurer is prevented from giving directions under FMA s 20(1) in relation to the FHRI Account and FHRI Fund (s 4E(2), s 9(3)). Those statutory constraints are normative limits on administrative command and can be enforced through parliamentary and judicial avenues (for example review of directions inconsistent with the Act),the Act itself does not specify a penalising mechanism.

In short, enforcement is effected by the FMA/Auditor General audit regimes, statutorily mandated transparency and laying requirements, written delegation requirements, and the usual public law routes for challenging administrative action. The Act provides protections for advisory group members and creates a statutory financial architecture that reduces, but does not eliminate, administrative discretion in relation to the Fund/Account flows.

The Act is drafted to operate inside the Financial Management Act 2006 and the Auditor General Act 2006 architecture, while carving out specific departures and protections. The principal interactions are as follows.

• Financial Management Act 2006 (FMA) interaction. The FHRI Account is an agency special purpose account under FMA s 16 (s 4A(2)), and the FHRI Fund is taken to have been determined by the Treasurer to be a Treasurer’s special purpose account under FMA s 10(e) (s 5(2)). Money in both accounts is held in the Public Bank Account and may be invested under FMA s 37(1) (s 4A(4), s 5(4)). However, the Act creates express limitations on the Treasurer’s power to give directions under FMA s 20(1) in relation to both the FHRI Account and the FHRI Fund (s 4E(2), s 9(3)). The Act also provides that FMA s 12 does not apply to money standing to the credit of the FHRI Fund (s 9(4)). Those exclusions and protections modify the ordinary reach of the FMA for the FHRI scheme.
• Auditor General Act 2006. The Act expressly applies the provisions of the Auditor General Act regulating audit and reporting requirements to the FHRI Account (s 4E(3)). That imports standard financial audit scrutiny and public reporting obligations for the Account’s administration.
• Budget process and Parliamentary procedure. Forecast royalty income and forecast investment income are defined by reference to parts of the budget papers tabled in the Legislative Assembly (s 3). Where budget papers have not been tabled before the financial year commences, s 9B requires the Treasurer to lay a statement setting out the estimate of investment income before the financial year commences. The Act also requires that advisory group directions and recommendations, governance framework documents, strategies, priorities, strategic documents and strategic arrangement details be laid before both Houses (s 4D(3), s 10A(4)). These provisions integrate the FHRI scheme into the State’s budgetary and parliamentary transparency machinery.
• Other statutory regimes. The Act refers to the Public Bank Account and incorporates investment rules subject to FMA s 37(1) (s 4A(4), s 5(4)). The Health Legislation Administration Act 1984 is expressly excluded from applying to functions under Part 2 if it would otherwise do so (s 4F(6)). The Act does not amend or displace other legislation except where expressly stated (for example, the discontinuation of the Western Australian Future Fund and transfer of its balance to the FHRI Fund at amendment day (s 5(1), s 5(3A))).
• Delegation, public law and administrative law. The Act permits delegation of the Minister for Health’s functions under s 4A and s 4C to the CEO (s 4F(1)), and the CEO may delegate to a public service officer (s 4F(2)). These written-delegation regimes operate within the broader common law rules governing delegation and public law accountability. The Act also imports the accountability machinery of the FMA and Auditor General Act, meaning those statutory schemes will be the first line for enforcement and compliance, rather than bespoke penal provisions in the Act itself (s 4E(3)-(6)).
• Constitutional and property interactions. The Act imposes an annual statutory appropriation charge on the Consolidated Account equal to 1% of forecast royalty income and requires crediting to the FHRI Fund (s 7). That is an interlock with appropriation rules and the Consolidated Account under the State’s financial order. The Act does not otherwise create property rights in the Fund in favour of third parties, beyond its rules about how money may be applied.

In practical terms, the Act is integrated into, and modifies in specific ways, the standard FMA audit, investment and appropriation framework. It privileges the capital preservation model for the Fund, creates procedural checks for the Account’s spending, and sets parliamentary transparency obligations anchored in the budget papers and laying processes.

The compilation notes and the marginal notes in the Act record two legislative stages relevant to its history.

• Original Act and initial establishment. The Western Australian Future Fund Act 2012 (No 50 of 2012) initially established the Western Australian Future Fund (compilation table). The Act in its current form is the Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Act 2012 following subsequent amendment.
• 2020 amendment converting Future Fund to FHRI Fund. The principal amendment is the Western Australian Future Fund Amendment (Future Health Research and Innovation Fund) Act 2020 (No 22 of 2020). The compilation table records that the amendment received assent on 27 May 2020, with most of the operative provisions commencing on 24 June 2020 (compilation table). Multiple sections in the current Act carry marginal notes such as “[Section ... inserted: No. 22 of 2020 s ...]” reflecting the 2020 restructure.
• Key structural changes effected in 2020. The amendment repurposed the existing Future Fund capital into the FHRI Fund: s 5(1) states the Western Australian Future Fund established on 30 November 2012 is discontinued, and s 5(1A) establishes the FHRI Fund. Section 5(3A) provides that money standing to the credit of the Western Australian Future Fund immediately before amendment day stands to the credit of the FHRI Fund. The amendment also introduced the crediting regime of 1% of forecast royalty income to the FHRI Fund for each financial year starting on or after amendment day (s 7, inserted No. 22 of 2020 s 13), and the annual crediting of forecast investment income to the FHRI Account from the FHRI Fund (s 9(1), inserted No. 22 of 2020 s 14).
• Insertions and deletions. Many provisions in Part 2 and Part 3 were inserted by the 2020 amendment, as indicated by marginal notes (for example ss 4A-4I and 5-10A). The Act also shows that provisions numbered 6 and 11 were deleted by the 2020 amendments (the text marks 6 and 11 as deleted with a marginal note). The long title, headings and definitions were also updated by the 2020 instrument (see marginal notes accompanying ss 1, 3, 4 and compilation table comments).
• Establishment period entrenchment. The amendment introduced an establishment period (s 10(1)),the period starting on amendment day and ending on 30 June 2032,during which Bills to repeal or amend certain core provisions (s 7, s 8, s 9 or s 10) must not be presented for assent unless both Houses pass second and third readings with the concurrence of an absolute majority of their whole membership (s 10(2)-(3)). This creates a legislative supermajority requirement for altering the funding mechanics during the establishment period.
• Timing and commencement. Section 2 provides standard commencement mechanics: sections 1 and 2 commence on assent day and the rest of the Act comes into operation the following day (s 2). The compilation table specifies the dates for the original Act and the 2020 amendment (compilation table).

Those entries in the Act and the marginal notes are the only amendment history provided in the consolidated text. The 2020 amendment is the material change, repurposing an existing Future Fund capital base to provide a long-term funding stream for health research and innovation in Western Australia and embedding governance, transparency and procedural requirements into the new FHRI scheme.

The Act as provided contains no express record of judicial decisions, reported litigation or case law. The compilation notes and marginal annotations reference only the legislative amendment history; they do not cite any judicial determinations, and the Act text names no cases.

Absent cases in the statute text, one can note the structural litigation touchpoints that the Act creates (without asserting the occurrence of litigation). The Act establishes discretionary administrative decision-making by the Minister for Health (for example, making or approving arrangements under s 4C) and procedural preconditions (such as the advisory group direction/consideration requirement in s 4D). Those statutory requirements are the sort of matters that, if not followed, could be the subject of judicial review proceedings under general administrative law, where a litigant alleges failure to observe mandatory statutory procedures or that a decision-maker acted beyond power. The Act itself does not create a private right of action, nor does it specify a statutory cause of action; remedies would therefore be found (if invoked) in the general public law and administrative law corpus administered by courts.

Other potential litigation loci are financial and audit oversight,breach of FMA duties as applied to the FHRI Account (s 4E(3)) could lead to Auditor General reporting or parliamentary scrutiny, and in certain circumstances that reporting could trigger further proceedings or inquiries. The Act’s immunity for advisory group members for acts in good faith (s 4H(9)) narrows the exposure of individual members to civil liability for their advisory activities.

Because the Act is silent on specific litigation or precedent, those factual possibilities are analytical notes about potential legal challenges rather than entries in a litigation history. The text does not record any cases, decisions or judicial interpretations; readers seeking reported litigation would need to search case law databases and parliamentary committee reports external to the Act.

The Act’s mechanics and drafting contain several points that practitioners and administrators should watch for in implementation. These are not value judgments but operational cautions grounded in the statute.

• Forecast-based transfers, not realised-income matching (s 7, s 9(1)). The operational cash transfers are keyed to “forecast royalty income” and “forecast investment income” as defined by reference to the budget papers (s 3). That means the statutory crediting and charging operations are driven by forecasts published in the budget, not by actual realised royalty receipts or realised investment returns. If forecasts deviate materially from actual receipts, the statutory rules still require the amounts indicated (s 7, s 9(1)), which may affect the Fund’s corpus or the Account’s available cash in practice. Administrators should reconcile forecast-based statutory obligations with cashflow management under the FMA and investment strategy.
• Perpetuity language vs statutory charges (s 9(2) and s 9(1)). Section 9(2) provides that money standing to the credit of the FHRI Fund “is to be held in perpetuity” and “cannot be applied for any purpose.” Section 9(1) immediately qualifies this by mandating that an amount equal to forecast investment income is to be charged to the FHRI Fund and credited to the FHRI Account each year. That means the statutory “perpetuity” is operationally limited to the corpus after annual forecast charges; the corpus can effectively be drawn down if forecast investment income exceeds actual returns. This tension requires careful cashflow and investment policy management to avoid unintended depletion of capital.
• Entrenchment during the establishment period (s 10). Amendments to key funding provisions (s 7, s 8, s 9 or s 10) are subject to an absolute‑majority concurrence requirement in both Houses until 30 June 2032 (s 10(2)-(3)). That creates a high political threshold for changing the Fund’s core mechanics during the establishment period and may complicate fiscal adjustments or reconfigurations of the scheme.
• Broad definition of “arrangement” and Ministerial discretion (s 3, s 4C). “Arrangement” includes “any other type of arrangement” (s 3), and the Minister can approve arrangements made before or after amendment day (s 4C(9)). The Act authorises payments in advance and payments to persons administering programmes or providing services (s 4C(6)). Administrative actors should therefore expect a wide spectrum of contractual and non-contractual instruments to be used, and must ensure that procurement, grant and contract law principles are applied consistently with public procurement and financial rules.
• Advisory group recommendation is required but non‑determinative (s 4D). Section 4D requires the Minister to direct the advisory group to make a recommendation and to “consider” it before making arrangements or applying FHRI Account money for a financial year (s 4D(1)-(2)). The Act does not make the advisory group’s recommendation binding, so legal challenge risk for failure to follow a recommendation could arise only if a court concluded the statutory procedure was mandatory and the Minister failed to observe it. Administrators should document the advisory group process, their consideration of recommendations and the reasons for departing from recommendations, to support transparency and defendability.
• Conflicts of interest and record access (s 4I). The Act requires members (and certain assistants) to have conditions in their appointment instruments requiring disclosure of actual or potential material conflicts of interest and specifies that the CEO keep a record and make a summary of that record available on request (s 4I(1), (4)-(5)). The statutory duty to publish a summary on request creates an administrative handling requirement and potential privacy/compliance interplay with other disclosure regimes; processes should be in place to produce timely, redacted summaries as required by s 4I(4)-(5).
• Non-application of some FMA provisions and restricted Treasurer directions (s 4E(2), s 9(3)-(4)). The Treasurer is expressly forbidden from giving directions under FMA s 20(1) in relation to the FHRI Account and FHRI Fund (s 4E(2), s 9(3)). Additionally, FMA s 12 does not apply to the FHRI Fund (s 9(4)). Practitioners must assess how those exclusions operate in practice: normal centralised fiscal controls under the FMA are curtailed in specified respects for the FHRI scheme, which may require revised internal controls and a clear statement of residual FMA obligations that still apply.
• Timetable and laying obligations (s 4D(3), s 10A(4)). The Minister must cause documents (direction and recommendation) to be laid before each House within 14 days after receipt of the advisory group’s recommendation (s 4D(3)), and must lay governance framework materials and strategic documents before Parliament (s 10A(4)). Failure to meet those time-limited laying obligations creates a procedural breach that may invite parliamentary scrutiny or questions of administrative regularity; agencies should build the parliamentary timetable into decision processes.
• Priority for coronavirus-related activities for 2020-21 (s 4C(10)). The Act contains an explicit 2020 priority to give qualifying activities relating to human coronaviruses with pandemic potential priority for arrangements and Account application for the financial year beginning 1 July 2020 (s 4C(10)). That time-limited priority needs to be accounted for in decisions and record-keeping for that specific year.
• Unusual investment permitted (s 5(5)). The Act explicitly allows money standing to the credit of the FHRI Fund to be invested in gold (s 5(5)). While any investment strategy must still comply with FMA investment rules (s 5(4)), the explicit statutory authorisation for gold requires investment policy attention and documentation if such investments are contemplated.

These operational features require careful administrative design, documented decision processes, accurate linkage to the budget forecasting process, and clear investment and cash management policies to avoid unintended erosion of the Fund or procedural non-compliance.

Administrators, ministers, advisory group members and third‑party applicants need a practical compliance checklist tied to statutory provisions. The following steps map statutory duties to concrete compliance actions.

1. Establish institutional responsibilities and written delegations

• Ensure the FHRI Fund Department (Treasurer’s department) and FHRI Account Department (Minister for Health’s department) are identified as the accountable agencies.
• If the Minister for Health delegates any functions under s 4A or s 4C, effect the delegation in writing, signed by the Minister (s 4F(4)). If the CEO further delegates, ensure the CEO’s written delegation is recorded and that it is to a public service officer (s 4F(2)). Record that delegated functions cannot be sub-delegated beyond what the Act permits (s 4F(3)).

2. Financial flows and budget linkage

• Coordinate with treasury budget officers to confirm the forecast royalty income and forecast investment income figures in the budget papers (s 3), ensuring the correct parts of the budget papers are used (the “Economic and Fiscal Outlook” part or another prescribed part).
• If the budget papers are not tabled before the start of a financial year, instruct the Treasurer to prepare and lay the estimate of FHRI Fund investment income before the year commences, as required by s 9B(1)-(4).
• Prepare cashflow plans to accommodate the statutory charging of 1% of forecast royalty income to the FHRI Fund (s 7) and the charging of forecast investment income from the FHRI Fund to the FHRI Account each year (s 9(1)). Reconcile forecast-based statutory credits with actual cash management under the FMA.

3. Investment policy and corpus preservation

• Develop an FHRI Fund investment policy consistent with FMA s 37(1) but recognising the Act’s specific provision permitting investment in gold (s 5(5)). The policy should target returns in line with the forecast investment income used to credit the Account, to reduce the risk of drawing down the corpus.
• Monitor actual investment returns against forecasts. If forecast investment income is higher than actual returns, document the investment and treasury reasoning underpinning any shortfall and relevant remedial steps.

4. Advisory group formation and operation

• Establish the advisory group with membership as required by s 4G(3). Include the CEO or nominee and the specified department executive (non-voting members) and appoint the required community representative and experts (s 4G(3)). Ensure at least one member has Aboriginal health experience and at least one has regional health experience (s 4G(4)-(5)).
• Issue instruments of appointment specifying term (not exceeding five years), remuneration/allowances as determined on the Public Sector Commissioner’s recommendation if applicable, and any suspension or termination conditions (s 4H(1)(a)-(c)).
• Adopt procedures for quorum, voting, chair designation, sub‑groups and alternates (s 4H(2)-(3), (5)-(7)). Remember that nominees under s 4G(3)(a) and (b) are non‑voting and cannot be chairpersons (s 4H(4)).

5. Conflicts of interest and record-keeping

• Include in each appointment instrument the mandatory conflict-of-interest condition specified in s 4I(1). That condition must require disclosure of any actual or potential material conflict, specify when/how/to whom disclosure must be made, and specify steps to be taken in relation to the conflict.
• Implement a system by which the CEO keeps a record of each disclosure and steps taken, and prepares a summary that can be made available on request (s 4I(4)-(5)). Prepare procedures for redaction and privacy compliance when making summaries available.

6. Decision-making and procedural documentary requirements

• Before making or approving arrangements or applying FHRI Account money for a financial year, direct the advisory group to make a recommendation (s 4D(1)). The direction may include proposed allocation proposals and may require the recommendation to adopt, reject or modify those proposals (s 4D(2)).
• When the Minister receives the advisory group’s recommendation, cause the Minister’s direction and the recommendation to be laid before each House within 14 days (s 4D(3)). If a House is not sitting and will not sit before the end of the 14-day period, send the documents to the Clerk; they will be taken to have been laid before the House (s 4D(4)-(5)). Log the dates and method of laying to ensure statutory compliance.
• Record the Minister’s formal consideration of the advisory group’s recommendation and the reasons for any decision inconsistent with the recommendation, maintaining files suitable for parliamentary and potential judicial review scrutiny.

7. Governance framework, strategy and publication

• Prepare and maintain the governance framework for the FHRI scheme, including a strategy and priorities and a framework for making and administering arrangements (s 10A(2)-(3)).
• Cause the governance framework, strategy, priorities and any strategic documents and details of strategic arrangements to be laid before each House and to be published on a public website maintained by or on behalf of the FHRI Account Department (s 10A(4)-(5)). Keep version control and records of modifications as required by s 10A(4)(a)(iv), (b) and (c).

8. Annual reporting and audit compliance

• Ensure the FHRI Account Department’s annual report prepared under the FMA s 61 includes information about the operation of the FHRI Account and how money standing to its credit was applied during the financial year (s 4E(5)-(6)).
• Ensure the FHRI Fund Department’s annual report includes information on the FHRI Fund’s operations and the amount charged to the FHRI Fund under s 9(1) (s 9A(1)-(2)).
• Prepare materials for the Auditor General and be ready to respond to audit enquiries under the Auditor General Act as applied to the FHRI Account (s 4E(3)).

9. Managing transfers and joint directions

• If a transfer from the FHRI Account to the FHRI Fund is contemplated, obtain a joint written direction from the Treasurer and the Minister for Health as required by s 4E(1).
• Recognise that the Treasurer is excluded from issuing FMA s 20(1) directions to the FHRI Account and FHRI Fund (s 4E(2), s 9(3)), and that the FHRI Fund is excluded from FMA s 12 (s 9(4)). Document legal advice on residual FMA obligations that continue to apply.

10. Special requirements and deadlines

• For the financial year starting 1 July 2020 the Minister must give priority to qualifying activities relating to human coronaviruses with pandemic potential when deciding arrangements and how FHRI Account money is to be applied during that year (s 4C(10)).
• Be mindful of the establishment period entrenchment (s 10). Any proposal to amend s 7, s 8, s 9 or s 10 in the specified period will require absolute-majority concurrence in both Houses; consult parliamentary and legal advisers early.

11. Recordkeeping and transparency for applicants and recipients

• For third parties receiving payments, ensure contracts and grant agreements specify outputs consistent with “qualifying activities” as defined (s 3), set reporting requirements compatible with the FHRI Account Department’s annual reporting obligations, and preserve audit rights for the Auditor General consistent with s 4E(3).

Following these steps will align administrative practice with explicit statutory duties (s 4A, s 4C, s 4D, s 4E, s 4F, s 4G, s 4I, s 9, s 10A). Legal teams should coordinate among treasury, health and procurement units to reconcile budget forecasts, investment strategy and grant-making processes, and to ensure parliamentary laying and public publication obligations are met.