Senate

Revised Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated with the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator the Hon Penny Wong)

X. Notes on Schedule 7 - Amending the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008

82. This Schedule seeks to broaden the circumstances in which amounts can be credited to the Wheat Exports Australia Special Account (Wheat Special Account) under the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 (Wheat Act).

83. An explanation of the amendments proposed in Schedule 7 is provided in sequential order.

Credits to the Wheat Exports Australia Special Account

84. Item 1 updates section 59 of the Wheat Act to require amounts equal to any other amounts received for any purpose of the Wheat Special Account to be credited to the Wheat Special Account. This amendment broadens the crediting clause of the Wheat Special Account in section 59 to include amounts incidental to the operations of Wheat Exports Australia, that is, amounts received in the course of Wheat Exports Australia performing its ordinary functions.

85. Item 1 broadens the crediting clause of the Wheat Special Account to reflect the purpose clause in the Wheat Special Account and to enable Wheat Exports Australia to credit amounts to the Wheat Special Account for similar amounts that other agencies would collect under section 31 of the FMA Act and regulation 15 of the FMA Regulations.

86. Section 31 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) enables an FMA Act agency to retain certain amounts received, by increasing the agency's most recent departmental item in an Appropriation Act by an amount equal to the amount received by that agency. Regulation 15 of the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 (FMA Regulations) prescribes the types of amounts that an FMA Act agency may credit to their most recent departmental item.

87. Wheat Exports Australia does not receive a departmental appropriation in annual Appropriation Acts, as this FMA Act agency is financed through levies and amounts collected from industry, rather than a departmental appropriation. Unlike other FMA Act agencies, Wheat Exports Australia does not have a departmental item that may be increased to reflect amounts collected under section 31 of the FMA Act and regulation 15 of the FMA Regulations.

Application

88. Item 2 provides that the amendment made by item 1 applies to amounts received on or after the commencement of item 1 .