Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann)General Outline
1. The Public Governance and Resources Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2017 (the Bill) would, if enacted, amend 13 Acts across the Commonwealth to harmonise them with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and its related rules and instruments.
2. This Bill makes amendments to:
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- consistently prescribe listed entities for the purposes of the PGPA Act within entities' enabling legislation;
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- repeal provisions covering issues now provided for by the PGPA Act, such as disclosure of interests and annual reporting requirements; and
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- update references in legislation from the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act) to the PGPA Act.
3. The Bill would also make minor amendments to legislation consequential to the sale of Medibank Private Limited (MPL) in 2014.
Application and transitional provisions
4. The Bill includes application and transitional provisions that provide clarity in relation to provisions contained in Schedule 2 relating to annual reports, disclosure of interests, saving instruments in force at commencement, and amendments to legislative instruments.
Amendment to the PGPA Act
5. The Bill would also amend paragraph 107(2)(a) of the PGPA Act to correct a typographical error in the Act.
The Bill in the context of broader reform activities
6. The PGPA Act was enacted to provide a strong foundation for a modern, streamlined and adaptable Commonwealth public sector. It consolidated the governance, performance and accountability requirements for the Commonwealth within one Act, replacing the FMA and CAC Acts.
7. Following on from this, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2014 (PGPA (C & T) Act) was enacted to support the implementation of the PGPA Act and its associated rules and instruments.
8. However, due to the complex nature of amendments required to a broad suite of enabling legislation, some matters were not able to be addressed in the PGPA (C & T) Act.
9. This Bill ensures improved consistency between other Acts and the PGPA Act.
10. This Bill also contains amendments to legislation following the sale of MPL in 2014.
Consultation
11. The PGPA Act was implemented following two and a half years of consultation and consideration of issues. The PGPA (C & T) Act was also developed in consultation with Commonwealth entities over the course of 2013-2014, and many of the amendments included in this Bill were identified during those consultations. The period following the passage of these Acts has provided an opportunity for reflection and consultation on the operation of the provisions of the Acts, and associated rules. In this context, the Bill has been developed to make further improvements to the operation of the Commonwealth's resource management framework.
12. The Bill was prepared in consultation with affected Commonwealth entities to help ensure that amendments to enabling legislation harmonise arrangements with the general application of the PGPA Act while maintaining current policy intentions.
Structure of the Bill
13. The Bill is structured in the following schedules:
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- Schedule 1 - Listed entities;
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- Schedule 2 - Amendments relating to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013;
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- Schedule 3 - Amendments consequential on the sale of Medibank Private; and
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- Schedule 4 - Transitional and application provisions.
Main features of the Bill
14. The Bill would:
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- improve alignment between the PGPA Act and enabling legislation; and
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- make amendments to legislation following the sale of MPL in 2014.