1Short title
This Act is the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2025‑2026.
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Bill homepage (APH)This Act is the Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2025‑2026.
Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information | ||
|---|---|---|
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. The whole of this Act | The day this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 27 March 2026 |
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
In this Act:
administered assets and liabilities item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 in relation to a non‑corporate entity opposite the heading “Administered Assets and Liabilities”.
administered item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 opposite an outcome for a non‑corporate entity under the heading “New Administered Outcomes”.
corporate entity means:
a corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; or
a Commonwealth company within the meaning of that Act.
corporate entity item means the amount set out in Schedule 2 in relation to a corporate entity under the heading “Non‑operating”.
expenditure means payments for expenses, acquiring assets, making loans or paying liabilities.
Finance Minister means the Minister administering this Act.
item means any of the following:
a State, ACT, NT and local government item;
an administered item;
an administered assets and liabilities item;
an other departmental item;
a corporate entity item.
non‑corporate entity means:
a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; or
the High Court.
other departmental item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 in relation to a non‑corporate entity opposite the heading “Equity Injections”.
Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements means the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for this Act and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2025‑2026.
Portfolio Budget Statements means the Portfolio Budget Statements that were tabled in the Senate or the House of Representatives in relation to the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026 and the Bill for the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026.
portfolio statements means:
the Portfolio Budget Statements; and
the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements.
special account has the same meaning as in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
State, ACT, NT and local government item means an amount set out in Schedule 2 opposite an outcome for a non‑corporate entity under the heading “Payments to States, ACT, NT and local government”.
The portfolio statements are declared to be relevant documents for the purposes of section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
See paragraph 15AB(2)(g) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 which provides that the material that may be considered in the interpretation of a provision of an Act includes any document that is declared by the Act to be a relevant document.
For the purposes of this Act, notional transactions between non‑corporate entities are to be treated as if they were real transactions.
This section applies, for example, to a “payment” between non‑corporate entities that are both part of the Commonwealth. One of the effects of this section is that the payment will be debited from an appropriation for the paying non‑corporate entity, even though no payment is actually made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This is consistent with section 76 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
The total of the items specified in Schedule 2 is $3,532,926,000.
Items in Schedule 2 can be adjusted under Part 3 of this Act.
Sections 74 to 75 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 also provide for the adjustment of amounts appropriated by this Act.
The amount specified in a State, ACT, NT and local government item for an outcome for a non‑corporate entity may be applied for the purpose of making payments to or for the States, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and local government authorities for the purpose of contributing to achieving that outcome.
If the portfolio statements indicate that activities of a particular kind were intended to be treated as activities in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure for the purpose of carrying out those activities is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving the outcome.
The amount specified in an administered item for an outcome for a non‑corporate entity may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving that outcome.
If the portfolio statements indicate that activities of a particular kind were intended to be treated as activities in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure for the purpose of carrying out those activities is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving the outcome.
The amount specified in an administered assets and liabilities item for a non‑corporate entity may be applied for expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving any outcome specified for the entity:
in Schedule 2 to this Act; or
in Schedule 1 to the Supply Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026; or
in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2025‑2026; or
in Schedule 2 to the Supply Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026; or
in Schedule 2 to the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026; or
in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2025‑2026.
If the portfolio statements indicate that activities of a particular kind were intended to be treated as activities in respect of a particular outcome, then expenditure for the purpose of carrying out those activities is taken to be expenditure for the purpose of contributing to achieving the outcome.
The amount specified in an other departmental item for a non‑corporate entity may be applied for the departmental expenditure of the entity.
The amount specified in a corporate entity item for a corporate entity may be paid to the entity to be applied for the purposes of the entity.
If:
an Act provides that a corporate entity must be paid amounts that are appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of the entity; and
Schedule 2 contains a corporate entity item for that entity;
then the entity must be paid the full amount specified in the item.
If the Finance Minister determined an amount under subsection 12(2) of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026 or subsection 12(2) of the Supply Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026 before the commencement of this Act, the amount is to be disregarded for the purposes of subsection 12(3) of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026.
This means that, after the commencement of this Act, the Finance Minister has access to $600 million under section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026 , regardless of amounts that have already been determined under that section or under section 12 of the Supply Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026.
If:
this Act appropriates an amount for particular expenditure; and
before the commencement of this Act, the Finance Minister determined an amount (the advanced amount) under section 12 of the Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026 or section 12 of the Supply Act (No. 2) 2025‑2026 for the expenditure;
the amount appropriated by this Act for the expenditure is taken to be reduced (but not below nil) by the advanced amount.
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