Public Finance and Audit Act 1987

This Act may be cited as the Public Finance and Audit

Act 1987.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

annual Appropriation Act means an Act (not being a Supply Act) that appropriates money from the Consolidated Account in respect of a particular financial year;

Auditor‑General means the person for the time being holding, or acting in, the office of

Auditor‑General;

authorised officer means a person authorised by the Auditor‑General to conduct an audit or review, or to make an examination, under this Act;

Chief Executive Officer of a public authority means—

if the public authority is a government department—the chief executive, or a person who has the powers and functions of Chief Executive

Officer, of the government department;

if the public authority is a Minister—the

Minister;

if the public authority is a statutory authority (not being a natural person or a corporation sole) or some other body—the chief executive of the authority or other body or, if there is no chief executive officer, the person entitled to preside at meetings of the governing body of the authority or other body;

if the public authority is a natural person or a corporation sole—that person or the person constituting the corporation;

deposit account means an account referred to in

Division

5 of

Part

2;

Deputy Auditor‑General means the person for the time being holding, or acting in, the office of Deputy

Auditor‑General;

Financial Agreement means the financial agreement dated the twelfth day of December, 1927, between the Commonwealth and the States, as amended;

financial year in relation to a public authority means a period of 12 months in respect of which the authority prepares its accounts;

general ledger means the ledger maintained by the Treasurer comprising accounts that summarise the financial transactions of the Treasurer;

government department means an administrative unit of the Public Service;

imprest account means an account established under section 9;

local government indemnity scheme means a scheme conducted and managed under Schedule 1 clause 2 of the

Local Government

Act 1999;

property means real or personal property and includes—

a chose in action; and

a present, future or contingent right, privilege, interest or power;

public accounts means the Consolidated Account, special deposit accounts, deposit accounts, accounts of money deposited by the

Treasurer with SAFA, imprest accounts and all other accounts shown in the general ledger;

public authority means—

a government department;

a Minister;

a statutory authority—

that is an instrumentality of the Crown; or

the accounts of which the Auditor‑General is required by law to audit;

such other body or person as is prescribed, but, subject to any other provision of this Act, does not include a statutory authority if the Act by or under which the authority is appointed or established provides for the auditing of the accounts of the authority by a person other than the Auditor‑General;

publicly funded body means—

a council constituted under the Local Government Act 1999 or a subsidiary of such a council; or

any other body or person that carries out functions that are of public benefit and that has received money from the State by way of grant or loan;

publicly funded project means a project or activity entirely or substantially funded out of money provided by—

the State; or

a council constituted under the Local Government Act 1999 or a subsidiary of such a council;

repealed Audit Act means the Audit

Act 1921 repealed by this Act;

repealed Public Finance Act means the

Public Finance Act 1936 repealed by this

Act;

SAFA means the South Australian Government

Financing Authority established under the Government Financing

Authority Act 1982;

special deposit account means an account established under section 8;

Supply Act means an Act that appropriates money from the Consolidated Account in respect of a particular financial year pending the enactment of an annual Appropriation Act in respect of that year;

Treasurer's instructions means instructions issued by the Treasurer under

Part

4;

Treasurer's statements means the statements prepared by the Treasurer under

Division

6 of

Part

2.

In calculating the number of sitting days of a House of Parliament that has elapsed since a particular document was laid before the House, sitting days occurring before and after prorogation or dissolution of the House will be aggregated.

Subject to this Act and to any other law to the contrary, there will be credited to the Consolidated Account—

money received by the Treasurer in repayment of loans and advances made from the Consolidated Account;

money received by the Treasurer from the

Commonwealth;

money received by the Treasurer from the sale of property belonging to the Crown;

money borrowed by the Treasurer for the general purposes of the

State (other than money paid to SAFA at the direction of the

Treasurer);

all other revenue of the Crown that is not authorised by law to be credited to any other account.

Money must not be issued or applied from the Consolidated Account except under the authority of—

this Act; or

an annual Appropriation Act; or

a Supply Act; or

some other Act of Parliament.

The Treasurer must, when issuing or applying money from the

Consolidated Account, act in accordance with the Act by or under which the money has been appropriated.

Subject to subsection (2), money received by an instrumentality of the Crown that should, but for this section, be paid into the Consolidated

Account may, without appropriation by Parliament, be applied by the instrumentality in carrying out its functions.

The Treasurer may direct that money referred to in subsection (1) be paid into the Consolidated Account instead of being applied under that subsection.

A reference in this section to an instrumentality of the Crown does not extend to any such instrumentality that is a natural person or a corporation sole unless the regulations specifically provide that this section will apply to the instrumentality.

The Treasurer, or a person to whom the Treasurer has delegated the

Treasurer's powers under this subsection, may establish and maintain a special deposit account for an approved purpose of, or relating to, a government department.

Money payable to the Crown in relation to an approved purpose must, at the direction of the Treasurer, be credited to a special deposit account opened for that purpose.

The Treasurer may credit any money appropriated or provided in accordance with law for an approved purpose to a special deposit account opened under this section for that purpose.

The Treasurer may, without Parliamentary appropriation, issue and apply any money standing to the credit of a special deposit account for the purpose for which that account was opened.

Any surplus of income over expenditure standing to the credit of a special deposit account must, at the direction of the Treasurer, be credited to the Consolidated Account.

Subject to this section special deposit accounts must be operated in accordance with the Treasurer's instructions.

The Treasurer, or a person to whom the Treasurer has delegated the

Treasurer's powers under this subsection, may approve a purpose of, or relating to, a government department for the purposes of this section and may vary or revoke such an approval at any time.

A reference in subsection (5)—

to income extends to income accrued but not received;

and

to expenditure extends to costs incurred but not paid.

In this section—

approved purpose means a purpose of, or relating to, a government department approved for the time being under subsection (7).

The Treasurer, or a person to whom the Treasurer has delegated the

Treasurer's powers under this subsection, may establish an ADI account (an imprest account) in the name of a government department or the Chief Executive

Officer of a government department.

The Treasurer may, without Parliamentary appropriation pay money into an imprest account.

Money standing to the credit of an imprest account—

may be withdrawn for one or more of the purposes of the government department; and

must be repaid to the Treasurer on demand.

Money expended from an imprest account must be recouped to the account from money appropriated or set aside for the same purpose.

Money issued from the Consolidated Account may be applied after the end of a financial year to honour cheques or other orders for the payment of money drawn by the Treasurer before the end of the financial year under the authority of an annual Appropriation Act or a Supply Act relating to that year.

The Treasurer may, on such terms and conditions as the Treasurer thinks fit, deposit or invest money under the Treasurer's control—

with the Reserve Bank of Australia; or

with a bank or any other prescribed ADI; or

with a dealer in the short term money market—

in relation to whom the Reserve Bank of Australia stands as a lender of last resort; or

who has been declared by regulation to be an approved dealer for the purposes of this section; or

with SAFA; or

with a prescribed person or a person of a prescribed class;

or

in a prescribed manner.

The Governor may, in any financial year, appropriate from the

Consolidated Account to the public purposes of the State, an amount not exceeding the maximum prescribed by subsection (2).

The maximum amount that may be appropriated under subsection (1) is—

three per cent of the total of the amounts set out in the annual

Appropriation Acts for appropriation from the Consolidated Account in respect of the previous financial year; less

any amounts previously appropriated under this section and not recouped under subsection (4).

Money appropriated under subsection (1) may be issued and applied by the

Treasurer for the public purposes of the State during the financial year in which it is appropriated.

Any money appropriated for any purpose by the Governor pursuant to this section in any financial year may be recouped to the Governor's

Appropriation Fund out of any money subsequently voted by an annual

Appropriation Act that is passed in the same financial year, and thereafter the balance of the Governor's Appropriation Fund will be increased by the amount so recouped.

For the purpose of determining the total amount that may be appropriated by the Governor in accordance with this section each amount so appropriated will be included once only in that determination despite the fact that it is, for any reason, recorded more than once in the Consolidated Account or in a schedule to that account.

In this section—

Governor's Appropriation Fund in relation to a financial year means the money that the Governor is by subsection (1) authorised to appropriate in that year;

public purposes of the State includes any purpose for which money is, under the provisions of any Act, required to be paid out of money to be provided or appropriated by

Parliament.

If the amount appropriated for a particular government department or a particular purpose is insufficient for that department or purpose and the amount appropriated for another government department or another purpose exceeds the amount required for that department or purpose, the Governor may apply the excess, or any part of the excess, towards meeting the insufficiency.

The Governor may, at any time, reduce the amount appropriated for a government department or purpose.