Financial Management Act 2016

The Treasurer may – establish one or more Specific Purpose Accounts for any money kept in the Public Account; and specify the purposes for which a Specific Purpose Account is to be used, including to provide for future obligations; and determine the Agency that is to be responsible for administering a Specific Purpose Account.

The money standing to the credit of a Specific Purpose Account is taken to be money standing to the credit of the Public Account.

The Treasurer may direct that a Specific Purpose Account be closed.

If the Treasurer directs that a Specific Purpose Account be closed, the account is, after all liabilities relating to the account have been met, to be closed by the Agency that is responsible for administering that account.

The Treasurer may direct that – any money standing to the credit of a Specific Purpose Account that is not required for the purposes of that account; and the balance of money standing to the credit of a Specific Purpose Account closed under subsection (3) – be transferred to another account, in the Public Account, determined by the Treasurer.

If any money has been credited to a Specific Purpose Account without the approval of the Treasurer, the Treasurer may direct that the money be transferred to another account, in the Public Account, determined by the Treasurer.

The Treasurer may – accept, and credit to an appropriate Specific Purpose Account, deposits of money belonging to, or appropriated or set aside for the use of, the State or an Agency; and allow interest on those deposits at the rates approved by the Treasurer.

The Treasurer may accept, and credit to an appropriate Specific Purpose Account, money granted or loaned to the State by the Commonwealth that is – to be applied for specified purposes prescribed by or under a Commonwealth Act; or received by the State on condition that it be applied for purposes referred to in paragraph (a); or received by the State in accordance with an agreement made between the State and the Commonwealth in respect of the purposes for which that money may be spent – and may, without any authority other than this Act, issue and apply that money for the purposes for which it was granted or loaned.

The Treasurer is not to expend any money standing to the credit of a Specific Purpose Account except for the purposes of that account or under the authority of this Act.

The Treasurer is to – approve, as part of the development of the annual Appropriation Act; and report to Parliament in the Budget Papers – the estimated receipts and expenditure in relation to each Specific Purpose Account.

After an Appropriation Act is passed in respect of a financial year, the Treasurer may approve a variation in the estimated receipts and expenditure in relation to a Specific Purpose Account.