1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Government Financial Responsibility Act 2000 1.
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Bill homepageThis Act may be cited as the Government Financial Responsibility Act 2000 1.
This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent 1.
The main purposes of this Act are —
to establish a framework for government financial planning with a view to improving government financial outcomes; and
to facilitate public scrutiny of government financial policy and performance.
Nothing in this Act creates rights or duties that are enforceable in judicial or other proceedings.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
Annual Report on State Finances means a report under section 14A;
Australian Accounting Standards means the accounting standards and other requirements issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board;
budget planning cut‑off date, in relation to a budget year, means the date on which the Treasurer notifies the Under Treasurer under section 12(4) that the budget process for that year has been completed;
budget year means the financial year to which a budget relates;
external reporting standards means —
the concepts and classifications set out in GFS Australia; and
the Australian Accounting Standards;
financial element has the meaning given in section 7;
financial management principles means the financial management principles set out in section 6;
GFS Australia means the publication of the Australian Bureau of Statistics known as Government Finance Statistics Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods, as updated from time to time;
Government Financial Projections Statement means a statement under section 12;
Government Financial Strategy Statement means a statement under section 11;
Government Mid‑year Financial Projections Statement means a statement under section 13;
Pre‑election Financial Projections Statement means a statement under section 15;
pre‑election period means the period between the issue of the writs for a general election for the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council and the date of the general election;
public sector body means —
a department established under section 35 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994; or
a body, whether corporate or unincorporate, or the holder of an office, post or position, being a body, office, post or position that is established or continued for a public purpose under a written law;
Quarterly Financial Results Report means a report under section 16;
release, in relation to a statement or report made or to be made under this Act, has the meaning given in section 9;
Under Treasurer means the chief executive officer within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1984.
[Section 4 amended: No. 5 of 2005 s. 28.]
The Under Treasurer may, in writing, request a public sector body to provide any information needed to prepare a statement, report or policy costing for the purposes of this Act.
The Under Treasurer may issue written guidelines to help public sector bodies to provide the information needed to prepare statements, reports and policy costings for the purposes of this Act.
A public sector body is to comply with a request under subsection (1) within the time, and in the form, specified in the request.
[Section 5 amended: No. 5 of 2005 s. 29.]
The financial management principles are as follows —
funding for current services is to be provided by the current generation;
spending and taxing policies are to be formulated and applied so as to give rise to a reasonable degree of stability and predictability;
financial risks are to be managed prudently;
spending and taxing policies are to be formulated and applied with consideration to the effect of these policies on employment and the economic prosperity of the State.
For the purposes of this Act, a financial element is —
the assets of the State;
the liabilities of the State;
the net assets of the State;
the operating expenses of the State;
the operating revenue of the State;
the operating balance of the State; or
any other significant element of the Government’s financial management or performance.
For the purposes of this Act, the amount or value of a financial element is to be calculated in accordance with the principles of the external reporting standards.
Financial projections or financial reports released under this Act are to include projections or reports of the matters usually addressed in a general purpose financial report within the meaning of Australian Accounting Standards Board AASB 1049 Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting.
A projection or report of an operating surplus or total equity is either to be consolidated in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards Board AASB 1049, or to be calculated in such a way that the projected or reported result is the same as if it had been consolidated in accordance with the Standard.
[Section 8 amended: No. 47 of 2011 s. 27.]
Where this Act provides for the release of a statement or report, the statement or report is to be —
tabled in each House of Parliament; and
made publicly available.
If a House of the Parliament is not sitting when a statement or report is to be released, the statement or report is to be made publicly available at that time, and is to be tabled in the House as soon as practicable.
If the Treasurer is not able to release —
an Annual Report on State Finances, and the opinion of the Auditor General referred to in section 14B(1), within the period referred to in section 14A(1); or
a Quarterly Financial Results Report within the period referred to in section 16(2),
the Treasurer is to, before the expiration of that period, inform both Houses of Parliament of the inability to release the report, and the reasons for that inability and the anticipated date the report will be tabled.
[Section 9 amended: No. 5 of 2005 s. 30.]
The Government’s financial planning is to be consistent with the financial management principles.
The Government’s financial planning may deviate temporarily from the financial management principles in special circumstances.
If there is any deviation from the financial management principles, the Under Treasurer is to prepare, for inclusion in the next Government Financial Strategy Statement to be released —
a statement of the reasons for the deviation; and
a summary of the Government’s proposed programme for reverting to compliance with the principles.
The Treasurer is to release a Government Financial Strategy Statement at least once in each calendar year.
A Government Financial Strategy Statement is to —
set out the Government’s medium‑term targets in relation to the financial element or elements relevant to each target;
explain how the targets are to be achieved;
indicate how the targets are related to the financial management principles;
contain a statement and summary under section 10(3), if required; and
indicate the time frames proposed for achieving the targets.
If the Government makes a significant change in its financial strategy, the Treasurer is to release a new Government Financial Strategy Statement, dealing with the matters listed in subsection (2), and giving the reasons for the change.
The new Government Financial Strategy Statement is to be released as soon as possible after the change in financial strategy, but in any case no later than when the next Government Financial Projections Statement is released.
If the financial strategy to be dealt with in a Government Financial Strategy Statement has not changed significantly from the financial strategy dealt with in the previous Government Financial Strategy Statement, then, instead of releasing a full Government Financial Strategy Statement in accordance with subsection (2), the Treasurer may release a Government Financial Strategy Statement to the effect that the information in the previous Government Financial Strategy Statement is still current.
The Treasurer is to release a Government Financial Projections Statement when the appropriation Bills and budget papers for a budget or supplementary budget are tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
A Government Financial Projections Statement is to include the following —
financial projections for the Government for the budget year and the 3 following financial years;
an account of the economic and other assumptions on which the financial projections are based;
an explanation of the implications of the financial projections for meeting the financial targets set out in the most recently released Government Financial Strategy Statement;
an analysis of the degree to which the financial projections are likely to be affected by changes in the circumstances on which the economic and other assumptions are based;
a statement of any risks, quantified as far as practicable, that could materially affect the financial projections, including particulars of any contingent liabilities and any government negotiations that have not been finalized;
a certificate by the Under Treasurer under subsection (8).
When preparing a Government Financial Projections Statement, the Under Treasurer is to take account of the following —
the implications of all relevant decisions that were taken by the Government before the budget planning cut‑off date and that were known to the Under Treasurer on or before that date;
any other information that could have a material effect on the financial projections and that was available to the Under Treasurer on or before the budget planning cut‑off date.
When the Treasurer is satisfied that the budget planning process has been completed for a budget year, the Treasurer is to notify the Under Treasurer to that effect.
On or before the budget planning cut‑off date, the Treasurer must give the Under Treasurer all available information about government decisions taken before that date —
that has or could have material financial or economic implications relevant to preparing the Government Financial Projections Statement; and
that the Under Treasurer could not reasonably be expected to have already.
The Government Financial Projections Statement does not have to include commercially confidential information.
If information that is otherwise required to be included in a Government Financial Projections Statement is excluded because of subsection (6), the statement must contain a general description of the excluded information.
The Under Treasurer is to certify to the effect that —
the financial projections, and the economic forecasts and assumptions, in the Government Financial Projections Statement were prepared by the Under Treasurer;
the statement takes account of all relevant information available to the Under Treasurer on the budget planning cut‑off date;
the statement sets out the implications of all relevant decisions that were known to the Under Treasurer on that date; and
the economic assumptions on which the financial projections in the statement are based were finalized on the date set out in the certificate.
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