PGPA Act (Property Special Account 2014 - Establishment) Determination 04
I, Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann, Minister for Finance, make this determination.
Dated 17th November 2014
Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann
Minister for Finance
 
 
1  Name of Determination
                   This is the PGPA Act (Property Special Account 2014 – Establishment) Determination 04.
Note 1:       All special account determinations and compilations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI) kept under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. See http://www.comlaw.gov.au.
Note 2:       This determination is subject to Part 6 (sunsetting) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The sunsetting provisions mean that this determination will be repealed on the earlier of 1 April or 1 October falling on or after the tenth anniversary of registration.
2  Commencement
                   This determination takes effect on the day specified in subsection 79(5)(a) of the PGPA Act.
3  Authority
                   This determination is made under subsection 78(1) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
4  Definitions
In this determination:
accountable authority has the meaning given by the PGPA Act.
PGPA Act means the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
real property includes leasehold interests and any other estate or interest in relation to land, and extends to any innominate or anomalous interest or right exercisable with respect to land or the fixtures on it.
special account has the meaning given by the PGPA Act.
5  Establishment
                   For subsection 78(1)(a) of the PGPA Act, a special account is established with the name Property Special Account 2014.
6  Amounts to be credited
             (1)  For subsection 78(1)(b) of the PGPA Act, the amount of $345,120,610.79 is required to be credited to the Property Special Account 2014.
             (2)  For subsection 78(1)(b) of the PGPA Act, the following amounts are allowed to be credited to the Property Special Account 2014:
                     (a)  amounts received in the course of the performance of functions that relate to the purposes of the Property Special Account 2014; and
                     (b)  amounts received from any person for the purposes of the Property Special Account 2014.
Note 1:       The Appropriation Acts provide that if any of the purposes of a special account are covered by an item in those Acts (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to the special account.
Note 2:       Section 58 of the PGPA Act provides that upon realisation of an investment of an amount debited from a special account, the proceeds of the investment must be credited to the special account.
Note 3:       Section 74 of the PGPA Act and rules made for that section have the effect that if an amount expended from a special account is repaid to the Commonwealth, that amount may be re‑credited to the special account.
7  Amounts to be debited
                   The purposes of the Property Special Account 2014, in relation to which amounts may be debited from the special account, are:
(a)    acquiring, leasing, constructing, managing, operating, repairing, maintaining, divesting, financing, identifying, advising on, and undertaking any other activities in relation to the real property of the Commonwealth; and
                     (b)  for payments incidental to the purposes mentioned in paragraph (a) of the Property Special Account 2014, including direct and indirect costs of administering the Property Special Account 2014; and
                     (c)  to reduce the balance of the special account (and, therefore, the available appropriation) without making a real or notional payment.
 
Note 1:       Subsection 78(4) of the PGPA Act appropriates the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for expenditure for the purposes of a special account up to the balance for the time being of the account. Subsection 78(6) of the PGPA Act provides that whenever an amount is debited against the appropriation, the amount is taken to be also debited from the special account.
Note 2:       In addition to the purposes specified in this determination, other legislation provides authority for amounts to be debited from a special account. In particular, subsection 58(1) of the PGPA Act provides the Finance Minister with the power to invest public money in any authorised investment. Not all chief executives have been delegated powers to invest under section 58 of the PGPA Act. Where such an investment is made of an amount standing to the credit of a special account, section 58 of the PGPA Act has the effect that the special account must be debited. Subsection 58(4) of the PGPA Act provides that if an amount has been invested by debiting a special account, then the expenses of the investment may be debited from the account. Subsection 58(7) of the PGPA Act appropriates the CRF for this investment activity.
Note 3:       An amount may be debited from a special account where:
(a)    it has been incorrectly credited by virtue of a clerical mistake; or
(b)    it has been credited through the exercise of a discretion by an official and the exercise of that discretion was actuated by a fundamental mistake of fact or law.
                   Legal advice should be obtained before an amount is debited as mentioned in paragraph (b).
Note 4:       Section 76 of the PGPA Act provides for a notional payment by a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity (or part of a non‑corporate Commonwealth entity) to have effect as if it were a real payment by the Commonwealth. Notional receipts and notional payments are transactions between different parts of the Commonwealth. Real receipts and real payments are transactions between the Commonwealth and other entities.
Note 5:       The purpose set out in paragraph (c) (“to reduce the balance of the special account (and, therefore, the available appropriation) without making a real or notional payment”), is solely for extinguishing all or part of the appropriation under section 78 of the PGPA Act for the purposes of a special account. When a special account is debited for this purpose, there is no payment or credit available to another party, account or appropriation.
8  Accountable authority
                   For subsection 78(1)(d) of the PGPA Act, the accountable authority responsible for the Property Special Account 2014 is the Secretary of the Department of Finance.