ATTACHMENT

Details of the Financial Management and Accountability Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4)

Section 1 - Name of Regulation

This section provides that the title of the Regulation will be the Financial Management and Accountability Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4), as made under section 65 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).

Section 2 - Commencement

This section provides that the Regulation commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Section 3 - Amendment of the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997

This section provides that the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 (Principal Regulations) is amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1- Amendments

Schedule 1 amends Schedule 1AA of the Principal Regulations to clarify some items and address some omissions from this Schedule when it was made on 28 June 2012.  Schedule 1 also makes some technical amendments to Schedule 1AA of the Principal Regulations.

Item [1] - Schedule 1AA, Part 3

This item makes a minor technical amendment to the numbering of an item in Part 3 of Schedule 1AA so that the numbering in Part 3 reflects the numbering of items for Agencies in Part 4 of Schedule 1AA.

Item [2] - Schedule 1AA, Part 4, item 407.002

This item amends the program description for a Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) program, Child Care Services Support in item 407.002 of Schedule 1AA, to remove a sentence that has been duplicated in that item.  The amended objective provides that this program is to assist child care services to provide support, promote and improve access to quality child care and early learning for children, families and communities; promote and maintain high quality care and inclusion for all children; and to support the development, maintenance and dissemination of information to assist families to make informed decisions about child care.

For further information about Child Care Services Support see pages 34 to 37 of Portfolio Budget Statements 2012-13, Budget Related Paper No.1.6, Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio.

Item [3] - Schedule 1AA, Part 4, after item 407.067

This item adds three programs for DEEWR that were not included when Part 4 of Schedule 1AA was made on 28 June 2012.  The programs need to be listed in Schedule 1AA to ensure that section 32B of the FMA Act provides legislative authority to make, vary and administer arrangements for:

*         Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Study Assistance Scheme (ABSTUDY) - to provide support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and Australian apprentices to improve access to and participation in secondary and tertiary education and training (new item 407.068).  For further information about this program see pages 72 to 74 of Portfolio Budget Statements 2012-13, Budget Related Paper No.1.6, Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio;

*         Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme - to provide financial allowances to help families of primary, secondary, and certain tertiary students with the educational costs incurred due to being geographically isolated (new item 407.069).  For further information about this program see pages 72 to 73 of Portfolio Budget Statements 2012-13, Budget Related Paper No.1.6, Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio; and

*         Wage Assistance for Cyclone Yasi - to provide wage assistance to employers to assist with the viability of businesses in the local communities affected by Cyclone Yasi (new item 407.070).  For further information about this program see pages 169 to 170 of Budget Paper No. 2, Budget Measures 2011-12.

 

Item [4] - Schedule 1AA, Part 4, after item 419.020

This item adds two aviation security program descriptions for the Department of Infrastructure and Transport that were not included when Part 4 of Schedule 1AA was made on 28 June 2012.  The programs need to be listed in Schedule 1AA to ensure that section 32B of the FMA Act provides legislative authority to make, vary and administer arrangements for aviation security measures in relation to:

*                Regional passenger screening - to provide financial assistance to build capability at certain Australian airports through the provision of security training of airport staff (new item 419.021); and

*                Improving international aviation security - to provide financial assistance to enable persons from foreign countries to be trained to the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) aviation security standards (new item 419.022).

 

For further information about these aviation security measures see pages 22 and 41 to 42 of Portfolio Budget Statements 2012-13, Budget Related Paper No.1.14, Infrastructure and Transport Portfolio.

 

Item [5] - Schedule 1AA, Part 4, item 426.001

This item amends item 426.001 in Part 4 of Schedule 1AA to add a scheme that was omitted when Schedule 1AA was made on 28 June 2012.  The HIH Claims Support Scheme is a program in relation to which arrangements can be made, varied and administered.  Given that there is no legislative basis for the scheme, the scheme needs to be included in Schedule 1AA to ensure that section 32B of the FMA Act provides legislative authority to make, vary and administer any arrangements under the scheme.

 

This item adds the HIH Claims Support Scheme to item 426.001, as the scheme is not a program in its own right but is an objective of the Treasury program 'Support for Markets and Business'.  The amended program in item 426.001 covers three funding activities:  grant funding to the Centre for International Finance and Regulation; the HIH Claims Support Scheme; and payments in respect to insurance claims arising from the residual Housing Loans Insurance Company Limited portfolio.

 

For further information about HIH Claims Support Scheme see pages 32 to 33 of Portfolio Budget Statements 2012-13, Budget Related Paper No.1.19, Treasury Portfolio.