Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AUDIT REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 360

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Statutory Rules 1993 No. 360

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Finance

Audit Act 1901

Audit Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 71(1) of the Audit Act 1901 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations (not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act) for carrying out the provisions of the Act. The attached Statutory Rules amended the Audit Regulations made pursuant to section 71.

Regulations 2, 2A, 3 and Schedule 1

Section 63C of the Act provided that the Regulations could declare a body corporate which was incorporated for a public purpose by an Ordinance of the Australian Capital Territory, to be a body to which either Division 2 or 3 of Part XI of the Act applied. Division 2 of Part XI sets out the standard provisions relating to banking, the keeping of accounts, reporting and audit which apply to public authorities required to keep accounts in accordance with commercial practice; Division 3 sets out the appropriate standard provisions to apply to authorities which are not required to maintain their accounts in accordance with commercial practice. On ACT self-government, provisions relating to those bodies became subject to laws made by the Legislative Assembly of the ACT. As a consequence section 63C was amended by the Audit Amendment Act 1989 to remove the reference to Ordinances of the ACT.

Accordingly, the definition of "Division" in regulation 2, regulation 2A and Schedule 1, which declared those ACT authorities to which Division 2 or 3 of Part XI applied, became redundant and have been repealed. Consequential amendments have been made also to regulation 3 and Schedules 2 and 3.

Schedules 2 and 3

Section 70BA of the Act provides that the Regulations may declare an authority, a body or a company in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest, to be subject to the section. The effect of such a declaration is that, where the Auditor-General is required by the Act or other legislation to submit a report on an authority, body or company, the Auditor-General may authorise an officer to sign that report on the Auditor-General's behalf and when the report is submitted, it shall be taken to have been submitted by the Auditor-General.

The regulations amended the Audit Regulations by revising Schedules 2 and 3 (now renumbered as 1 and 2) to update the current lists of authorities, bodies and companies which are declared to be subject to section 70BA.

The declaration of these authorities, bodies and companies does not affect the Auditor-General's overall responsibility for the conduct of the audits under-taken. It merely permits the Auditor-General to authorise an officer to sign a report on his or her behalf, thus relieving the Auditor-General of some of the professional workload associated with that office. The Auditor-General will sign a report personally should circumstances arise which warrant him or her doing so.


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