Scrutiny of Commonwealth expenditure [2020] AUSStaCSDLM 26 (26 February 2020)

• Chapter 3
• Scrutiny of Commonwealth expenditure

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Chapter 3

Scrutiny of Commonwealth expenditure

3.1 The Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997 (FF(SP) Act) and the Industry Research and Development Act 1986 (IRD Act) authorise the Commonwealth to spend public money on grants and programs specified in instruments made under those Acts. Consequently, the specification of expenditure in an instrument made under these Acts effectively authorises the Commonwealth to spend public moneys on the relevant grant or program. The scrutiny of such instruments is a key aspect of parliamentary scrutiny and control of Commonwealth expenditure.^[1]

3.2 To facilitate such scrutiny, this chapter draws the Senate's attention to the nature and extent of Commonwealth expenditure that is authorised by the FF(SP) Act and the IRD Act and specified in delegated legislation made under those Acts.^[2]

3.3 This chapter identifies the expenditure specified in legislative instruments registered between 17 January 2020 and 5 February 2020.

3.4 The committee has resolved to write to the relevant legislation committees to alert those committees to the expenditure listed below that falls within their area of portfolio responsibility. The committee does so under standing order 23(4) which requires the committee to scrutinise each instrument to determine whether the Senate's attention should be drawn to it on the ground that it raises significant issues, or otherwise gives rise to issues that are likely to be of interest to the Senate.

Instrument	Grant/Program	Amount	Description	Portfolio committee
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Health Measures No. 1) Regulations 2020 [F2020L00033]	Bushfire Recovery Access Program	$14.7 million over three years from 2019-20	The program provides for immediate front line distress and trauma counselling for those who were impacted by the recent bushfires.	Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
	Training for front-line personnel	$2 million over three years from 2019-20	Funding will be provided for training for front-line personnel and volunteers who attended, or were affected by, the recent bushfires to recognise the signs of trauma and support help seeking.	Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
	Bushfire trauma response coordinators	$3.2 million over three years from 2019-20	Funding will be provided to establish bushfire trauma response coordinators within Primary Health Networks, who will be a single point of contact for individuals, families and communities directly impacted by the bushfires.	Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
	Supporting communities in recovery	$2.7 million over three years from 2019-20	Funding will be provided for grants of up to $10,000 to communities for activities at the grass-roots level to strengthen social connectedness and peer support activities, as well as assertive outreach initiatives to prevent suicide and identify post-traumatic stress disorder.	Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
	Cross-jurisdictional mental health framework	$0.5 million over three years from 2019-20	Funding will be provided to develop a cross-jurisdictional mental health framework that will set out a joint approach to disasters, the response and recovery.	Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Amendment (Home Affairs Measures No. 1) Regulations 2020 [F2020L00032]	Support to communities affected by bushfires—payments for children	$10 million in 2019-20 (uncapped)	Funding will be provided for supplementary one-off payments under the Australian Government Disaster Recover Payment to eligible families who have been adversely affected by the recent bushfires. The payments are intended to provide one-off financial assistance to help families meet the costs associated with supporting their child or children to commence or return to school, such as for uniforms, books and stationery.	Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee
Industry Research and Development (International Space Investment Initiative Program) Instrument 2020 [F2020L00089]	International Space Investment Initiative Program	$15 million (initial funding)	The program will provide Australian organisations and businesses with opportunities to be involved with international space projects and to collaborate with relevant overseas organisations (such as international space agencies). The program will be delivered through streams including: • the Open Doors stream, which targets international space agency projects which provide opportunities for the Australian space sector; and • the Expand Capability stream, which provides grants to build the capacity and capability of the Australian space sector.	Senate Economics Legislation Committee

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[1] For further information see the committee's guideline on Scrutiny of Commonwealth expenditure and Chapter 7 of the report of the committee's inquiry, Parliamentary scrutiny of delegated legislation.

[2] Details of all instruments which specify Commonwealth expenditure are published on the committee's website: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Scrutiny_of_ Delegated_Legislation/Scrutiny_of_Commonwealth_expenditure.