Scrutiny of Commonwealth expenditure [2021] AUSStaCSDLM 99 (23 June 2021)

• 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 The tables below outline the expenditure specified in legislative instruments registered between 31 March 2021 and 9 April 2021.

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 (Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications Measures No. 2) Regulations 2021 [F2021L00409]	Tourism Aviation Network Support Program (TANS Program)	The TANS Program is part of the $1.2 billion Tourism and Aviation’s Flight Path to Recovery package.	To provide grant funding to Australian airline operators to enable them to offer discounted fares for flights to and from identified regions affected by the downturn in international and domestic tourism resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.	Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee Senate Select Committee on COVID-19

Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells

Chair

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation

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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.