Imprest supply is the statutory mechanism that allows Parliament to provide the Government with the authority to—

• incur expenses and capital expenditure in advance of appropriation in an Appropriation Act; and

• make capital injections in advance of authorisation under an Appropriation Act.

This Imprest Supply Bill will provide the sole financial authority from the start of the 2025/26 financial year until the Appropriation (2025/26 Estimates) Bill is passed.

This Bill is repealed on the coming into force of the Appropriation (2025/26 Estimates) Bill. Sections 4A and 12B of the Public Finance Act 1989 provide that appropriations for expenses and capital expenditure incurred, and authority for capital injections made, under the authority of this Bill must be sought in an Appropriation Act that comes into force on or before 30 June 2026. If this is not done, the expenses, capital expenditure, and capital injections will require validation in an Appropriation (Confirmation and Validation) Act in accordance with sections 26C and 26CA of the Public Finance Act 1989.

In this Bill, imprest is calculated separately for expenses and capital expenditure, subject to 2 exceptions. The imprest sought for expenses in this Bill covers the following capital expenditure to be incurred in advance of an appropriation that may include both expenses and capital expenditure:

• capital expenditure to be incurred by an intelligence and security department:

• non-departmental capital expenditure to be incurred in advance of a multi-category appropriation.

Accordingly, the capital expenditure described above is not covered by the imprest sought for capital expenditure in this Bill.

The amounts of imprest are calculated to provide sufficient authorisation for the period between the start of a financial year and the latest date on which the third reading of the main Appropriation Act for that financial year must be completed.

Accordingly, the amounts of imprest for expenses, capital expenditure, and capital injections in this Bill are calculated on the basis of one-quarter (3 months’ worth) of the relevant annual appropriations and authorisations for capital injections sought in the Appropriation (2025/26 Estimates) Bill.

In addition, the amounts of imprest for expenses and capital expenditure are adjusted for uneven timing of expenditure and additional material risks within Votes and include an allowance for new multi-year appropriations included in the Appropriation (2025/26 Estimates) Bill. The amounts of imprest also include a general contingency provision to cover risks that may eventuate.

Imprest sought for expenses in this Bill covers the following appropriations:

• appropriations for the following categories of expenses:

  • output expenses:

  • benefits or related expenses:

  • other expenses:

• appropriations for expenses and capital expenditure to be incurred by an intelligence and security department:

• multi-category appropriations.

The authority sought this year for expenses includes upfront funding for Votes Business, Science and Innovation, Education, Finance, Health, Social Development, and Tertiary Education.

The amount of authority for expenses has been calculated as follows:

Imprest sought for capital expenditure in this Bill covers the appropriations for capital expenditure. It does not cover capital expenditure included in the definition of expenses for the purposes of this Bill (see clause 5(1)).

The authority sought this year for capital expenditure includes upfront funding for Votes Defence, Defence Force, Education, and Health.

The amount of authority for capital expenditure has been calculated as follows:

Imprest sought for capital injections covers authorisations for capital injections to be made to departments (other than intelligence and security departments) or Offices of Parliament. This Bill does not authorise imprest supply for capital injections to intelligence and security departments because section 12A(1) of the Public Finance Act 1989 does not apply to intelligence and security departments.

The amount of authority for capital injections has been calculated as follows:

A departmental disclosure statement is not required for this Bill.