This Part amends the Crown Entities Act 2004.
Subpart 1—Amendments coming into force on day after date of Royal assent
The following clauses are inserted or amended to replace references to whole of government directions with references to directions under section 107. This amendment reflects the new language of section 107 (see clause 162):
new clause 162AAA:
new clause 162AAB:
new clause 162B:
new clause 162C:
new clause 163A:
new clause 164(4):
new clause 169A:
new clause 170B.
Similar changes are made, by clause 171A and Schedule 3C, to the Eduction Act 1989.
New clause 169B amends section 150, which requires a Crown entity's annual report to be presented to the House of Representatives and published. The section is amended—
to allow an annual report to be presented or published in a document that includes any other report or information; and
to clarify which Minister is required to present a Crown entity's annual report to the House of Representatives if that report is being presented in a document that includes information that a Minister other than the entity's responsible Minister is responsible for presenting.
Under the transitional provision in new clause 1A of new Schedule 1AAA of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (inserted by clause 170A), these amendments apply in respect of an annual report for the 2013/14 financial year and any subsequent financial year, but not to an annual report for the 2012/13 financial year.
New clause 170AAA is added. This clause gives effect to the application, savings, and transitional provisions in new Schedule 1AAA (inserted by clause 170A) (see also the amendment to new section 10A, inserted by clause 150).
Clause 170A inserts new Schedule 1AAA into the Crown Entities Act 2004. The new schedule contains application, savings, and transitional provisions. The transitional provision relating to annual reports (previously clause 3, now new clause 1A, of new Schedule 1AAA) is amended to clarify that annual reports relating to the 2012/13 financial year are prepared under the Crown Entities Act 2004 as in force before its amendment by this Bill.
Subpart 2—Amendments coming into force on 1 July 2014
Clauses 175 and 177, which amend sections 49 and 92 respectively, are amended to reflect that a Crown entity will always have a statement of performance expectations.
Clause 184 amends section 146, which sets out the process by which a Crown entity provides its statement of intent to its responsible Minister. New section 146(2)(c) is redrafted to ensure that there is always a time frame within which a Crown entity must provide its final statement of intent to its responsible Minister if that Minister does not provide comments on the draft statement.
Clause 185 amends section 147, which enables a responsible Minister to direct a Crown entity to amend a provision in its statement of intent. The section is further amended to clarify when such an amendment is final.
Clause 186 amends section 148, which enables, and in certain circumstances requires, a Crown entity to amend its statement of intent. The section is further amended to clarify when such an amendment is final and when it is in force. New section 148(6) is amended to clarify that if a Crown entity chooses to provide a new statement of intent rather than amending its existing statement of intent, it must follow the process in section 146.
Clause 188 replaces section 149 with new sections 149 to 149K, which relate to statements of intent and statements of performance expectations.
New section 149, which requires a Crown entity's statement of intent to be presented to the House of Representatives and published, is amended—
to allow a statement of intent to be presented or published in a document that includes any other statement or information; and
to clarify which Minister is required to present a Crown entity's statement of intent to the House of Representatives if that statement is being presented in a document that includes information that a Minister other than the entity's responsible Minister is responsible for presenting.
New section 149AAA requires amendments to a Crown entity's statement of intent to be presented to the House of Representatives and published. The section is further amended to enable a Crown entity's responsible Minister to prevent an amendment from being presented or published in the 3-month period before the Budget if that amendment will come into force on or after the day on which that Budget is delivered. This amendment allows the same embargo to be applied to amendments to a statement of intent as can be applied to a statement of intent under new section 149.
New sections 149J and 149K, which relate to a Crown entity's statement of performance expectations, are amended similarly to new sections 149 and 149AAA.
New section 149BA(2) is amended to clarify that it is the responsible Minister who may waive the requirement for a newly established Crown entity to immediately provide a statement of performance expectations. New section 149BA(4) is amended to remove a reference to sections 49 and 92 of the Crown Entities Act 2004. The removal of this reference means that directions given to an entity under the section apply generally, rather than only for the purpose of sections 49 and 92, as if they were the entity's statement of performance expectations.
New section 149G sets out the process by which a Crown entity provides its statement of performance expectations to its responsible Minister. New section 149G(2)(c) is amended to ensure that there is always a time frame within which a Crown entity must provide its final statement of performance expectations to its responsible Minister if that Minister does not provide comments on the draft statement.
New section 149H enables a responsible Minister to direct a Crown entity to amend a provision in its statement of performance expectations. The section is further amended to clarify when such an amendment is final.
New section 149I enables, and in certain circumstances requires, a Crown entity to amend its statement of performance expectations. New section 149I(4) and (5) set out the process for amending the statement and clarify when such an amendment is final and when it is in force. New section 149I(2)(b)(ia) replaces a reference to whole of government directions with a reference to directions under section 107. This amendment reflects the new language of section 107 (see clause 162).
Clause 191 amends section 151, which sets out requirements relating to the form and content of annual reports. Section 151(2), as amended by the Bill as introduced, requires an annual report to include an assessment of actual operations as compared with the intended operations set out in the most recent statement of intent. The subsection is further amended to replace this requirement with a requirement to include an assessment of the entity's progress in relation to its strategic intentions.
Clause 196 replaces section 156, which requires Crown entities to forward certain documents to the Auditor-General for audit. New section 156A(1)(a)(i) is amended to reflect that a Crown entity will always have annual financial statements that require auditing but may not always have a statement of performance.
Clause 199 replaces section 170. New section 170 is amended to clarify that it is the responsible Minister for a Crown entity who may set standards, terms, and conditions in respect of certain classes of outputs that a Crown entity proposes to supply. The heading of the section is amended to better reflect the content of that section.