Annual Budget

1) On or before 30th November in each financial year, the Minister must table in the House of Representatives and the Senate budget papers for an annual budget for the next financial year.

2) The budget papers for a financial year (the “budget year”) comprise -

(a) a Bill for an Annual Appropriation Act that appropriates money in the Consolidated Fund for the budget year and specifies each head of appropriation;

(b) budget estimates that –

(ii) specify the appropriation categories for each head of appropriation in the Bill; and

(iii) include estimates of amounts appropriated by other Acts (other than this Act) for the budget year; and

(c) one or more budget statements that include –

(i) the estimated budget result for the budget year (as budget surplus or budget deficit);

(ii) a summary of the outcomes the Government is seeking to achieve in the budget year;

(iii) a summary of any new policy actions to be undertaken and the outcomes they are directed at achieving;

(iv) economic forecasts for the budget year and for the next 2 financial years;

(v) financial forecasts (including any revision of the financial targets or limits specified in the most recently tabled strategic policy statement) for the budget year and for the next 2 financial years;

(vi) a statement as to whether the financial forecasts for the budget year adopt the financial targets and limits for the budget year as specified in the most recently tabled strategic policy statement or whether they adopt revised financial targets or limits;

(vii) information on significant one-off revenue and expenditure items included in the financial forecasts, including aid funding;

(viii) a statement of the major assumptions underlying the economic and financial forecasts;

(ix) estimates of revenue retained by a state entity and of the expenditure of that revenue without appropriation as authorised by or under another Act, as referred to in section 176 (2) of the Constitution.

3) The budget estimates and budget statements are to be prepared as far as practicable in accordance with internationally accepted standards.

4) The budget estimates may denote items in the estimates as requiring “requisition to incur expenditure” (as referred to in section 15).

(Financial Management Act 2004 s(13))