Parliamentary Business Resources (Commonwealth Parliament Offices) Determination (No. 1) 2019
I, Alex Hawke, Special Minister of State, make this determination under subsection 33(1) of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.
Dated 19 March 2019
Alex Hawke
Special Minister of State
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Name
2 Commencement
3 Authority
4 Definitions
Part 2—Offices
5 Provision of resources under this Part
6 Provision of electorate offices to members
7 Provision of offices to Ministers
8 Provision of an additional office to certain office holders
9 Provision of temporary office accommodation to members
Part 3—Resources for Offices
10 Provision of resources under this Part
11 Provision of car parking
12 Provision of office resources at CPOs
13 Provision of existing resources for offices
Part 4—Availability and Allocation
14 Subject to availability
15 Allocation of offices and car parks
1 Name
This determination is the Parliamentary Business Resources (Commonwealth Parliament Offices) Determination (No. 1) 2019.
This determination commences on the day after it is signed.
This determination is made under subsection 33(1) of the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.
In this determination:
Act means the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.
Commonwealth Parliament Office (CPO) means any of the following office spaces that the Commonwealth, as represented by Ministerial and Parliamentary Services, leases for certain purposes, including to provide permanent and temporary office accommodation to members:
(a) 1 Bligh Street, Sydney, New South Wales;
(b) NT House, 22 Mitchell Street, Darwin, Northern Territory;
(c) Waterfront Place, 1 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Queensland;
(d) 100 King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia;
(e) 188 Collins Street, Hobart, Tasmania;
(f) 4 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria; and
(g) Exchange Tower, 2 The Esplanade, Perth, Western Australia,
and includes any spaces that may be used by the Commonwealth in providing or administering public resources under the relevant lease.
Department means the Department of Finance.
permanent office means an office prescribed under subsection 72(1), 73(1) or 73(2) of the Regulations.
Regulations means the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017.
temporary office means an office prescribed under subsection 72(2) of the Regulations.
Note: A term that is defined in
- the Act, such as member or IPEA,
- the Regulations, such as electorate offices or home base,
has the same meaning in this determination as it has in the relevant Act or instrument.
5 Provision of resources under this Part
The resources determined under this Part are provided subject to Part 4.
6 Provision of electorate offices to members
(1) The Commonwealth must provide to a member one electorate office as prescribed by subsection 72(1) of the Regulations in a CPO if the CPO is in the member’s electorate.
(2) This section does not apply to a member to whom the Commonwealth must provide an office prescribed by subsection 72(1) of the Regulations, under any other determination made under subsection 33(1) of the Act from time to time.
Note: A senator’s electorate is the State or Territory represented by the senator, while a member’s electorate means the area that constituted the member’s electorate at the end of the most recent election period: see the definition of electorate in section 4 of the Regulations.
7 Provision of offices to Ministers
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Commonwealth must provide to a Minister (other than a Parliamentary Secretary) the following additional offices as prescribed by subsection 73(1) of the Regulations in a CPO:
- for a Minister, other than the Prime Minister–one office;
- for the Prime Minister—three offices.
(2) Where requested to do so by a Minister or the Prime Minister, the Commonwealth may:
- meet its obligations under this section by providing the Minister or the Prime Minister with additional space in an office provided to the Minister or Prime Minister under section 6 of this determination; or
- provide less than the number of offices specified in subsection (1).
(3) This section does not apply to a Minister, other than the Prime Minister, to whom the Commonwealth must provide an office prescribed by subsection 73(1) of the Regulations, under any other determination made under subsection 33(1) of the Act from time to time.
8 Provision of an additional office to certain office holders
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Commonwealth must provide to the office holders mentioned in subsection 73(2) of the Regulations, the office prescribed by that subsection in a CPO.
Note: Subsection 73(2) of the Regulations applies to the following office holders: a presiding officer; a senior office holder who is a member of the Opposition; and the leader of a minority party. Only one office for each such office holder may be determined as prescribed by subsection 73(2) of the Regulations.
(2) Where requested to do so by the office holder, the Commonwealth may:
- meet its obligations under this section by providing the office holder with additional space in an office provided to the office holder under section 6 of this determination; or
- provide less than the number of offices specified in subsection (1).
(3) This section does not apply to a member to whom the Commonwealth must provide an office prescribed by subsection 73(2) of the Regulations, under any other determination made under subsection 33(1) of the Act from time to time.
9 Provision of temporary office accommodation to members
(1) The Commonwealth must provide to members the temporary office accommodation prescribed by subsection 72(2) of the Regulations in a CPO.
(2) Subject to this determination, temporary office accommodation will be provided to a member under this section on request for no longer than four continuous weeks at a time.
10 Provision of resources under this Part
(1) The resources included in this Part are public resources for offices, prescribed by subsection 74(1) of the Regulations.
(2) Public resources determined under this Part must be provided to each member in relation to each office prescribed by sections 72 and 73 of the Regulations which the Commonwealth provides to that member in a CPO.
(1) For a member who is provided with one or more permanent offices in a CPO in the State or Territory in which the member’s home base is located, the Commonwealth must provide one car park in relation to each office.
Note: Members will be provided with a car park at the CPO where possible. Where car parking is not available at the CPO, a car park will be provided nearby.
(2) For a member who is provided with a temporary office at a CPO, the Commonwealth must provide one car park:
(a) at that CPO; or
(b) which the Commonwealth, as represented by Ministerial and Parliamentary Services, may lease nearby for purposes, including to provide car parking to members who are provided with a temporary office at the CPO.
Note: The provision of a car park to a member who is provided with a temporary office at a CPO is subject to availability (see section 15) and allocation (see section 16).
(3) Where requested to do so by the member, the Commonwealth may provide less than the number of car parks specified in this section.
Note: Apart from the car parking provisions in this section, members may be eligible to claim parking fees in relation to travel by a hired vehicle (subsection 8(1) of the Regulations – see the definition of transport costs in subsection 5(2) of the Regulations) or the member’s private vehicle or private plated vehicle (paragraph 8(3)(a) of the Regulations).
12 Provision of office resources at CPOs
(1) For each member who is provided with an office in a CPO, the Commonwealth must provide:
(a) security services and related security infrastructure at the CPO;
(b) facilities management services at the CPO; and
(c) administrative support services at the CPO.
(2) The security infrastructure in paragraph (1)(a) shall include the following resources, installed at the CPO:
(a) a centralised secure reception counter;
(b) a standard CCTV monitoring system; and
(c) duress alarm buttons in each office within the CPO.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), for a member who is provided with an office in a CPO the Commonwealth must provide the following resources within that office, or as common facilities at the CPO:
- a conference room;
- a media or press conference room;
- a telepresence room;
- a utilities room;
- a kitchen or tea room;
- a bathroom.
Note: An en suite bathroom will be provided in a permanent office in a CPO, where possible.
(4) The Commonwealth may meet its obligations under subsection (3) by providing one or more of the listed resources as a multi-use room.
(5) In a CPO located in Sydney or Melbourne, for a Minister who is provided with an office prescribed by subsection 73(1) of the Regulations in that CPO the Commonwealth must provide a Cabinet meeting room as a common facility.
13 Provision of existing resources for offices
(1) Subject to subsection (2), where a person (the new member) becomes a member, Minister or office holder after the commencement of this determination, in circumstances where they have replaced a person who has ceased to be a member, Minister or office holder (the ceasing member), the Commonwealth must provide to the new member any public resources prescribed by subsection 74(1) of the Regulations that the ceasing member was entitled to be provided (in connection with an office or offices) immediately before they ceased to be a member, Minister or office holder.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to public resources in permanent offices provided by the Commonwealth in a CPO.
(3) For a temporary office provided to a member under this determination, the Commonwealth must provide to the member the goods, services, premises, equipment and other facilities that were provided in the CPO immediately before the commencement of this determination.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), for the resources provided to a member under section 13 of this determination, the Commonwealth must provide the goods, services, premises, equipment and other facilities that were provided in the CPO immediately before the commencement of this determination to the member.
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to resources provided for under another appropriation.
(6) This section applies to public resources that are not otherwise dealt with in this determination.
Part 4—Availability and Allocation
The public resources determined under Part 2 and subsection 11(2) of this determination are determined subject to availability.
Note: Available space, including car parks at or nearby to a CPO is limited, and is leased by the Commonwealth for a range of purposes, including for temporary and permanent office accommodation for members, former Prime Ministers, and departmental staff.
15 Allocation of offices and car parks
The Department is to allocate the public resources determined under Part 2 and subsection 11(2) of this determination having regard to (as relevant):
(a) the requirements of a member relating to the conduct of their parliamentary business;
(b) the size of the office and the number of staff members to be accommodated in the office;
(c) the location of the member’s home base;
(d) the seniority of the member;
(e) the priority of providing an office under sections 7 or 8 of this determination at a CPO located in the State or Territory in which the member’s home base is located;
(f) the priority of providing a car park at a CPO to a member who is provided with a permanent office at that CPO; and
(g) the extent to which accommodation and car parks need to be provided to persons other than members.
Note: A member’s home base is the member’s principle place of residence as nominated to IPEA by the member: see the definition of home base in section 4 of the Regulations.