Parliamentary Business Resources Amendment (Office Expenses) Regulations 2020

I, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.

Dated 14 May 2020

David Hurley

Governor‑General

By His Excellency’s Command

Mathias Cormann

Minister for Finance

Contents

1 Name

2 Commencement

3 Authority

4 Schedules

Schedule 1—Amendments

Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017

1  Name

  This instrument is the Parliamentary Business Resources Amendment (Office Expenses) Regulations 2020.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.

4  Schedules

  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations 2017

1  Section 4

Insert:

regional commercial radio broadcasting licence has the same meaning as in section 61CA of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

regional licence area has the same meaning as in section 61CA of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

2  Subsection 66(1) (note)

Repeal the note, substitute:

Note: See also subsections (2B) and (2C).

3  Subsection 66(2)

Omit “or radio”.

4  After subsection 66(2)

Insert:

 (2A) Office expenses must not be used to pay for production or placement of content for broadcasting on radio unless:

 (a) the member is a member of the House of Representatives; and

 (b) the electorate which the member represents has a demographic rating of Provincial or Rural, as given by the Australian Electoral Commission; and

 (c) the office expenses are so used by the member in relation to broadcasting services (other than in the Australian Capital Territory) by the licensee of a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence; and

 (d) the regional licence area of the regional commercial radio broadcasting licence is, in whole or in part, the same as the area of the electorate which the member represents; and

 (e) the total of the office expenses so used by the member during a financial year does not exceed one‑third of the maximum amount payable for office expenses for the member for the year.

Note 1: For the demographic rating of electorates, see the Australian Electoral Commission’s website, http://www.aec.gov.au.

Note 2: For the maximum amount payable for office expenses for a member for a financial year, see section 67.

 (2B) A member may not enter into a cost sharing arrangement with one or more other members for office expenses used by the member as mentioned in subsection (2A).

 (2C) However, if a member enters into a cost sharing arrangement with one or more other members for office expenses (other than as prohibited by subsection (2B)), each member who is a party to the cost sharing arrangement may only claim the member’s proportion of the office expenses incurred.