Now lawDemocracy & Government Introduced in the House of Representatives, 30 Jul 2025

Parliament's four departments got their money for 2025-26

This law lets the departments that run Parliament spend public money until June 2026. It pays for the staff and services behind the Senate, the House, the building and the Parliamentary Budget Office, which works out what policies cost for MPs.

Official name: Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026

Who it affects

• Staff who work for Parliament: Their wages and running costs for the rest of 2025-26 are paid from this money.
• The President and Speaker who run each house: They can hand out a small emergency top-up if a department runs short.
• Everyday Australians: Nothing changes for you. But this is the money that keeps Parliament running.

Parliament must approve every dollar

The government cannot spend one dollar of public money unless Parliament says yes. All tax and other income goes into one big pot. It is called the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A law has to say how much can come out and what it is for.

Each year Parliament passes a set of these spending laws. This one covers the four departments that serve Parliament itself. The Constitution is Australia's top law. It says money for the normal yearly running of government must sit in its own bill. Parliament keeps its own running money in a separate bill from the rest of government, so the government cannot squeeze it.

The 2025-26 version of this bill first came in on 25 March 2025. Three days later the House of Representatives was closed for the federal election. That is the house of Parliament where the government sits. When that happens, every bill still waiting dies. Lawyers say the bill has lapsed.

A short stopgap law, called a Supply Act, had already passed. It gave about five twelfths of the year's money. That was enough to the end of November 2025. This bill came back after the election to give the other seven twelfths. That covers up to the end of June 2026.

Same bill, with a cut

The government wrote notes to explain the bill. They say the new bill is much the same as the one that lapsed.

One thing changed. At the election, the government promised to spend less on consultants, contractors and labour hire. Labour hire means workers hired through an agency. It also promised to cut other costs that are not wages. That promise saves $800 million across government in 2025-26, its first year. The bill takes this into account.

What the words mean

The first part says what the words in the bill mean. It also says the yearly budget papers for each area of government can be used to read the law. These are the thick papers that explain where each dollar goes.

It also covers money moving between two parts of the government. No cash leaves the big pot when that happens. The bill still treats it as a real payment. That way the spending is counted and can be seen. The notes say this keeps spending careful and open.

Four kinds of spending

The second part lets each department spend the amounts in a table at the back of the bill. The money comes in four kinds.

The first kind pays for the department's own costs. That means staff wages, suppliers and small equipment worth $10 million or less. The department can move this money between its goals as it needs.

The second kind is spent for the government, such as grants. It is tied to a set goal and cannot be moved around.

The third kind pays to run things the department already owns, like keeping a building in repair, and to pay debts it owes. The fourth kind is called an equity injection. It pays to buy or build big new things, like a new building. It also pays for a computer system worth more than $10 million. It can pay off debts from past years too.

Say a department needs a new $12 million software system. That comes from the fourth kind. Printer paper and staff pay come from the first kind.

A small emergency top-up

Each house of Parliament has a person in charge. In the Senate it is the President. In the House of Representatives it is the Speaker. The bill lets the right one give a department extra money if there is an urgent need.

This only works in three cases. The money was left out by mistake, or set too low. Or something came up that nobody saw coming.

There are caps for the whole year. The Department of the Senate can get up to $300,000. So can the Department of the House of Representatives. The Department of Parliamentary Services runs the building and its services. It can get up to $1 million. The Parliamentary Budget Office can get up to $300,000. That office works out what policies cost for MPs.

These caps include anything already handed out under the stopgap law. Once this law starts, the top-up in the stopgap law can no longer be used. So the emergency pot does not double. Each top-up must be shown to Parliament. Parliament cannot vote to cancel it.

Special accounts and end date

Some money sits in its own accounts set up for one purpose. A spending line in the bill may have the same purpose as one of these accounts. If so, the money can be moved into that account.

The bill also says the money is set aside in law from the day it starts. It does not trickle in as bills get paid. The amounts can still shift when one department takes over work from another. They can also shift when GST is refunded. GST is the tax on most things you buy.

The law switches itself off at the start of 1 July 2028. Spending laws like this one last for up to three years.

Start date

The bill was brought into the House of Representatives on 30 July 2025. It was debated through September and early October. The House passed it on 9 October 2025.

The Senate got it on 27 October 2025 and passed it the next day. The Governor-General signed it into law on 29 October 2025. The Governor-General is the King's representative in Australia. It became Act No. 49 of 2025 and started that same day.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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