Now lawMoney & Tax Introduced in the House of Representatives, 05 Feb 2026

Departments got extra running money for late 2025-26

This mid-year law tops up the day-to-day budgets of federal departments. It pays for choices made after the 2025-26 Budget. It also refills the Finance Minister's $400 million emergency fund.

Official name: Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2025-2026

Who it affects

• Government departments and agencies: They get extra money for running costs and regular programs until 30 June 2026.
• The Finance Minister: The emergency fund goes back to its full $400 million once this law starts.
• Everyday Australians: Nothing changes for you directly, but services you use may be paid for from this money.

New decisions since the Budget

The government cannot spend public money unless Parliament agrees. All tax and other income goes into one pot. It is called the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A law must say how much comes out and what it is for.

Departments got their 2025-26 money from two laws. One was a short stopgap law called a Supply Act. The other was a spending law called Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2025-2026. But plans change during the year. New problems come up. The government makes new choices.

So each year, around February, the government brings in a second round of spending bills. They are called the Additional Estimates bills. They pay for choices made since the Budget. This bill is one of three.

Australia's Constitution is the country's founding rule book. It says money for the normal yearly running of government must sit in its own bill. That means the day-to-day work of departments and their regular programs. This bill covers that. A second bill covers other spending. Parliament's own departments have a third bill.

Where the details are

The amounts sit in the long table at the back of the bill. It lists money for each minister's area and each agency. Next to each new amount, it shows what the agency got in the Budget and in the year before.

The government's own notes on the bill do not list the new items. They point readers to budget papers called the Additional Estimates Statements. These were given to Parliament with the bill.

What the words mean

The first part explains the words in the bill. It says the budget papers can be used to work out what the law means.

It also covers money moved between two parts of the government. No cash leaves the pot. The bill still treats it as a real payment. This means the spending is counted and can be seen.

Three kinds of money

The first kind pays a department's own costs. That means staff, suppliers and equipment worth $10 million or less. A department can move this money between its goals.

The second kind pays for programs run for the government. Examples are grants, benefits and other payments. It is tied to a set goal.

The third kind is for government bodies that stand apart in law, such as some agencies and government companies. Their department passes the money on. They must use it for their own purpose.

Say the government asks a department to start a new job in October. The department pays for it out of what it has. This kind of bill can then top it back up.

$400 million fund refilled

The Advance to the Finance Minister is an emergency fund. It was set up in the earlier spending law. The Finance Minister can use it for urgent costs that were missed or not expected. The limit is $400 million. The government's notes name the COVID-19 pandemic as the kind of crisis it is for.

Once this law starts, the fund goes back to the full $400 million. It does not matter how much was used before. That leaves room for urgent costs until 30 June 2026.

This bill also stops the same cost being paid twice. Say the bill gives $20 million to a grant program. Say $5 million was already paid from the emergency fund for it. The bill then only gives $15 million. The amount can never drop below zero.

Special accounts and end date

Some money sits in separate accounts kept for one purpose. If a spending line has the same purpose as one of these accounts, the money can be moved into it. The money is set aside in law from the day the law starts. Amounts can shift when work moves between departments. They can also shift when the goods and services tax is paid back.

The law switches itself off at the start of 1 July 2028.

Start date

The bill was brought into the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, on 5 February 2026. It was debated through February and March. The House passed it on 24 March 2026.

The Senate, the upper house, got it on 25 March 2026 and passed it the next day. The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law on 27 March 2026. It became Act No. 17 of 2026 and started that day.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

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

Open the full interactive page