Now lawDemocracy & Government Introduced in the House of Representatives, 12 May 2026

Parliament's four departments get their 2026-27 money

The Budget is the government's yearly money plan. This Budget law lets the departments that serve Parliament spend public money from 1 July 2026. It pays for the staff and services behind the Senate and the House of Representatives, the two houses of Parliament. It also pays for Parliament House. It also pays for the office that works out what policies cost.

Official name: Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027

Who it affects

• Staff who work for Parliament: Their wages and running costs for 2026-27 are paid from this money.
• The Senate President and the Speaker, who run the two houses: They can give a department a small emergency top-up if it runs short.
• Everyday Australians: Nothing changes for you straight away. But this money keeps Parliament open and working.

Parliament needs its own money

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 has to say how much can come out and what it is for.

Each May the Treasurer, the minister in charge of money, gives the Budget. Three main spending bills come with it. They are called the Budget Appropriation Bills. This is one of them. It covers the four departments that serve Parliament itself.

The Constitution is the top set of rules for how Australia is run. It says money for the normal yearly running of government must sit in its own bill, apart from other spending. So Parliament's own money gets a bill of its own.

The four departments are the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives. The other two are the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Office. The Budget Office works out what policies would cost for MPs.

What the words mean

The first part explains the words used in the bill. It also says the budget papers can help work out what the law means. These papers explain where each dollar goes.

It covers money that moves between two parts of the government. In that case no cash really leaves the pot. The bill still treats it as a real payment. So the spending is counted and can be seen.

Four kinds of spending

The second part lets each department spend the amounts in the 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. A department can shift this money between its goals.

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

The third kind pays for things owned and debts owed in that grant work. The fourth kind is called an equity injection. It pays for big items worth over $10 million, like a new building or a computer system. It can also pay old debts.

Say Parliament House needs a $15 million security system. That comes from the fourth kind. Cleaning and staff pay come from the first kind.

A small emergency top-up

The Senate is run by its President. The House of Representatives is run by its Speaker. Together they are called the Presiding Officers. The bill lets the right one give a department extra money when there is an urgent need.

This only works in some cases. Money might have been left out by mistake or set too low. Or something might have come up that nobody expected. The top-up is called the Advance to the responsible Presiding Officer.

The caps for the year are $300,000 for the Department of the Senate. They are $300,000 for the Department of the House of Representatives. The Department of Parliamentary Services can get up to $1 million. The Parliamentary Budget Office can get up to $300,000.

Each top-up decision must be shown to Parliament. Parliament cannot vote to cancel it. It ends when the law ends.

Special accounts and end date

Some money is kept in special bank accounts set up for one purpose. A spending line in the bill might have the same purpose. If so, the money can be moved into that account.

The money is set aside from the day the law starts. The amounts can shift when work moves from one department to another. They can also shift when goods and services tax is paid back.

The law switches itself off at the start of 1 July 2029. Spending laws like this one last for up to three years.

Start date

The bill went into the House of Representatives on Budget night, 12 May 2026. MPs debated it in late May. The House passed it on 4 June 2026.

The Senate got it on 22 June 2026 and passed it on 29 June 2026. The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law the next day, 30 June 2026. It became Act No. 56 of 2026, its official law number.

The bill said it would start on 1 July 2026 or on the day it was signed, whichever came later. It was signed on 30 June. So it started on 1 July 2026, the first day of the money year.

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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