Committees - Public Accounts

Terms of Reference
(Section 21A of the Standing Orders)

(1) A Standing Committee of Public Accounts to consist of five members shall be appointed at the commencement of each Assembly.

(2) The duties of the committee shall be -

(a) to examine the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the Northern Territory and each statement and report tabled in the Legislative Assembly, pursuant to the Financial Management Act and the Audit Act;

(b) to report to the Legislative Assembly with such comments as it thinks fit, any items or matters in or arising in connection with those accounts, statements or reports, or in connection with the receipt or disbursement of the moneys to which they relate, to which the committee is of the opinion that the attention of Parliament should be drawn;

(c) to report to the Legislative Assembly any alteration which the committee thinks desirable in the form of the public accounts or in the method of keeping them or in the method of receipt, control, issue or payment of public moneys;

(d) to inquire into and report to the Legislative Assembly on any question in connection with the public accounts of the Northern Territory -

(i) which is referred to it by a resolution of the Assembly;
or
(ii) which is referred to it by the Administrator or a Minister; and

(e) to examine the reports of the Auditor-General tabled in the Legislative Assembly with the accounts of an Agency of the Northern Territory, including any documents annexed or appended to those reports, pursuant to the Audit Act.

(3) The committee shall examine only those accounts of receipts and expenditure of the Northern Territory and reports of the Auditor-General for financial years commencing after 30 June 1986 provided that this shall not prevent the consideration by the committee of matters included in reports of the Auditor-General for the year ending 30 June 1986 which have or may have a continuing effect on the form of the public accounts, the method of receipt, control issue or payment of public moneys.

(4) Prior to determining whether to undertake an inquiry into any matter which may have arisen in connection with the public accounts of the Northern Territory, pursuant to paragraphs (2)(a) and (e), with the concurrence of the committee, the Chairman is empowered to write to the Chief Executive Officer of the relevant agency for a report on the matter.

(5) The Committee shall take care not to inquire into any matters which are being examined by a Select Committee of the Assembly especially appointed to inquire into such matters and any question arising in connection therewith may be referred to the Assembly for determination.

(6) The committee shall elect a Government Member as Chairman.

(7) The Chairman of the Committee may, from time to time, appoint a member of the committee to be the Deputy Chairman of the Committee and the Member so appointed shall act as Chairman of the Committee at any time when there is no Chairman or when the Chairman is not present at a meeting of the committee.

(8) In the event of an equality of voting, the Chairman, or the Deputy Chairman when acting as Chairman, shall have a casting vote.

(9) The committee shall have power to appoint sub-committees and to refer to any such sub-committee any matter which the Committee is empowered to examine.

(10) Three Members of the committee shall constitute a quorum of the committee and two Members of a sub-committee shall constitute a quorum of the sub-committee.

(11) The committee or any sub-committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records, to adjourn from place to place, to meet and transact business in public or private session and to sit during any adjournment of the Assembly.

(12) The committee shall be empowered to print from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered by it and, unless otherwise ordered by the committee, a daily Hansard shall be published of such proceedings of the committee as take place in public.

(13) The committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that all Members have not been appointed and notwithstanding any vacancy.

(14) The committee shall report annually and shall have leave to report from time to time and to report its proceedings and evidence taken; and any Member of the committee shall have power to add a protest or dissent to any Report.

(15) Unless otherwise ordered by the committee, all documents received by the committee during its inquiry shall remain in the custody of the Assembly provided that, on the application of a department or person, any document, if not likely to be further required, may, in the Speaker's discretion, be returned to the department or person from whom it was obtained.

(16) The committee shall be provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and shall be empowered, with the approval of the Speaker, to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the committee.

Contact Details
Mr Russell Keith
Clerk Assistant - Committees
GPO Box 3721
DARWIN NT 0801
Telephone: (08) 8946 1429
Fax: (08) 8946 1419
Email: pac@nt.gov.au

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