Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Act 2024 (96 of 2024)

Schedule 1   Amendments

Part 4   RBA's Boards and governance

Reserve Bank Act 1959

15   Sections 7A to 7C

Repeal the sections, substitute:

Subdivision B - Application of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013

7A Accountable authority of the Bank

For the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the Governance Board is the accountable authority of the Bank.

7B Provisions of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 that do not apply

The following sections of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 do not apply in relation to the Bank:

(a) section 36 (which deals with budget estimates);

(b) section 54 (which deals with banking by corporate Commonwealth entities);

(c) section 55 (which deals with banking of relevant money by Ministers and officials);

(d) section 59 (which deals with investment by corporate Commonwealth entities).

7C Officials of the Bank and general duties of officials

(1) For the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the following members of the Bank's Boards are officials (within the meaning of that Act) of the Bank:

(a) the Governor;

(b) the Deputy Governor;

(c) the senior RBS member;

(d) each external Governance Board member;

(e) if the Bank's PSB member is a staff member of the Reserve Bank Service - the Bank's PSB member.

Note: Paragraphs (a) to (d) cover all of the Governance Board members.

(2) A member of the Monetary Policy Board or the Payments System Board who is not covered by subsection (1) is taken, for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, not to be an official (within the meaning of that Act) of the Bank.

Provisions about general duties of officials still apply to members who are not officials

(3) Subdivision A of Division 3 of Part 2-2 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with general duties of officials) applies in relation to a member of the Monetary Policy Board or the Payments System Board who is not covered by subsection (1) as if the member were an official (within the meaning of that Act) of the Bank.

Note: Section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which is in Subdivision A of Division 3 of Part 2-2 of that Act, and deals with the duty to disclose interests) is affected by Subdivision C of this Division.

Subdivision C - Duty of Board members to disclose interests

7D Disclosure of interests - key decisions of the Monetary Policy Board

(1) This section applies if:

(a) either or both of the following matters:

(i) the monetary policy of the Bank;

(ii) the policy of the Bank (other than the payments system policy of the Bank) for contributing to the stability of Australia's financial system;

are being considered at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Board; and

(b) a member of the Board has a material personal interest that relates to the matter; and

(c) within the previous 12 months the member has disclosed, in writing, the member's interest to the Treasurer (whether the disclosure occurs before or after this section commences); and

(d) there has been no substantial change in the nature or extent of the interest since the disclosure.

(2) The member may do either or both of the following:

(a) be present during any consideration by the Board of the matter at the meeting;

(b) vote on the matter at the meeting.

(3) The member is taken to have complied with:

(a) section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; and

(b) any rules made for the purposes of that section;

in relation to the member's consideration of the matter at the meeting of the Board.

(4) This section applies:

(a) despite section 7A and subsections 7C(1) and (3) of this Act; and

(b) instead of any rules made for the purposes of section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

7E Disclosure of interests - other decisions of the Monetary Policy Board and decisions of the Payments System Board

(1) This section applies if:

(a) a member of the Monetary Policy Board has a material personal interest that relates to a matter being considered at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Board and section 7D does not apply; or

(b) a member of the Payments System Board has a material personal interest that relates to a matter being considered at a meeting of the Payments System Board.

(2) The following provisions:

(a) section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013;

(b) sections 12, 14, 15 and 16D of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014;

apply to the member in relation to the member's consideration of the matter at the meeting of the relevant Board as if:

(c) the relevant Board were the accountable authority of the Bank; and

(d) the member and each other member of the relevant Board were the members of the accountable authority; and

(e) instead of referring to a material personal interest that relates to the affairs of the Bank, section 29 of that Act, and sections 14 and 15 of that Rule, referred to a material personal interest that relates to the affairs of the relevant Board.

(3) This section applies:

(a) despite section 7A and subsections 7C(1) and (3) of this Act; and

(b) instead of any rules made for the purposes of section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (other than as referred to in paragraph (2)(b) of this section).

Subdivision D - Termination for contravening general duties of officials

7F Termination for contravening general duties of officials

Section 30 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (about terminating the appointment of an accountable authority, or a member of an accountable authority, for contravening general duties of officials):

(a) applies in relation to the following:

(i) an external Monetary Policy Board member;

(ii) an external Payments System Board member;

as if the member were a member of the accountable authority of the Bank; and

(b) despite subsection 30(6) of that Act, does not apply in relation to the following:

(i) the Governor;

(ii) the Deputy Governor;

(iii) the senior RBS member.

Note: Section 30 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 continues to apply to the external Governance Board members as members of the accountable authority of the Bank. The effect of section 30 of that Act together with this section is that the appointment of:

(a) an external Monetary Policy Board member; or

(b) an external Payments System Board member; or

(c) an external Governance Board member;

may be terminated by the Treasurer in the circumstances provided under section 30 of that Act.