Entity Overview

The North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency (NQLIRA) was established on 2 March 2019, as an Executive Agency under Section 65 of the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act) and as a Non – Corporate Commonwealth Entity subject to the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act).

At the time of the announcement, the Prime Minister appointed the Hon. Shane L Stone AC QC as Chief Executive Officer. NQLIRA’s primary purpose is to coordinate and ensure the timely and effective delivery of the Commonwealth’s response, recovery and reconstruction efforts to those regions affected by the North, North West and Far North Queensland monsoon trough in January and February 2019, and to advise Government on long – term recovery and resilience.

During 2018-19, NQLIRA received no appropriation. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) received all relevant funding (both operating and capital) in relation to the establishment and activities of NQLIRA. NQLIRA did not have access or direct control over these appropriations, thus all expenditures incurred were funded as resource received free of charge from PM&C’s appropriation for NQLIRA. NQLIRA was supported by a taskforce established within PM&C that undertook establishment and engagement activities for NQLIRA.

Basis of Preparation Of The Financial Statements

These financial statements are general purpose financial statements and are required by section 42 of the PGPA Act.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with:

• the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Financial Reporting) Rule 2015 (FRR); and
• Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations – Reduced Disclosure Requirements issued by the Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) that apply for the reporting period.

The financial statements have been prepared on an accrual basis and in accordance with historical cost convention as required or allowable by relevant accounting standards. The financial statements are represented in Australian dollars and values are rounded as indicated.

Note A: Expenses

Employee benefits ($’000)

The CEO is the only employee appointed on a permanent basis.

Total employee benefits reported reflect total remuneration of the CEO, who is reported as key management personnel for 2018-19 financial year.

Key Management Personnel (‘000)

Key Management Personnel (KMP) are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the entity, directly or indirectly. KMP for NQLIRA include the Prime Minister and Portfolio Ministers¹, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Remuneration reported in this note excludes the remuneration and other benefits of the Prime Minister and Portfolio Ministers, as these were not paid by NQLIRA. The CEO is remunerated consistent with Remuneration Tribunal (Remuneration and Allowances for Holder of Part – time Public Officer) Determination 2018. All remuneration for financial year 2018-19 was funded by PM&C as resource received free of charge.

The following table sets out KMP remuneration (on an accruals basis):

Note B: Revenues

No appropriations were made available to NQLIRA during 2018-19. As such, there was no appropriation reported by NQLIRA for the financial year 2018-19.

Special appropriations

Special appropriation – Treasury Laws Amendment (North Queensland Flood Recovery) Act 2019 was enacted in April 2019 for an amount of $1.75 billion for the purpose of making loans to financial institutions under the program known as ‘Urgent assistance for eligible primary producers affected by floods in Northern Queensland’. The appropriation did not become available until 1 July 2019, thus was not reflected in the financial statements for 2018-19.

Other Income (‘000)

Resource received free of charge is recognised as revenue when and only when a fair value of goods and services provided can be reliably determined.

PM&C provided resources free of charge to NQLIRA during 2018-19 consistent with the expenses reported in the Supplier Expenses table in Note A: Expenses, excluding employee provisions recognised for the CEO.

Note C: Employee provisions

Employee benefit expenses for NQLIRA are for the CEO, as the sole employee appointed on a permanent basis.

Leave

The liability for employee benefits includes provisions for annual leave and long service leave. No provision has been made for sick leave as sick leave is non vesting and the average sick leave taken in future years by employees is estimated to be less than the annual entitlement for sick leave.

The leave liability is calculated on the basis of employee’s remuneration at the estimated base salary that will be applied at the time the leave is taken, including employer superannuation contribution rates to the extent that the leave is likely to be taken rather than paid out at termination.

The only long service liability recognised for the year was for the CEO, as he is the only employee appointed on a permanent basis.

Superannuation

During 2018-19, NQLIRA contributed to a personal superannuation scheme and the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme on behalf of the CEO.

NQLIRA accounts for its superannuation contributions as if they were defined contribution plans i.e. it has no ongoing liability to report. The superannuation benefits payable to an employee upon termination of employment with the Australian Government from defined benefit schemes is recognised in the financial statements of the Department of Finance and is settled by the Australian Government in due course.

An on cost liability was recognised for superannuation contributions payable on accrued annual leave and long service leave as at the end of the financial year.

Employment provision (‘000)

Payment of employee provisions expected in (‘000)

Note D: Budgetary report to outcome comparison

No budget was allocated directly to NQLIRA for the financial year 2018-19, and as such no budget statement has been prepared.