Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Wong today released a position paper paving the way for reforms to the Commonwealth Governments financial framework.

The current financial framework is nearly 20 years old, and while it has met the requirements of government to date, reform is necessary to meet future needs.
In March this year, the Government released the Is Less More? Towards Better Commonwealth Performance discussion paper to kick-start the process of reform. Its extensive consultation process established clear consensus that improving the financial framework was long overdue.
A modern and effective public sector should be underpinned by a modern financial framework that supports the policy outcomes Australians are looking for, Minister Wong said.
While the current financial framework has served us well, we need to make sure the architecture is upgraded in a way which ensures the public sector can evolve and respond in a way that meets the changing demands on government.
The position paper sets out a number of proposed changes to the Commonwealth financial framework that aim to boost productivity, efficiency and performance.
This includes the key focus of moving to a principles based legislative framework to assist in the improvement of financial and policy performance. The position paper proposes moving towards a single Act that replaces the Financial Management and Accountability Act and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act.
Interested parties are encouraged to consider and comment on the reforms outlined in the paper.
The Commonwealth Financial Accountability Review (CFAR) Position Paper is available on the Department of Finance and Deregulation website www.cfar.finance.gov.au.
Comments on the Position Paper can be posted on the CFAR website www.cfar.finance.gov.au or emailed to [email protected] before 18 February 2013.