The Charter of Budget Responsibility Act 2007
The Charter of Budget Responsibility Act 2007 (the Act) imposes a number of responsibilities on the Premier, Treasurer, Leaders of Opposition Parties and the Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance (Treasury).
Key requirements of the Act include:
- the costing of election policies by the Secretary of Treasury;
- if considered necessary, publication of a Pre-Election Financial Outcome Report by the Secretary of Treasury; and
- the publication of a Fiscal Strategy Statement by the Premier and Leaders of Opposition Parties.
Costing of Election Policies
Under the Act, the Secretary of Treasury is required to undertake the costing of an election policy where requested to do so by the Premier or Leader of an Opposition Party.
Under the Act, the Secretary of Treasury is required to publicly release costed election policies. Costings of policies can be found below.
Guidelines for Costing Election Policies
Pre-Election Financial Outlook
The Act establishes the requirements for the preparation and release of a Pre-Election Financial Outlook Report. Part 5 of the Act requires the Secretary of Treasury to review and make an assessment of material movements since the most recent published estimates for the current Budget year and the following three financial years.
If the estimates do not vary materially from the information presented in either the Revised Estimates Report or Budget Papers, whichever is more recent, the Secretary must inform the Premier and publicly release a notice that no report will be issued.
If the estimates vary materially from the information presented in the Revised Estimates Report or the Budget Papers, whichever is more recent, the Secretary must prepare a report within ten business days of the commencement of the election costing period. This report must be provided to the Premier and must also be publicly released.
In accordance with clause 10(1) of the Act, the Secretary reviewed the current estimates for the 2024-25 Budget year and the following three financial years and determined that the current estimates vary materially from the information presented in the 2024-25 Revised Estimates Report released in February 2025. Accordingly, a
Pre-Election Financial Outlook Report has been released.
Fiscal Strategy Statements
The Act requires that the Premier and Leaders of Opposition Parties must: