Glossary of terms

additional estimates	Where amounts appropriated at budget time are insufficient, Parliament may approve additional funds to agencies through additional appropriation legislation.
administered items	Revenues, expenses, assets or liabilities managed by agencies on behalf of the Commonwealth. Agencies do not control administered items. Administered expenses include grants, subsidies and benefits. In many cases, administered expenses fund the delivery of third party outputs.
agency	Agencies are Commonwealth entities as defined under Section 10 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
appropriation	An authorisation by Parliament to spend moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for a particular purpose.
APS employee	A person engaged under section 22, or a person who is engaged as an APS employee under section 74, of the Public Service Act 1999.
average staffing level	The average number of employees receiving salary over the financial year, with adjustments for part-time and casual employees to show the full-time equivalent.
core funding	Contributions to the regular budgets of organisations to support agreed activities in their strategic plans.
corporate governance	The process by which agencies are directed and controlled. It encompasses authority, accountability, stewardship, leadership, direction and control.
departmental items	Revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities that are controlled by the agency in providing its programs.
economic diplomacy	The use of Australia’s international diplomatic assets to advance Australia’s prosperity and global prosperity. It is guided by four key pillars: promoting trade, encouraging growth, attracting investment, and supporting Australian business.
grant	Commonwealth financial assistance as defined under the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines (paragraphs 2.3–2.5).
integration	Process involved in integrating the Australian Government’s international development, climate change negotiations and international tourism functions and staff into the department.
key performance indicators (KPIs)	Annual program performance targets that are outlined in the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio Budget Statements.
memorandum of understanding (MOU)	A document outlining the terms and details of a non-binding arrangement between parties including each party’s requirements and responsibilities.
non-core funding	Funding for organisations for specific programs with a clearly identified purpose.
non-ongoing APS employee	A person engaged as an APS employee under subsection 22(2)(b) or 22(2)(c) of the Public Service Act 1999.
ongoing APS employee	A person engaged as an ongoing APS employee under subsection 22(2)(a) of the Public Service Act 1999.
performance pay	A payment in recognition of excellent performance.
Portfolio Budget Statements	Informs the public and Parliament of the proposed allocation of resources by program to achieve the agency’s outcomes.
program	An activity or a group of activities that deliver benefits, services or transfer payments to individuals, industry/business or the community as a whole and are the primary vehicles for government agencies to achieve the intended results of their outcome statements.
purchaser–provider arrangements	Arrangements under which the services of one agency are purchased by another agency to contribute to outcomes.
service charter	A public statement about the service that a department will provide and what customers can expect from the department. It is government policy that departments that provide services directly to the public have service charters in place.