Has the department, or any agency of the department, provided an annual return of income and expenditure for the 1997-98 and 1998-99 financial years pursuant to section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918; if so, can a copy of those statements be provided; if not, what in detail, are the reasons for not providing those statements.

The Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs has provided this information in its annual report, as required by section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The information was published in the 1997-98 DETYA Annual Report, Appendix 4: Payments to Advertising and Market Research Organisations, (pages 175-177) and in the 1998-99 DETYA Annual Report, Appendix 6: Payments to Advertising and Market Research Organisations, (pages 197-200). Further details were also provided to Senator Carr in response to Question on Notice E284 asked on 11 February 1999. Details relating the Australian Research Council can be found in the NBEET 1997-98 Annual Report (page 59) and the ARC 1998-99 Annual Report (page 53). These Annual Reports have been tabled in Parliament.

Following the machinery of Government changes in October 1998, the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business will provide a separate response covering the employment related functions for the period March 1996 to 17 February 2000.