The purpose of Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS) is to inform senators and members of parliament of the proposed allocation of resources to government outcomes by agencies within the relevant portfolio.

Agencies receive resources from the annual appropriations Acts, special appropriations (including standing appropriations and special accounts), and revenue from other sources.

A key role of the PBS is to facilitate the understanding of proposed annual appropriations in Appropriation Bills No. 1 and No. 2. The PBS are Budget‑related papers and are declared by the Appropriation Bills to be 'relevant documents' to the interpretation of the Acts according to section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

The PBS provides information, explanation and justification to enable parliament to understand the purpose of each outcome proposed in the bills.

As required under section 12 of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998, non-general government sector entities are not consolidated into the Commonwealth general government sector fiscal estimates and accordingly, these entities are not reported in the PBS.

Timing: Tabled in Parliament on Budget night at approximately 8:30 pm