{"id":"C2004A00502","name":"A New Tax System (Managing the GST Rate and Base) Act 1999","slug":"a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"110 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":38552,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00502-1775056477677","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the A New Tax System (Managing the GST Rate and Base) Act 1999.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  (1) This Act commences at the later of:\n    (a) the start of the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent; and\n    (b) the start of the day after the last day on which any of the following receive the Royal Assent:\n    (i) the GST Act; and\n    (iii) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Administration) Act 1999.\n  (2) To avoid doubt, this Act does not commence unless all of the Acts mentioned in subsection (1) have received the Royal Assent","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Outline of Act","content":"#### 3 Outline of Act\n\nThis Act deals with circumstances in which the rate of the GST and the GST base can be altered.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> GST has the same meaning as in the GST Act.\n\n> GST Act means the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\n> GST Imposition Acts mean:\n\n    (a) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition—Customs) Act 1999;\n    (b) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition—Excise) Act 1999;\n    (c) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition—General) Act 1999;\n    (d) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—Customs) Act 2005;\n    (e) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—Excise) Act 2005;\n    (f) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Act 2005.\n\n> State includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Changing the rate and base of GST","content":"## Part 3—Changing the rate and base of GST","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Changing the rate and base of GST","content":"#### 11 Changing the rate and base of GST\n\n  (1) The rate of the GST, and the GST base, are not to be changed unless each State agrees to the change. Such changes to the GST base should be consistent with:\n    (a) maintaining the integrity of the GST base; and\n    (b) administrative simplicity; and\n    (c) minimising compliance costs for taxpayers.\n  (2) In particular, but without limiting subsection (1), a Minister may only make a determination under the GST Act, or the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Transition) Act 1999, that affects the GST base if the determination is made in accordance with a procedure to which all of the States have agreed.\n  (3) This section does not apply to the changes to the GST base that are contained in legislation introduced, or regulations or other instruments made, before 1 July 2001 if the changes are:\n    (a) of an administrative nature; and\n    (b) necessary to facilitate minor adjustments to the GST; and\n    (c) made having regard to the need to protect the revenue of the States.\n  (4) Also, this section does not apply to later changes to the GST base if the changes are of an administrative nature and are approved by a majority of the Commonwealth and the States.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 12 Definitions\n\n  (1) In this Part:\n\n> rate of the GST is the rate of tax specified in the GST Imposition Acts.\n\n  (2) A change is of an administrative nature only if the change is necessary to:\n    (a) maintain the integrity of the GST base; or\n    (b) prevent tax avoidance.","sortOrder":7}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains narrowly focused on its original purpose: creating a unanimous-consent requirement for changes to the GST rate and base, with limited carve-outs for minor administrative adjustments. There is no evidence of scope creep — the legislation does exactly what its outline (section 3) says it does, and no more."},"complexity_factors":["Requires understanding of the broader GST legislative framework (multiple related Acts are referenced and incorporated by definition)","The distinction between 'administrative' changes and substantive changes to the GST base requires careful reading and legal judgment","Intergovernmental agreement requirements introduce a layer of federalism complexity not apparent on the face of the statute","The transitional exception (pre-1 July 2001) is now spent/historical but adds interpretive context","The definitions section splits between Part 1 and Part 3, which can cause confusion","The Act is deliberately sparse — its real effect depends heavily on other legislation (the GST Act, GST Imposition Acts, etc.) that must be read alongside it"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act locks Australia’s GST system by requiring every State and Territory to agree before the GST rate or the range of goods and services subject to GST can be changed, preventing the Commonwealth from unilaterally altering the tax.  \n\nOnly limited administrative tweaks can be made without full unanimity—minor early rollout adjustments and ongoing technical changes with a majority—so consumers, businesses, states and the federal government face high political barriers to changing the GST."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's operative rule — that changes to the GST rate or base require State agreement subject to narrow administrative exceptions — aligns with the Act's stated purpose (s3). The text does not broaden or narrow that core scope beyond the stated object; it instead sets decision-making and procedural constraints."},"complexity_factors":["Unanimous State agreement requirement for changes to GST rate or base (s11(1))","Ministerial determinations that alter the GST base must follow a procedure agreed by all States (s11(2))","Exceptions for early changes and later administrative changes approved by majority introduce conditional carve-outs (s11(3)–(4))","Narrow statutory definition of an \"administrative\" change — tied to maintaining base integrity or preventing avoidance — limits what qualifies (s12(2))","Cross-references to multiple GST Acts and GST Imposition Acts increase statutory interdependence (s4; definition of GST Imposition Acts)","Commencement linked to Royal Assent timing of other GST Acts creates a coordination/timing dependency (s2)","Phrases like \"procedure to which all of the States have agreed\" and \"necessary to facilitate minor adjustments\" leave scope and implementation detail to political/administrative processes, creating practical uncertainty"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act requires unanimous agreement of all States before the GST rate or the taxable GST base can be changed. Ministerial adjustments that affect the base must follow a procedure agreed by all States, with narrow exceptions for purely administrative tweaks.\n\nIt affects the Commonwealth, State governments, ministers and taxpayers by shifting decision-making power to States, constraining unilateral changes and affecting state revenue certainty, compliance burdens and policy coordination costs."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing procedural requirements for GST rate and base changes. The scope has not expanded beyond this narrow gatekeeping function."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 defined terms in the interpretation section (s.4)","Single operative provision (s.11) with straightforward conditional logic","Limited cross-referencing — only refers to the GST Act and related imposition acts","Two simple exceptions in subsections (3) and (4) with clear criteria","Short statute — approximately 12 sections total based on structure shown","No nested definitions or recursive cross-references","Plain language drafting with minimal technical tax terminology"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets the rules for changing Australia's Goods and Services Tax (GST) — the 10% tax on most goods and services.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Locks in the GST rate and base**: The law makes it very hard to change either the GST rate (currently 10%) or what gets taxed (the \"base\"). Every single State and Territory must agree before any change can happen.\n- **Sets conditions for changes**: Even if States agree, changes must meet three tests: they must protect the tax system from abuse (integrity), be simple to administer, and not create red tape for businesses.\n- **Creates limited exceptions**: Some minor administrative tweaks can happen without unanimous State agreement if they fix technical problems or stop tax dodging. Changes made before July 2001 also get some leeway.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **State and Territory governments**: They hold a veto over GST changes, giving them enormous power in federal tax negotiations.\n- **The Federal Government**: Cannot unilaterally change the GST — must negotiate with all States.\n- **Taxpayers and businesses**: Benefit from stability — the GST rate and rules can't shift suddenly without broad consensus.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law is the reason Australia still has a 10% GST more than 20 years after introduction. It effectively requires a unanimous agreement among all governments to raise, lower, or broaden the tax. This makes major GST reform politically extremely difficult — any single State can block changes, even if the Federal Government and all other States want them."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999","history":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-managing-the-gst-rate-and-base-act-1999/documents"}}