{"id":"F2017L01145","name":"Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No.101 (August 2017)","slug":"federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":97032,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2017L01145-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Federal Financial Relations (General Pur","sectionType":"part","heading":"Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 101 (August 2017)","content":"# Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 101 (August 2017)","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"preliminary","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 101 (August 2017)

I, MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, make this determination under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR


Dated: 16 August 2017

\n```\n\n## Part 1 — preliminary\n\n### Name of determination\n\n This determination is the Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No.101 (August 2017).\n\n### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which it is made.\n\n### Determination\n\n 3. The amounts specified in the following table are to be paid to the States for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States.\n\n### Table: General Purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 August 2017\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$51,983,498.95

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,296,804.93

Northern Territory

$1,842,517.91

Total

$57,122,821.79

\n```","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"Name of determination","sectionType":"division","heading":"Name of determination","content":"### Name of determination\n\n This determination is the Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No.101 (August 2017).","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"Commencement","sectionType":"division","heading":"Commencement","content":"### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which it is made.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Determination","sectionType":"division","heading":"Determination","content":"### Determination\n\n 3. The amounts specified in the following table are to be paid to the States for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"Table: General Purpose financial assista","sectionType":"division","heading":"Table: General Purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 August 2017","content":"### Table: General Purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 August 2017\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$51,983,498.95

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,296,804.93

Northern Territory

$1,842,517.91

Total

$57,122,821.79

\n```","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"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":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Determination does not broaden the statutory scheme; it operates within the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 by specifying amounts and a payment date for general purpose financial assistance. It is a routine allocation instrument rather than a policy expansion — it allocates cash to recipient governments but does not change eligibility rules, the purpose of the GPFA power, or impose new conditions. Therefore the scope of the legislative scheme is not changed by this Determination."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (3 operative clauses plus a payment table)","No interpretation/definitions section","Single, explicit cross-reference: made under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009","One conditional element only: commencement is immediate (clause 2)","Payment table is straightforward (states listed with amounts), limited number of non-zero entries (3 jurisdictions)","No nested exceptions or conditional schedules"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- This Determination (made under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009) directs the Commonwealth to pay a single round of general purpose financial assistance (GPFA) to the States and Territories on 21 August 2017. (See the signature block and clause 3 and the table.)\n- Clause 2 says the Determination starts on the day it is made.\n- Clause 3 and the attached table list the amounts to be paid to each State or Territory. Only Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are allocated positive amounts in this payment cycle: Western Australia $51,983,498.95; Australian Capital Territory $3,296,804.93; Northern Territory $1,842,517.91; total $57,122,821.79. All other States are shown with a dash (no payment specified) in this table.\n\nWho it affects\n\n- The Commonwealth (through the Treasurer/Assistant Minister who makes the Determination) — the Commonwealth pays the listed amounts.\n- The recipient State and Territory treasuries — WA, ACT and NT receive the amounts listed and may use them as general purpose assistance (no specific program conditions are set out in this Determination).\n- Other States — they are not assigned an amount in this payment round.\n\nWhy it matters (stated purpose and practical effect)\n\n- The Determination's stated purpose is to provide general purpose financial assistance to the States (clauses 1–3 and the table). In practice that means transferring Commonwealth funds into State/Territory budgets without program-specific conditions attached in this instrument.\n- Mechanically this changes the cash available to the listed recipient governments on the payment date. That cash can be used by those governments according to their own budget priorities.\n\nPractical implications, costs and incentives\n\n- Who pays and who decides: the Commonwealth pays the amounts; the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer (acting under the Federal Financial Relations Act) makes the Determination. (Header and clause 3.)\n- Concentrated benefits: three jurisdictions receive the total payment. The monetary benefits are concentrated (large amount to WA in particular) while other States receive nothing in this particular payment.\n- Diffuse costs: the Commonwealth budget bears the cost of the transfer (total $57,122,821.79). Those funds are diverted from other federal spending priorities (opportunity cost borne by the Commonwealth).\n- Behavioural effects: recipients gain additional fiscal headroom to adjust public expenditure or reduce borrowing. Because the Determination describes the payment as \"general purpose financial assistance,\" there are no payment-specific directions in this instrument constraining how recipients spend the money; therefore the instrument preserves State budgetary discretion.\n- Implementation and compliance burden: minimal. This is an administrative payment schedule; the Determination does not create new reporting or compliance obligations for recipients beyond normal fiscal processes.\n- Risk of capture or rent-seeking: not evident on the face of the instrument. The Determination merely specifies payment amounts and dates. Any political or lobbying dynamics that produced the amounts are outside the text and are not legislatively altered here.\n\nTrade-offs and opportunity costs\n\n- The trade-off is between delivering cash to specific jurisdictions (concentrated benefit) and the Commonwealth's use of that cash (reduced availability for alternative federal spending). There is no conditional policy lever in the Determination to steer how the funds are used at State level.\n\nOther observations under an economic lens\n\n- Effects on private enterprise and competition: indirect. Because funds are general purpose, any effect on private enterprise will flow from how recipient governments allocate the money (e.g. capital projects, service delivery, tax settings). This Determination does not itself direct specific market interventions.\n- Predictability and transparency: the instrument is a routine, itemised payment schedule. It records the payment date and itemised amounts, so it is transparent about the cash flow for that specific payment round.\n\nSource citation\n\n- Made under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (signature block).\n- Commencement: clause 2.\n- Payment schedule and amounts: clause 3 and the table headed \"General Purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 August 2017.\"\n\nSummary in one sentence\n\n- This is a short administrative Determination that instructs the Commonwealth to pay $57,122,821.79 in general purpose financial assistance on 21 August 2017, allocated to Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, and does not impose conditions on how those recipients must spend the funds."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination serves exactly its original intended purpose under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 — to specify amounts of general purpose financial assistance to be paid to states. It has not expanded beyond this narrow, technical function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short instrument — only 3 operative sections","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the empowering provision (subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Single purpose: specify dollar amounts for payment","Table format makes the substantive content immediately readable"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial determination authorises $57.1 million in untied Commonwealth general-purpose grants paid on 21 August 2017 under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. It allocates $51.98m to Western Australia, $3.30m to the ACT and $1.84m to the Northern Territory (other states receive none). The payment is part of Australia’s horizontal fiscal equalisation—redistributing GST-derived revenue so jurisdictions with weaker revenue bases can provide comparable public services."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017","history":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-101-august-2017/documents"}}