{"id":"F2018L01440","name":"Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 115 (September 2018)","slug":"federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":98120,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L01440-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. 115 (September 2018)","content":"# Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 115 (September 2018)","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"preliminary","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 115 (September 2018)

I, ZED SESELJA, Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance, make this determination under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

ZED SESELJA


Dated: 19 September 2018

\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. 115 (September 2018).\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 September 2018\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$87,316,690.68

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,342,960.20

Northern Territory

-

Total

$90,659,650.88

\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. 115 (September 2018).","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 September 2018","content":"### Table: General purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 September 2018\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$87,316,690.68

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,342,960.20

Northern Territory

-

Total

$90,659,650.88

\n```","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination serves its original narrow purpose: authorising a specific payment of general purpose financial assistance to specific states on a specific date. There is no evidence of scope creep — it does exactly what the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 enables, which is to make determinations about GST and general purpose payments."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document — only 3 operative provisions","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the enabling provision (subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009)","Simple tabular format for payment amounts","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Straightforward commencement provision (commences on date of making)"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial determination authorises a single Commonwealth general-purpose payment of $90,659,650.88 on 21 September 2018, allocated only to Western Australia ($87,316,690.68) and the Australian Capital Territory ($3,342,960.20).\n\nIt affects state and territory governments (WA and ACT recipients) and federal taxpayers, illustrating how the Commonwealth redistributes tax revenue through untied grants to meet jurisdictional fiscal needs."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not change or expand the statutory scheme of general purpose financial assistance. It is a routine, transaction-level determination that specifies payment amounts and a payment date under the existing authority of subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. It implements a single scheduled transfer and therefore does not materially broaden the scope of the policy beyond its original purpose of making GPFA payments to States/Territories."},"complexity_factors":["Very short: 3 operative paragraphs/sections (name, commencement, determination) plus a single payments table","Single cross-reference to Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (subsection 9(1)) in preamble — limited statutory cross‑referencing","Simple conditionality: none (no eligibility tests, no conditions on use, fixed payment date)","Table lists payments for 8 jurisdictions but only 2 positive monetary entries — limited branching logic","Numeric precision (cents) but no formulae or definitions to interpret those numbers","Document repeats header material and table blocks, which adds visual duplication but no additional legal complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)**\n\n- This is a short statutory payment order made under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (cited in the preamble). It is titled the Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 115 (September 2018) (section 1). \n- It commences immediately when made (section 2). \n- It specifies the dollar amounts the Commonwealth will pay to particular States and Territories as a grant of \"general purpose financial assistance\" (GPFA) for payment on 21 September 2018 (section 3 and the accompanying table).\n\n**Who pays and who receives**\n\n- The payer is the Commonwealth (through the Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance acting under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, as recorded in the instrument). \n- The recipients are State and Territory governments listed in the table. For this particular payment the table lists payments only to Western Australia ($87,316,690.68) and the Australian Capital Territory ($3,342,960.20). All other States/Territories in the schedule show a dash (no payment) for this date. The total shown is $90,659,650.88.\n\n**What \"general purpose financial assistance\" means here**\n\n- The instrument implements a transfer of Commonwealth funds to State/Territory treasuries for general purpose use (that is, untied grants that the State/Territory can allocate within its own budget priorities). The determination itself does not impose conditions on how the receiving government must spend the money — it merely authorises the payment of the specified amounts (section 3 and the table).\n\n**Why it matters (practical effects and incentive/cost implications)**\n\n- State budgets: The recipient governments receive cash that they can use at their discretion. That reduces the need for those States/Territories to raise the same amount from their own revenue sources for that payment period.\n\n- Concentrated benefits, diffuse costs: Only Western Australia and the ACT receive money in this scheduled payment, so the immediate benefit is concentrated. The cost is borne from the federal budget (diffuse across Commonwealth taxpayers). The instrument does not explain the upstream funding source or the periodic formula used to calculate these amounts — it just lists the amounts to be paid (preamble and section 3).\n\n- Effect on private sector and competition: Indirect. The transfer affects State budgets and therefore can influence State-level spending decisions (procurement, investment, service delivery), which may in turn affect private firms that contract with State governments. The instrument does not create regulatory obligations on private firms or change market entry rules.\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion and implementation: This determination is highly prescriptive in practice — it fixes precise payment amounts and a payment date. Once made, administrative staff process the payment. The instrument itself gives very little room for ongoing bureaucratic discretion over this payment (the discretion to set amounts lies upstream with the decision-maker who made the determination under section 9(1) of the Act).\n\n- Compliance and reporting burden: Minimal for recipients. This is a one-line funding instrument: payment is made and recorded. Any accountability or reporting requirements would derive from broader Commonwealth or State financial management rules, not from this determination.\n\n**Costs, trade-offs and risks**\n\n- Opportunity cost: Commonwealth funds used here cannot be spent elsewhere; the instrument does not identify offsetting savings or revenue sources. \n- Timing and accuracy risk: The main operational risks are administrative (making the correct transfers on the listed date, ensuring payment reaches the correct State accounts). There are no compliance conditions attached that would complicate payments. \n- Potential for targeted or one-off allocations: Because the table may show payments only to certain jurisdictions, these determinations can concentrate short-term fiscal support. This feature can create lobbying incentives (concentrated beneficiaries) but the instrument itself does not describe the selection logic (see preamble referencing s9(1)).\n\n**Where to look in the instrument for the mechanics**\n\n- Name and authority: preamble and section 1. \n- Commencement: section 2 (commences on the day it is made). \n- Payment authority and amounts: section 3 and the table headed \"General purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 September 2018\".\n\n(Analyst note: this is a routine, transactional instrument that lists a single scheduled GPFA payment. The substantive policy parameters — how GPFA amounts are calculated across the year or the formulas in the Federal Financial Relations Act — are set outside this determination; this instrument implements the specific payment.)"},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018","history":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-115-september-2018/documents"}}