{"id":"F2020L00132","name":"Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 131 (January 2020)","slug":"federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":100691,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2020L00132-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. 131 (January 2020)","content":"# Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 131 (January 2020)","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"preliminary","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 131 (January 2020)

I, Michael Sukkar, Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer, make this determination under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

Michael Sukkar

Dated: 15 January 2020

\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. 131 (January 2020).\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 January 2020\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$67,849,463.19

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,389,761.64

Northern Territory

-

Total

$71,239,224.83

\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. 131 (January 2020).","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 January 2020","content":"### Table: General purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 January 2020\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$67,849,463.19

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,389,761.64

Northern Territory

-

Total

$71,239,224.83

\n```","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination serves exactly its original purpose under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 — to specify amounts of general purpose financial assistance to be paid to states. It is a routine, time-limited payment authorisation that does not expand beyond the statutory framework."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document — only 3 operative provisions","No defined terms in an interpretation 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","Straightforward tabular format for payment amounts","Single purpose: authorising specific dollar amounts to specific recipients"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial determination authorises the Commonwealth to pay $71,239,224.83 in untied general purpose financial assistance on 21 January 2020: $67,849,463.19 to Western Australia and $3,389,761.64 to the Australian Capital Territory (other jurisdictions receive nothing in this round).\n\nIt affects state/territory governments (who may spend the funds as they choose) and federal taxpayers, and is a routine fiscal‑federal payment under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination is a routine, transaction‑specific instrument that implements an existing statutory power to make general purpose payments. It does not expand the statutory scheme, add new conditionality, or change the types of payments authorised by the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. Its scope is consistent with the original purpose of that Act (authorising Commonwealth financial assistance to States); this instrument simply specifies amounts and a payment date for a particular instalment."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument: 3 operative clauses (name, commencement, determination) plus a single table","Single external cross‑reference: authorising power under Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 s 9(1)","Single table listing recipients and dollar amounts (numeric values for 2 jurisdictions only)","No defined terms, no conditional logic, no nested exceptions","Minor duplication/repetition of headings in the provided text (cosmetic, not legal complexity)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this document does (mechanically)**\n\n- It is a ministerial determination that instructs the Commonwealth to pay specified amounts of general purpose financial assistance (GPFA) to particular jurisdictions on a stated payment date. (Made under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, s 9(1); see determination heading.)\n- The determination starts on the day it is made (clause 2) and specifies the amounts and recipient States/Territories in a table for payment on 21 January 2020 (clause 3 and the table).\n\n**Who it affects**\n\n- Recipients: Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory are the only jurisdictions listed to receive non‑zero amounts in this instrument: Western Australia $67,849,463.19; Australian Capital Territory $3,389,761.64. The other States and the Northern Territory are listed with a “-” (nil) for this payment. Total specified: $71,239,224.83 (clause 3 and the table).\n- Payer/decision‑maker: the Commonwealth (the Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer at signature) exercises power under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (s 9(1)) to make the payment determination.\n\n**Why it matters (practical effect)**\n\n- It triggers a lump Commonwealth transfer of general purpose funds to the listed jurisdictions on the stated date. These are unconditional (general purpose) payments; the recipients decide how to use the funds.\n- Budgetary impact is concentrated: most of the money in this particular determination is directed to Western Australia, with a much smaller amount to the ACT. Other jurisdictions receive nothing from this particular scheduled payment.\n\n**How the mechanism works**\n\n- The Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 authorises the Minister to make determinations setting amounts to be paid as GPFA (s 9(1)). This instrument is one such determination and contains: a name (clause 1), a commencement rule (clause 2), and the payment instruction (clause 3 and table). Once made and on the scheduled date, Treasury/finance officials effect the transfer.\n\n**Incentives, costs and trade‑offs**\n\n- Who pays and who benefits: the Commonwealth pays; the specified recipients gain spending capacity.\n- Incentives for recipients: because these are general purpose payments, recipients have discretion over spending choices (clause 3 and table). The instrument does not impose conditions on use.\n- Concentrated benefits and opportunity cost: the bulk of this payment benefits Western Australia (see table). The Commonwealth budgetary resources used here are not available for alternative Commonwealth programs; the determination does not change tax rules or introduce new conditional programs.\n- Administrative and compliance burden: minimal. The determination simply authorises payment amounts; it does not impose new reporting or program delivery duties on States in this text.\n- Implementation risk and discretion: low. The determination is a numeric instruction to pay; operational execution is routine for finance agencies. The substantive discretion over how funds are spent rests with the States/ACT, not the Commonwealth in this instrument.\n\n**Source‑grounded summary**\n\n- The instrument performs a single, specific fiscal function: schedule and authorise GPFA amounts for payment on 21 January 2020 (clause 3 and the attached table), and it relies on the authority granted by the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (s 9(1)).\n\n(References in text: clause 1 name of determination; clause 2 commencement; clause 3 determination; table: amounts and recipients; authorising statute: Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 s 9(1).)"},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020","history":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-131-january-2020/documents"}}