{"id":"F2020L00583","name":"Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 135 (May 2020)","slug":"federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":100127,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2020L00583-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. 135 (may 2020)","content":"# Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 135 (may 2020)","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"preliminary","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 135 (may 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: 14 May 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. 135 (May 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 May 2020\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$50,197,874.04

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,389,761.64

Northern Territory

-

Total

$53,587,635.68

\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. 135 (May 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 May 2020","content":"### Table: General purpose financial assistance for payment on 21 May 2020\n\n```html\n

State

Amount of General purpose financial assistance

New South Wales

-

Victoria

-

Queensland

-

Western Australia

$50,197,874.04

South Australia

-

Tasmania

-

Australian Capital Territory

$3,389,761.64

Northern Territory

-

Total

$53,587,635.68

\n```","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination stays within the established, narrow function of this type of instrument: specifying amounts and a payment date under the statutory power to make general purpose financial assistance payments. It does not broaden the legal scope (no new conditions, new classes of recipients, or new policy rules); it only allocates a particular payment to particular jurisdictions."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (commencement clause + single substantive clause + payment table)","Single cross-reference to the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (subsection 9(1))","No defined terms or interpretation section beyond ordinary headings","One conditional element only (commences on day made)","Simple payment table with 2 non-zero entries and a total","Duplicated headings in the supplied text (formatting duplication) but no substantive conditional logic"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- This is a Ministerial determination made under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The Minister certifies specific dollar amounts that the Commonwealth will pay to States and Territories as \"general purpose financial assistance\" (unconditional grants).\n\n- It takes effect on the day it is made (section 2) and identifies the payment schedule for a single payment date: 21 May 2020 (section 3 and the accompanying table).\n\n- The table in the determination lists recipients and amounts. For this payment the amounts are shown only for Western Australia ($50,197,874.04) and the Australian Capital Territory ($3,389,761.64). The total for the payment is $53,587,635.68.\n\nWho pays, who receives, and what changes in behaviour\n\n- Who pays: the Commonwealth (the federal government) funds the payment.\n- Who receives: the listed States/Territories — here Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory — which receive unconditional (general purpose) financial assistance they can allocate at their discretion.\n- Behaviour change: the practical effect is an inflow of Commonwealth cash to the receiving State/Territory budgets. Those governments decide how to spend it; there are no conditions in this instrument that dictate specific uses.\n\nWhy it matters (official purpose and practical implications)\n\n- The determination implements the Federal Financial Relations Act power to make one-off or routine payments to States and Territories. The stated procedural purpose is to specify amounts and payment timing so the Commonwealth may make the grant.\n\n- In practical terms this moves Commonwealth spending authority into sub‑national budgets. That shifts fiscal resources and therefore the capacity of the receiving jurisdictions to deliver services, invest, or reallocate other funding.\n\nCosts, incentives and trade-offs (testing the purpose-claim)\n\n- Cost bearer: the fiscal cost is borne by the Commonwealth budget (ultimately taxpayers) in the amount shown ($53.59m total for this payment). The burden is diffuse (across Commonwealth taxpayers) while the benefit is concentrated in the listed jurisdictions.\n\n- Concentrated benefit: only WA and the ACT are listed as recipients for this payment date, so the direct fiscal benefit is concentrated rather than evenly distributed across all States and Territories.\n\n- Incentives and substitution: because these are unconditional grants, recipients have discretion to reallocate their own spending. The payment could substitute for other State revenue or free up State funds for different uses. The instrument does not direct or constrain those choices (see section 3 and the table).\n\n- Administrative and compliance costs: minimal. The determination is a short administrative act specifying amounts and a payment date. Implementation risk is low — the mechanics are straightforward (authorization and payment processing).\n\nImplementation and discretion\n\n- Who decides: the Minister makes the determination under the statutory power (the instrument records it was made by the Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer pursuant to s 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009).\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion: this instrument exercises ministerial discretion to specify recipients and amounts for a payment. It does not create ongoing new rules or conditions; it is a single exercise of the power to authorise payment.\n\nBottom line\n\n- This determination is a narrowly focused administrative instrument that authorises a single general-purpose Commonwealth grant payment on 21 May 2020, totalling $53,587,635.68, and payable to Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. It does not change policy settings or impose conditions on how recipients use the funds (see sections 2–3 and the payment table)."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination performs exactly the function intended by the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 — authorising specific GST revenue sharing and general purpose assistance payments to states. It has not expanded beyond this original purpose; it is a routine, narrow administrative instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document — only 3 operative provisions plus a payment table","No defined terms section; all language is plain and self-explanatory","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 instrument: specifies amounts, commencement date, and nothing else","Payment table is straightforward with explicit dollar amounts for each jurisdiction"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial determination, made under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, authorises the Commonwealth to pay general purpose financial assistance to states and territories — funds for budget support rather than tied projects. It directs $50,197,874.04 to Western Australia and $3,389,761.64 to the ACT, total $53,587,635.68, payable 21 May 2020.\n\nThe payment fits Australia’s horizontal fiscal equalisation framework and operated as a ministerial instruction to Treasury to transfer these specific amounts."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020","history":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-general-purpose-financial-assistance-determination-no-135-may-2020/documents"}}