{"id":"F2018L00468","name":"Federal Financial Relations (National Health Reform Payments) Determination 2015-16","slug":"federal-financial-relations-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":99998,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L00468-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Federal Financial Relations (National He","sectionType":"part","heading":"Federal Financial Relations (National Health Reform PAYMENTS) Determination 2015-16","content":"# Federal Financial Relations (National Health Reform PAYMENTS) Determination 2015\\-16","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"preliminary","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (National Health Reform PAYMENTS) Determination 2015-16

I, SCOTT JOHN MORRISON, Treasurer, make this Determination under subsection 15A(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

SCOTT JOHN MORRISON


Dated: 5 April 2018

\n```\n\n## Part 1 — preliminary\n\n### Name of Determination\n\n This determination is the Federal Financial Relations (National Health Reform Payments) Determination 2015\\-16.\n\n### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which it is made.\n\n### Definitions\n\n 3. The following definitions are used throughout this determination:\n\nAdministrator means the Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool.\n\nFFR Act means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.\n\nIHPA means the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.\n\nState includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.\n\n## PArt 2 — National Health Reform PAYMENTS\n\n 4. Under the National Health Reform Agreement, national health reform funding arrangements commenced from 1 July 2012. From 2014-15, Commonwealth funding for most public hospital services is calculated on an activity basis where funding varies in response to efficient growth in public hospital services.\n 5. For 2015\\-16, Clause A3 of the National Health Reform Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will fund 45 per cent of the efficient growth in activity based services. Efficient growth consists of the national efficient price for any changes in the volume of services provided and the growth in the national efficient price of providing the existing volume of services.\n 6. Where services or functions are more appropriately funded through block grants and for teaching, training and research, Clause A4 of the National Health Reform Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will fund 45 per cent of growth in the efficient cost of providing the services or performing the functions.\n 7. In accordance with the functions of the Administrator under paragraph 238(1)(a) of the National Health Reform Act 2011, the Administrator calculated and advised the amounts required to be paid by the Commonwealth into each State Pool Account of the National Health Funding Pool under the National Health Reform Agreement.\n 8. In accordance with subsection 226(1) of the National Health Reform Act 2011 the Commonwealth Minister for Health issued a direction to the IHPA in relation to a number of changes to the classification, counting and scope of non-admitted activity in 2014-15 and 2015-16.\n 9. In response to the Commonwealth Minister for Health’s direction the IHPA published a statement that included matters relevant to the amounts required to be paid to States in accordance with the National Health Reform Agreement.\n 10. Having regard to the Administrator’s advice and the IHPA statement on matters relevant to the amounts required to be paid to the States under the National Health Reform Agreement, in accordance with subsection 15A(1) of the FFR Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid for the 2015\\-16 financial year to the States specified in that table.\n\n### Table 1: National health reform payments, 2015\\-16\n\n```html\n

State

National health reform payments

New South Wales

$5,349,009,853.05

Victoria

$4,244,207,872.46

Queensland

$3,707,009,810.39

Western Australia

$1,951,756,566.17

South Australia

$1,239,264,249.03

Tasmania

$366,292,568.83

Australian Capital Territory

$340,685,421.23

Northern Territory

$204,317,501.10

Total

$17,402,543,842.27

\n```\n\n 11. In accordance with subsection 15A(3) of the FFR Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid to the States on condition that the financial assistance is spent in accordance with the National Health Reform Agreement.","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 (National Health Reform Payments) Determination 2015\\-16.","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":"Definitions","sectionType":"division","heading":"Definitions","content":"### Definitions\n\n 3. The following definitions are used throughout this determination:\n\nAdministrator means the Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool.\n\nFFR Act means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.\n\nIHPA means the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.\n\nState includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"PArt 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"National Health Reform PAYMENTS","content":"## PArt 2 — National Health Reform PAYMENTS\n\n 4. Under the National Health Reform Agreement, national health reform funding arrangements commenced from 1 July 2012. From 2014-15, Commonwealth funding for most public hospital services is calculated on an activity basis where funding varies in response to efficient growth in public hospital services.\n 5. For 2015\\-16, Clause A3 of the National Health Reform Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will fund 45 per cent of the efficient growth in activity based services. Efficient growth consists of the national efficient price for any changes in the volume of services provided and the growth in the national efficient price of providing the existing volume of services.\n 6. Where services or functions are more appropriately funded through block grants and for teaching, training and research, Clause A4 of the National Health Reform Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will fund 45 per cent of growth in the efficient cost of providing the services or performing the functions.\n 7. In accordance with the functions of the Administrator under paragraph 238(1)(a) of the National Health Reform Act 2011, the Administrator calculated and advised the amounts required to be paid by the Commonwealth into each State Pool Account of the National Health Funding Pool under the National Health Reform Agreement.\n 8. In accordance with subsection 226(1) of the National Health Reform Act 2011 the Commonwealth Minister for Health issued a direction to the IHPA in relation to a number of changes to the classification, counting and scope of non-admitted activity in 2014-15 and 2015-16.\n 9. In response to the Commonwealth Minister for Health’s direction the IHPA published a statement that included matters relevant to the amounts required to be paid to States in accordance with the National Health Reform Agreement.\n 10. Having regard to the Administrator’s advice and the IHPA statement on matters relevant to the amounts required to be paid to the States under the National Health Reform Agreement, in accordance with subsection 15A(1) of the FFR Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid for the 2015\\-16 financial year to the States specified in that table.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"Table 1: National health reform payments","sectionType":"division","heading":"Table 1: National health reform payments, 2015-16","content":"### Table 1: National health reform payments, 2015\\-16\n\n```html\n

State

National health reform payments

New South Wales

$5,349,009,853.05

Victoria

$4,244,207,872.46

Queensland

$3,707,009,810.39

Western Australia

$1,951,756,566.17

South Australia

$1,239,264,249.03

Tasmania

$366,292,568.83

Australian Capital Territory

$340,685,421.23

Northern Territory

$204,317,501.10

Total

$17,402,543,842.27

\n```\n\n 11. In accordance with subsection 15A(3) of the FFR Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid to the States on condition that the financial assistance is spent in accordance with the National Health Reform Agreement.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"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: specifying annual financial assistance grants to states for a particular purpose (health reform). The scope has not expanded beyond the original statutory framework."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (Administrator, FFR Act, IHPA, State)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic — just a straightforward payment table with a single spending condition","Minimal cross-referencing: only references to external agreements (National Health Reform Agreement) and parent legislation (Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, National Health Reform Act 2011) for context, not operational complexity","Single operative provision: Table 1 specifies exact dollar amounts with no formulas or calculations required within the instrument itself","Short length: approximately 11 substantive paragraphs plus one payment table","No temporal complexities or sunset clauses — operates for a single financial year only"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **budgetary determination** made by the Treasurer (Scott Morrison) that sets out exactly how much federal money each Australian state and territory receives for public hospitals in the 2015-16 financial year.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Authorises **$17.4 billion** in Commonwealth payments to states and territories for public hospital services\n- Distributes this money based on a formula tied to the **National Health Reform Agreement** — an intergovernmental deal about how hospitals are funded\n\n**How the money is calculated:**\n- For most hospital services: The Commonwealth pays **45% of \"efficient growth\"** — meaning if states provide more hospital services or costs rise, the federal government covers nearly half of that increase\n- For teaching, research, and some specialised services: Also **45% of growth**, but paid as block grants (fixed amounts rather than per-service payments)\n\n**Who gets what (2015-16):**\n- **New South Wales**: $5.35 billion\n- **Victoria**: $4.24 billion \n- **Queensland**: $3.71 billion\n- **Western Australia**: $1.95 billion\n- **South Australia**: $1.24 billion\n- **Tasmania**: $366 million\n- **Australian Capital Territory**: $341 million\n- **Northern Territory**: $204 million\n\n**The catch:** States must spend this money according to the National Health Reform Agreement rules. The amounts were calculated by the **Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool** (an independent body that oversees hospital funding) and take into account advice from the **Independent Hospital Pricing Authority** (which sets the prices for hospital services).\n\n**Why it matters:** This is the legal instrument that actually transfers billions of taxpayer dollars from Canberra to the states to keep public hospitals running. Without this determination, the money can't flow."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Determination implements and records the specific Commonwealth payment amounts for the 2015–16 financial year under the National Health Reform Agreement; it does not amend or expand the Agreement’s substantive rules. It relies on the Administrator’s calculations and IHPA statements to set the figures and attaches the existing NHRA spending condition to the payments (clauses 4–11 and Table 1)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple external instruments (National Health Reform Agreement Clauses A3/A4, Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, National Health Reform Act 2011) increase legal cross‑linking (clauses 4–9, introductory paragraph).","Dependency on technical calculations and classifications performed by third parties (Administrator and IHPA), rather than the Determination itself doing the arithmetic (clause 7; clauses 8–9).","A large monetary schedule (Table 1) listing payments to multiple jurisdictions requires accuracy and creates fiscal significance.","A conditionality clause tying payments to compliance with the National Health Reform Agreement imposes administrative and reporting burdens on recipients (clause 11).","Repetition and formatting in the instrument increase reading effort but do not add legal complexity (document contains duplicated text blocks)."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this Determination does, simply\n\n- This is a Treasurer-made instrument that sets the dollar amounts the Commonwealth will pay to each State under the National Health Reform arrangements for the 2015–16 financial year (see the opening and Table 1). The Treasurer made the Determination under subsection 15A(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (introductory paragraph).\n\n- The Determination lists specific payments to each State (including the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory) and a total for 2015–16 in Table 1. The total specified is $17,402,543,842.27 (Table 1).\n\n### Who pays, who gets paid, and who decides the amounts\n\n- The payer is the Commonwealth (the instrument implements Commonwealth funding under the National Health Reform Agreement) (clauses 4–6).\n\n- The recipients are the States and Territories; payments are to be made into each State Pool Account of the National Health Funding Pool (clause 7 and Table 1).\n\n- The Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool calculated and advised the amounts to be paid (clause 7). The Treasurer formalised those amounts by making this Determination under the Federal Financial Relations Act (introductory paragraph and clause 10).\n\n- The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) and the Commonwealth Minister for Health also influenced the amounts through changes to how some hospital activity was classified and counted; the Minister directed the IHPA, and the IHPA published a statement relevant to the payment amounts (clauses 8–9).\n\n### On what basis the money is calculated\n\n- The Determination relies on the National Health Reform Agreement’s rules for Commonwealth contributions. For 2015–16 the Agreement provided that the Commonwealth would fund 45% of the efficient growth in activity‑based services (Clause A3) and 45% of growth in the efficient cost for block‑funded services such as teaching, training and research (Clause A4). The Determination therefore implements payments reflecting those bases (clauses 4–6).\n\n### Conditions attached and expected behaviour changes\n\n- The Commonwealth payments are conditional: the amounts in Table 1 are payable only if the financial assistance is spent in accordance with the National Health Reform Agreement (clause 11). That condition requires States to use the funds in ways that meet the Agreement’s rules and reporting expectations.\n\n- Mechanically, this creates an incentive for States to ensure their spending, activity counting and reporting align with the Agreement and with the IHPA classifications that affect activity counts (clauses 5–6 and 8–9).\n\n### Implementation mechanics, incentives and trade‑offs to note\n\n- Decision and calculation chain: the Administrator calculates the needed amounts (clause 7); the IHPA’s classification decisions (in response to a ministerial direction) can change the underlying activity counts that feed those calculations (clauses 8–9); the Treasurer makes the legal Determination putting the figures into effect (introductory paragraph and clause 10). Each step is a point where numbers can change.\n\n- Incentive structure: payments are tied to measured ‘efficient growth’ and to changes in the national efficient price for services (clause 5). That ties Commonwealth contribution to measured activity and price changes rather than fixed nominal sums.\n\n- Compliance burden and administrative work: States must satisfy the National Health Reform Agreement conditions to receive funds (clause 11). They therefore carry the reporting, accounting and service‑classification tasks necessary to demonstrate compliance with the Agreement and with IHPA classifications (clauses 8–9 and clause 11).\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion and dependency: the Determination depends on technical inputs and judgments outside the Treasurer — notably the Administrator’s calculations and IHPA statements (clauses 7–9). If those inputs change, payment figures may change in practice for other years or require updated determinations.\n\n- Opportunity costs and budget effects: the instrument converts an administrative calculation into firm Commonwealth payments for 2015–16. Making these payments commits Commonwealth funds for that year that are therefore not available for alternative Commonwealth uses (clauses 4–7 and Table 1).\n\n- Potential for substitution or reclassification effects: changes to how activity is classified or counted (the IHPA matter described at clauses 8–9) can alter the measured activity or costs that determine payments, so classification choices have direct fiscal consequences.\n\n### Where to look in the Determination for these points\n\n- Definitions explaining key actors: clause 3 (Administrator, IHPA, State, FFR Act).\n- Funding approach and percentage basis: clauses 4–6 (reference to Clause A3 and A4 of the National Health Reform Agreement).\n- Who calculated the amounts: clause 7 (Administrator’s role).\n- Ministerial direction and IHPA action that affected amounts: clauses 8–9.\n- Legal effect and payment schedule: clause 10 and Table 1.\n- Condition on use of funds: clause 11.\n\nThis Determination does not itself change the National Health Reform Agreement or the pricing/classification rules; it implements the Administrator’s advised amounts and records the payments and their conditionality for 2015–16 (clauses 7, 10–11)."},"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-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16","history":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16/history","analysis":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-health-reform-payments-determination-2015-16/documents"}}