{"id":"F2017L00939","name":"Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership payments) Determination No. 121 (29 June 2017)","slug":"federal-financial-relations-national-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":96825,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2017L00939-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Federal Financial Relations (National Pa","sectionType":"part","heading":"Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership Payments) Determination No. 121 (29 JUNE 2017)","content":"# Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership Payments) Determination No. 121 (29 JUNE 2017)","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"preliminary","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership Payments) Determination No. 121 (29 JUNE 2017)

I, MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, make this Determination under section 16 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR


Dated: 26 June 2017

\n```\n\n## Part 1 — preliminary\n\n### Name of Determination\n\n This determination is the Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership payments) Determination No. 121 (29 June 2017).\n\n### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which this determination is made.\n\n### Definitions\n\n 3. The following definitions are used throughout this determination:\n\nAct means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.\n\nCOAG Reform Fund means the COAG Reform Fund established by section 5 of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\nIntergovernmental Agreement means the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations that took effect on 1 January 2009. The Intergovernmental Agreement provides an overarching framework for financial transfers between the Commonwealth and the States and related collaboration on policy development and service delivery.\n\nState includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.\n\n### Exemption from section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003\n\n 4. Subsection 16(5) of the Act provides that this determination is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to this determination.\n\n## PArt 2 — Purpose\n\n### Provision of financial assistance\n\n 5. This determination is made, in accordance with section 16 of the Act, for the purpose of providing grants of financial assistance to a State to:\n (a) support the delivery by the State of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the State; or\n (c) reward the State for nationally significant reforms.\n\n### Terms and conditions\n\n 6. Subsection 16(2) of the Act requires that an amount determined under subsection 16(1) must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. The COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 established the COAG Reform Fund and specifies that it is a Special Account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n 7. Subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 requires that the terms and conditions on which financial assistance is granted through the COAG Reform Fund are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State.\n 8. ‘Schedule D — Payment Arrangements’ to the Intergovernmental Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will make National Partnership payments to the States to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, to facilitate reforms or to reward those jurisdictions that deliver on nationally significant reforms.\n 9. National Partnerships will clearly set out the payment profile in respect of each State.\n 10. Where the achievement of pre‑determined milestones or performance benchmarks is required before a payment is made to a State:\n (a) in the case of payments to reward nationally significant reforms, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination as to whether the incentive payment will be paid following receipt of an independent assessment as to whether a pre-determined performance benchmark has been achieved; and\n (b) in the case of payments to facilitate reform and to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination, based upon expenditure and performance reporting arrangements set out in the National Partnership, as to whether the facilitation or project payment will be paid.\n 11. Where the achievement of a performance benchmark is not required before a payment is made to a State, payments will be scheduled in accordance with the payment profile set out in the National Partnership.\n\n## Part 3 — National Partnership Payments\n\n### Determination\n\n 12. In accordance with subsection 16(1) of the Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid to the States specified in that table for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to:\n (a) support the delivery by the States of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the States; or\n (c) reward the States for nationally significant reforms.\n\n### Table 1: National Partnership payments for payment on 29 June 2017\n\n ![](image.001.png)\n\n 13. These amounts will be credited to the COAG Reform Fund before being paid to the States on 29 June 2017.\n 14. Schedule 1 to this determination provides further information on these payments.\n\n### Debit limits\n\n 15. Under subsection 16(3) of the Act the total amount credited to the COAG Reform Fund for the purpose of making National Partnership payments in the financial year starting on 1 July 2016 must not exceed $25,000,000,000.00.\n 16. The amounts specified in Table 2 are the total amounts determined in the 2016-17 financial year in respect of National Partnership payments under section 16 of the Act, including this determination.\n\n### Table 2: Total cumulative payments of National Partnership payments in 2016-17\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\n 17. The total amount determined for National Partnership payments to date in the 2016-17 financial year does not exceed the debit limit.","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 Partnership payments) Determination No. 121 (29 June 2017).","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"Commencement","sectionType":"division","heading":"Commencement","content":"### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which this determination is made.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Definitions","sectionType":"division","heading":"Definitions","content":"### Definitions\n\n 3. The following definitions are used throughout this determination:\n\nAct means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.\n\nCOAG Reform Fund means the COAG Reform Fund established by section 5 of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\nIntergovernmental Agreement means the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations that took effect on 1 January 2009. The Intergovernmental Agreement provides an overarching framework for financial transfers between the Commonwealth and the States and related collaboration on policy development and service delivery.\n\nState includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"Exemption from section 42 (disallowance)","sectionType":"division","heading":"Exemption from section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003","content":"### Exemption from section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003\n\n 4. Subsection 16(5) of the Act provides that this determination is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to this determination.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"PArt 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Purpose","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership Payments) Determination No. 121 (29 JUNE 2017)

I, MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, make this Determination under section 16 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR


Dated: 26 June 2017

\n```\n\n## Part 1 — preliminary\n\n### Name of Determination\n\n This determination is the Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership payments) Determination No. 121 (29 June 2017).\n\n### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which this determination is made.\n\n### Definitions\n\n 3. The following definitions are used throughout this determination:\n\nAct means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.\n\nCOAG Reform Fund means the COAG Reform Fund established by section 5 of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\nIntergovernmental Agreement means the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations that took effect on 1 January 2009. The Intergovernmental Agreement provides an overarching framework for financial transfers between the Commonwealth and the States and related collaboration on policy development and service delivery.\n\nState includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.\n\n### Exemption from section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003\n\n 4. Subsection 16(5) of the Act provides that this determination is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to this determination.\n\n## PArt 2 — Purpose\n\n### Provision of financial assistance\n\n 5. This determination is made, in accordance with section 16 of the Act, for the purpose of providing grants of financial assistance to a State to:\n (a) support the delivery by the State of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the State; or\n (c) reward the State for nationally significant reforms.\n\n### Terms and conditions\n\n 6. Subsection 16(2) of the Act requires that an amount determined under subsection 16(1) must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. The COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 established the COAG Reform Fund and specifies that it is a Special Account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n 7. Subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 requires that the terms and conditions on which financial assistance is granted through the COAG Reform Fund are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State.\n 8. ‘Schedule D — Payment Arrangements’ to the Intergovernmental Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will make National Partnership payments to the States to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, to facilitate reforms or to reward those jurisdictions that deliver on nationally significant reforms.\n 9. National Partnerships will clearly set out the payment profile in respect of each State.\n 10. Where the achievement of pre‑determined milestones or performance benchmarks is required before a payment is made to a State:\n (a) in the case of payments to reward nationally significant reforms, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination as to whether the incentive payment will be paid following receipt of an independent assessment as to whether a pre-determined performance benchmark has been achieved; and\n (b) in the case of payments to facilitate reform and to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination, based upon expenditure and performance reporting arrangements set out in the National Partnership, as to whether the facilitation or project payment will be paid.\n 11. Where the achievement of a performance benchmark is not required before a payment is made to a State, payments will be scheduled in accordance with the payment profile set out in the National Partnership.\n\n## Part 3 — National Partnership Payments\n\n### Determination\n\n 12. In accordance with subsection 16(1) of the Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid to the States specified in that table for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to:\n (a) support the delivery by the States of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the States; or\n (c) reward the States for nationally significant reforms.\n\n### Table 1: National Partnership payments for payment on 29 June 2017\n\n ![](image.001.png)\n\n 13. These amounts will be credited to the COAG Reform Fund before being paid to the States on 29 June 2017.\n 14. Schedule 1 to this determination provides further information on these payments.\n\n### Debit limits\n\n 15. Under subsection 16(3) of the Act the total amount credited to the COAG Reform Fund for the purpose of making National Partnership payments in the financial year starting on 1 July 2016 must not exceed $25,000,000,000.00.\n 16. The amounts specified in Table 2 are the total amounts determined in the 2016-17 financial year in respect of National Partnership payments under section 16 of the Act, including this determination.\n\n### Table 2: Total cumulative payments of National Partnership payments in 2016-17\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\n 17. The total amount determined for National Partnership payments to date in the 2016-17 financial year does not exceed the debit limit.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"Provision of financial assistance","sectionType":"division","heading":"Provision of financial assistance","content":"### Provision of financial assistance\n\n 5. This determination is made, in accordance with section 16 of the Act, for the purpose of providing grants of financial assistance to a State to:\n (a) support the delivery by the State of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the State; or\n (c) reward the State for nationally significant reforms.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"Terms and conditions","sectionType":"division","heading":"Terms and conditions","content":"### Terms and conditions\n\n 6. Subsection 16(2) of the Act requires that an amount determined under subsection 16(1) must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. The COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 established the COAG Reform Fund and specifies that it is a Special Account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n 7. Subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 requires that the terms and conditions on which financial assistance is granted through the COAG Reform Fund are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State.\n 8. ‘Schedule D — Payment Arrangements’ to the Intergovernmental Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will make National Partnership payments to the States to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, to facilitate reforms or to reward those jurisdictions that deliver on nationally significant reforms.\n 9. National Partnerships will clearly set out the payment profile in respect of each State.\n 10. Where the achievement of pre‑determined milestones or performance benchmarks is required before a payment is made to a State:\n (a) in the case of payments to reward nationally significant reforms, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination as to whether the incentive payment will be paid following receipt of an independent assessment as to whether a pre-determined performance benchmark has been achieved; and\n (b) in the case of payments to facilitate reform and to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination, based upon expenditure and performance reporting arrangements set out in the National Partnership, as to whether the facilitation or project payment will be paid.\n 11. Where the achievement of a performance benchmark is not required before a payment is made to a State, payments will be scheduled in accordance with the payment profile set out in the National Partnership.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"National Partnership Payments","content":"```html\n

Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership Payments) Determination No. 121 (29 JUNE 2017)

I, MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, make this Determination under section 16 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

MICHAEL SVEN SUKKAR


Dated: 26 June 2017

\n```\n\n## Part 1 — preliminary\n\n### Name of Determination\n\n This determination is the Federal Financial Relations (National Partnership payments) Determination No. 121 (29 June 2017).\n\n### Commencement\n\n 2. This determination commences on the day on which this determination is made.\n\n### Definitions\n\n 3. The following definitions are used throughout this determination:\n\nAct means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.\n\nCOAG Reform Fund means the COAG Reform Fund established by section 5 of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\nIntergovernmental Agreement means the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations that took effect on 1 January 2009. The Intergovernmental Agreement provides an overarching framework for financial transfers between the Commonwealth and the States and related collaboration on policy development and service delivery.\n\nState includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.\n\n### Exemption from section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003\n\n 4. Subsection 16(5) of the Act provides that this determination is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to this determination.\n\n## PArt 2 — Purpose\n\n### Provision of financial assistance\n\n 5. This determination is made, in accordance with section 16 of the Act, for the purpose of providing grants of financial assistance to a State to:\n (a) support the delivery by the State of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the State; or\n (c) reward the State for nationally significant reforms.\n\n### Terms and conditions\n\n 6. Subsection 16(2) of the Act requires that an amount determined under subsection 16(1) must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. The COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 established the COAG Reform Fund and specifies that it is a Special Account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n 7. Subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 requires that the terms and conditions on which financial assistance is granted through the COAG Reform Fund are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State.\n 8. ‘Schedule D — Payment Arrangements’ to the Intergovernmental Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will make National Partnership payments to the States to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, to facilitate reforms or to reward those jurisdictions that deliver on nationally significant reforms.\n 9. National Partnerships will clearly set out the payment profile in respect of each State.\n 10. Where the achievement of pre‑determined milestones or performance benchmarks is required before a payment is made to a State:\n (a) in the case of payments to reward nationally significant reforms, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination as to whether the incentive payment will be paid following receipt of an independent assessment as to whether a pre-determined performance benchmark has been achieved; and\n (b) in the case of payments to facilitate reform and to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination, based upon expenditure and performance reporting arrangements set out in the National Partnership, as to whether the facilitation or project payment will be paid.\n 11. Where the achievement of a performance benchmark is not required before a payment is made to a State, payments will be scheduled in accordance with the payment profile set out in the National Partnership.\n\n## Part 3 — National Partnership Payments\n\n### Determination\n\n 12. In accordance with subsection 16(1) of the Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid to the States specified in that table for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to:\n (a) support the delivery by the States of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the States; or\n (c) reward the States for nationally significant reforms.\n\n### Table 1: National Partnership payments for payment on 29 June 2017\n\n ![](image.001.png)\n\n 13. These amounts will be credited to the COAG Reform Fund before being paid to the States on 29 June 2017.\n 14. Schedule 1 to this determination provides further information on these payments.\n\n### Debit limits\n\n 15. Under subsection 16(3) of the Act the total amount credited to the COAG Reform Fund for the purpose of making National Partnership payments in the financial year starting on 1 July 2016 must not exceed $25,000,000,000.00.\n 16. The amounts specified in Table 2 are the total amounts determined in the 2016-17 financial year in respect of National Partnership payments under section 16 of the Act, including this determination.\n\n### Table 2: Total cumulative payments of National Partnership payments in 2016-17\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\n 17. The total amount determined for National Partnership payments to date in the 2016-17 financial year does not exceed the debit limit.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"Determination","sectionType":"division","heading":"Determination","content":"### Determination\n\n 12. In accordance with subsection 16(1) of the Act, the amounts specified in Table 1 are to be paid to the States specified in that table for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to:\n (a) support the delivery by the States of specified outputs or projects;\n (b) facilitate reforms by the States; or\n (c) reward the States for nationally significant reforms.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"Table 1: National Partnership payments f","sectionType":"division","heading":"Table 1: National Partnership payments for payment on 29 June 2017","content":"### Table 1: National Partnership payments for payment on 29 June 2017\n\n ![](image.001.png)\n\n 13. These amounts will be credited to the COAG Reform Fund before being paid to the States on 29 June 2017.\n 14. Schedule 1 to this determination provides further information on these payments.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"Debit limits","sectionType":"division","heading":"Debit limits","content":"### Debit limits\n\n 15. Under subsection 16(3) of the Act the total amount credited to the COAG Reform Fund for the purpose of making National Partnership payments in the financial year starting on 1 July 2016 must not exceed $25,000,000,000.00.\n 16. The amounts specified in Table 2 are the total amounts determined in the 2016-17 financial year in respect of National Partnership payments under section 16 of the Act, including this determination.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"Table 2: Total cumulative payments of Na","sectionType":"division","heading":"Table 2: Total cumulative payments of National Partnership payments in 2016-17","content":"### Table 2: Total cumulative payments of National Partnership payments in 2016-17\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\n 17. The total amount determined for National Partnership payments to date in the 2016-17 financial year does not exceed the debit limit.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"SChedule 1 Amounts of National Partnersh","sectionType":"part","heading":"SChedule 1 Amounts of National Partnership Payments for payment on 29 June 2017","content":"# SChedule 1 Amounts of National Partnership Payments for payment on 29 June 2017\n\n# ![](image.003.png)","sortOrder":14}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination appears to serve its original purpose: authorising specific National Partnership payments to states. It operates within the established framework of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 and the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations. There is no indication of scope creep; it is a routine administrative instrument making payments under existing authority."},"complexity_factors":["Short, straightforward structure with only 3 main parts plus a schedule","Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section","Minimal cross-referencing—primarily references to the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 and COAG Reform Fund Act 2008","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic; payment conditions are described in general terms with details left to separate agreements","Straightforward arithmetic compliance check (total payments vs $25 billion cap)","Heavy repetition in the provided text (appears to be a formatting artifact) but the substantive content is simple","Tables containing actual payment amounts are referenced but appear as image placeholders in the source text"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial determination authorises Commonwealth payments to Australian states and territories under National Partnerships on 29 June 2017. It covers project and service funding, reform-assistance and reward payments, routed through the COAG Reform Fund and governed by separate Commonwealth‑state agreements, with some payments conditional on targets. It also confirms the National Partnership payments stay under the $25 billion 2016–17 cap. It affects state governments and the public services and infrastructure those funds support."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Determination stays within the original, statutory purpose of section 16 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009: it authorises specific National Partnership payments and places them in the COAG Reform Fund architecture. It does not expand the legal powers beyond that framework; it simply specifies payment amounts, recipient States and timing for a discrete set of payments (Table 1 / Schedule 1) within the existing debit limit (sections 12–17)."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with limited substantive provisions (mostly procedural payment authorisation and references to tables/schedules)","4 defined terms in the interpretation section (Act; COAG Reform Fund; Intergovernmental Agreement; State) (section 3)","Cross‑references to three external instruments: Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, COAG Reform Fund Act 2008, Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (sections 3, 6–9)","Conditional logic for milestone‑linked payments requiring either independent assessment or reporting-based determinations (section 10)","Use of external content in images / tables (Table 1, Table 2, Schedule 1) rather than in-line text increases reading effort for precise amounts and recipients (sections 12–14, Tables/Schedules)","A statutory debit limit constraint that requires cumulative accounting across the financial year (sections 15–17)","Ministerial/ delegate discretion over determinations (adds operational complexity for implementation and assessment) (section 10)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (in plain English)**\n\n- This is a formal Commonwealth determination that authorises specific payments from the Commonwealth to the States called \"National Partnership payments\". (See Parts 2 and 3 generally; the payment list is in Table 1 and Schedule 1.)\n\n- Mechanically, the Determination instructs the Commonwealth to credit the identified amounts to the COAG Reform Fund (a special Commonwealth account) and then pay those amounts to the States on 29 June 2017 (see sections 6 and 13).\n\n**Who it affects**\n\n- The Commonwealth (which provides the money and decides whether certain payments are due).\n- The States and Territories (the recipients of the listed payments — the instrument treats \"State\" as including the ACT and the NT; see definition at section 3).\n- Officials and contractors involved in meeting reporting, milestone and assessment requirements under the corresponding National Partnership agreements (see sections 7, 10 and 14).\n\n**Why it matters**\n\n- It converts the policy commitments made in National Partnership agreements into actual cash transfers on a specified date. That cash funds projects, reform facilitation or incentive payments to States (see section 5).\n- It places the payments inside the COAG Reform Fund architecture (so the transfers are made from a controlled Commonwealth special account; see section 6 and reference to the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008).\n- It records that some payments are conditional on milestones or performance benchmarks and that the Commonwealth Minister (or delegate) will determine whether those conditions are met before paying (section 10).\n\n**How the process works, step by step**\n\n1. The Determination lists amounts and recipient States in Table 1 and gives further detail in Schedule 1 (section 12 and Schedule 1).\n2. The Commonwealth credits those amounts to the COAG Reform Fund (section 6) and then pays them to States on the stated payment date (section 13).\n3. Where payments link to pre‑determined milestones or performance benchmarks, the relevant Commonwealth Minister (or delegate) will decide whether to pay after receiving either an independent assessment (for incentive payments) or based on the National Partnership's expenditure/performance reports (for facilitation/project payments) (section 10).\n4. The total amount credited to the COAG Reform Fund for National Partnership payments in the 2016–17 financial year must not exceed the statutory debit limit ($25 billion) and Table 2 confirms the cumulative total remains under that limit (sections 15–17).\n\n**Obligations and documentation**\n\n- The COAG Reform Fund Act requires the terms on which the money is granted to be recorded in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and each State (section 7).\n- National Partnerships must set out payment profiles and reporting arrangements (section 9 and the references to the Intergovernmental Agreement).\n\n**Practical incentives and trade‑offs to note**\n\n- Who pays: the Commonwealth (funds flow from the COAG Reform Fund). The fiscal cost is borne by the Commonwealth budget, within the debit limit (sections 6 and 15).\n- Who decides: the Commonwealth Minister (or delegate) makes the final determination about milestone‑linked payments (section 10). The States decide whether to undertake the reforms/projects that attract payment.\n- Behaviour changes incentivised: States receive financial support or rewards for delivering specified outputs, undertaking reforms, or meeting performance benchmarks (section 5). That creates an incentive to negotiate National Partnership terms that tie payment to actions the State can deliver.\n- Compliance and administrative costs: payments tied to milestones or reporting create monitoring, reporting and potentially independent assessment requirements (sections 7 and 10). Those impose compliance costs on States and administrative costs on Commonwealth agencies responsible for assessment.\n- Concentrated benefits vs diffuse costs: the budgetary cost benefits concentrate on receiving States listed in Table 1 and Schedule 1; the cost is taken from Commonwealth funds shared across taxpayers. The instrument itself does not reallocate permanent revenue sources — it authorises a one‑off payment action within the COAG Reform Fund framework.\n- Implementation risk and discretion: the Minister/ delegate has discretion to determine whether conditions are met before payment (section 10), so timing and receipt of funds can be delayed or withheld pending assessment.\n\n**Other mechanics and safeguards**\n\n- The Determination is a legislative instrument but is exempted from parliamentary disallowance (the normal right of Parliament to disallow an instrument) under the referenced Legislation Act provision (section 4).\n- The instrument cross‑references the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 and the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations; those texts set the broader legal and procedural framework (definitions in section 3 and the terms and conditions in sections 6–9).\n\n(References are to the sections in the Determination provided: definitions at s3; purpose and payment categories at s5; COAG Fund mechanics at s6–7; milestone/payment determination at s10; payment instruction and tables at s12–14; debit limit at s15–17; disallowance exemption at s4.)"},"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-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017","history":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/federal-financial-relations-national-partnership-payments-determination-no-121-29-june-2017/documents"}}