{"id":"C2015A00103","name":"Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015","slug":"fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"103 of 2015","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":54915,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2015A00103-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

30 June 2015

2. Sections 3 to 15

The provisions do not commence at all unless all of the following have commenced, in which case they commence immediately after the last of the following to commence:

(a) section 1 of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015;

(b) section 1 of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015.

30 June 2015

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Simplified outline of this Act","content":"#### 3 Simplified outline of this Act\n\n• This Act sets up the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The Treasurer may determine that amounts are to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• Amounts may be debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account in accordance with the purposes of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the net revenue from indexation on customs and excise duties on fuel are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n\n• The Infrastructure Minister is responsible for authorising debits (the amounts of which will be credited to the Federation Reform Fund).","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n In this Act:\n\n> Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for expenditure out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.\n\n> Federation Reform Fund means the Federation Reform Fund established by section 5 of the Federation Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\n> fuel indexation amount has the meaning given by subsection 9(2).\n\n> Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account means the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account established by section 7.\n\n> fuel tax has the meaning given by the Fuel Tax Act 2006.\n\n> Infrastructure Department means the Department administered by the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n> Infrastructure Minister means the Minister who administers the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008.\n\n> Treasury Department means the Department administered by the Treasurer.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Crown to be bound","content":"#### 5 Crown to be bound\n\n (1) This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.\n (2) This Act does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension to external Territories","content":"#### 6 Extension to external Territories\n\n This Act extends to every external Territory.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account","content":"An Act to establish the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account, and for related purposes\n\n## Part 1—Preliminary\n\n#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015.\n\n#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

30 June 2015

2. Sections 3 to 15

The provisions do not commence at all unless all of the following have commenced, in which case they commence immediately after the last of the following to commence:

(a) section 1 of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015;

(b) section 1 of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015.

30 June 2015

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n#### 3 Simplified outline of this Act\n\n• This Act sets up the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The Treasurer may determine that amounts are to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• Amounts may be debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account in accordance with the purposes of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the net revenue from indexation on customs and excise duties on fuel are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n\n• The Infrastructure Minister is responsible for authorising debits (the amounts of which will be credited to the Federation Reform Fund).\n\n#### 4 Definitions\n\n In this Act:\n\n> Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for expenditure out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.\n\n> Federation Reform Fund means the Federation Reform Fund established by section 5 of the Federation Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\n> fuel indexation amount has the meaning given by subsection 9(2).\n\n> Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account means the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account established by section 7.\n\n> fuel tax has the meaning given by the Fuel Tax Act 2006.\n\n> Infrastructure Department means the Department administered by the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n> Infrastructure Minister means the Minister who administers the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008.\n\n> Treasury Department means the Department administered by the Treasurer.\n\n#### 5 Crown to be bound\n\n (1) This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.\n (2) This Act does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence.\n\n#### 6 Extension to external Territories\n\n This Act extends to every external Territory.\n\n## Part 2—Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n### Division 1—Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 7 Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is established by this section.\n (2) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n> Note: An Appropriation Act may contain a provision to the effect that, if any of the purposes of a special account is a purpose that is covered by an item in the Appropriation Act (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that special account.\n\n### Division 2—Credits of amounts to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 8 Credits to special account—determinations by the Treasurer\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by writing, determine that a specified amount is to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account on a specified day.\n\n> Note: For variation, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In making a determination under subsection (1), the Treasurer must have regard to the purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n (3) A determination under subsection (1) is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination.\n (4) For each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014, the Treasurer must:\n (a) make one, and only one, determination under subsection (1); and\n (b) make that determination as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year.\n\n### Division 3—Debits of amounts from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 9 Purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the fuel indexation amount mentioned in subsection (2) are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the fuel indexation amount is the difference between:\n (a) the amount of revenue that is attributable to the indexation of fuel tax from and including 10 November 2014 as a result of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015; and\n (b) the tax credits, rebates and grants under any of the following that offset the amount mentioned in paragraph (a):\n (ii) the Fuel Tax Act 2006;\n (iii) the scheme known as the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme.\n\n#### 10 Grants to the States and Territories—channelling of State/Territory grants payments through the Federation Reform Fund\n\n (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that amounts in the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund as soon as practicable in order to make grants of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, direct that a specified amount is to be:\n (a) debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account; and\n (b) credited to the Federation Reform Fund;\n on a specified day.\n (3) The direction must be expressed to be given in order to enable the amount to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a specified grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (4) Two or more directions under subsection (2) may be set out in the same document.\n (5) A direction under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument.\n\n#### 11 Grants to States and Territories—debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) the Infrastructure Minister gives a direction under subsection 10(2) for a purpose in relation to a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the amount specified in the direction is credited to the Federation Reform Fund.\n Debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n (2) The Treasurer must ensure that, as soon as practicable after the amount is credited, the Federation Reform Fund is debited for the purposes of making the grant.\n\n#### 12 Grants to States and Territories\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) an amount is to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the grant is a grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment; and\n (c) the grant is covered by subsection 11(2).\n\n> Note: Subsection 11(2) deals with grants channelled through the Federation Reform Fund.\n\n Terms and conditions\n (2) The terms and conditions on which that financial assistance is granted are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State or Territory.\n (3) An agreement under subsection (2) of this section may be entered into by a Minister on behalf of the Commonwealth.\n\n## Part 3—Miscellaneous\n\n#### 13 Delegation by the Infrastructure Minister\n\n (1) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 10 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Infrastructure Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Infrastructure Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation, the delegate must comply with any directions of the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n#### 14 Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n The Treasurer may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 11 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Treasury Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Treasury Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n#### 15 The rules\n\n The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters:\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the rules; or\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"Division 1","sectionType":"division","heading":"Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account","content":"An Act to establish the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account, and for related purposes\n\n## Part 1—Preliminary\n\n#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015.\n\n#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

30 June 2015

2. Sections 3 to 15

The provisions do not commence at all unless all of the following have commenced, in which case they commence immediately after the last of the following to commence:

(a) section 1 of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015;

(b) section 1 of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015.

30 June 2015

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n#### 3 Simplified outline of this Act\n\n• This Act sets up the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The Treasurer may determine that amounts are to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• Amounts may be debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account in accordance with the purposes of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the net revenue from indexation on customs and excise duties on fuel are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n\n• The Infrastructure Minister is responsible for authorising debits (the amounts of which will be credited to the Federation Reform Fund).\n\n#### 4 Definitions\n\n In this Act:\n\n> Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for expenditure out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.\n\n> Federation Reform Fund means the Federation Reform Fund established by section 5 of the Federation Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\n> fuel indexation amount has the meaning given by subsection 9(2).\n\n> Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account means the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account established by section 7.\n\n> fuel tax has the meaning given by the Fuel Tax Act 2006.\n\n> Infrastructure Department means the Department administered by the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n> Infrastructure Minister means the Minister who administers the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008.\n\n> Treasury Department means the Department administered by the Treasurer.\n\n#### 5 Crown to be bound\n\n (1) This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.\n (2) This Act does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence.\n\n#### 6 Extension to external Territories\n\n This Act extends to every external Territory.\n\n## Part 2—Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n### Division 1—Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 7 Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is established by this section.\n (2) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n> Note: An Appropriation Act may contain a provision to the effect that, if any of the purposes of a special account is a purpose that is covered by an item in the Appropriation Act (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that special account.\n\n### Division 2—Credits of amounts to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 8 Credits to special account—determinations by the Treasurer\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by writing, determine that a specified amount is to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account on a specified day.\n\n> Note: For variation, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In making a determination under subsection (1), the Treasurer must have regard to the purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n (3) A determination under subsection (1) is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination.\n (4) For each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014, the Treasurer must:\n (a) make one, and only one, determination under subsection (1); and\n (b) make that determination as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year.\n\n### Division 3—Debits of amounts from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 9 Purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the fuel indexation amount mentioned in subsection (2) are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the fuel indexation amount is the difference between:\n (a) the amount of revenue that is attributable to the indexation of fuel tax from and including 10 November 2014 as a result of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015; and\n (b) the tax credits, rebates and grants under any of the following that offset the amount mentioned in paragraph (a):\n (ii) the Fuel Tax Act 2006;\n (iii) the scheme known as the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme.\n\n#### 10 Grants to the States and Territories—channelling of State/Territory grants payments through the Federation Reform Fund\n\n (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that amounts in the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund as soon as practicable in order to make grants of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, direct that a specified amount is to be:\n (a) debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account; and\n (b) credited to the Federation Reform Fund;\n on a specified day.\n (3) The direction must be expressed to be given in order to enable the amount to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a specified grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (4) Two or more directions under subsection (2) may be set out in the same document.\n (5) A direction under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument.\n\n#### 11 Grants to States and Territories—debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) the Infrastructure Minister gives a direction under subsection 10(2) for a purpose in relation to a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the amount specified in the direction is credited to the Federation Reform Fund.\n Debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n (2) The Treasurer must ensure that, as soon as practicable after the amount is credited, the Federation Reform Fund is debited for the purposes of making the grant.\n\n#### 12 Grants to States and Territories\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) an amount is to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the grant is a grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment; and\n (c) the grant is covered by subsection 11(2).\n\n> Note: Subsection 11(2) deals with grants channelled through the Federation Reform Fund.\n\n Terms and conditions\n (2) The terms and conditions on which that financial assistance is granted are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State or Territory.\n (3) An agreement under subsection (2) of this section may be entered into by a Minister on behalf of the Commonwealth.\n\n## Part 3—Miscellaneous\n\n#### 13 Delegation by the Infrastructure Minister\n\n (1) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 10 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Infrastructure Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Infrastructure Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation, the delegate must comply with any directions of the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n#### 14 Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n The Treasurer may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 11 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Treasury Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Treasury Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n#### 15 The rules\n\n The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters:\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the rules; or\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account","content":"#### 7 Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is established by this section.\n (2) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n> Note: An Appropriation Act may contain a provision to the effect that, if any of the purposes of a special account is a purpose that is covered by an item in the Appropriation Act (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that special account.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"Division 2","sectionType":"division","heading":"Credits of amounts to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account","content":"An Act to establish the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account, and for related purposes\n\n## Part 1—Preliminary\n\n#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015.\n\n#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

30 June 2015

2. Sections 3 to 15

The provisions do not commence at all unless all of the following have commenced, in which case they commence immediately after the last of the following to commence:

(a) section 1 of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015;

(b) section 1 of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015.

30 June 2015

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n#### 3 Simplified outline of this Act\n\n• This Act sets up the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The Treasurer may determine that amounts are to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• Amounts may be debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account in accordance with the purposes of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the net revenue from indexation on customs and excise duties on fuel are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n\n• The Infrastructure Minister is responsible for authorising debits (the amounts of which will be credited to the Federation Reform Fund).\n\n#### 4 Definitions\n\n In this Act:\n\n> Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for expenditure out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.\n\n> Federation Reform Fund means the Federation Reform Fund established by section 5 of the Federation Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\n> fuel indexation amount has the meaning given by subsection 9(2).\n\n> Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account means the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account established by section 7.\n\n> fuel tax has the meaning given by the Fuel Tax Act 2006.\n\n> Infrastructure Department means the Department administered by the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n> Infrastructure Minister means the Minister who administers the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008.\n\n> Treasury Department means the Department administered by the Treasurer.\n\n#### 5 Crown to be bound\n\n (1) This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.\n (2) This Act does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence.\n\n#### 6 Extension to external Territories\n\n This Act extends to every external Territory.\n\n## Part 2—Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n### Division 1—Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 7 Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is established by this section.\n (2) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n> Note: An Appropriation Act may contain a provision to the effect that, if any of the purposes of a special account is a purpose that is covered by an item in the Appropriation Act (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that special account.\n\n### Division 2—Credits of amounts to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 8 Credits to special account—determinations by the Treasurer\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by writing, determine that a specified amount is to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account on a specified day.\n\n> Note: For variation, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In making a determination under subsection (1), the Treasurer must have regard to the purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n (3) A determination under subsection (1) is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination.\n (4) For each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014, the Treasurer must:\n (a) make one, and only one, determination under subsection (1); and\n (b) make that determination as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year.\n\n### Division 3—Debits of amounts from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 9 Purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the fuel indexation amount mentioned in subsection (2) are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the fuel indexation amount is the difference between:\n (a) the amount of revenue that is attributable to the indexation of fuel tax from and including 10 November 2014 as a result of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015; and\n (b) the tax credits, rebates and grants under any of the following that offset the amount mentioned in paragraph (a):\n (ii) the Fuel Tax Act 2006;\n (iii) the scheme known as the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme.\n\n#### 10 Grants to the States and Territories—channelling of State/Territory grants payments through the Federation Reform Fund\n\n (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that amounts in the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund as soon as practicable in order to make grants of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, direct that a specified amount is to be:\n (a) debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account; and\n (b) credited to the Federation Reform Fund;\n on a specified day.\n (3) The direction must be expressed to be given in order to enable the amount to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a specified grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (4) Two or more directions under subsection (2) may be set out in the same document.\n (5) A direction under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument.\n\n#### 11 Grants to States and Territories—debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) the Infrastructure Minister gives a direction under subsection 10(2) for a purpose in relation to a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the amount specified in the direction is credited to the Federation Reform Fund.\n Debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n (2) The Treasurer must ensure that, as soon as practicable after the amount is credited, the Federation Reform Fund is debited for the purposes of making the grant.\n\n#### 12 Grants to States and Territories\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) an amount is to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the grant is a grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment; and\n (c) the grant is covered by subsection 11(2).\n\n> Note: Subsection 11(2) deals with grants channelled through the Federation Reform Fund.\n\n Terms and conditions\n (2) The terms and conditions on which that financial assistance is granted are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State or Territory.\n (3) An agreement under subsection (2) of this section may be entered into by a Minister on behalf of the Commonwealth.\n\n## Part 3—Miscellaneous\n\n#### 13 Delegation by the Infrastructure Minister\n\n (1) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 10 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Infrastructure Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Infrastructure Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation, the delegate must comply with any directions of the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n#### 14 Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n The Treasurer may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 11 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Treasury Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Treasury Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n#### 15 The rules\n\n The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters:\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the rules; or\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Credits to special account—determinations by the Treasurer","content":"#### 8 Credits to special account—determinations by the Treasurer\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by writing, determine that a specified amount is to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account on a specified day.\n\n> Note: For variation, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In making a determination under subsection (1), the Treasurer must have regard to the purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n (3) A determination under subsection (1) is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination.\n (4) For each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014, the Treasurer must:\n (a) make one, and only one, determination under subsection (1); and\n (b) make that determination as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"Division 3","sectionType":"division","heading":"Debits of amounts from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account","content":"An Act to establish the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account, and for related purposes\n\n## Part 1—Preliminary\n\n#### 1 Short title\n\n This Act may be cited as the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account Act 2015.\n\n#### 2 Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n```html\n

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1. Sections 1 and 2 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

30 June 2015

2. Sections 3 to 15

The provisions do not commence at all unless all of the following have commenced, in which case they commence immediately after the last of the following to commence:

(a) section 1 of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015;

(b) section 1 of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015.

30 June 2015

\n```\n\n> Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n#### 3 Simplified outline of this Act\n\n• This Act sets up the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The Treasurer may determine that amounts are to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• Amounts may be debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account in accordance with the purposes of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n\n• The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the net revenue from indexation on customs and excise duties on fuel are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n\n• The Infrastructure Minister is responsible for authorising debits (the amounts of which will be credited to the Federation Reform Fund).\n\n#### 4 Definitions\n\n In this Act:\n\n> Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for expenditure out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.\n\n> Federation Reform Fund means the Federation Reform Fund established by section 5 of the Federation Reform Fund Act 2008.\n\n> fuel indexation amount has the meaning given by subsection 9(2).\n\n> Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account means the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account established by section 7.\n\n> fuel tax has the meaning given by the Fuel Tax Act 2006.\n\n> Infrastructure Department means the Department administered by the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n> Infrastructure Minister means the Minister who administers the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008.\n\n> Treasury Department means the Department administered by the Treasurer.\n\n#### 5 Crown to be bound\n\n (1) This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.\n (2) This Act does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence.\n\n#### 6 Extension to external Territories\n\n This Act extends to every external Territory.\n\n## Part 2—Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n### Division 1—Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 7 Establishment of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is established by this section.\n (2) The Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n> Note: An Appropriation Act may contain a provision to the effect that, if any of the purposes of a special account is a purpose that is covered by an item in the Appropriation Act (whether or not the item expressly refers to the special account), then amounts may be debited against the appropriation for that item and credited to that special account.\n\n### Division 2—Credits of amounts to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 8 Credits to special account—determinations by the Treasurer\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by writing, determine that a specified amount is to be credited to the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account on a specified day.\n\n> Note: For variation, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In making a determination under subsection (1), the Treasurer must have regard to the purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account.\n (3) A determination under subsection (1) is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination.\n (4) For each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014, the Treasurer must:\n (a) make one, and only one, determination under subsection (1); and\n (b) make that determination as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year.\n\n### Division 3—Debits of amounts from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n#### 9 Purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the fuel indexation amount mentioned in subsection (2) are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the fuel indexation amount is the difference between:\n (a) the amount of revenue that is attributable to the indexation of fuel tax from and including 10 November 2014 as a result of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015; and\n (b) the tax credits, rebates and grants under any of the following that offset the amount mentioned in paragraph (a):\n (ii) the Fuel Tax Act 2006;\n (iii) the scheme known as the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme.\n\n#### 10 Grants to the States and Territories—channelling of State/Territory grants payments through the Federation Reform Fund\n\n (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that amounts in the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund as soon as practicable in order to make grants of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, direct that a specified amount is to be:\n (a) debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account; and\n (b) credited to the Federation Reform Fund;\n on a specified day.\n (3) The direction must be expressed to be given in order to enable the amount to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a specified grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (4) Two or more directions under subsection (2) may be set out in the same document.\n (5) A direction under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument.\n\n#### 11 Grants to States and Territories—debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) the Infrastructure Minister gives a direction under subsection 10(2) for a purpose in relation to a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the amount specified in the direction is credited to the Federation Reform Fund.\n Debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n (2) The Treasurer must ensure that, as soon as practicable after the amount is credited, the Federation Reform Fund is debited for the purposes of making the grant.\n\n#### 12 Grants to States and Territories\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) an amount is to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the grant is a grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment; and\n (c) the grant is covered by subsection 11(2).\n\n> Note: Subsection 11(2) deals with grants channelled through the Federation Reform Fund.\n\n Terms and conditions\n (2) The terms and conditions on which that financial assistance is granted are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State or Territory.\n (3) An agreement under subsection (2) of this section may be entered into by a Minister on behalf of the Commonwealth.\n\n## Part 3—Miscellaneous\n\n#### 13 Delegation by the Infrastructure Minister\n\n (1) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 10 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Infrastructure Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Infrastructure Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation, the delegate must comply with any directions of the Infrastructure Minister.\n\n#### 14 Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n The Treasurer may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 11 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Treasury Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Treasury Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n#### 15 The rules\n\n The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters:\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the rules; or\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account","content":"#### 9 Purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account\n\n (1) The purpose of the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account is to ensure that amounts equal to the fuel indexation amount mentioned in subsection (2) are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund in order to provide funding to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the fuel indexation amount is the difference between:\n (a) the amount of revenue that is attributable to the indexation of fuel tax from and including 10 November 2014 as a result of the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015; and\n (b) the tax credits, rebates and grants under any of the following that offset the amount mentioned in paragraph (a):\n (ii) the Fuel Tax Act 2006;\n (iii) the scheme known as the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Grants to the States and Territories—channelling of State/Territory grants payments through the Federation Reform Fund","content":"#### 10 Grants to the States and Territories—channelling of State/Territory grants payments through the Federation Reform Fund\n\n (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that amounts in the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account are transferred to the Federation Reform Fund as soon as practicable in order to make grants of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (2) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, direct that a specified amount is to be:\n (a) debited from the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account; and\n (b) credited to the Federation Reform Fund;\n on a specified day.\n (3) The direction must be expressed to be given in order to enable the amount to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a specified grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment.\n (4) Two or more directions under subsection (2) may be set out in the same document.\n (5) A direction under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Grants to States and Territories—debit from the Federation Reform Fund","content":"#### 11 Grants to States and Territories—debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) the Infrastructure Minister gives a direction under subsection 10(2) for a purpose in relation to a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the amount specified in the direction is credited to the Federation Reform Fund.\n Debit from the Federation Reform Fund\n (2) The Treasurer must ensure that, as soon as practicable after the amount is credited, the Federation Reform Fund is debited for the purposes of making the grant.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Grants to States and Territories","content":"#### 12 Grants to States and Territories\n\n Scope\n (1) This section applies if:\n (a) an amount is to be debited from the Federation Reform Fund for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance to a State or Territory; and\n (b) the grant is a grant of financial assistance to the States and Territories for expenditure in relation to Australian road infrastructure investment; and\n (c) the grant is covered by subsection 11(2).\n\n> Note: Subsection 11(2) deals with grants channelled through the Federation Reform Fund.\n\n Terms and conditions\n (2) The terms and conditions on which that financial assistance is granted are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State or Territory.\n (3) An agreement under subsection (2) of this section may be entered into by a Minister on behalf of the Commonwealth.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"## Part 3—Miscellaneous","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Delegation by the Infrastructure Minister","content":"#### 13 Delegation by the Infrastructure Minister\n\n (1) The Infrastructure Minister may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 10 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Infrastructure Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Infrastructure Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation, the delegate must comply with any directions of the Infrastructure Minister.","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Delegation by the Treasurer","content":"#### 14 Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n The Treasurer may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions under section 11 to:\n (a) the Secretary of the Treasury Department; or\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Treasury Department.\n\n> Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.","sortOrder":19},{"sectionNumber":"15","sectionType":"section","heading":"The rules","content":"#### 15 The rules\n\n The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters:\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed by the rules; or\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":20}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"8(4)","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 8(4) imposes a mandatory obligation ('must') to make a determination for each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014. The 2014–15 financial year ran from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. Section 8 could not commence until after both companion Acts received Royal Assent (30 June 2015), meaning it commenced at the earliest on 30 June 2015—the last day of the 2014–15 year or after it ended. The determination was also required to be made 'as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year' (i.e., after 30 June 2015), yet the revenue measurement in s.9(2) runs from 10 November 2014. The Treasurer is obliged to account for a period before the Act was operationally in force, creating an impossibility of full compliance with the temporal intent of the provision.","confidence":0.88,"description":"The Treasurer is required to make a determination for each financial year starting on or after 1 July 2014, but sections 3–15 (which include section 8) cannot commence until the Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 and Customs Tariff Amendment (Fuel Indexation) Act 2015 commence. Both those Acts received Royal Assent on 30 June 2015, meaning section 8 could not have been in force for the 2014–15 financial year (starting 1 July 2014). The Treasurer is therefore legally required to make a determination for a financial year that had already ended before the section authorising the determination even commenced."},{"type":"other","section":"9(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A numbered sub-list that begins at (ii) without any (i) is structurally incoherent. In the context of a formula defining a financial amount to be transferred to States and Territories, an omitted offset category could result in either over- or under-crediting the special account. The gap suggests an item—likely a reference to the Excise Act 1901 or the Customs Act 1901 rebate/credit mechanism—was inadvertently deleted during drafting.","confidence":0.92,"description":"The definition of 'fuel indexation amount' contains a numbered list starting at item (ii), with no item (i). The list of offsetting items begins at paragraph (b)(ii) the Fuel Tax Act 2006, and (b)(iii) the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme, but there is no (b)(i). This either omits an intended item or creates a drafting gap rendering the offset calculation potentially incomplete."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"8(4)(a)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 8(1) uses permissive language ('may') and is not textually restricted to one exercise per year. Section 8(4) then imposes a floor of exactly one mandatory determination per year. The interaction suggests the Treasurer could make additional voluntary determinations beyond the mandatory annual one, but the 'one and only one' language in 8(4)(a) could be read as prohibiting multiple determinations in any year, contradicting the open-ended discretion in 8(1).","confidence":0.72,"description":"The Treasurer is required to make 'one, and only one' determination per financial year. However, section 8(1) confers a general discretionary power ('may') to credit any amount on any specified day, with no limitation to one determination per year. The mandatory annual determination under s.8(4) sits alongside an apparently unlimited discretionary power, creating an unresolved tension as to whether multiple credits are permissible outside the annual determination cycle."},{"type":"other","section":"15","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Every other operative provision in the Act carefully distinguishes between the 'Infrastructure Minister' and the 'Treasurer'. Section 15 abandons this precision and refers only to 'the Minister', an undefined term. Under s.19A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, 'the Minister' would typically refer to the Minister administering the Act, but the Act is jointly administered in practice, and no single administering Minister is nominated. This ambiguity could paralyse the rule-making power or lead to competing claims of authority.","confidence":0.82,"description":"Section 15 empowers 'the Minister' to make rules, but the Act defines two distinct ministers: the 'Infrastructure Minister' and the 'Treasurer'. The term 'the Minister' is not defined in section 4 and has no clear referent in the Act, making it uncertain which minister holds the rule-making power."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"10(1) and 10(2)","severity":"low","reasoning":"A purpose clause that mandates urgency ('as soon as practicable') paired with a purely discretionary operative power ('may') creates an internal incoherence. The Infrastructure Minister could lawfully decline to issue any direction at all, leaving the special account balance untransferred indefinitely, in direct tension with the stated purpose of the section. Unlike s.11(2) which imposes a mandatory obligation on the Treasurer, no equivalent obligation is placed on the Infrastructure Minister to actually exercise the direction power.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 10(1) states the purpose of the section is to transfer amounts 'as soon as practicable', but section 10(2) gives the Infrastructure Minister an entirely discretionary power ('may') to direct transfers, with no obligation to act, no timeframe, and no trigger. The stated purpose creates a temporal imperative that the operative subsection entirely fails to enforce."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"8(4)(a)","section_b":"8(1)","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 8(1) confers an open-ended discretionary power to make credit determinations at any time, while section 8(4)(a) mandates exactly 'one, and only one' determination per financial year. Read strictly, 8(4)(a) prohibits additional voluntary determinations, contradicting the broader grant of power in 8(1)."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"9(1)","section_b":"10(1)","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 9(1) defines the purpose of the special account as transferring amounts equal to the 'fuel indexation amount' (a defined, calculable figure) to the Federation Reform Fund. Section 10(1) restates the purpose as transferring 'amounts in the Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) special account'. These are not necessarily the same: amounts in the account could exceed or differ from the fuel indexation amount if the Treasurer credits an incorrect sum under s.8. The two purpose statements are potentially inconsistent as to the quantum to be transferred."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"8(4)(b)","section_b":"9(2)(a)","confidence":0.8,"description":"Section 8(4)(b) requires the Treasurer to make the annual determination 'as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year', implying the credit occurs after year-end. Section 9(2)(a) calculates the fuel indexation amount on revenue attributable from 10 November 2014 onwards on a cumulative basis, with no annual reset mechanism. This creates uncertainty about whether each annual determination covers only the incremental revenue for that year or the cumulative total since November 2014, risking either double-counting or under-crediting across multiple financial years."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"10(2)","section_b":"11(1)(b)","confidence":0.73,"description":"Section 10(2) directs that an amount is to be debited from the special account and credited to the Federation Reform Fund 'on a specified day'. Section 11(1)(b) conditions the application of section 11 on the amount being 'credited to the Federation Reform Fund', and s.11(2) then requires the Treasurer to debit the Federation Reform Fund 'as soon as practicable'. If the specified day in the s.10(2) direction has not yet arrived, or is never acted upon, s.11 may never be triggered, leaving the Federation Reform Fund credit and the mandatory debit obligation in permanent suspension."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing a special account to hypothecate fuel indexation revenue to road funding. No significant scope creep detected; the Act is a single-purpose fiscal mechanism."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 15 sections and straightforward structure (3 Parts, 3 Divisions)","Minimal defined terms (only 7 definitions in section 4)","Simple conditional logic — mainly 'if-then' triggers for ministerial directions","Cross-references limited to related 2015 fuel indexation Acts and the Federation Reform Fund Act 2008","No nested exceptions or complex temporal conditions beyond the commencement table","Legislative instrument status explicitly stated for determinations but with disallowance exemption (section 8(3))","Mechanism is essentially a two-step transfer: Special Account → Federation Reform Fund → States"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a special bank account called the **Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) Special Account**. Its job is to collect extra money from fuel tax increases and pass it on to the states and territories to build and fix roads.\n\n**How it works:**\n\n* **Money in:** The Treasurer decides once a year how much money from fuel tax indexation (automatic increases tied to inflation) goes into the account. This is the \"fuel indexation amount\" — basically the extra revenue from fuel tax hikes, minus any tax credits or rebates (like ethanol subsidies).\n* **Money out:** The Infrastructure Minister directs money to be moved from this account into another fund called the **Federation Reform Fund**, which then channels it to the states and territories as grants for road projects.\n* **The deal:** The Commonwealth collects the fuel tax, but promises to give the extra revenue from indexation (the bit that goes up with inflation) straight back to the states for roads.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* **Motorists** — indirectly, because they pay the fuel excise that gets indexed.\n* **State and Territory governments** — they receive the grants for road infrastructure.\n* **The Treasurer and Infrastructure Minister** — they control the flow of money.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is a political compromise from 2015. The government wanted to restart automatic fuel tax increases (which had been frozen), but needed to promise that every extra dollar would go to roads. This Act locks that promise into law by creating a dedicated account that legally ties the tax increase to road funding."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"No change from the Act’s original, text‑expressed scope. The statute confines itself to establishing a special account, specifying how annual fuel‑indexation net receipts are to be credited and routed to the Federation Reform Fund for road infrastructure grants, and setting ministerial responsibilities and delegation; it does not broaden the stated purposes beyond those mechanics."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple external laws: Excise and Customs Tariff Amendment Acts (indexation trigger), the Fuel Tax Act 2006, the Ethanol Production Grants Scheme and the Federation Reform Fund Act (affects calculation and destination) (see s9(2), definitions and commencement provisions).","Interplay with financial governance framework: the special account is created under PGPA Act mechanisms (s7(2)), and debits/credits affect Commonwealth appropriation flows.","Treasurer’s annual written determination is a legislative instrument but exempt from disallowance, and must be made once per financial year (s8(1),(3),(4))—a mix of executive discretion and limited parliamentary oversight.","Delegation and administrative discretion: Infrastructure Minister and Treasurer may delegate functions to departmental secretaries or SES employees (ss13–14), creating operational flexibility and delegated decision-making paths.","Rule‑making power: Minister may make rules by legislative instrument to prescribe matters necessary to implement the Act (s15).","Contingent commencement: most operative provisions do not commence until specified provisions of related tariff Acts commence (s2), adding a timing dependency."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act establishes a special account to collect net revenue from indexation of customs and excise duties on fuel and to transfer that money to the *Federation Reform Fund* for grants to States and Territories for road infrastructure. \n\nThe Treasurer determines and credits the annual amount; the Infrastructure Minister (or delegates) directs transfers to the Federation Reform Fund; the Treasurer ensures debits are made. The cost is effectively borne by fuel taxpayers and the Act changes timing and routing of Commonwealth payments to the States."},"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope is consistent with its stated purpose. It does exactly what its title and outline promise: establishes a special account to capture net fuel indexation revenue and direct it to states and territories for road infrastructure. There is no evidence of scope creep — the channelling mechanism, the restriction to road infrastructure, and the annual determination requirement all align with the original intent of ensuring the fuel tax increase is hypothecated (earmarked) for roads."},"complexity_factors":["Multi-step money flow involving three separate funds/accounts (special account → Federation Reform Fund → state/territory grants), requiring readers to track money across multiple legislative instruments","Dependency on multiple external Acts to be operative — the Act's core provisions only commence if two other Acts (Excise Tariff Amendment and Customs Tariff Amendment) also commence","Cross-references to multiple other pieces of legislation: Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013, Federation Reform Fund Act 2008, Fuel Tax Act 2006, Infrastructure Australia Act 2008, Acts Interpretation Act 1901, Legislation Act 2003","Distinction between legislative instruments subject to disallowance and those exempt — the Treasurer's determination is a legislative instrument but Parliament cannot veto it, which is a nuanced and counterintuitive legal concept","Dual ministerial responsibility split between the Treasurer (credits) and Infrastructure Minister (debits), creating a two-key control mechanism that is not immediately obvious","Retrospective element — the fuel indexation amount is calculated from 10 November 2014, before the Act itself commenced in 2015","The document itself is poorly formatted with significant repetition of content, making it structurally confusing to navigate"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a special Fuel Indexation (Road Funding) account to capture extra revenue from indexed fuel excise and ensure it’s quarantined for road infrastructure, then routed to states and territories. It matters to motorists (via indexed fuel prices), state/territory governments (as conditional road grants) and businesses claiming fuel credits; legal safeguards limit use to roads and require annual Treasurer determinations and grant agreements."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015","history":"/api/acts/fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/fuel-indexation-road-funding-special-account-act-2015/documents"}}