{"id":"state-entities-payments-act-1999","name":"State Entities (Payments) Act 1999","slug":"state-entities-payments-act-1999","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110348,"registerId":"wa-state-entities-payments-act-1999-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"State Entities (Payments) Act 1999","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nState Entities (Payments) Act 1999\n\nWestern Australia\n\nState Entities (Payments) Act 1999\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Definitions 1\n\n3. Voluntary GST equivalent payments 2\n\n4. Directions to implement Financial Relations Agreement 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 3\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nState Entities (Payments) Act 1999\n\nAn Act to facilitate the implementation of certain measures described in the *Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth‑State Financial Relations*.\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *State Entities (Payments) Act 1999.*\n\n##### 2. Definitions\n\n(1) In this Act —\n\nCommissioner of Taxation means the person holding office for the time being as Commissioner of Taxation under the Commonwealth *Taxation Administration Act 1953*;\n\nGST has the same meaning as it has in the Commonwealth *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999*;\n\nState entity means a person that is not liable for GST that it would be liable for if —\n\n(a) the imposition of that GST were not prevented by section 114 of the Commonwealth Constitution; and\n\n(b) section 5 of each of the GST Imposition Acts had not been enacted;\n\nTreasurer means the Treasurer of the State.\n\n(2) In subsection (1), in the definition of “State entity” —\n\nGST Imposition Acts means the Commonwealth —\n\n(a) *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition — Customs) Act 1999*;\n\n(b) *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition — Excise) Act 1999*; and\n\n(c) *A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition — General) Act 1999*.\n\n##### 3. Voluntary GST equivalent payments\n\nA State entity may pay to the Commissioner of Taxation amounts representing amounts that would have been payable for GST if —\n\n(a) the imposition of that GST were not prevented by section 114 of the Commonwealth Constitution; and\n\n(b) section 5 of each of the GST Imposition Acts had not been enacted,\n\nand may do things of a kind that it would be necessary or expedient for it to do if it were liable for that GST.\n\n##### 4. Directions to implement Financial Relations Agreement\n\n(1) The Treasurer may give a State entity directions in writing that it —\n\n(a) make payments that it is authorized by section 3 to make;\n\n(b) do anything else that it is authorized by that section to do.\n\n(2) The Treasurer may, by a further direction in writing given to the State entity, amend or revoke a direction previously given to it under this section.\n\n(3) Requirements in a direction under this section may relate to things that have happened before the direction was given.\n\n(4) A State entity is to comply with directions under this section despite any other written law.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *State Entities (Payments) Act 1999* and includes all amendments effected by the other Acts referred to in the following Table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *State Entities (Payments) Act 1999* | 52 of 1999 | 7 Dec 1999 | 4 Jan 2000 |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nCommissioner of Taxation 2(1)\n\nGST 2(1)\n\nGST Imposition Acts 2(2)\n\nState entity 2(1)\n\nTreasurer 2(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is not possible as the legislative text was not retrievable. The URL provided returned an error page indicating the content has moved or been removed from the Western Australian legislation website."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was available for analysis — the page returned a 'not found' error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the actual provisions","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The State Entities (Payments) Act 1999 appears to set the framework for how Western Australian government bodies make and receive payments, establishing rules for authorising, processing and accountability of public-sector financial transactions. It matters for transparency, compliance and proper handling of public funds.\n\nIt likely affects public servants, agencies, contractors and individuals receiving government payments. For the full text, check the Western Australian legislation website."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating voluntary GST-equivalent payments by state entities as part of the 1999 Intergovernmental Agreement on financial relations. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific fiscal mechanism."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (4 sections, approximately 1 page)","Only 5 defined terms, all clearly explained","Simple conditional structure in section 3 (two 'if' conditions)","No cross-references to other Western Australian legislation","Only references external Commonwealth legislation for definitions","No exceptions, exemptions, or nested conditions","Straightforward administrative mechanism with minimal procedural requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law allows certain state government bodies to voluntarily pay money to the Australian Taxation Office that would have been GST (Goods and Services Tax) if the Constitution didn't prevent states from being charged GST.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Creates a voluntary payment system**: State entities (government bodies that don't pay GST due to constitutional protection) can choose to pay amounts equivalent to what their GST would have been.\n- **Gives the Treasurer power to direct payments**: The State Treasurer can issue written orders requiring these state bodies to make these payments or take related actions.\n- **Overrides other laws**: These Treasurer's directions must be followed even if other laws would normally prevent them.\n\n**Why it exists:**\nThis law was created to implement part of the 1999 Intergovernmental Agreement on financial relations between the Commonwealth and the states. When the GST was introduced in 2000, states were constitutionally exempt from paying it. This law lets Western Australia voluntarily contribute equivalent amounts to ensure fair financial arrangements with the federal government.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- State government entities (departments, agencies, statutory bodies)\n- The State Treasurer\n- The Commonwealth Commissioner of Taxation\n\n**Key point**: The payments are voluntary under section 3, but once the Treasurer issues a direction under section 4, compliance becomes mandatory."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope is confined to enabling voluntary GST‑equivalent payments by defined state entities and permitting the Treasurer to issue directions to implement those payments and related actions (ss 2–4). It implements measures described in the Intergovernmental Agreement and does not, on its face, broaden to impose compulsory taxation or other fiscal powers beyond those described (see long title and ss 3–4)."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute with limited operative provisions (mainly ss 3–4).","Key definitions tie to Commonwealth GST law and specific GST Imposition Acts, requiring cross‑referencing (s 2(1)–(2)).","Authorises voluntary payments equivalent to GST rather than imposing a new tax, but requires calculation consistent with Commonwealth GST rules (s 3).","Grants the Treasurer executive discretion to direct, amend or revoke directions to state entities, including retrospective requirements and an override of other written law (s 4(1)–(4)); this concentrates implementation decisions in the Treasurer's office.","Administrative complexity arises from interaction with Commonwealth taxation administration (reference to the Commissioner of Taxation) and the need for state entities to perform acts they would do if GST‑liable (s 2(1), s 3)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act allows Western Australian \"state entities\" to voluntarily pay amounts equal to the GST to the Australian Commissioner of Taxation and to do things they would need to do if they were GST‑liable. It was made to facilitate measures in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Commonwealth–State financial relations. The Treasurer can direct state entities to make those payments, amend or revoke directions, and such directions override other written law, so affected entities must follow the Treasurer's written instructions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/state-entities-payments-act-1999","history":"/api/acts/state-entities-payments-act-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/state-entities-payments-act-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/state-entities-payments-act-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/state-entities-payments-act-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/state-entities-payments-act-1999/documents"}}