{"id":"C1936A00012","name":"States Grants (Local Public Works) Act 1936","slug":"states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"12 of 1936","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3780,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1936A00012-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"States Grants (Local Public Works) Act 1936","content":"STATES GRANTS (LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS).\n\nNo. 12 of 1936.\n\nAn Act to grant and apply out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund sums for the purposes of Financial Assistance to the States.\n\n\\[Assented to 27th May, 1936.\\]\n\nPreamble.\n\nBE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, for the purpose of appropriating the grant originated in the House of Representatives, as follows:—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the States Grants (Local Public Works) Act 1936.\n\n  \n\nDefinitions.\n\n2. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n“approved loans” means loans the terms of which have been approved by the Government of a State;\n\n“public work” means any work—\n\n(a) which is constructed or is to be constructed by the Government of a State or by a local Government authority or is a hospital or public health institution; and\n\n(b) which is declared by the Government of a State to be a public work and is approved by the Treasurer of the Commonwealth.\n\nAppropriation for Financial Assistance to States.\n\n3. There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, in each financial year during the period commencing on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five and ending on the thirtieth day of June One thousand nine hundred and forty-five, the sum of One hundred thousand pounds for the purpose of financial assistance to the States.\n\nAllocation of grant.\n\n4. The amount payable under this Act in each financial year during the period referred to in section three of this Act to each State shall be the amount shown in the following table opposite to the name of that State:—\n\n|                                                       | £        |\n| ----------------------------------------------------- | -------- |\n| New South Wales....................................   | 39,400   |\n| Victoria...........................................   | 27,400   |\n| Queensland.........................................   | 14,450   |\n| South Australia...................................... | 8,700    |\n| Western Australia.................................... | 6,650    |\n| Tasmania..........................................    | 3,400    |\n|                                                       | £100,000 |\n\nTime and manner of payment.\n\n5. Any amount payable to a State under this Act shall be paid to that State at such times, and in such manner, as the Treasurer of the Commonwealth approves.\n\nConditions of grant.\n\n6. Any moneys paid in any financial year to a State under this Act (in this section referred to as “the moneys”) shall be paid upon the following conditions:—\n\n(a) The moneys shall, subject to this section, be paid by the Treasurer of the State to authorities or bodies controlling public works for the purpose of the payment of interest and sinking fund charges on approved loans for public works commenced, with the approval of the Government of the State, on or after the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five.\n\n  \n\n(b) The Government of a State makes or has made a contribution—\n\n(i) towards the annual interest and sinking fund charges on any loan in respect of which moneys for the payment of interest and sinking fund charges are paid under the last preceding paragraph;\n\n(ii) in reduction of the capital amount of any such loan, or towards the capital cost of any public work specified in the last preceding paragraph; or\n\n(iii) under each of the last two preceding sub-paragraphs.\n\n(c) A payment made in any financial year under paragraph (a) of this section in respect of the interest and sinking fund charges on any loan shall not exceed—\n\n(i) where the Government of a State has made a contribution in that financial year under subparagraph (i) of the last preceding paragraph—the amount of that contribution, or the balance of the amount of interest and sinking fund charges payable on the loan in respect of that financial year after any such contribution has been deducted therefrom, whichever is the less;\n\n(ii) where the Government of a State has made on or after the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, a contribution under subparagraph (ii) of the last preceding paragraph—the amount by which the interest and sinking fund charges, which would have been payable in that financial year on a loan representing the total capital cost of the public work, are reduced by the making of the contribution; or\n\n(iii) where the Government of a State has made a contribution in that financial year under subparagraph (i) and under sub-paragraph (ii) of the last preceding paragraph—the sum of the amounts specified in the last two preceding sub-paragraphs.\n\n(d) The moneys shall not be applied for or towards the capital cost of any work, otherwise than by way of payment of sinking fund charges.\n\n(e) In selecting loans for the purposes of payments under paragraph (a) of this section preference shall, as a general rule, be given, as far as practicable, to loans for works in districts outside metropolitan areas, and, as between works in different districts, to those affording the greatest opportunity for the employment of labour.\n\n(f) Where the Government of a State directly controls a public work of a kind which, in any other State, is controlled by an authority or body, the Government of that State may apply the whole or portion of the moneys towards payment of interest and sinking fund charges on\n\n  \n\nloans for that public work, in the same manner and subject, mutatis mutandis, to the same conditions as if the public work were controlled by an authority or body.\n\n(g) The Treasurer of the State shall keep a separate account in the books of the Treasury to which the moneys shall be credited and to which there shall be debited all moneys paid or applied by the State under this section.\n\n(h) Forthwith after the close of each financial year (commencing with the financial year ending on the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six) the Government of each State shall furnish to the Treasurer of the Commonwealth a statement, certified by the Auditor-General for that State, setting out, in respect of that financial year—\n\n(i) the amount (if any) to the credit of the account referred to in the last preceding paragraph at the beginning of the financial year;\n\n(ii) the amount received from the Commonwealth under this Act during the financial year;\n\n(iii) the amounts paid or applied by the State under this Act during the financial year (specifying the loans in respect of the interest and sinking fund charges on which the amounts were paid or applied); and\n\n(iv) the amount (if any) to the credit of the account referred to in the last preceding paragraph at the close of the financial year.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is a single-purpose, time-limited piece of legislation and there is no evidence of scope change. It does exactly what its title and preamble promise: it grants Commonwealth financial assistance to the States for local public works, over a fixed ten-year period, with fixed annual amounts per State. There are no amendments evident in the text, no expansion of eligible recipients or purposes beyond the original framework, and no bolt-on provisions addressing unrelated matters. The scope remains tightly aligned with its original Depression-era employment and infrastructure relief intent."},"complexity_factors":["Nested conditional logic in section 6(c), with three sub-scenarios each with their own calculation rules for maximum payment amounts","Cross-referencing between subsections (e.g. section 6(c) references sub-paragraphs of section 6(b), which in turn references section 6(a))","Defined terms ('approved loans', 'public work') that carry legal weight throughout the conditions in section 6","Latin legal term 'mutatis mutandis' used without plain English explanation in section 6(f), creating interpretive ambiguity","Multiple layered conditions in section 6 that must all be satisfied simultaneously for a valid payment","Dual-approval mechanism requiring both State government declaration and Commonwealth Treasurer approval for a work to qualify","Sinking fund and interest charge calculations require financial and accounting expertise to apply correctly"],"plain_english_summary":"## States Grants (Local Public Works) Act 1936\n\n**What this law does**\n\nThis Act authorises the Australian Commonwealth (federal) government to hand over money to each State government to help pay the costs of local public works — things like roads, hospitals, and infrastructure built by State governments or local councils.\n\n**The money involved**\n\nThe Commonwealth commits to paying **£100,000 per year** (one hundred thousand pounds) for **ten financial years**, from 1 July 1935 to 30 June 1945. The money comes out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (the main pool of Commonwealth government money). Each State gets a fixed slice of that annual amount:\n\n- **New South Wales** — £39,400\n- **Victoria** — £27,400\n- **Queensland** — £14,450\n- **South Australia** — £8,700\n- **Western Australia** — £6,650\n- **Tasmania** — £3,400\n\n**Who does it affect?**\n\n- **State governments**, who receive and distribute the funds\n- **Local government authorities** and bodies that run public works (e.g. councils managing roads or water infrastructure)\n- **Hospitals and public health institutions**\n- Ultimately, **communities across Australia**, particularly outside major cities\n\n**What are the strings attached?**\n\nThe grants come with strict conditions. States can only use the money to:\n- Pay **interest and sinking fund charges** (that is, the ongoing cost of repaying borrowed money — both the interest on the debt and the regular contributions set aside to eventually pay off the loan's principal) on approved loans for eligible public works\n- The works must have **started on or after 1 July 1935** and be approved by the State government\n- The **Commonwealth Treasurer** must approve the loan terms and the specific public works\n\nCritically, the Commonwealth's payment **cannot exceed what the State itself contributes** — the grant is designed to *match or supplement* the State's own financial contribution toward these loans. This ensures States have \"skin in the game.\"\n\n**Other key rules:**\n- The money **cannot be used to directly fund construction costs** — only to service debt (repay loans)\n- **Priority must be given** to works in regional and rural areas (outside metropolitan zones), and especially to projects that create the most **employment opportunities**\n- Each State Treasurer must keep a **separate account** tracking every dollar received and spent\n- States must provide an **annual certified report** (signed off by their Auditor-General) to the Commonwealth Treasurer showing exactly how the money was used\n\n**Why it matters**\n\nThis Act was passed during the tail end of the Great Depression, when unemployment was high and public infrastructure was desperately needed. By subsidising the debt costs of local public works, the Commonwealth encouraged States and local councils to borrow and build — putting people to work without directly funding construction itself. The preference for regional projects and labour-intensive works makes the employment relief purpose very clear."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Section 3","severity":"high","reasoning":"An Act can only operate prospectively unless it expressly and validly provides for retrospective effect, and even then it cannot appropriate funds for a period before it was enacted in any meaningful operational sense. States could not have known the conditions of the grant (set out in s.6) when undertaking works from 1 July 1935, because the Act did not exist. Compliance with s.6(a) — requiring works to be 'commenced with the approval of the Government of the State, on or after the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five' — was practically impossible for the first year since no framework for approval existed under this Act.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The Act, assented to on 27 May 1936, appropriates funds for a period that commenced on 1 July 1935 — nearly a full year before the Act existed. The Commonwealth is purporting to appropriate money for a period already partially elapsed and for obligations that may have already been incurred before the Act had any legal force."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Section 6(h)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The first certified statement must cover the financial year ending 30 June 1936. The Act commenced 27 May 1936. States had 34 days to establish separate Treasury accounts (s.6(g)), receive Commonwealth funds (s.5), disburse those funds (s.6(a)), make matching contributions (s.6(b)), and then have the Auditor-General certify a full-year statement. The requirement to report on the opening balance as at 1 July 1935 is particularly absurd since the Act did not exist on that date and no such account could have been lawfully maintained.","confidence":0.88,"description":"The Act requires States to furnish a certified financial statement 'forthwith after the close of each financial year, commencing with the financial year ending on the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six.' However, the Act was not assented to until 27 May 1936, meaning the first reporting period closes just 34 days after the Act came into existence. States are required to report on activities (including 'the amount (if any) to the credit of the account at the beginning of the financial year' — i.e., 1 July 1935) for a period that pre-dates the Act, making meaningful compliance with the first reporting cycle practically impossible."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 2 — definition of 'public work', paragraph (a)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The drafting of paragraph (a) creates an unintended breadth. The phrase 'or is a hospital or public health institution' appears to be a standalone category not qualified by the 'constructed or is to be constructed by the Government of a State or by a local Government authority' limb. A purely private hospital would technically satisfy paragraph (a), and if the State Government then declared it a public work and the Commonwealth Treasurer approved it (paragraph (b)), it would qualify for grant funding — an almost certainly unintended result.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The definition of 'public work' includes any work 'which is constructed or is to be constructed by the Government of a State or by a local Government authority OR is a hospital or public health institution.' The disjunctive 'or is a hospital or public health institution' is grammatically severed from the construction requirement, meaning a hospital or public health institution qualifies as a 'public work' regardless of who constructs it, whether it is privately owned, already completed, or located overseas."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 6(b)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 6 states that moneys 'shall be paid upon the following conditions' and then lists (a) through (h). Paragraph (a) uses imperative language ('The moneys shall... be paid'). Paragraph (b) by contrast simply states 'The Government of a State makes or has made a contribution...' with no operative verb linking this to a consequence. There is no 'if', 'provided that', or 'only where' — it reads as a description rather than a condition, making enforcement of this matching-contribution requirement legally ambiguous.","confidence":0.75,"description":"Section 6(b) is framed as a condition of the grant but is grammatically incomplete — it is a noun clause ('The Government of a State makes or has made a contribution...') with no main verb or operative consequence. It does not say the moneys 'shall only be paid if' the Government makes a contribution, nor does it impose any sanction or withholding mechanism. As drafted, it is a statement of fact rather than a condition."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 2 — definition of 'approved loans'","severity":"low","reasoning":"The word 'approved' implies some independent standard or external check, but the definition vests approval entirely in the very party that benefits from a generous interpretation. A State could approve any loan terms — including unfavourable ones that maximise grant draw-down — and there is no mechanism in the Act for the Commonwealth to reject them. The definition does no real definitional work.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The term 'approved loans' is defined circularly by reference to loans 'the terms of which have been approved by the Government of a State.' The State Government is both the entity receiving the grant and the entity doing the approving, meaning in practice a State could self-approve any loan terms it wishes. There is no Commonwealth oversight or objective standard in the definition, rendering the word 'approved' meaningless as a constraint."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Section 3","section_b":"Section 6(a)","confidence":0.83,"description":"Section 3 appropriates funds for each financial year 'during the period commencing on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five.' Section 6(a) requires that public works must have been 'commenced, with the approval of the Government of the State, on or after the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five.' Since the Act was not assented to until 27 May 1936, no works commenced between 1 July 1935 and 26 May 1936 could have been approved under this Act's framework, yet the appropriation purports to cover that period. The Act simultaneously claims to cover that year and imposes conditions that were impossible to satisfy during it."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 6(a)","section_b":"Section 6(d)","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 6(a) directs that moneys be paid to authorities 'for the purpose of the payment of interest and sinking fund charges on approved loans.' Section 6(d) states that 'the moneys shall not be applied for or towards the capital cost of any work, otherwise than by way of payment of sinking fund charges.' This creates an internal tension: sinking fund charges are, by their nature, contributions towards the eventual repayment of capital (i.e., the capital cost of the loan). Section 6(d) purports to prohibit use for capital costs but then carves out sinking fund charges — which are themselves a mechanism for meeting capital costs. The provision is self-undermining: it prohibits capital expenditure while mandating a form of expenditure that is inherently capital in nature."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 6(c)(i)","section_b":"Section 6(c)(ii)","confidence":0.62,"description":"Section 6(c)(i) caps Commonwealth payment at the lesser of the State's matching contribution or the remaining interest/sinking fund balance after the State's contribution — producing a ceiling tied to the current financial year's contribution. Section 6(c)(ii) caps Commonwealth payment based on the reduction in annual charges achieved by a capital contribution made 'on or after the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five.' Where both apply (s.6(c)(iii) adds them together), a State that made a large historical capital contribution reducing its loan charges significantly could claim a Commonwealth payment under (ii) that, when added to the (i) amount under (iii), exceeds the actual interest and sinking fund charges payable in that year — potentially resulting in the Commonwealth paying more than the total charges on the loan, which is logically inconsistent with the purpose of the section."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936","history":"/api/acts/states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936/history","analysis":"/api/acts/states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/states-grants-local-public-works-act-1936/documents"}}