{"id":"C1962A00068","name":"States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1962","slug":"states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"68 of 1962","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":5043,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1962A00068-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1962","content":"STATES GRANTS (SPECIAL ASSISTANCE).\n\nNo. 68 of 1962.\n\nAn Act to grant Financial Assistance to the States of Western Australia and Tasmania.\n\n\\[Assented to 24th November, 1962.\\]\n\nBE it enacted by the Queen’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 (Special Assistance) Act 1962.\n\nCommencement.\n\n2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\nPayment of financial assistance to States.\n\n3. There is payable, during the year that commenced on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and sixty-two, to a State specified in the Schedule to this Act, for the purpose of financial assistance, the amount specified in that Schedule opposite to the name of that State less any amounts paid to that State in pursuance of section four of the States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1961.\n\n  \n\nAdvances for year 1963-64.\n\n4. The Treasurer may, during the period of six months commencing on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and sixty-three, make advances to the State of Western Australia or the State of Tasmania, for the purpose of financial assistance, of amounts not exceeding in the whole a sum equal to one-half of the amount specified in the Schedule to this Act opposite to the name of that State.\n\nAppropriation.\n\n5. Payments in accordance with this Act shall be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.\n\nTHE SCHEDULE. Section 3.\n\n|                                                              | £          |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------- |\n| Western Australia........................................... | 6,210,000  |\n| Tasmania.................................................    | 5,041,000  |\n|                                                              | 11,251,000 |","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Section 4","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The Act purports to govern a single year of financial assistance (1962-63 per Section 3), yet Section 4 reaches into the following financial year (1963-64) using the same Schedule figures as the advance ceiling. There is no appropriation, formula, or legislative basis establishing that the 1962-63 grant quantum is the appropriate proxy for 1963-64 advances. The advance cap is therefore an arbitrary and unexplained carry-over of a prior year's figure.","confidence":0.82,"description":"Section 4 authorises the Treasurer to make advances during the period commencing 1 July 1963 (i.e. the 1963-64 financial year), but the Schedule referenced is tied to Section 3 and relates solely to the 1962-63 financial year. The advances are capped at one-half of the Schedule amount, which is a figure appropriated for a completely different financial year with no demonstrated connection to the 1963-64 funding requirements."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 4","severity":"low","reasoning":"The phrase 'not exceeding in the whole a sum equal to one-half of the amount specified in the Schedule opposite to the name of that State' is grammatically awkward when read against 'Western Australia or Tasmania'. If the Treasurer makes advances to both States, 'that State' is undefined — it could mean each State gets its own half-Schedule cap (the sensible reading), but the singular drafting creates unnecessary ambiguity.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 4 authorises advances 'to the State of Western Australia or the State of Tasmania' and then refers to 'the name of that State' (singular) when consulting the Schedule — but the provision permits advances to either or both States simultaneously. The grammar implies a single State is contemplated at a time, creating ambiguity about whether the half-Schedule cap applies per State individually or in aggregate across both States."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Section 3","severity":"low","reasoning":"While cross-referencing prior legislation is common drafting practice, the Act provides no procedural mechanism — no certificate, no Treasurer determination, no audit process — by which the Section 3 amount can be definitively calculated and paid. This is not fatal but creates a practical compliance gap.","confidence":0.6,"description":"Section 3 requires a deduction of 'any amounts paid to that State in pursuance of section four of the States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1961', but there is no mechanism in this Act to verify, audit, or certify what those prior payments were. The payable amount is therefore indeterminate at the time of payment, making precise compliance with the appropriation impossible without external records that are not incorporated by reference."},{"type":"other","section":"Sections 4 and 5 (read together)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Australian constitutional and appropriations practice generally requires appropriation to be tied to the financial year of expenditure. A 1962 Act purporting to appropriate funds payable during 1963-64 via Section 4 advances may be constitutionally and administratively questionable, as the relevant Appropriation Acts for 1963-64 would not yet have been enacted at the time of this Act's passage.","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 5 appropriates the Consolidated Revenue Fund for 'payments in accordance with this Act'. Section 3 payments are for the 1962-63 year. Section 4 advances are for the 1963-64 period. However, the Act's long title and preamble confine its purpose to financial assistance for a single grant — the appropriation in Section 5 may be insufficient legislative authority to cover payments made in a future financial year (1963-64), which would ordinarily require a fresh appropriation in that year's relevant Act."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 3","section_b":"Section 4","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 3 frames the Act as a payment instrument for the financial year commencing 1 July 1962 (1962-63), while Section 4 creates a separate advance regime for the period commencing 1 July 1963 (1963-64). The Act is thus simultaneously a concluded payment Act for one year and an advance-authorisation Act for the next — two structurally distinct legislative purposes that sit uneasily together, with no reconciliation mechanism between the Section 4 advances and whatever grant legislation ultimately covers 1963-64."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 3 (Schedule reference)","section_b":"Section 4 (Schedule reference)","confidence":0.85,"description":"The Schedule is expressly headed 'Section 3' and contains grant amounts for the 1962-63 financial year. Section 4 nonetheless draws on the same Schedule to calculate the advance ceiling for 1963-64. The Schedule's own heading confines it to Section 3, creating a textual conflict: Section 4 imports figures from a Schedule that on its face does not apply to Section 4."}]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is entirely consistent with its original and stated purpose: making a one-year special financial assistance grant to Western Australia and Tasmania. It does not expand into new policy areas, add new regulatory powers, or depart from the template established by its predecessor Acts. The advance payment provision in section 4 is a minor administrative mechanism, not a scope expansion. The legislation is narrow, time-limited, and purpose-specific."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 operative sections — extremely brief","Minimal defined terms — no interpretation section at all","One cross-reference to a prior Act (States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1961) for the deduction mechanism","Simple conditional logic: advance payments capped at half the scheduled amount and limited to a six-month window","Single Schedule with two line items — straightforward tabular structure","No regulations, no delegated powers beyond the Treasurer's advance authority, no appeals or review mechanisms"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act authorises the Commonwealth to pay lump-sum special assistance to Western Australia (£6,210,000) and Tasmania (£5,041,000) for 1962–63, with any prior-year payments deducted. It lets the Treasurer advance up to half of each entitlement in the first six months of the following financial year and appropriates the money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The measure supports those States’ finances and reflects mid‑20th‑century fiscal equalisation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962","history":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962/history","analysis":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1962/documents"}}