{"id":"C1972A00116","name":"States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1972","slug":"states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"116 of 1972","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2494,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1972A00116-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-29","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1972","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\nStates Grants (Special Assistance)\n\nNo. 116 of 1972\n\nAn Act to grant Financial Assistance to the States of Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.\n\n[Assented to 31 October 1972]\n\nBE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1972.\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 a State.\n\n3.—(1.) Subject to this section, there is payable during the year that commenced on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-two, for the purpose of financial assistance—\n\n(a) to the State of Queensland—the sum of Ten million dollars;\n\n(b) to the State of South Australia—the sum of Twenty-one million dollars; and\n\n(c) to the State of Tasmania—the sum of Seven million six hundred thousand dollars.\n\n(2.) A sum payable to the State of Queensland under the last preceding sub-section shall be reduced by the sum of any amounts paid to that State under section 4 of the Queensland Grant Act 1972.\n\n\n\n\n(3.) A sum payable to the State of South Australia or to the State of Tasmania under sub-section (1.) of this section shall be reduced by the sum of any amounts paid to that State under section 4 of the States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1971.\n\n(4.) Payments for the purposes of this section shall be made in such amounts and at such times as the Treasurer determines.\n\nPayments for year 1973–74.\n\n4. The Treasurer may, during the period of six months commencing on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-three, make payments to a State referred to in sub-section (1.) of the last preceding section, for the purpose of financial assistance, of amounts not exceeding in the whole a sum equal to one-half of the amount specified in that sub-section in relation to 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\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act remains tightly scoped to its original 1972 purpose: authorising Commonwealth special financial assistance payments to states experiencing fiscal disadvantage. It is a machinery/appropriation Act and does not appear to have expanded beyond that narrow remit. The broader policy framework it supports (fiscal equalisation) has evolved over decades through separate legislation and Grants Commission processes, but this Act itself has not grown in scope."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act with minimal substantive provisions","Narrow single purpose — appropriating funds for state special assistance grants","Few or no defined terms requiring interpretation","No complex conditional logic or nested exceptions","Cross-references are likely limited to the Constitution (s.96) and standard appropriation machinery","No regulatory scheme, enforcement mechanisms, or offence provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"The States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1972 authorises the Commonwealth to make targeted financial payments to Australian states facing particular fiscal hardship or weaker revenue capacity. \n\nIt lets the federal government top up disadvantaged states so they can deliver services comparable to wealthier states, affecting state governments, taxpayers and residents, and supporting Australia’s fiscal equalisation principle while leaving allocation details to separate budget and administrative processes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972","history":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972/history","analysis":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/states-grants-special-assistance-act-1972/documents"}}