This determination uses a small set of statutory and administrative concepts. The operative statutory reference is subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, which the instrument invokes as the source of power. The document itself is a "determination" in the technical sense used by the Act, and it performs the function of specifying amounts to be paid under the Commonwealth’s general purpose financial assistance framework.

The phrase "general purpose financial assistance" appears in the document as the purpose for which the amounts are to be paid. The instrument does not define that term within its text; it simply states that the amounts are to be paid for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to the named States. The table heading identifies a payment date: "for payment on 22 January 2018". That date is the temporal anchor for the financial transfer; clause 2 confirms the determination commences on the day it is made, which in practice is 18 January 2018 (the date printed on the instrument).

The schedule format is a basic ledger-style table which lists Australian States and Territories in rows and a single money column labelled "Amount of General purpose financial assistance". Some rows are populated by numeric amounts shown to cent precision and prefixed by a dollar sign, and across other rows a dash symbol appears instead of a numeric entry. The schedule also contains a "Total" row which sets out the aggregate amount to be paid under the determination, $56,037,663.94. The arithmetic in the schedule is internally consistent: the two numeric entries sum exactly to the stated total.

Procedurally, the instrument is an example of an administrative determination that triggers a payment obligation by the Commonwealth. The document identifies the decision-maker,the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services,by name and formal title and states that the determination is made under subsection 9(1). The instrument does not specify the accounting, banking or departmental processes that will effect the actual transfer; those operational matters sit outside the text and would be handled by the Commonwealth’s relevant agencies.

Conceptually, the determination distinguishes the act of specifying and committing amounts from any subsequent use or conditions attached to the funds. The only stated purpose is the grant of general purpose financial assistance; no further conditions, reporting requirements, or enforcement mechanism are included in the instrument itself. The document therefore operates as a focused, single-object instruction within the broader fiscal framework established by the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

The immediate parties identified in the instrument are the Commonwealth (through its Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) and the States and Territories listed in the schedule. The instrument names the decision-maker directly: Kelly Megan O’Dwyer, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, and states she makes the determination under s 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The payment schedule identifies State and Territory rows and assigns amounts; on the face of the table Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory are the recipients of specified positive payments, while New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are shown with a dash in the amount column, which the schedule presents instead of a numeric value.

Who pays. The instrument effects a Commonwealth payment obligation. By invoking the Minister’s power under the referenced Act and specifying amounts "to be paid to the States", the determination requires the Commonwealth to disburse the listed amounts. The source text does not set out the departmental agent responsible for making the electronic transfer, but the named Minister and the statutory power indicate the Commonwealth as payer.

Who receives. The recipients named are the States and Territories listed in the schedule, with Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory identified as receiving $52,740,859.01 and $3,296,804.93 respectively. The schedule’s "Total" row aggregates to $56,037,663.94.

Who decides. The document shows an individual Minister exercising a statutory power under s 9(1). The instrument is dated 18 January 2018 and states it commences on the day it is made, indicating a short lead time between the decision (18 January) and the payment date specified in the schedule (22 January 2018).

Who must account. The instrument does not include reporting conditions, but the recipient jurisdictions are the nominal payees and thus will need to account in their own financial statements for receipt of the funds. Commonwealth accounting entities implementing the payment will likewise need to process the transfer in departmental and consolidated Commonwealth financial reporting. No other parties are named or given duties in the text.

Who does not receive. Importantly, several large States show a dash rather than an amount. The instrument therefore affects those jurisdictions in that it documents their non-receipt under this payment round. For recipients and non-recipients alike, the determination is an express record of the Commonwealth’s distribution decision under the statutory power for that payment date.

The instrument sets out a concise allocation instruction and thereby creates a set of minimal rights and administrative duties that are explicit or necessarily implied by the act of payment. The core declarative duty on its face is the Commonwealth’s obligation to pay the specified amounts to the listed States. Clause 3 states: "The amounts specified in the following table are to be paid to the States for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States." That language secures a right in the payee States to receive the amounts specified and a duty on the Commonwealth to make the payments.

Decision duty. The Minister is the decision-maker who exercises the power under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The instrument records the Minister’s exercise of that authority. The instrument itself does not create ongoing duties for the Minister beyond the act of making the determination; it records a discrete exercise of statutory power.

Payment duty. The determination fixes a payment date in the table heading,"for payment on 22 January 2018",which imposes an implied Commonwealth duty to effect the transfer by or on that date. The instrument does not lay down the procedural steps for effecting payment, but the specification of a date creates an operational deadline for the Commonwealth’s agencies that process and execute payments.

Recipient rights and duties. The named recipient jurisdictions have the right to receive and to record the receipt of the specified amounts. The instrument states the purpose of the payment is "for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States." That language indicates the funds are allocated to support general purpose financial assistance within recipient jurisdictions, but the instrument does not impose express conditions, reporting duties, or earmarks on the use of funds beyond that single stated purpose. The absence of conditions in the determination means any duties about the use, reporting, or acquittal of funds must be found elsewhere in the Act or in other instruments, not in this determination.

Administrative duties. Implementing the payment,initiating, authorising and reconciling transfers,will be an administrative duty for Commonwealth departments and for State Treasury or relevant accounting officers. The instrument does not delineate which departmental officers perform those duties. Practically the short window between the instrument’s date (18 January 2018) and the scheduled payment date (22 January 2018) creates an operational duty to process the payment promptly.

No penal or enforcement provisions. The determination does not create sanctions or enforcement mechanisms relating to non-payment, non-use, or misapplication. Any enforcement rights or remedies would sit in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 or other applicable law rather than in this instrument itself.

The determination contains no penalty provisions and does not set out any enforcement mechanisms within its text. The instrument is a short administrative direction specifying amounts and a payment date; it does not provide for sanctions, withholding, recovery mechanisms, or compliance reporting. Consequently, any enforcement, remedies or dispute-resolution pathways relevant to non-compliance or disagreements about the payment must be found in the empowering legislation,here, the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009,or in other statutory or administrative arrangements, none of which are reproduced in the determination.

Because the instrument is an exercise of ministerial power under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the Act would be the natural source for rights and remedies if a payment were not made as specified. The determination itself, however, contains only declaratory content directing that specified amounts "are to be paid to the States for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States." The absence of in-instrument enforcement detail means that practical enforcement of the payment obligation is administrative: the Commonwealth’s accounting and payment systems must effect the transfer on the specified date, and the recipient jurisdictions can pursue any statutory remedies available under the Act or other general legal avenues if the Commonwealth fails to do so. None of those remedies or processes are described in this instrument.

The instrument also does not provide for conditions on the use of funds, nor does it specify reporting, acquittal, or clawback mechanisms. If a recipient jurisdiction were alleged to have misused funds, any corrective or remedial power would be exercised under separate statutory or intergovernmental arrangements, not by this determination. Likewise, the instrument does not authorise the imposition of fines or administrative penalties.

Finally, the short timeframe between the instrument date (18 January 2018) and the listed payment date (22 January 2018) implies that operational failure to transfer funds on the payment date would be an administrative default. The document itself does not identify the departments or officers responsible for ensuring the transfer nor any internal administrative escalation procedures to be followed in the event of non-payment. In short, the determination creates a payment obligation but leaves enforcement and remedial measures to the broader statutory and administrative framework beyond its text.

The instrument identifies its statutory source explicitly: it is made under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The determination therefore operates as an exercise of a statutory power conferred by that Act. The instrument does not reproduce any other provisions of the Act, nor does it state any interaction with state legislation, intergovernmental agreements, or other Commonwealth statutes. The determination is narrowly framed: it specifies amounts to be paid and cites the enabling subsection.

Because the determination relies on s 9(1), its legal validity and effect should be read in the context of the powers and limits set by the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The instrument itself does not restate any limits, conditions or procedural requirements from that Act. Therefore the determination should be interpreted as part of the statute’s delegated instrument regime: a ministerial determination under a statutory grant of authority that authorises financial transfers. Any procedural or substantive constraints on the Minister’s power (for example requirement to be satisfied as to certain criteria, or constraints on the quantum or frequency of payments) would be found in the referenced statute and not in this text. The determination does not attempt to amend or displace other laws; it is an administrative act implementing a statutory power.

The determination does not assert that the payments replace or supplement other Commonwealth grants, nor does it reference any specific intergovernmental agreements such as Australian Health Care agreements, National Agreements, or GST distribution mechanisms. The instrument is silent on whether these payments are to be treated as adjustments to previously announced allocations or are new cash flows. The instrument’s single sentence of purpose,"for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States",identifies the functional interaction: the Commonwealth is providing funds that are characterised as general purpose financial assistance. Any legal consequences for State budgeting, municipal grants, or conditional funding streams would therefore be determined by other instruments, agreements or internal State law.

In sum, the determination is an adjunct to the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009: it exercises the Act’s delegated power to list and commit specific payments. Its legal interaction with other laws is implicit rather than explicit; it depends on the statutory regime under which it is made for limitations, remedies and procedural obligations. The instrument itself provides no cross-references to state law, departmental rules, or intergovernmental protocols.

The document presented is titled Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 106 (January 2018) and is dated 18 January 2018. The text of the instrument does not include any express amendment history, transitional provisions, or schedules that indicate prior versions, revocations, or superseding instruments. The instrument repeats its name and the payment table within the published text, but there is no separate amendment clause within the instrument.

On its face the determination appears to be a stand-alone schedule for a single payment date, described as "for payment on 22 January 2018". The body of the instrument contains three numbered clauses: (1) name of determination, (2) commencement, and (3) the operative determination specifying amounts to be paid. There is no clause that purports to amend any prior determination, nor is there any notation in the text of changes to existing determinations. No revocation language is included.

Because the instrument is a ministerial determination under a statutory regime, subsequent determinations or instruments could theoretically supersede or vary this allocation for future payments, but the instrument itself does not record such changes. The instrument’s date and commencement clause mean it became effective on 18 January 2018. If amendments were subsequently made, those would be recorded in separate determinations or in the statutory register where delegated instruments are published; nothing of that kind is contained in the present text.

The duplication of the instrument name and table later in the text appears to be a republication within the same document rather than an amendment. That duplication does not indicate substantive change; it repeats the instrument name, the commencement clause, the determination clause and the payment table. There is no marginal note or footnote asserting prior versions or legislative history within this printed instrument.

Practitioners seeking the instrument’s amendment history or whether it has been repealed, replaced, or varied after 18 January 2018 will need to inspect the legislative instrument register or official Commonwealth Gazette entries for subsequent determinations under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. The instrument itself offers no internal trace of amendment history.

The determination text does not mention any judicial or administrative review proceedings, and it records no disputes, appeals, or litigation involving the instrument. The document is a short administrative schedule that records the Minister’s exercise of power under subsection 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, but it contains no litigation record, contest, or notation of legal challenge.

Because the instrument is a delegated statutory instrument, challenges to it could, in principle, be brought under administrative law or statutory judicial review processes if a party with standing sought relief. The instrument itself does not include guidance on standing, nor does it suggest any controversy or dispute surrounding the amounts listed. The schedule includes entries of nil or dash amounts for several jurisdictions; the instrument does not record objections by those jurisdictions, nor does it record any procedural consultation that would normally appear in explanatory material. No case citations, no references to litigation outcomes, and no adjudicative findings are included in the text.

For users,lawyers, accountants or compliance officers,this absence of litigation history in the instrument means two things in practice. First, any assessment of legal risk or enforceability must locate remedies in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 or general administrative law, since the instrument does not itself supply litigation history or precedent. Second, if a party intends to challenge the instrument, they will need to identify external evidence or legal grounds under the Act, and will have to search external legal databases, official registers of instruments or court records for any subsequent litigation related to Determination No. 106 of January 2018. The instrument itself does not supply that record.

In short, there is no litigation history recorded or referenced within the text of this determination.

Interpretation of dashes. The schedule lists several States with a dash in the amount column. The instrument does not explicitly define the dash. In common administrative practice a dash in a payment schedule indicates no payment for that entry, but the instrument does not state "nil" or "zero" explicitly. Practitioners should therefore treat the dash as an absence of a numeric payment only on the basis of the table’s arithmetic: the numeric entries for Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory sum exactly to the stated total. If an accounting system or legal analysis requires absolute certainty, confirm with the Commonwealth agency responsible for payments that the dash denotes a nil entitlement in that payment round.

Timing. The instrument is dated 18 January 2018 and the payment date in the table is 22 January 2018, giving a narrow four-day window between signing and scheduled payment. Financial officers and Treasury contacts on both sides will need to act promptly to effect transfers and reconcile ledger entries. If an organisation’s internal controls require longer notice for fund acceptance, the short lead time could create practical bottlenecks.

Purpose language. The operative clause states the amounts are "to be paid to the States for the purpose of making a grant of general purpose financial assistance to those States." That drafting is circular: the Commonwealth pays the States "for the purpose of making a grant" of general purpose financial assistance to the same States. The instrument does not expand on whether the payment is to be distributed further downstream or how States should account for the funds. Do not infer additional conditions or reporting obligations from this language; they are not present in the instrument.

Precision and arithmetic. The schedule shows amounts calculated to the cent and a total that matches the sum of the numeric entries. The cent-level precision indicates the Commonwealth expects tight accounting reconciliation. Small rounding errors in ledger entries could create reconciliation discrepancies if not handled to cent precision.

Duplication in the instrument. The published instrument repeats the name and the payment table in duplicate blocks of text. That duplication may cause confusion when extracting the instrument text programmatically. Use the numeric amounts from the table rather than repeated headings, and verify that the duplicate blocks are identical; any discrepancy would require further inquiry.

No conditions or enforcement provisions. The instrument contains no conditions on fund use, reporting obligations, clawback powers, or penalties. Practitioners should not assume conditions exist because they are common in other funding instruments. If conditions are required, they will be in a separate instrument or statutory provision, not here.

Currency and sign. Amounts are shown with a dollar sign. The instrument does not expressly state the currency, though the $ notation in Commonwealth determinations is generally understood to mean Australian dollars. If foreign currency interpretation is material for an audit or contract, seek written confirmation.

Agencies and processes omitted. The instrument does not identify the Commonwealth department or bank accounts that will be used for the transfer, nor the State bank accounts that will receive the funds. Verify operational details with the Commonwealth agency responsible for payments to avoid misdirected transfers.

Record-keeping. Because the instrument itself provides minimal commentary or cross-references, it should be recorded and retained as the primary authority for the payment. Do not rely on ancillary press releases or summaries unless they are traceable to authoritative instruments or departmental advice.

For Commonwealth payment officers

1. Treat this determination as the authoritative instruction to effect payments of specific amounts on the stated payment date. The instrument is dated 18 January 2018 and specifies payment on 22 January 2018; plan operational steps to effect transfers by that date.

2. Reconcile the amounts in the table to cent precision. The two numeric entries,Western Australia $52,740,859.01 and Australian Capital Territory $3,296,804.93,sum to the stated total $56,037,663.94. Ensure internal payment files and ledger entries reflect these exact figures to avoid reconciliation variances.

3. Treat dash entries as nil unless you have contrary written confirmation from the relevant Commonwealth authority. Where automated payment runs require explicit zero entries, convert the dash to a zero in payment files to ensure processing does not fail.

4. Identify and confirm the correct recipient accounts and BSB/Account numbers in advance of the payment date. The instrument does not include bank details; responsibility for sourcing and verifying recipient account details rests with implementing agencies.

5. Maintain the determination as the formal legal authority for the payment. Include it in the payment file and retain a signed copy for audit and record-keeping.

For State and Territory recipients and finance teams

1. Expect receipt of funds for Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory in the amounts shown on the payment date. Prepare internal posting and budget reconciliation workflows to accept and record the funds on that date.

2. Verify that the amount received matches the cents shown in the determination. If the transferred amount differs, follow your usual intergovernmental reconciliation and audit process and request clarification from the Commonwealth implementing agency.

3. Do not assume any additional conditions on fund use from this instrument. The determination contains no reporting or acquittal conditions. If your jurisdiction’s accounting standards or ministerial directions require internal acquittal, apply those standards as appropriate, but note that the determination itself imposes no new reporting obligations.

4. Record the instrument in your jurisdiction’s grant register or equivalent ledger. The determination is the document evidencing the Commonwealth’s allocation.

Cross-jurisdictional and audit steps

1. Where automated systems import the determination, convert the dash symbols to explicit zero values to avoid parsing errors. Check that the programmatic import preserves cent precision.

2. If your audit schedule or statutory reporting requires reconciliation with Commonwealth-determined grants, use this determination as the primary source. If there are discrepancies between your records and the Commonwealth’s accounting, escalate to the relevant Commonwealth payment office.

3. If legal certainty is required on the interpretation of the dash or the instrument’s purpose clause, request formal written confirmation from the Department responsible for Commonwealth payments. The instrument does not explain whether the dash entries represent omitted or zero amounts; an internal written confirmation will remove doubt for audit trails.

Practical advice for lawyers and compliance officers

1. Treat the determination as a discrete administrative act under s 9(1) of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009. If a dispute arises about the payment (for example, if funds are not received), first seek administrative remedies with the implementing department and then consider statutory review paths under administrative law as appropriate.

2. Do not infer additional contractual obligations from this determination. Any conditions on use of funds, reporting or clawback provisions must be located in separate instruments or statutory provisions; if these are expected, request them in writing from the Commonwealth.

3. Keep the signed instrument (dated 18 January 2018) and the payment confirmation from Commonwealth accounts as the evidentiary basis for the transfer. These will be relevant for audits and for any later queries about the funds.

In short, compliance is primarily administrative: confirm the amounts and payment date, ensure accurate bank details and cent-level reconciliation, document the transfer, and seek written clarification where interpretative doubts arise.