This legislative instrument, the Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 85 (April 2016), authorises and records a set of Commonwealth payments to the States by specifying amounts to be credited to the COAG Reform Fund and then paid to States as general purpose financial assistance on 21 April 2016. The Determination is made by the Treasurer under section 9 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (the Act) and is dated 19 April 2016 (signed by Scott John Morrison). It commences on the day it is made (cl 2).

Mechanically, the Determination does four things. First, it invokes the s 9 statutory power to determine payments of general purpose financial assistance (cl 10). Second, it directs that the specified amounts in Table 1 are to be credited to the COAG Reform Fund before being paid on a stated payment date , 21 April 2016 , to the States listed (cl 10). Third, it records and confirms that the total of cumulative determinations for the 2015‑16 financial year (set out in Table 2) does not exceed the statutory debit limit of $5,000,000,000.00 established by subsection 9(3) of the Act (cls 12-14). Fourth, it records a statutory procedural exemption: although the determination is a legislative instrument (subsection 9(5) is cited), section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply to this determination (cl 4).

The Determination explicitly links the money-management path for these payments to the COAG Reform Fund and to existing intergovernmental arrangements. It requires crediting to the COAG Reform Fund (cl 6, which restates subsection 9(2) of the Act) and identifies the COAG Reform Fund as the Special Account created under the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 and governed by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (cl 7). It also points to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (the IGA) and, in particular, Schedule D , Payment Arrangements , as the source of the terms and conditions that attach to general purpose financial assistance (cl 8-9 and Schedule 1).

Operationally the Determination does not attempt to set detailed conditions in the instrument itself. Instead it records the Treasurer’s decision to transfer specific amounts into the COAG Reform Fund and to pay them to the States, while directing readers to the IGA Schedule D and to written agreements required under the COAG Reform Fund Act for the terms and conditions. The instrument also contains two Schedules: Schedule 1 summarises relevant payment arrangements under the IGA (including several targeted payments that are described despite the overall “general purpose” label), and Schedule 2 provides further information on the payment amounts (the Determination attaches two images for Table 1 and Table 2 and a separate image for Schedule 2).

In short, the Determination is an authorising, administrative act that (1) exercises the s 9 statutory power to allocate specified sums for general purpose assistance, (2) prescribes the funding path via the COAG Reform Fund Special Account, (3) confirms compliance with the annual debit cap, and (4) preserves the IGA and written-agreement framework for attaching terms and conditions.

The instrument uses and links several statutory and contractual concepts. The principal legal concepts and their operative effects in this Determination are:

• Power under section 9 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009: The Treasurer’s authority to determine amounts of general purpose financial assistance is the enabling legal basis for the Determination. The instrument repeatedly notes that it is made in accordance with subsection 9(1) (see cl 10) and references the related subsections relevant to crediting and the annual debit limit (cls 6, 12-13).

• COAG Reform Fund and Special Account treatment: The COAG Reform Fund is the cash conduit. Clause 6 reiterates subsection 9(2) of the Act that an amount determined under s 9(1) must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. Clause 7 records that the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 established the Fund and that the Fund is a Special Account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. In practice, that ties the treatment of the determined monies to Special Account bookkeeping, appropriation and reporting rules under the PGPA framework.

• Written agreements and Schedule D of the IGA: Clause 8 cites subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 which requires that terms and conditions for grants made through the COAG Reform Fund must be stated in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State. Clause 9 then says that the terms and conditions for all payments of general purpose financial assistance are provided in Schedule D , Payment Arrangements , of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations, and that Schedule 1 to the Determination summarises the relevant provisions. The effect is that this Determination performs the funding authorisation function while the IGA and subsequent written agreements supply the legal framework for conditions, reporting and the like.

• General purpose financial assistance as a class: The Determination emphasises that the purpose is to provide financial support for the States’ service delivery efforts through “general purpose financial assistance to be used by the States for any purpose” (cl 5). That phrase establishes the policy character of the payments: although originating in Commonwealth determinations and routed through the COAG Reform Fund, the monies are characterised as not-forced-purpose by the Commonwealth (subject, however, to the written-agreement regime referenced).

• Debit limit constraint: Clause 12 and 13 reference the statutory cap , subsection 9(3) requires that the total amount credited to the COAG Reform Fund for the purpose of making grants in the financial year starting 1 July 2015 must not exceed $5,000,000,000.00. Clause 14 confirms the total cumulative amount determined to date in the year does not breach that limit.

Direct fiscal actors and institutional stakeholders are clearly identified by the Determination. The immediate parties are:

• The Commonwealth/Treasurer: The Treasurer (instrument signed by Scott John Morrison, dated 19 April 2016) is the decision-maker who, under s 9 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, determines the specified amounts and authorises credits to the COAG Reform Fund (see cl 1 preamble and cl 10). The Commonwealth bears the fiscal cost of the payments, and the payments are routed through the Commonwealth’s COAG Reform Fund Special Account.

• The COAG Reform Fund (administration and accounting): The fund is the Special Account into which amounts under s 9(1) must be credited (cl 6), and which was established by the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 (cl 7). The Department responsible for administering the COAG Reform Fund and the Commonwealth’s finance agencies will need to perform the account operations, reporting and ensure PGPA compliance.

• States and Territories (recipients): Each State (the Determination uses the defined term State, which expressly includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, cl 3) is a potential recipient. Table 1 (image.001.png) specifies amounts to be paid on 21 April 2016 to particular States. Schedule 2 provides further information on the amounts of general purpose financial assistance on that date (Schedule 2 is presented as image.003.png). The State Treasuries and agencies responsible for receiving and applying Commonwealth payments are directly affected, both operationally (banking and ledger entries) and in choice , the Determination states the funds are general purpose and may be used by States for any purpose (cl 5).

• Intergovernmental Agreement counterparties: The Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (the IGA) and its Schedule D are implicated as the place where the terms and conditions for payments are found (cl 9). Officials who negotiate or administer IGA Schedule D arrangements and the written agreements contemplated by the COAG Reform Fund Act will be affected by any reporting, compliance, or conditionality measures that sit behind the payments.

• Specific beneficiary groups within States: Schedule 1 identifies particular reasons why certain funds are payable , for example, compensation to Western Australia for the impact on royalties from an excise amendment, additional municipal costs for the ACT, royalty sharing for the North West Shelf, and payments in lieu for the Ranger Project Area to NT. These arrangements concentrate benefits on identifiable sectors (state treasuries, municipalities in the ACT, industries and communities affected by royalty arrangements). Although the Determination labels the two sets of payments as general purpose, Schedule 1 makes clear that some are compensatory or replace receipts that would otherwise have been collected under federal law or previous arrangements.

The Determination itself is not a compliance-heavy statute but does create and point to duties and rights across three domains: Commonwealth duty to obey crediting and debit rules, administrative duties under the PGPA/COAG Reform Fund Act, and States’ rights to receive and apply the funds subject to the written-agreement regime.

Commonwealth duties and constraints:

• Credit-to-Fund duty: Pursuant to subsection 9(2) of the Federal Financial Relations Act (restated at cl 6), amounts determined must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund prior to payment. This creates an administrative duty on the Commonwealth’s finance agencies to effect the transfer into the Special Account in accordance with the PGPA regime and to ensure accounting integrity.
• Debit limit restriction: Subsection 9(3) (recalled in cl 12) imposes an upper bound , $5,000,000,000.00 for the financial year starting 1 July 2015 , on the total amount that may be credited for the purpose of making grants of general purpose financial assistance. Clauses 13-14 record the cumulative totals and confirm the Determination remains within that limit, creating a compliance checkpoint that administrative officers must monitor.
• Written-agreement obligation: The COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 (referred to in cl 8, citing subsection 7(2)) requires that terms and conditions for financial assistance granted through the COAG Reform Fund be set out in a written agreement between Commonwealth and State. That duty binds relevant Commonwealth officials to negotiate, prepare and maintain written agreements that reflect the agreed terms, and to ensure payments are made in accordance with those documents.

States’ rights and obligations:

• Right to receive specific payments: The Determination specifies amounts to be paid to particular States on a given date (cl 10 and Table 1). That creates an expectation and right for the nominated States to receive those sums, subject to any terms in the written agreement.
• Disposition right over receipts: The Determination frames these transfers as general purpose financial assistance “to be used by the States for any purpose” (cl 5). That language confers on States the right to allocate the funds within their budgets, subject however to any terms and conditions recorded in the IGA Schedule D and in the required written agreements.
• Agreement compliance and reporting: Where written agreements exist under the COAG Reform Fund Act, States will be required to observe any terms and conditions that those agreements set (cl 8-9). The Determination does not restate those terms; it defers to Schedule D and to written agreements, so States’ obligations will flow from those documents.

The Determination is primarily an authorising and administrative instrument; it does not itself create criminal offences, civil penalties or explicit enforcement mechanisms within its text. Enforcement and remedy pathways for the obligations and constraints it records must be derived from the statutes and agreements it cites. The instrument therefore points to ancillary legal frameworks where penalties, remedies and enforcement rights are located.

Statutory enforcement and accountability frameworks implicated:

• Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA): Clause 7 confirms the COAG Reform Fund is a Special Account under the PGPA Act. The PGPA Act contains a framework of obligations, financial management duties, reporting requirements and audit obligations for entities and account holders. Breach of duties under the PGPA (for example, improper use of Special Account monies, non‑compliance with appropriation rules or PGPA reporting requirements) can trigger administrative sanctions (probity processes), audit findings from the Australian National Audit Office or Ministerial consequences. The Determination ties the payments to that regime and so to the PGPA’s compliance and oversight mechanisms.

• Written agreements under COAG Reform Fund Act 2008: Clause 8 cites subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act requiring terms and conditions to be set out in a written agreement between Commonwealth and State. Enforcement of any contractual or statutory obligations in those written agreements will be by the terms of the agreements themselves and, if relevant, by general contract law or statutory remedies. The Determination does not specify dispute-resolution procedures; those will be in the written agreements or in the IGA Schedule D.

• Intergovernmental Agreement Schedule D: Clause 9 points to Schedule D as the source of terms and conditions. Any accountability mechanisms, reporting obligations, or consequences for non‑compliance that apply to these payments would be found in Schedule D or the written agreements. The Determination itself does not specify enforcement steps; it relies on the IGA and written agreement apparatus.

Parliamentary and judicial enforcement:

• Parliamentary mechanisms: Clause 4 removes the specific disallowance mechanism under section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 but does not remove other parliamentary oversight procedures (questions, estimates, committee inquiries). Those processes can generate public scrutiny, political pressure and reputational consequences, but they do not directly create statutory penalties against Commonwealth agencies or officers beyond political remedies.

This Determination is expressly scaffolded onto a small number of statutes and an intergovernmental agreement. The interaction is one of legal dependency and operational delegation rather than of conflict or replacement. Key statutory and intergovernmental interactions recorded in the instrument are:

• Federal Financial Relations Act 2009: The Determination is made under section 9 of that Act, and the instrument repeatedly references the relevant subsections of s 9. The Act provides the power to determine amounts of general purpose financial assistance (s 9(1)), requires crediting to the COAG Reform Fund (s 9(2)) and sets an annual debit limit (s 9(3)). The Determination records compliance with these statutory requirements (cls 6, 12-14). The Determination thereby operates as an executive action taken under the Act.

• COAG Reform Fund Act 2008: Clause 7 records that the COAG Reform Fund was established under the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 and that it is a Special Account for PGPA purposes. Clause 8 specifically cites subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act, which requires that the terms and conditions on which financial assistance is granted through the COAG Reform Fund be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State. The Determination therefore interacts with the COAG Reform Fund Act by invoking its written-agreement requirement as the locus for conditions and obligations.

• Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA): By identifying the COAG Reform Fund as a Special Account for the purposes of the PGPA Act (cl 7), the Determination brings the payments into the PGPA’s regime of financial management, reporting and audit. That means appropriation, account management, and ANAO audit rules under the PGPA will apply to the money flows authorised by this Determination.

• Legislative Instruments Act 2003: Clause 4 states that subsection 9(5) of the Federal Financial Relations Act provides that the Determination is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply. The Determination therefore sits within the statutory category of legislative instruments but is carved out of the disallowance path , an explicit interaction with the procedures in the Legislative Instruments Act.

• Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (IGA) and Schedule D , Payment Arrangements: Clause 9 points to the IGA’s Schedule D for the terms and conditions attached to general purpose payments. The Determination does not restate those terms but depends on the IGA and on individual written agreements required by the COAG Reform Fund Act to give substance to conditions, reporting obligations and any utilisation constraints. Schedule 1 summarises certain relevant items from Schedule D and related statutory arrangements.

The instrument before you is the Federal Financial Relations (General Purpose Financial Assistance) Determination No. 85 (April 2016), signed and dated 19 April 2016 by the Treasurer. The body of the instrument repeats the title and text in multiple places but does not include any express amending provisions, nor does it record prior versions or superseded determinations. The Determination includes commencement on the day it is made (cl 2) and therefore took legal effect on 19 April 2016.

The Determination itself records the statutory framework that governs further alterations: amounts are determined under s 9 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, and any further determinations within the 2015-16 financial year count towards the debit limit specified in subsection 9(3) (cls 12-14). Clause 13 sets out Table 2 as the total amounts determined in 2015-16 in respect of general purpose financial assistance, “including this determination”. Clause 14 asserts that the total so determined to date in the 2015-16 financial year does not exceed the debit limit. Those provisions indicate that multiple determinations or amendments to amounts are expected across a financial year and that each is aggregated for compliance with the debit cap. However, the instrument does not list prior determinations by number, nor does it identify amending instruments.

No express repeal, variation, or transitional provisions are included in the text supplied. The Determination does record the legal relationships that determine amendment routes: subsequent determinations under s 9 would alter amounts credited to the COAG Reform Fund, and written agreements under the COAG Reform Fund Act and IGA Schedule D would be the place for varying terms and conditions. The exemption from s 42 disallowance (cl 4) is stated as applicable to this instrument; any later instruments would need to state whether the same exemption applied.

For research or compliance purposes, a practitioner should cross-check the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, the Commonwealth Gazette entries around April 2016, and the Consolidated Federal Financial Relations instrument series for any later instruments that amend or supersede the amounts or arrangements referenced here. The Determination as provided contains no narrative of prior amendment history or subsequent changes.

The Determination text supplied contains no mention of litigation, judicial decisions, or legal challenges relating to this particular Determination. It does not cite cases nor record any judicial pronouncements. Because the instrument is an administrative payment determination made under s 9 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, challenges would be addressed in general administrative law channels, but none are recorded in the instrument.

Absent any references in the text to litigation, readers should assume the instrument itself carries no declared litigation history in this document. If a legal practitioner requires whether any judicial review proceedings, declaratory relief or other litigation arose from these payments or the underlying intergovernmental terms, that information will need to be sought externally (court databases, AustLII, or governmental records) because it is not contained in the Determination as provided.

Two practical points follow from the document’s silence on litigation. First, the Determination is framed as a standard exercise of statutory power with the usual administrative and accounting scaffolding; second, remedies or disputes related to the payments or to the written agreements referenced must be pursued, if at all, under the relevant statutes, contract law or administrative law in the appropriate courts or tribunals , the Determination itself does not set out a dispute-resolution clause.

The Determination appears straightforward but contains a number of features that can create practical pitfalls for officials, State treasuries, lawyers and auditors.

1. “General purpose” label versus targeted content: The Determination declares its purpose as providing general purpose financial assistance “to be used by the States for any purpose” (cl 5). Yet Schedule 1 lists specific payments that are functionally compensatory or derived from statutory arrangements (for example, WA compensation for lost royalty revenue, ACT municipal services, North West Shelf royalty sharing and Ranger Project Area payments to NT). The practical takeaway is that not all amounts described in a “general purpose” determination are indistinguishable from untied block grants: some amounts are the Commonwealth’s pass-through of royalties or compensatory transfers that reflect other statutory commitments. Practitioners should therefore inspect Schedule 1 and the related written agreements to determine whether any payments have de facto earmarking despite the “general purpose” label.

2. Crediting before payment: Clause 10 requires amounts specified in Table 1 to be credited to the COAG Reform Fund “before being paid on 21 April 2016” to the States. This sequencing is an accounting imperative under s 9(2) and the PGPA Special Account rules. Operationally, failure to credit prior to payment may violate PGPA accounting rules and create audit exceptions. Finance officers must ensure ledger entries and bank operations match the clause’s sequencing.

3. Disallowance exemption and parliamentary scrutiny: Clause 4 explicitly notes subsection 9(5) makes this a legislative instrument but states section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply. That removes one statutory parliamentary check on the instrument. Practitioners advising parliamentarians or representing interest groups should note that the disallowance mechanism is not available for this type of instrument; other oversight tools remain but are different in nature and effect.

4. Debit limit monitoring: The statutory debit limit is fixed for the financial year ($5,000,000,000.00 for the FY beginning 1 July 2015, cl 12). Clause 13 aggregates the cumulative totals determined in the year, and clause 14 asserts the total does not exceed the debit limit. Administrative teams must track all determinations across the year because a later determination could tip totals over the cap. The Determination demonstrates that per-year aggregation is required and that each new determination must be reconciled against previous ones.

Compliance is a multi‑party exercise involving Commonwealth finance agencies, the Treasurer’s office, COAG Reform Fund administrators, and State treasuries. The Determination sets out a sequence and a set of referential obligations; successful compliance requires attention to accounting sequencing, statutory caps, written agreements and PGPA reporting. Below is a practical, staged checklist targeted to the principal parties.

For Commonwealth finance/treasury officials (administration of the Determination):

1. Verify authority and signature: confirm the Determination was validly made under s 9 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 and was signed (preamble and cl 10 refer to the Treasurer’s execution and date).
2. Credit the COAG Reform Fund first: follow cl 10 and cl 6 , ensure the amounts specified in Table 1 are credited to the COAG Reform Fund Special Account before making any outward payment. This must conform to PGPA Special Account procedures.
3. Reconcile cumulative totals with the debit limit: update and confirm the cumulative amounts for the FY against the $5,000,000,000.00 debit limit (cl 12-14) and ensure that the determination does not breach the cap. Maintain an audit trail for the aggregation used to confirm compliance.
4. Ensure PGPA reporting and appropriation compliance: because the COAG Reform Fund is a Special Account (cl 7), check that the crediting and payment entries are consistent with PGPA appropriation and reporting rules; schedule ANAO reporting and internal audits as needed.
5. Publish and store written agreements: ensure the written agreements required by the COAG Reform Fund Act (per cl 8) are executed and stored with appropriate version control and publishing arrangements where required by policy.

For State treasuries and county/Territory finance agencies (receipt and use of funds):

1. Confirm receipt and ledger entries: coordinate with Commonwealth officials to confirm the funds are credited to the COAG Reform Fund and then paid into the State’s bank accounts on 21 April 2016 (cl 10). Reconcile incoming funds to Table 1 and Schedule 2 entries.
2. Review written agreement terms: obtain and review the written agreement (required under the COAG Reform Fund Act s 7(2), cited in cl 8) and the relevant provisions in Schedule D of the IGA (cl 9) to identify any reporting, acquittal, or use requirements that may modify the “any purpose” label in cl 5.
3. Apply funds in State budgets and records: once the Commonwealth’s administrative conditions are met, treat the funds as general purpose financial assistance for appropriation and budget management, but observe any written-agreement obligations identified above.