Terms and conditionsTerms and conditions

Terms and conditions

6. Subsection 16(2) of the Act requires that an amount determined under subsection 16(1) must be credited to the COAG Reform Fund. The COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 established the COAG Reform Fund and specifies that it is a Special Account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
7. Subsection 7(2) of the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008 requires that the terms and conditions on which financial assistance is granted through the COAG Reform Fund are to be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the State.
8. ‘Schedule D — Payment Arrangements’ to the Intergovernmental Agreement provides that the Commonwealth will make National Partnership payments to the States to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, to facilitate reforms or to reward those jurisdictions that deliver on nationally significant reforms.
9. National Partnerships will clearly set out the payment profile in respect of each State.
10. Where the achievement of pre‑determined milestones or performance benchmarks is required before a payment is made to a State:
(a) in the case of payments to reward nationally significant reforms, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination as to whether the incentive payment will be paid following receipt of an independent assessment as to whether a pre-determined performance benchmark has been achieved; and
(b) in the case of payments to facilitate reform and to support the delivery of specified outputs or projects, the relevant Commonwealth Minister or delegate will make a determination, based upon expenditure and performance reporting arrangements set out in the National Partnership, as to whether the facilitation or project payment will be paid.
11. Where the achievement of a performance benchmark is not required before a payment is made to a State, payments will be scheduled in accordance with the payment profile set out in the National Partnership.