Federal Financial Relations (National Specific Purpose Payments for 2019-20) Determination 2020

This instrument fixes Commonwealth national specific purpose payments (NSPPs) for two agenda items for the 2019-20 financial year: skills and workforce development, and disability services. It operates by specifying the indexation approach and the total sums to be paid under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (the Act), and by allocating the resulting totals between the States in the amounts shown. The instrument gives its name (Federal Financial Relations (National Specific Purpose Payments for 2019‑20) Determination 2020) at section 1 and states its statutory authority as the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 at section 3. The term NDIS and the term the Act are defined in section 4, with a cross‑reference to the Legislation Act 2003 which requires expressions to have the same meaning as in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

Mechanically, the determination does three things for each heads of assistance covered:

• For skills and workforce development (section 5): it applies the indexation method set out in paragraph D27 of Schedule D to the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), using the 2019-20 Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) estimates, and records that the growth rate produced is 1.43 per cent. It then records the total amount payable under paragraph 12(2)(c) of the Act as $1,538,566,368.94 (s 5(2)) and divides that total among the States in the table in s 5(3) for expenditure on skills and workforce development.

• For disability services (section 6): it adjusts the total under paragraph 13(2)(c) of the Act by first excluding from that total financial assistance relating to States that have fully transitioned to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and then indexing the remaining amount using paragraph D28 in Schedule D to the IGA (the rolling five‑year average of year‑on‑year growth in nominal GDP), again using the 2019-20 MYEFO estimates; the instrument records the resulting growth rate as 4.60 per cent (s 6(1)). It then records the total payable under paragraph 13(2)(c) as $174,404,651.93 (s 6(2)) and divides that total between the States as set out in the IGA, as affected by any Commonwealth-State NDIS agreements; the table in s 6(3) records $174,404,651.93 payable to Western Australia and nil for the other States and Territories.

The instrument therefore does not create new programs or new conditions beyond those already in the Act and the IGA; rather, it determines the financial quantum and state allocations for the specified 2019-20 NSPPs by reference to formulae and estimates in the IGA and the MYEFO. The instrument repeatedly cites specific parts of the Act as the statutory provisions under which amounts are fixed (subsections 12(4), 12(5) and 13(4), 13(5) via ss 5 and 6).

The instrument is short and formulaic. Its main concepts are indexation, exclusion for NDIS‑transitioned States, fixed totals, and allocation among States according to the Intergovernmental Agreement.

Indexation

• For skills and workforce development (s 5(1)), the instrument invokes paragraph D27 in Schedule D to the IGA and uses the 2019-20 MYEFO estimates to produce a growth factor, which the instrument records as 1.43 per cent. The instrument notes (Note 1 to s 5) that paragraph D27 provides a formula (illustrated in the instrument by an image) for calculating the growth factor. Note 2 to s 5 explains that the “Wage Cost Indices” used in that formula are weighted averages of movements in a wage component and the All Groups Consumer Price Index (CPI), with the wage component itself derived from dollar increases in the national minimum wage as a percentage of Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE), using Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases. The instrument thus ties the indexation to wage and price movements and to minimum wage outcomes via the IGA formula.

• For disability services (s 6(1)(b)), the instrument invokes paragraph D28 in Schedule D to the IGA, and records (Note 1 to s 6) that paragraph D28 defines the growth factor for national disability specific purpose payments as the rolling five‑year average of year‑on‑year growth in nominal gross domestic product (GDP). The instrument uses the 2019-20 MYEFO estimates to derive a growth rate, which it records as 4.60 per cent.

Exclusion for NDIS‑transitioned States

• Section 6(1)(a) requires exclusion, for the disability services total, of financial assistance relating to States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS. The instrument therefore modifies the base amount to be indexed by removing amounts associated with fully transitioned States before applying the D28 formula.

Fixed totals and division

• The instrument records explicit dollar totals for each head: $1,538,566,368.94 for skills and workforce development (s 5(2)); $174,404,651.93 for disability services (s 6(2)). For each head the instrument then states that the manner of distribution among the States is that set out in the IGA (s 5(3), s 6(3)), and supplies an itemised table of amounts to be paid to each State for the 2019-20 financial year (s 5(3) table) and for the disability item (s 6(3) table).

Definitions and cross‑references

• Section 4 declares that NDIS means the National Disability Insurance Scheme and that “the Act” means the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, and notes paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003 has the effect that expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Act as in force from time to time. The instrument therefore leverages the statutory definitions and the IGA to determine indexation and allocation.

Primary parties affected

• The Commonwealth executive, acting under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, is the source of the payments and the maker of this determination (s 3). The instrument fixes Commonwealth payment obligations in quantum and distribution for the specific purpose payments it addresses.

• The States and Territories are the recipients of the NSPPs. Sections 5(3) and 6(3) specify the dollar amounts to be paid to each State for the 2019-20 financial year for the specified purposes: the table in s 5(3) lists amounts to New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory totalling $1,538,566,368.94; the table in s 6(3) lists amounts totalling $174,404,651.93, all allocated to Western Australia with nil amounts for the other jurisdictions.

• Agencies or entities within States that receive and expend the grant funds on the prescribed purposes (skills and workforce development, disability services) are indirect but practical stakeholders. The instrument explicitly states the funds are “for the purpose of expenditure on skills and workforce development” (s 5(3)) and “for the purpose of expenditure on disability services” (s 6(3)). The instrument does not stipulate programmatic conditions in detail; the Act and the IGA will be the source of any conditions.

Parties indirectly affected

• For disability services, the instrument excludes amounts relating to States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS (s 6(1)(a)). That exclusion changes which States receive Commonwealth disability‑specific funding for 2019-20, producing a material distributional effect: Western Australia receives the full $174,404,651.93 (s 6(3) table) and other jurisdictions are listed as Nil (s 6(3) table). The affected parties include service providers and recipients in States whose Commonwealth NSPP allocations are reduced or exclude particular amounts because of NDIS transition arrangements; the instrument, however, does not specify how State budgets must be adjusted or how State spending responsibilities shift,those matters are governed by the Act, the IGA and any intergovernmental NDIS agreements referenced in s 6(3).

• The Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Fair Work Commission are referenced indirectly because the D27 formula uses ABS CPI and AWOTE data and the wage‑component derives from national minimum wage increases determined by the Fair Work Commission (s 5 Note 2). Changes in ABS or Fair Work Commission outcomes therefore feed into future indexation under the IGA formulae, as implemented by instruments like this one.

Statutory duty to determine amounts

• The instrument exercises the determination power under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009: sections 5 and 6 of the instrument explicitly frame the calculations “for the purposes of subsection 12(4) of the Act” and “for the purposes of subsection 13(4) of the Act” respectively (s 5(1); s 6(1)). The duty under the Act is to determine totals and distributions of NSPPs; this instrument fulfils that duty for the 2019-20 financial year for the specified heads.

Rights of States to receive payments

• The instrument records the amounts “to be paid to the State specified in the item, for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance … for the purpose of expenditure on skills and workforce development” (s 5(3)) and similarly for disability services (s 6(3)). Those statements operationalise the Commonwealth’s obligation to make payments under the Act, through a determination of totals and allocations. The instrument therefore creates an entitlement in that it fixes the Commonwealth’s payment obligation in specified dollar amounts for the specified financial year; the legal character of that entitlement (for example, whether it is a legally enforceable debt) is governed by the Act and relevant contractual or grant instruments which are not reproduced in this determination.

No additional statutory duties imposed by the instrument

• The instrument does not create compliance obligations, reporting duties, or conditions on recipients beyond describing the purpose for which the grant is to be made (skills and workforce development; disability services). Any specific duties that attach to the use of the funds will be found in the Act, the IGA and in grant agreements executed under those frameworks; this instrument confines itself to indexation, totals and distribution.

Effect of NDIS transition on entitlement

• Section 6(1)(a) instructs exclusion of financial assistance relating to States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS before indexing. Section 6(3) also specifies that the division between States is “the manner set out in the Intergovernmental Agreement, as affected by any agreement between the Commonwealth and one or more States relating to the NDIS.” Those provisions give effect to intergovernmental arrangements that may alter States’ rights to receive particular NSPP amounts where they have transitioned to NDIS.

Interaction between instrument and Act/IGA duties

No penalties or offences in the instrument

• The determination contains no penalty provisions, offence‑creating clauses, or enforcement mechanisms. It is an administrative instrument that fixes amounts, indexation methods and allocations. There are no sections in the instrument that create criminal, civil penalty, or administrative sanctioning provisions.

Enforcement rests in the Act and grant arrangements

• Because the instrument does not itself create enforcement mechanisms, any enforcement of obligations connected to these payments must be found in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the Intergovernmental Agreement, or in the terms of grant agreements entered into under that legal framework. The instrument references the Act and the IGA repeatedly (ss 5 and 6), and it is those instruments and consequential agreements that will contain rights of recovery, compliance requirements, audit arrangements or penalty provisions, if any. The determination does not reproduce such provisions.

Practical enforcement implications

• From an operational vantage, failure by the Commonwealth to make the payments fixed in the instrument would be a failure to act in accordance with the determination and the Act. The instrument itself does not prescribe a remedy or a recovery process for a State in that event; remedies would depend on the Act, intergovernmental mechanisms or agreement terms. The instrument instead serves as a contemporaneous record of the Commonwealth’s calculation and allocation of NSPP funds for 2019-20.

Auditing and accountability

• The determination’s reliance on MYEFO estimates and on IGA formulae implies that the audit trail for these payments includes the MYEFO publication and the IGA Schedule D formulae. Any audit or review of the accuracy of the computation would therefore need to trace inputs back to the 2019-20 MYEFO estimates and to the IGA provisions cited in s 5 Note 1 and s 6 Note 1.

Direct statutory cross‑references

• The instrument is made under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (s 3) and is explicitly framed as being for the purposes of particular subsections of that Act (s 5 references subsections 12(4) and 12(5); s 6 references subsections 13(4) and 13(5)). The instrument therefore functions as an implementing determination under the Act; the Act supplies the substantive legal framework that governs NSPPs, including eligibility, conditions, and the Commonwealth’s power to determine totals and allocations.

Interaction with the Intergovernmental Agreement

• The determination repeatedly points to the Intergovernmental Agreement and specifically to Schedule D paragraphs D27 and D28 for the indexation formulae (s 5(1) and s 6(1)(b)). The IGA supplies the computational method (D27 for skills and workforce; D28 for disability) and the allocation methodology among States. The instrument follows those IGA provisions and uses the MYEFO estimates as inputs to the formulae. The result is that the instrument operationally depends on the IGA for substance; any interpretive disputes about how to apply the D27 or D28 formulae will require reference to the IGA text.

Interaction with the Legislation Act 2003

• Section 4 notes that paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003 has the effect that expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 as in force from time to time. That cross‑reference means the instrument imports statutory definitions and any changes to those definitions in the Act over time, which can affect interpretation.

Dependency on external published estimates and agencies

• The instrument uses figures from the 2019-20 Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook to calculate indexation (s 5(1); s 6(1)(b)). It also notes that Wage Cost Indices used in the D27 formula are weighted averages including the All Groups CPI published by the Australian Statistician and an element derived from national minimum wage increases determined by the Fair Work Commission (s 5 Note 2). Therefore, actions and publications by the Department of Finance (MYEFO), the ABS and the Fair Work Commission feed into the operation of the instrument when the IGA formulae are applied.

Interaction with NDIS intergovernmental agreements

• Section 6 expressly provides that the disability services total is adjusted by excluding assistance relating to States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS (s 6(1)(a)), and that the division between States is “as affected by any agreement between the Commonwealth and one or more States relating to the NDIS” (s 6(3)). That means that separate agreements concerning NDIS transition status and arrangements affect how much each State receives under the disability NSPP head. The instrument therefore interlocks with bilateral or multilateral NDIS transition agreements as between the Commonwealth and States.

Instrument title and date trace

• The instrument is titled in section 1 as the Federal Financial Relations (National Specific Purpose Payments for 2019‑20) Determination 2020 (s 1). The instrument identifies its statutory authority as the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (s 3). No other amendment entries, consequential amendments, revocations of earlier determinations, or schedules altering prior instruments are recorded within the instrument text.

No internal amendment clauses

• The instrument contains no clauses that amend earlier determinations or Acts. It is an annual or financial‑year specific determination that fixes totals for 2019-20; the instrument itself does not state that it repeals or replaces any earlier determinations. If prior determinations exist for previous years, they are not referenced for repeal or modification in the text provided.

No recorded subsequent amendments in the instrument text

• The instrument itself does not record any subsequent amendments or provide an amendment history table. The only references to other instruments or instruments of record are to the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the Intergovernmental Agreement (Schedule D paragraphs D27 and D28), the Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2019-20, and the Legislation Act 2003 for definitional effect (s 4). To determine whether the instrument has been amended since its making would require consulting the statutory instruments register or the legislative database; the instrument text provided here contains no further amendment entries.

Form and lifecycle implication

• Given the nature of NSPP determinations under the Act, they are typically financial‑year specific. This instrument fixes amounts for the 2019-20 year and uses the MYEFO 2019-20 estimates. Future years’ totals would be determined by separate instruments using that year’s economic estimates and the IGA formulae. The instrument does not provide transitional or saving provisions for later determinations.

No cases or litigation referenced in the instrument

• The text of this instrument contains no references to judicial decisions, tribunals, or litigation. It does not cite cases or indicate any litigation history relating to its provisions.

Practical implication

• Because the instrument is a financial determination that implements formulae in the IGA and the Act, disputes about either the amounts payable, the application of the IGA formulae, or the exclusion under s 6(1)(a) for NDIS‑transitioned States could theoretically give rise to litigation. The instrument does not identify any past litigation nor does it specify dispute resolution processes; any legal challenge would therefore be governed by the Act, the IGA, and general administrative law principles, none of which are set out in the instrument itself.

How to find litigation history

• The instrument contains no litigation record; to establish whether any disputes have been litigated about these specific determinations, one would have to search court records and administrative law decisions or the Federal Register of Legislation for any listed challenges or judicial review proceedings concerning this determination or the underlying Act/IGA. The instrument itself provides no such history.

Inconsistent table heading in section 6

• The table in section 6(3) headed “The amount of financial assistance for the 2018‑19 financial year is:” stands out against the textual context of section 6, which otherwise treats the 2019-20 financial year (s 6(1) begins “For the purposes of subsection 13(4) of the Act, the total amount … for the 2019-20 financial year …”). The table therefore appears to contain a year‑labelling inconsistency within the instrument’s own text. The instrument does not explain or correct that apparent discrepancy. Practitioners relying on the instrument should note the body text and statutory references anchor the instrument to 2019-20 (s 6(1), s 6(2)), so the table’s heading is ambiguous on its face.

Zero amounts for most States under disability head

• Section 6(3) lists nil amounts for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, with the entire $174,404,651.93 listed as payable to Western Australia. The instrument links that distribution to the IGA as “affected by any agreement between the Commonwealth and one or more States relating to the NDIS” (s 6(3)), and s 6(1)(a) instructs exclusion of amounts relating to States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS. The practical consequence is a concentrated payment to a single State; users should check which States are treated as fully transitioned under the agreements on which the instrument relies.

Reliance on MYEFO estimates

• The instrument uses the 2019-20 Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook as the source of estimates for the indexation calculations (s 5(1); s 6(1)(b)). MYEFO is an economic forecast and is inherently provisional; the determination's numeric outcomes therefore reflect the chosen forecast. If the underlying MYEFO inputs were later revised or found to be materially different, the instrument does not provide for retrospective adjustment; the instrument applies the published estimates to produce the 2019-20 figures.

Opaque reproduction of D27 formula

• Section 5 Note 1 states that paragraph D27 in Schedule D to the IGA provides a formula, and the instrument reproduces that formula as an image (image.002.png). The text of the instrument does not set out the algebraic formula in text form nor does it provide worked examples other than reporting the resulting growth rate. For legal or audit scrutiny, parties must consult the IGA's Schedule D to see the precise formulaic text rather than rely solely on the image reproduced here.

For the Commonwealth

• The instrument sets out the Commonwealth’s determination of totals and allocations for 2019-20. Compliance for the Commonwealth consists in paying the amounts recorded to the States in accordance with the Act and with any timing, acquittal and grant conditions set out in the Act, the IGA and in grant agreements. The determination itself instructs the totals and the allocation method (s 5(2), s 5(3); s 6(2), s 6(3)); the practical step is to schedule and make payments in those amounts for the stated purposes.

For the States

• States that receive the listed amounts (s 5(3) and s 6(3) tables) should treat those sums as Commonwealth NSPP funding for the 2019-20 financial year, designated for expenditure on skills and workforce development (s 5(3)) or disability services (s 6(3)). States should consult the Act and the Intergovernmental Agreement for the detailed conditions, reporting and acquittal obligations that attach to NSPP grants; this instrument does not itself specify those conditions.

For States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS

• Section 6(1)(a) requires exclusion of financial assistance relating to States that have fully transitioned to the NDIS, and s 6(3) states allocations are to be made as affected by any agreement between the Commonwealth and one or more States relating to the NDIS. States that believe they are fully transitioned, or that there is ambiguity about transition status, should ensure there is a bilateral or multilateral record or agreement clarifying transition status and the monetary consequences, and should coordinate with the Commonwealth to confirm the allocation that the instrument reflects.

Accounting and audit

• Entities should record the payments against the purposes stated in the instrument. For auditing and accountability, maintain an audit trail that links the Commonwealth payment to the instrument, the IGA Schedule D formula applied, and the MYEFO 2019-20 estimates that the instrument used as inputs (s 5(1); s 6(1)(b)). Because the instrument relies on external economic estimates and formulae, a complete audit will require retaining copies of MYEFO inputs and the IGA text.

Check the instrument’s table anomalies

• Practitioners should note the apparent year heading inconsistency in s 6(3)’s table and seek confirmation from the Department of Finance or the Commonwealth grant administrator when reconciling or publishing budget materials. The body text ties the instrument to 2019-20 (s 6(1) and s 6(2)), so confirmations or errata may be advisable where the table header may be misleading.