Federal Financial Relations (National Specific Purpose Payments for 2023-24) Determination 2025

The core concepts that structure this determination are indexation, total quantum, and distribution between States, each anchored to the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 and related intergovernmental arrangements. The instrument expressly ties itself to subsection 12(4) and paragraph 12(2)(c) of the Act (s 5(1)-(2)). The shorthand “the Act” is defined in s 4 as the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009.

Indexation: Section 5(1) applies a growth rate to the preceding financial year total for the purposes of subsection 12(4) of the Act. The growth rate is specified to eight decimal places as 18.2427636 per cent. The instrument does not itself set out the prior year base number; it references the statutory mechanism in s 12 of the Act (as to calculation and indexing) and explanatory notes that identify the intergovernmental formula that underpins the growth factor (Notes 2 and 4).

Growth factor mechanics and external formulae: Notes 2 and 4 state that the growth factor is calculated according to clause D27 in Schedule D to the Intergovernmental Agreement, and that clause was modified to take into account the National Skills Agreement. The instrument reproduces (graphically) two formulae in the notes. Note 2 shows a simple weighted average formula: 0.85 times Wage Cost Index 1 plus 0.15 times Wage Cost Index 6. Note 4 records the final modified formula as that weighted average plus two additional terms described as “State entitlement above minimum Commonwealth contribution up to Cap 1 under the National Skills Agreement” and “State entitlement above Cap 1 and up to Cap 2 under the National Skills Agreement.” The instrument’s Note 5 defines the Wage Cost Indices as weighted averages of movements in a wage component and the All Groups Consumer Price Index, with the wage component calculated from dollar increases in the national minimum wage determined by the Fair Work Commission expressed as a percentage of Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings. These notes locate the growth factor calculation in external instruments and published statistics rather than in the instrument itself.

Quantum and distribution: Section 5(2) fixes the total payment amount for 2023‑24 as $1,901,093,000.00. Section 5(3) sets out the division among eight jurisdictions, with precise dollar allocations for each: New South Wales $594,739,638.73; Victoria $486,944,712.40; Queensland $389,803,233.96; Western Australia $206,447,165.06; South Australia $131,595,218.20; Tasmania $40,522,799.37; Australian Capital Territory $33,156,344.55; Northern Territory $17,883,887.73. The table closes with the total, replicating the dollar figure in s 5(2).

Transitional context: The instrument records that the National Skills Agreement commenced on 1 January 2024 and that its funding arrangements are designed to replace the National Specific Purpose Payments for Skills and Workforce Development (Note 3). That places this determination in a transitional frame: it applies to 2023‑24 while signalling the existence of successor arrangements that affect future funding treatment.

Non‑operative explanatory material: Several parts of the instrument are notes and explanatory material, not operative clauses. The instrument itself states that information in the commencement table column 3 is not part of the instrument (s 2(2)). The formulae and definitions in the notes are explanatory; they identify data sources and formula structure relevant to the growth rate calculation but do not themselves change amounts beyond s 5.

Taken together, the main concepts are therefore statutory indexation applied by a fixed growth rate; a fixed total dollar amount for the year; a precise allocation between jurisdictions; and reliance on an intergovernmental formula and wage and CPI statistics to explain how the growth rate was derived.

Primary affected parties

• Commonwealth and States: The instrument determines the quantum of Commonwealth financial assistance payable to the States for skills and workforce development for 2023‑24 under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (s 3; s 5(2)-(3)). The sums in s 5(3) establish the entitlement of each State and Territory to a specified dollar amount for that financial year. The instrument therefore directly affects the Commonwealth’s budgetary obligation and a State’s revenue entitlement under the Act.

• State agencies administering skills and workforce development programs: While the instrument does not itself impose program conditions, the funds it allocates are described as national specific purpose payments for skills and workforce development. Agencies responsible for skills policy, training delivery, and associated contracts in each State will be the practical recipients and administrators of the financial assistance once paid, though the instrument does not set spending conditions.

Secondary affected parties

• Intergovernmental counterparties and financiers: The instrument references the Intergovernmental Agreement (clause D27 in Schedule D) and the National Skills Agreement (Note 3). Parties to those agreements, including State treasuries and intergovernmental bodies that administer or monitor national skills funding, are affected because the growth rate and distribution were calculated with reference to those agreements. The instrument signals that State entitlements above certain caps under the National Skills Agreement influenced the growth factor (Note 4), which affects budget expectations for those States.

• Statistical agencies and wage-setting bodies: The Wage Cost Indices used in the growth calculation are described in Note 5 as incorporating national minimum wage determinations by the Fair Work Commission and Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings published by the Australian Statistician. Thus, determinations by the Fair Work Commission and statistics by the Australian Statistician feed into the growth rate and therefore indirectly affect the financial split.

Who pays and who receives

• The instrument fixes the amount of financial assistance payable under subsection 12(1) of the Act to the States (s 5(2)). That establishes the Commonwealth’s payment obligation as the payer of these federal payments, and the States as the recipients. The instrument does not itself set timings, payment mechanics, or conditionality, but it creates the legal basis for the Commonwealth to pay the listed amounts to the listed States for the specified year.

Who does not have new obligations in this instrument

• Private sector providers, individual training providers and employers are not granted rights or duties by this instrument directly. Any effect on them would be indirect, arising from how States choose to spend the funds. The instrument contains no direct regulatory obligations on private entities.

Geographic and temporal reach

• The instrument applies to the 2023‑24 financial year (s 5 title and notes), is made on 12 March 2025, and commences the day after registration (s 2(1)). It addresses a single financial year’s NSPP allocation and is explicitly connected to transitional arrangements brought in by the National Skills Agreement that commenced 1 January 2024 (Note 3). That locationally confines its primary legal effect to Commonwealth‑State financial relations for that year.

Information stakeholders will need

• States will need the precise figures in s 5(3) for budgeting and reconciliation. Commonwealth financial officers will need to apply the 18.2427636 per cent growth rate to the preceding year’s base pursuant to s 5(1). Stakeholders seeking to understand how that growth rate was derived will need to consult clause D27 of the Intergovernmental Agreement and the National Skills Agreement, and to inspect Wage Cost Indices as described in Note 5. The instrument itself supplies the final numbers but points to external sources for the calculation mechanics.

Duties imposed by the instrument

• The instrument performs a determinative function rather than imposing new operational duties. It specifies, for the purposes of subsection 12(4) of the Act, the growth rate to apply (s 5(1)), fixes the total amount payable under paragraph 12(2)(c) for 2023‑24 (s 5(2)), and specifies how that total is to be divided among the States (s 5(3)). The immediate obligation implied by the determination is that the Commonwealth is to treat the listed total and allocations as the financial assistance payable for 2023‑24 under the Act. The instrument itself does not contain express operational duties such as timing of payments, reporting obligations or spending conditions.

Rights conferred by the instrument

• States’ entitlements: Section 5(3) allocates specific dollar amounts to each State and Territory, creating an entitlement in the form of a statutory determination of the amount of financial assistance payable to each jurisdiction under the Act for the 2023‑24 year. The instrument therefore confers on each State the right to receive the sum stated for that State as the Commonwealth’s financial assistance for skills and workforce development for that year, subject to the Act’s broader legal and administrative framework.

Indirect duties and conditionality elsewhere

• The instrument references the Act and intergovernmental agreements (Notes 2 and 4). It does not itself impose conditionality, but the broader legal framework under the Act and the Intergovernmental Agreement may impose spending requirements, reporting, performance benchmarks or other duties on States to receive the payments. Those duties are not set out in this instrument; they would be found in the Act, the Intergovernmental Agreement, or the National Skills Agreement referenced in the notes.

Legal effect of the notes

• The instrument contains several notes explaining the calculation basis and context (Notes 1-5 to s 5). These notes state that section 12 of the Act continues to apply for 2023‑24 despite repeal because of a provision in another Act (Note 1), that the growth factor was calculated according to clause D27 of the Intergovernmental Agreement and modified to account for the National Skills Agreement (Notes 2 and 4), and that Wage Cost Indices are constructed in a particular way (Note 5). These explanatory notes do not, by themselves, create duties beyond what s 5 states, but they identify the legal and statistical mechanisms that underpin the determination.

Delegation and decision‑maker

• The instrument was made by the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, who signs the determination (pre‑amble and signature block). Section 3 states the instrument is made under the Act. The instrument does not identify any further delegated decision‑makers, administrative discretions, or procedural steps to implement the allocation.

Practical implications of rights and duties

• States must treat the amounts fixed by s 5(3) as their fiscal entitlement for the 2023‑24 NSPP for skills and workforce development. The Commonwealth’s budget and finance officials must treat s 5(2) as the total payable under paragraph 12(2)(c) of the Act and take steps to effect payment. The instrument does not include remedial or enforcement mechanisms for non‑payment or recoupment; any such mechanisms would arise under the Act or associated agreements, which the instrument references but does not reproduce.

No penalties specified in the instrument

• The determination contains no express penalty provisions, sanction mechanisms, or enforcement processes. It is a funding determination: s 5 sets a growth rate, a total quantum and a distribution schedule. There are no clauses in this instrument that prescribe fines, suspensions, repayment obligations, withholding powers, audit remedies, or administrative sanctions. The notes and operative clauses do not create an enforcement regime.

Where enforcement and compliance remedies would be found

• The instrument is made under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (s 3), and it operates by fixing amounts “for the purposes of” specified subsections of that Act (s 5(1) referencing subsection 12(4), and s 5(2) referencing paragraph 12(2)(c)). Any penalties or enforcement mechanisms applicable to financial assistance under those provisions of the Act, or conditions attached to payments under intergovernmental agreements, would be located in the Act itself or in those intergovernmental instruments. This determination does not reproduce or restate such mechanisms.

Consequences of absence of enforcement provisions in this instrument

• The instrument’s absence of enforcement detail means that compliance and dispute mechanisms that might affect payments will depend on the Act and the Intergovernmental Agreement or National Skills Agreement referenced in the notes. The instrument records the distribution and the total; it does not itself specify recourse if the Commonwealth fails to pay, if a State disputes its entitlement, or if funds are used inconsistently with any attached conditions. Those matters would need to be resolved under the broader legal framework, which this instrument invokes but does not detail.

Practical enforcement considerations for recipients and administrators

• For State treasuries and the Commonwealth’s finance agencies, the practical enforcement concern is administrative: implementing payments in accordance with the figures in s 5(2) and s 5(3) and ensuring accounting records reconcile to the amounts declared. Any compliance monitoring, performance reporting or audits that relate to how the funds are spent are not set out here; those will be driven by separate agreements or the Act. The explanatory notes suggest a link to the National Skills Agreement and clause D27 of the Intergovernmental Agreement, so practitioners should consult those instruments for potential performance or compliance obligations that could condition continued funding or trigger remedial action.

No criminal or pecuniary sanction provisions

• The instrument includes no criminal offences, pecuniary sanctions, or administrative penalty regime. It is a financial determination. Any criminal or civil enforcement relating to misuse or misdirection of funds would have to be traceable to other statutes or contractual arrangements, not to this determination itself.

Primary statutory connection

• The instrument is made under the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (the Act), as stated in s 3, and it expressly applies provisions of the Act by reference in s 5. Section 4 defines “the Act” for the instrument. The operative clauses in s 5 invoke subsection 12(4), paragraph 12(2)(c) and subsection 12(5) of the Act as the statutory bases for the indexing, the total quantum, and the division between States respectively.

Persisting effect of a repealed provision

• Note 1 to s 5 states that despite its repeal, section 12 continues to apply in relation to the 2023‑24 financial year by virtue of item 9 of Schedule 6 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024. That is a declared interaction with subsequent legislation that, according to the note, preserves the operation of section 12 for the specific year in question. The instrument therefore relies on a saving or transitional provision in later amending legislation to give effect to section 12 for the 2023‑24 year.

Intergovernmental instruments

• The notes to s 5 refer to the Intergovernmental Agreement, specifically clause D27 in Schedule D, as the place where the growth factor is calculated (Note 2). Note 4 records that clause D27 was modified to take into account the National Skills Agreement, and reproduces the modified formula with terms that refer to State entitlements and caps under that Agreement. Note 3 records that the National Skills Agreement commenced on 1 January 2024 and that its funding arrangements are designed to replace the National Specific Purpose Payments for Skills and Workforce Development. These notes indicate that the calculation of the growth rate and the context for the payment are dependent on intergovernmental agreements outside the instrument. Practitioners must therefore read this determination alongside the Intergovernmental Agreement and the National Skills Agreement to understand the detailed formula mechanics and any related entitlements or caps.

Statutory data inputs

• Note 5 explains that Wage Cost Indices are weighted averages of movements in a wage component and the All Groups Consumer Price Index published by the Australian Statistician, and that the wage component is calculated from dollar increases in the national minimum wage determined by the Fair Work Commission expressed as a percentage of Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings. This ties the growth calculation to statutory or administrative processes outside this instrument: wage determinations made by the Fair Work Commission and published economic statistics produced by the Australian Statistician.

Transitional effect and future replacement

• Note 3 signals that the National Skills Agreement is the intended successor for funding arrangements, and that it replaces the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development. The determination therefore operates in a transitional legal environment: it fixes a 2023‑24 NSPP allocation while the National Skills Agreement is in effect from 1 January 2024, and the instrument indicates its growth factor was adjusted to account for entitlements under that new Agreement (Note 4).

Limitations of the instrument’s cross‑references

• The instrument does not reproduce clause D27, the National Skills Agreement, or the Treasury Laws Amendment Act provisions it references. It therefore relies on external documents for the technical details of the growth calculation, the saving of a repealed provision, and any entitlement caps. The instrument’s legal effect is confined to the amounts and references it sets out; the operational detail is dispersed across the Act and intergovernmental instruments.

Administrative law and budgetary process

• By fixing a total and an allocation, the instrument interacts with Commonwealth budgeting and State budget processes. The instrument’s commencement clause (s 2(1)) states it commences the day after registration, which determines the date from which these amounts are legally specified, but the instrument does not itself alter appropriation processes or payment timing; those processes are governed by the Act, the Commonwealth’s appropriation routines and intergovernmental payment arrangements.

Instrument provenance and date

• The instrument is dated 12 March 2025 and signed by Dr Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer (signature block). Section 1 gives the instrument its name, the Federal Financial Relations (National Specific Purpose Payments for 2023‑24) Determination 2025.

Commencement and table metadata

• Section 2 contains a commencement table which provides that the whole of the instrument commences the day after registration (s 2(1) and the commencement table). Section 2(2) expressly states that information in column 3 of that table is not part of the instrument and that such material may be edited in published versions. The instrument also includes a note that the commencement table relates only to provisions as originally made and will not be amended to deal with later amendments (s 2 introductory material). That language records the original starting point and warns that the table is not dynamically updated within the instrument text.

Amendments recorded in the instrument

• The text of the instrument itself contains no enacted amendments to its provisions. The only references to alteration of the legal landscape are notes that describe changes in other instruments or legislation which affect the continued application of the Act’s section 12 for 2023‑24 (Note 1) and the commencement of the National Skills Agreement (Note 3). The instrument does not record any amendment history to itself.

External amendment effects

• Note 1 reports that section 12 of the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 was repealed but continues to apply to the 2023‑24 year because of item 9 of Schedule 6 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024. That is an external amendment to the Act that this instrument recognises and accommodates. Note 3 records the commencement of the National Skills Agreement on 1 January 2024, which is a substantive change in intergovernmental arrangements affecting NSPP for skills and workforce development and is said to be designed to replace the National Specific Purpose Payments for Skills and Workforce Development.

Implications for future amendments

• The instrument’s notes indicate that the funding basis for future years is subject to the National Skills Agreement and that the growth factor formula was modified to account for State entitlements under that Agreement (Note 4). That suggests that future determinations for subsequent years might be different in structure or numbers because the intergovernmental arrangements and the Act’s operation have been changed by external instruments. However, the instrument itself contains no subsequent amendment entries.

Record‑keeping and publishing practice

• Section 2(2) permits editing of non‑operative information in the published commencement table and notes that such information is not part of the instrument. Practically, this means published versions may include clarifying editorial material without altering the instrument’s legal content. The instrument otherwise contains no schedule of prior or subsequent amendments to itself.

No amendment granular history present

• The instrument does not list previous versions, amendment dates, or consolidated variants. For a practitioner seeking a history of changes affecting the legal framework for NSPP, the instrument points to external legislation and agreements rather than containing an internal amendment log.

No litigation recorded in the instrument

• The determination contains no references to litigation, judicial decisions or court orders. It does not name any cases, and it does not record any disputes or legal challenges relating to its contents. The text provides no account of judicial interpretation of either this determination or the specific application of subsection 12(4) or paragraph 12(2)(c) of the Act for the 2023‑24 year.

Potential sources of litigation‑relevant material

• The instrument relies on, and references, other instruments and legislation for its legal footing: the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024 (item 9 of Schedule 6, as noted in Note 1), the Intergovernmental Agreement (clause D27 in Schedule D), and the National Skills Agreement (Note 3 and Note 4). If litigation were to arise concerning the validity, interpretation or application of this determination, those instruments would be the relevant legal texts a court would examine. The instrument itself provides numeric determinations and points to those external authorities; it contains no recounting of litigation.

No administrative tribunal decisions recorded

• The instrument does not reference administrative reviews or decisions by bodies such as tribunals concerning the determination or its underlying calculations. There is no indication in the text of review requests, internal reviews, or other administrative dispute resolution proceedings.

Implications for practitioners

• Because the instrument contains no litigation history, practitioners looking for case law applying or testing these specific determinations must consult court databases and the texts of the Act and the intergovernmental instruments referenced. The instrument’s notes identify the legislative and intergovernmental sources that would be relevant to any judicial or administrative scrutiny, but the instrument itself does not record outcomes of any such proceedings.

Reliance on a repealed section preserved by other legislation

• Note 1 states that section 12 of the Act was repealed but nonetheless continues to apply in relation to the 2023‑24 financial year due to item 9 of Schedule 6 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024. That creates a legal link across multiple instruments. Practitioners should not assume section 12 is in force generally; its continued application is a specific transitional measure for the 2023‑24 year. The instrument does not reproduce item 9 of Schedule 6, so readers must consult that amending Act to confirm the precise saving mechanism.

External formulae and missing replication

• The growth rate is given precisely in s 5(1) as 18.2427636 per cent. However, Notes 2 and 4 indicate that the growth factor calculation is governed by clause D27 of the Intergovernmental Agreement and was modified to take the National Skills Agreement into account. The instrument does not reproduce clause D27 or the National Skills Agreement in full. If one needs to audit or reproduce the calculation steps or verify the inclusion of “State entitlement above” Cap 1 and Cap 2 components, one must consult the Intergovernmental Agreement and the National Skills Agreement. The presence of these external components means the statutory arithmetic is not entirely self‑contained in the instrument.

Wage Cost Index inputs tied to external determinations

• Note 5 ties the Wage Cost Indices to national minimum wage determinations made by the Fair Work Commission and to Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings published by the Australian Statistician. Therefore, changes in those external measures (or disputes about their application) will affect the growth factor. The instrument does not detail the timing of data used, nor how subsequent revisions to published statistics would be handled; that treatment would be in the intergovernmental or statistical protocols outside this instrument.

Transitional arrangements with the National Skills Agreement

• Note 3 states that the National Skills Agreement commenced on 1 January 2024 and is designed to replace the National Specific Purpose Payments for Skills and Workforce Development. This determination nonetheless fixes the 2023‑24 NSPP. There is therefore a potential for overlap, transitional ambiguity or required reconciliation between amounts under the old NSPP arrangements and entitlements or caps under the National Skills Agreement. Note 4 indicates the growth factor was adjusted to account for State entitlements above specified caps, but practitioners will need to consult the National Skills Agreement to understand how caps, minimum Commonwealth contributions, and State top‑ups interact with the figures here.

Precision of figures and rounding issues

• The total and allocations are specified to cents with many decimal places. In practice, agencies implementing payments should check whether payment processing systems, accounting entries or rounding rules affect the distribution (for example, whether interbank transfers and appropriation entries will match the exact cents specified). The instrument does not address rounding or reconciliation mechanics.

Non‑operative explanatory notes and legal status

• Several passages are in “Note” form. These notes are explanatory; they do not themselves alter the operative clauses. Readers should be careful not to treat notes as operative law. For example, the formulae printed in Notes 2 and 4 explain the structure used to calculate growth but are not operative determination clauses. The instrument’s operative effect is limited to the text of s 5.

Comprehensiveness of payment conditions

• The determination fixes amounts but does not set out conditions for expenditure, reporting requirements, or accountability measures. Those conditions, if any, will be found in the Act, the Intergovernmental Agreement, or the National Skills Agreement. Practitioners should not assume the absence of conditions; instead, they must look to the referenced instruments for any spending requirements attached to the funds.

Publication and commencement timing

• Section 2(1) states the whole instrument commences the day after registration. The instrument was dated 12 March 2025. Practitioners should confirm the registration date as the legal commencement, particularly for bookkeeping and fiscal accounting, because section 2(2) records that the commencement table’s column 3 is not part of the instrument and may be edited in published versions.

For Commonwealth finance officers

• Implement the totals and allocations set out in s 5(2) and s 5(3): ensure that budget documentation, appropriation entries and payment schedules reflect the total of $1,901,093,000.00 and the per‑State amounts listed. The instrument commences the day after registration (s 2(1)); confirm the registration date and align payments and accounting entries to that legal commencement.

• Apply the stated growth rate for the purposes of subsection 12(4): the instrument specifies an 18.2427636 per cent growth rate to be applied for the 2023‑24 year (s 5(1)). Finance officers should document how that growth rate was applied to the prior year base in their reconciliation records, and keep a record of the data sources used, including the Wage Cost Indices and any components sourced from the Fair Work Commission and the Australian Statistician as described in Note 5.

• Reconcile with intergovernmental agreements: because the instrument references clause D27 of the Intergovernmental Agreement and the National Skills Agreement (Notes 2-4), Commonwealth officials should coordinate with intergovernmental counterparts to ensure the modified growth factor and any State entitlement adjustments under the National Skills Agreement are reflected correctly in payments.

For State treasuries and financial administrators

• Treat the amounts in s 5(3) as the statutory entitlement for 2023‑24: ensure State budgets and treasury accounting record the exact sums listed for each jurisdiction. Where accounting systems require allocation across agencies or programs, establish internal processes to receive, record and manage the funds in accordance with the State’s fiscal rules and any conditions in the Act or intergovernmental agreements.

• Check for conditions and reporting requirements in connected instruments: this determination does not set spending conditions or reporting obligations. States must consult the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the Intergovernmental Agreement and the National Skills Agreement to identify any requirements attached to the financial assistance. Note 3’s statement that the National Skills Agreement is designed to replace NSPP arrangements suggests there may be linked provisions setting conditions or reporting standards.

• Reconcile payments against caps and entitlements in the National Skills Agreement: Note 4 states the growth factor was modified to take into account State entitlements above minimum Commonwealth contribution up to Cap 1 and above Cap 1 up to Cap 2 under the National Skills Agreement. States that have top‑up entitlements or cap‑related calculations should perform internal reconciliations to ensure the amounts they receive from the Commonwealth are consistent with the intergovernmental arrangements.

Record‑keeping and audit trail

• Maintain contemporaneous records that show: the prior year base figure used; the application of the 18.2427636 per cent growth rate; the data sources for Wage Cost Indices; any inputs from the Fair Work Commission and the Australian Statistician used in the calculation; and correspondence with Commonwealth finance officials about payment timing. Given that the instrument references external formulae and statistical inputs, a clear audit trail will assist in addressing any future reconciliation inquiries.

Practical payment processing

• Because the amounts are specified to cents, confirm that payment systems can accept and record the specified amounts without inadvertent rounding. If rounding to whole dollars or cents is required for processing, document the rounding approach and reconcile any residuals.

Consult external documents for operational detail

• This instrument does not state payment timing, conditionality or enforcement mechanisms. To determine those operational matters, consult the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the Intergovernmental Agreement (including clause D27 and Schedule D), and the National Skills Agreement. Follow any procedures in those instruments for claiming funds, reporting, or meeting performance obligations.

Legal and budgetary liaison

• Where there is uncertainty about the effect of the saved section 12 (Note 1) or the interactions between the NSPP determination and the National Skills Agreement, engage legal counsel with the relevant statutory instruments on hand. Coordination between State treasury legal teams and Commonwealth legal advisors will reduce the risk of divergent interpretations affecting payments.

Communications and transparency

• For internal and external stakeholders, Communicate that the determination fixes amounts only for the 2023‑24 financial year and that future funding arrangements are governed by the National Skills Agreement. Ensure public budget statements reflect the determination’s figures and point stakeholders to the Act and the intergovernmental instruments for fuller context.

In short

• To comply, treat the instrument as a fixed funding determination for 2023‑24, apply the exact figures in s 5, consult the Act and the cited intergovernmental and amending legislation for conditions and the technical calculation mechanics, and keep a clear audit trail of data inputs and payment processing consistent with the instrument’s commencement and signature.