16Reports

16 Reports

(1) The Minister must, as soon as practicable after 30 June in each year, cause a report or reports to be prepared about the operation of this Act in respect of the year.

Note: The first report under this subsection will relate to the year beginning on 1 July 1995; see the definition of year in subsection 4(2).

(2) The Minister must ensure that relevant State Ministers and a body or bodies representative of local government are consulted in connection with the preparation of a report under subsection (1). (3) The report or one of the reports must include an assessment by the Minister (based on comparable national data), in relation to the year, of: (a) the extent (if any) to which the allocation of funds for local government purposes has been made on a full horizontal equalisation basis as mentioned in paragraph 6(2)(a); and (b) the methods used by the Local Government Grants Commissions in making their recommendations; and (c) the performance by local governing bodies of their functions including: (i) their efficiency; and (ii) services provided by them to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. (4) The Minister must cause a copy of each report to be laid before each House of the Parliament as soon as practicable after the report has been prepared.