Part I
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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act establishes a 1980–81 Australian Government program to fund State road construction and maintenance, targeting nationally important routes while distinguishing national, developmental, arterial and local roads. States submit project programs for Ministerial approval and must spend funds exactly as approved.
Strong Commonwealth oversight — approvals, standards, audits, inspections and repayment rules — ensures federal money supports nationally significant works and is properly accounted for.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Roads Grants Act 1980.
This Act may be cited as the Roads Grants Act 1980.
This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
arterial road means an urban arterial road or a rural arterial road.
construction, in relation to a road, includes:
(a) the reconstruction or realignment of the road;
(b) the bringing of the road to a higher standard;
(c) investigation and associated engineering studies in connection with:
(i) the construction, reconstruction or realignment of the road;
(ii) the bringing of the road to a higher standard; or
(iii) the planning of alternative routes for the road;
(d) the acquisition of land for the purpose of:
(i) constructing, reconstructing or realigning the road; or
(ii) bringing the road to a higher standard; and
(e) the doing of any other thing in relation to a matter specified in paragraph (a) or (b) approved by the Minister for the purposes of this definition, but does not include the maintenance of the road.
developmental road means a road or proposed road in respect of which a declaration under subsection 5(3) is in force, or a part of such a road or proposed road.
government authority means a municipal, shire or other local authority, and includes an authority of a State, being an incorporated body, that is responsible for the construction and maintenance of local roads in an area of the State.
local road means a road that is not a national road or an arterial road.
maintenance, in relation to a road, includes the repair of the road.
national highway means a road or proposed road in respect of which a declaration under subsection 5(1) or (2) is in force, or a part of such a road or proposed road.
national road means a national highway or a developmental road.
road includes:
(a) a road sign;
(b) traffic control equipment;
(c) street lighting equipment;
(d) a vehicular ferry;
(e) a bridge or tunnel, including a bridge or tunnel for the use of pedestrians;
(f) a path for the use of persons riding bicycles;
(g) a ramp provided to facilitate the launching of boats; and
(h) vehicular access from a road to a ramp referred to in paragraph (g);
associated with a road.
road planning or research means scientific, technical or economic planning, investigation or research related to roads or road transport, and includes:
(a) the investigation of transport by road in relation to other means of transport; and
(b) research into road safety, the design of vehicles and the behaviour of road users.
road works means:
(a) the construction of roads; and
(b) the maintenance of roads.
rural arterial road means a road, or a proposed road, that is not in an urban area and that is for the time being declared by the Minister to be a rural arterial road for the purposes of this Act.
urban area means an area designated for the purposes of the Census taken in the year 1971 as:
(a) the Sydney Statistical Division;
(b) the Melbourne Statistical Division;
(c) the Brisbane Statistical Division;
(d) the Adelaide Statistical Division;
(e) the Perth Statistical Division;
(f) the Hobart Statistical Division;
(g) Proposed Greater Darwin;
(h) the Newcastle Statistical District;
(j) the Wollongong Statistical District;
(k) the Geelong Statistical District;
(l) Urban Ballarat;
(m) Urban Bendigo;
(n) Urban Townsville;
(o) Urban Toowoomba;
(p) Urban Gold Coast;
(q) Urban Rockhampton; or
(r) Urban Launceston.
urban arterial road means a road, or a proposed road, that, in the opinion of the Minister, is predominantly associated with an urban area and that is for the time being declared by the Minister to be an urban arterial road for the purposes of this Act.
State includes the Northern Territory.
year to which this Act applies means the year commencing on 1 July 1980.
(2) A reference in this Act to an amount expended by a State in respect of an approved project within the meaning of Part II is a reference to an amount expended in connection with the carrying out of the works constituting the approved project in accordance with any standards applicable to those works by virtue of a notification in force under section 6. (3) An amount paid by a State to a government authority for a particular purpose shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been expended by the State for that purpose, and an amount set aside by a State for payment to a government authority for a particular purpose shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been set aside by the State for expenditure for that purpose. (4) For the purposes of this Act, where an amount is expended by a State or a government authority by way of the payment of wages and an amount of tax is paid by the State or the authority (whether by way of a payment of moneys, the crediting of an account or otherwise) on those wages, being a tax imposed by a law of the State upon employers on wages paid by them, the amount of tax shall be deemed to be an additional amount of those wages. (5) In subsection (4), wages includes payments in the nature of wages. (6) Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of this Act, moneys paid or credited by a State to a trust account or other account in the Treasury of the State shall not be taken, by reason only of their having been so paid or credited, to have been expended by the State.
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
approved program means:
(a) a program of projects approved by the Minister under section 7; or
(b) a statement approved under subsection 22(3) in so far as it relates to national roads.
approved project means a project in, or covered by, an approved program.
project means a project by way of:
(a) the construction of a national road; or
(b) the maintenance of a national road.
(1) The Minister may declare a road in a State that constitutes, or a proposed road in a State that would, if constructed, constitute, a part of the road that, in the opinion of the Minister, is or will be the principal road linking: (a) 2 or more State capital cities; (b) a State capital city and Canberra; (c) Brisbane and Cairns; or (d) Hobart and Burnie; to be a national highway for the purposes of this Act. (2) The Minister may declare a road in a State that constitutes, or a proposed road in a State that would, if constructed, constitute, a road that should, in the opinion of the Minister, be treated, by reason of its national importance, as a national highway for the purposes of this Act to be, for those purposes, a national highway. (3) Where the Minister is of the opinion: (a) that a road in a State is of use, or a proposed road in a State would, if constructed, be of use in the development of particular industries or particular energy resources or in facilitating or developing trade or commerce with other countries or among the States; and (b) that, for that reason, the road is, or the proposed road would, if constructed, be, of national importance; the Minister may declare the road or the proposed road to be a developmental road for the purposes of this Act. (4) The Minister may revoke or vary a declaration made under this section.
(1) For the purpose of ensuring that this Act is conducive to the construction and maintenance of national roads that are of an adequate standard, the Minister may, from time to time: (a) request a State to furnish such information as the Minister specifies relating to the use or likely use of national roads, including the effect on the likely use of national roads of projects that the State is carrying out or proposes to carry out by way of the construction or maintenance of other roads in the State; (b) after consultation with a State, notify to the State works, or classes of works, by way of construction and maintenance of the national roads in the State that the Minister considers necessary to be carried out; (c) notify to a State the order in which the Minister considers that works in connection with national roads in the State should be carried out; and (d) notify to a State standards, applicable either generally or otherwise as specified in the notification, that the Minister considers necessary to be observed in connection with the construction or maintenance of national roads. (2) The Minister may revoke or vary a notification forwarded to a State in accordance with subsection (1).
(1) The Minister may request a State to submit a program of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies in accordance with any notification or notifications in force under section 6 and may, in the request, specify: (a) the form in accordance with which, and the date before which, the program of projects is to be furnished to him for the purposes of this section; (b) the particulars of projects to be specified in the program; and (c) classes of projects in respect of which particulars of the projects are to be approved by him before the projects are included in such a program. (2) Where: (a) a State, in accordance with a request made to it under subsection (1), furnishes to the Minister a program of projects of works referred to in a notification in force under paragraph 6(1)(b); and (b) the program complies with any requirements set out in a notification in force under paragraph 6(1)(c) or (d) that are applicable in relation to it; the Minister may: (c) approve the program; or (d) modify the program to the extent he thinks desirable, and approve the program as so modified. (3) A reference in subsection (2) to the modification of a program includes references to the omission of a project from a program and the addition of a project to a program. (4) For the purposes of this Part, the Minister may, whether or not a notification has been given to a State in accordance with paragraph 6(1)(b), approve, in consultation with the appropriate Minister of the State, programs of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies. (5) The Minister may approve: (a) a variation of; (b) a revocation of; or (c) a revocation of, and the substitution of a new program for, a program of projects approved by him under subsection (2) or (4).
(1) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 1. (2) Moneys are payable to a State under subsection (1) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects.
The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with section 8 is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to national roads in accordance with an approved program.
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
approved program means:
(a) a program of projects approved by the Minister under subsection 11(2); or
(b) a statement approved under subsection 22(3) in so far as it relates to arterial roads.
approved project means a project in, or covered by, an approved program.
project means a project by way of the construction of an arterial road.
(1) The Minister may notify a State of the date before which a program of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies, being projects of a kind specified in the notification, is to be submitted to him for approval. (2) The Minister, after consultation with the appropriate Minister of a State, may approve programs of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies. (3) A State may propose to the Minister: (a) a variation of; (b) a revocation of; or (c) a revocation of, and the substitution of a new program for; a program of projects approved by the Minister under subsection (2), but the variation, revocation or revocation and substitution does not take effect for the purposes of this Part until it has been approved by the Minister. (4) Where a variation or substitution is approved under subsection (3), the program as varied or the substituted program shall be deemed to be a program of projects approved by the Minister under subsection (2).
(1) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 2. (2) Moneys are payable to a State under subsection (1) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects in relation to urban arterial roads. (3) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 3. (4) Moneys are payable to the State under subsection (3) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects in relation to rural arterial roads.
(1) The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with subsection 12(1) is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to urban arterial roads in accordance with an approved program. (2) The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with subsection 12(3) is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to rural arterial roads in accordance with an approved program.
(1) In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
allocation for local roads, in relation to a State, means an allocation of moneys for:
(a) expenditure by the State on road works; or
(b) payment by the State to a government authority in the State for expenditure by the authority on road works;
being road works that consist of the construction or maintenance of local roads for which the State or authority is responsible.
approved program means:
(a) a program of allocations for local roads approved by the Minister under subsection 15(2); or
(b) a statement approved under subsection 22(3) in so far as it relates to local roads.
approved project means road works covered by an approved program.
Commonwealth moneys, in relation to a State, means moneys payable under this Part to the State.
(2) For the purposes of this Part, an allocation for local roads may include an amount for the purchase of road making plant to be used wholly or mainly in the construction or maintenance of local roads.
(1) The Minister may notify a State of the date before which a program of allocations for local roads in respect of the year to which this Act applies, being allocations for a purpose specified in the notification, is to be submitted to him for approval. (2) The Minister, after consultation with the appropriate Minister of a State, may approve a program of allocations for local roads in respect of the State for the year to which this Act applies. (3) A State may propose to the Minister: (a) a variation of; (b) a revocation of; or (c) a revocation of, and the substitution of a new program for; a program of allocations for local roads approved by the Minister under subsection (2) but the variation, revocation or revocation and substitution does not take effect for the purposes of this Part until it has been approved by the Minister. (4) The giving of an approval by the Minister under subsection (2) or (3) is subject to subsection 16(4). (5) Where a variation or substitution is approved under subsection (3), the program as varied or the substituted program shall be deemed to be a program of allocations for local roads approved by the Minister under subsection (2).
(1) The Minister may enter into consultations with the appropriate Minister of a State for the purpose of formulating principles relating to the making of allocations for local roads in respect of the State, in so far as such allocations relate to Commonwealth moneys, and may enter into an agreement with the appropriate Minister of the State setting out the principles so formulated. (2) If, at any time, after consultations referred to in subsection (1), the Minister is unable to agree with the appropriate Minister of a State on the principles referred to in that subsection, the Minister may make a determination setting out the principles to be applied in respect of that State and, if he makes such a determination, he shall notify the appropriate Minister of the State accordingly. (3) Where an agreement is entered into under subsection (1) or a determination is made under subsection (2), the Minister shall publish in the Gazette a notice of the entering into of the agreement or of the making of the determination, as the case may be, and of the terms of the agreement or of the determination, as the case may be. (4) Where an agreement is in force under subsection (1), or a determination is in force under subsection (2), setting out principles relating to the making of allocations for local roads in respect of a State: (a) the Minister shall not approve, under subsection 15(2), a program of allocations for local roads in respect of the State unless: (i) the allocations for local roads set out in that program, in so far as they relate to Commonwealth moneys, have been made in accordance with those principles; and (ii) that program sets out, in respect of each of those allocations, the amount of Commonwealth moneys that is included in that allocation. (b) the Minister shall not approve, under subsection 15(3), a variation of a program of allocations for local roads previously approved by the Minister under subsection 15(2) in respect of the State unless: (i) the allocations for local roads set out in that program, as so proposed to be varied, in so far as they relate to Commonwealth moneys, have been made in accordance with those principles; and (ii) that program, as so proposed to be varied, sets out, in respect of each of those allocations, the amount of Commonwealth moneys that is included in that allocation; and (c) the Minister shall not approve, under subsection 15(3), a revocation of, and the substitution of a new program for, a program of allocations for local roads previously approved by the Minister under subsection 15(2) in respect of the State unless: (i) the allocations for local roads set out in the program so proposed to be substituted, in so far as they relate to Commonwealth moneys, have been made in accordance with those principles; and (ii) the program so proposed to be substituted sets out, in respect of each of those allocations, the amount of Commonwealth moneys that is included in that allocation. (5) Where an agreement is in force under subsection (1), the parties to the agreement may, at any time, vary or revoke the agreement. (6) Where a determination by the Minister is in force under subsection (2), the Minister may vary or revoke the determination and, if he does so, shall notify the appropriate Minister of the State concerned accordingly. (7) Where an agreement in force under subsection (1) or a determination in force under subsection (2) is varied: (a) the agreement as so varied shall be deemed to be the agreement as in force under subsection (1); or (b) the determination as so varied shall be deemed to be the determination as in force under subsection (2), as the case may be. (8) Where an agreement in force under subsection (1) or a determination in force under subsection (2) is varied or revoked, the Minister shall publish in the Gazette a notice of the variation or of the revocation, as the case may be, and, in the case of a variation, the particulars of the variation.
(1) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 4. (2) Moneys are payable to a State under subsection (1) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects.
The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with section 17 is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to local roads in accordance with an approved program.
(1) In this section, quota, in relation to a State, means the amount applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 5. (2) Where the quota applicable to a State exceeds the amount, or the aggregate of the amounts, that the State has, during the year to which this Act applies, from its own resources, expended, or set aside for expenditure, on road works, the State shall pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the excess, or such lesser amount as the Minister for Finance determines. (3) For the purposes of this section, an amount set aside for expenditure during the year to which this Act applies shall not be taken into account as an amount so set aside unless it is expended during a period of 6 months next following the expiration of that year. (4) For the purposes of this section: (a) where a State has received, or is entitled to receive, financial assistance under the Transport Planning and Research (Financial Assistance) Act 1977 in relation to moneys expended by the State on road planning or research, the State shall be deemed to have, from its own resources, expended on road works an amount equal to the amount by which the moneys so expended exceed the amount of that financial assistance; and (b) moneys expended by a State from its own resources in meeting the costs of operating any of the following works or equipment, being works or equipment associated with a road, shall be deemed to have been expended on road works: (i) opening‑span bridges; (ii) tunnels; (iii) vehicular ferries; (iv) traffic control systems. (5) Subject to subsection (6), a State may, for the purposes of this section, treat: (a) moneys expended by the State in the year to which this Act applies directly in connection with the provision or maintenance of roads in the State, not being moneys expended on particular road works; or (b) moneys expended, or set aside for expenditure, by the State, in the year to which this Act applies, in payment of interest on moneys borrowed by the State and expended by the State on road works; as having been expended in that year by the State on road works carried out by the State in that year. (6) Moneys treated as having been expended on road works in a year by virtue of subsection (5) shall not include: (a) any moneys treated, by virtue of section 26, as having been expended in that year on an approved project; or (b) moneys expended during a period of 6 months commencing on 1 July 1980 that have been taken into account for the purposes of section 15 of the States Grants (Roads) Act 1977.
(1) The Minister may, by notice in writing, require the appropriate Minister of a State to furnish to him, within the time specified in the notice, particulars of a project included in a program of projects submitted by the State for approval under this Act. (2) If a Minister of a State does not comply with a requirement of the Minister made on him in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister may exclude the project to which the requirement relates from the program of projects concerned. (3) Where: (a) the Minister is, in accordance with subsection (1), furnished with particulars of a project included in a program of projects submitted by a State for approval under this Act; and (b) the Minister considers that, having regard to those particulars, the project should be an approved project for the purposes of Part II, III or IV, as the case may be; the Minister may direct that those particulars be incorporated in the program so submitted for approval as particulars of the project. (4) Where: (a) the Minister is, in accordance with subsection (1), furnished with particulars of a project included in a program of projects submitted by a State for approval under this Act; and (b) the Minister considers that, having regard to those particulars, the project should not be an approved project for the purposes of Part II, III or IV, as the case may be; the Minister may exclude the project from the program of projects submitted to him for approval.
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in any other provision of this Act, the grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with this Act is subject to the condition that the appropriate Minister of the State will comply with any requirement of the Minister made to him in accordance with subsection (2). (2) The Minister may, by notice in writing, require the appropriate Minister of a State to furnish to him, within the time specified in the notice, such information in relation to matters relevant to the operation of this Act as is specified in the notice.
(1) The Minister and the appropriate Minister of a State may enter into an arrangement that provides for the setting up of a committee of persons representing both Ministers to carry out planning and furnish advice to both Ministers in connection with the provision and maintenance of roads in the State. (2) A committee set up under an arrangement under subsection (1) may prepare and submit to both Ministers a statement of the proposed development of the road system, or any part of the road system, of the State during the year to which this Act applies, including a statement of the objectives to be achieved by, and the priorities to be observed in, that proposed development. (3) The Ministers referred to in subsection (2) may jointly approve a statement submitted to them under that subsection. (4) A committee referred to in subsection (2) may make a variation of a statement submitted by it to the Ministers referred to in that subsection but the variation does not take effect for the purposes of this Act until it has been approved jointly by those Ministers. (5) Where a statement approved under subsection (3) is varied in accordance with subsection (4), the statement as so varied shall be deemed to be a statement approved under subsection (3).
(1) Where a State satisfies the Minister that the amount specified in a Schedule, being a Schedule the number of which is specified in column 1 of the table in this subsection, in relation to a State is greater than the amount that the State has been, or will be, able to expend, in accordance with this Act, in the year to which this Act applies, for the purpose applicable to the amount under the provision specified in column 2 of that table opposite to the number of that Schedule, the Minister may direct that the amount so specified in that Schedule shall be deemed to be reduced by such amount as is specified by the Minister in the direction.
| Column 1Schedule | Column 2Provision |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 13(1) |
| 3 | 13(2) |
| 4 | 18 |
(2) Where the Minister gives a direction under subsection (1) with respect to an amount specified in a Schedule in relation to a State, the Minister may, subject to subsection (3), direct that such other amounts specified in Schedules (other than Schedule 5) in relation to the State shall be deemed to be increased or reduced by such specified amounts as the Minister considers necessary in consequence of that direction. (3) A direction shall not be given under subsection (2) in relation to a State if the direction could result in the State becoming liable to repay an amount to the Commonwealth under this Act. (4) A direction or directions shall not be given under subsection (2) in relation to a State in consequence of the giving of a direction under subsection (1) if the combined effect of the proposed direction or proposed directions under subsection (2) and the direction under subsection (1) would be that the sum of the amounts available for payment to the State by way of financial assistance under this Act would exceed the sum of the amounts set out in relation to the State in the Schedules (other than Schedule 5). (5) Where a direction is given under subsection (1) or (2), this Act (other than subsection (4) of this section) has effect as if the amount or amounts referred to in the direction, being an amount or amounts specified in a Schedule or Schedules, had been reduced or increased, as the case may be, in accordance with the direction.
(1) Where a State satisfies the Minister that, by reason of particular road works (in this subsection referred to as the lesser priority works) having a lesser priority than other particular road works (in this subsection referred to as the greater priority works): (a) an amount specified in a Schedule in relation to the State, being an amount required by this Act to be expended on road works of a kind in which the lesser priority works are included, should be reduced by an amount specified by the State (in this subsection referred to as the variation); and (b) an amount specified in a Schedule in relation to the State, being an amount required by this Act to be expended on road works of a kind in which the greater priority works are included, should be increased by an amount equal to the variation; the Minister may direct that the amounts so specified shall be deemed to be respectively reduced and increased by an amount equal to the variation. (2) A reference in subsection (1) to a Schedule shall be read as not including a reference to Schedule 5. (3) A direction shall not be given under subsection (1) in relation to a State if the direction could result in the State becoming liable to repay an amount to the Commonwealth under this Act. (4) Where a direction is given under subsection (1), this Act has effect as if the amounts referred to in the direction, being amounts specified in Schedules, had been respectively reduced and increased in accordance with the direction.
Moneys: (a) paid to a State under this Act in the year to which this Act applies; (b) set aside by a State in that year for expenditure in accordance with this Act; and (c) expended by a State during the period of 6 months immediately following the expiration of that year, or within such further period as the Minister for Finance approves; shall, for the purposes of sections 9, 13 and 18, be deemed to have been expended during that year.
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a State may, for the purposes of this Act (other than section 19), treat moneys expended by the State in the year to which this Act applies directly in connection with the provision or maintenance of roads in the State, not being moneys expended on particular road works, as having been expended in that year by the State on an approved project carried out by the State in that year. (2) Moneys treated as having been expended on an approved project in the year to which this Act applies by virtue of subsection (1): (a) shall not include any moneys treated, by virtue of that subsection, as having been expended in respect of any other approved project; and (b) shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 4% of the moneys otherwise expended on that project in that year. (3) In this section, approved project means an approved project within the meaning of Part II, III or IV.
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in any other provision of this Act, payment of an amount to a State under this Act is subject to the condition that the State will submit to the Minister for Finance: (a) as soon as practicable after 30 June in the year to which this Act applies, a statement, in accordance with a form approved by him: (i) as to the expenditure by the State during that year out of that amount and as to any sum set aside during that year out of that amount for expenditure by the State but not expended during that year; and (ii) as to amounts expended on road works by the State from its own resources during that year and as to any sum set aside during that year for expenditure by the State from its own resources on road works but not expended during that year; (b) as soon as practicable after 31 December in the next succeeding year, a statement, in accordance with a form so approved: (i) as to the expenditure by the State during the period of 6 months ended on that date out of any sum set aside but not expended as mentioned in subparagraph (a)(i); and (ii) as to amounts expended on road works by the State from its own resources during the period of 6 months ended on that date out of any sum set aside but not expended as mentioned in subparagraph (a)(ii); and (c) if the Minister for Finance so directs, a certificate by the Auditor‑General of the State certifying that, in his opinion, such of the contents of a statement referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) as the Minister for Finance specifies are correct. (2) An amount shown in a statement mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) as having been expended during the period referred to in the paragraph shall not be shown to have been expended in any succeeding statement furnished by a State under subsection (1).
In addition to the conditions specified in any other provision of this Act: (a) payment of an amount to a State under this Act is subject to the condition that, if the Minister informs the Treasurer of the State that he is satisfied that the State has failed, with respect to that amount, to fulfil the condition specified by subsection 27(1), the State will repay the amount, or such part of the amount as the Minister specifies, to the Commonwealth; and (b) a grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with this Act is subject to the condition that, if the sum of the amounts paid to a State by way of financial assistance under this Act has not been expended or otherwise dealt with, in accordance with this Act, the State shall, on demand by the Minister for Finance, pay to the Commonwealth an amount specified by the Minister for Finance, being an amount not greater than so much of the sum of those amounts as has not been so expended or otherwise dealt with.
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in any other provision of this Act, a grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with Part II is subject to the following conditions: (a) that the State will, at all reasonable times, permit a person authorized by the Minister: (i) to inspect any work involved in the carrying out of an approved project; (ii) to carry out reasonable tests on any work that has been or is being carried out on an approved project, being tests designed to ascertain whether the work has been or is being carried out in accordance with the standards applicable to that work in accordance with section 6; and (iii) to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, designs, tenders, records or other documents relating to an approved project; (b) that, if the Minister so requests with respect to an approved project, there will be furnished to the Minister by the State, as soon as practicable after such date as the Minister specifies, a comprehensive report concerning the project or a specified part of the project, being a report containing such particulars as are specified by the Minister; (c) that the State will permit a person authorized by the Minister, at all reasonable times, to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, designs, tenders, records or other documents relating to a project that is included in a program that has been submitted to the Minister under section 7; (d) that the State shall not, without the consent of the Minister, cause or permit a toll or fee to be charged for the right to travel in a vehicle on or over a particular part of a national road unless a toll or fee was charged for the right to travel in a vehicle on or over the road constituting that part of the national road immediately before the commencement of this Act; (e) that the State will make provision satisfactory to the Minister for the construction and maintenance of roads connecting the national roads in the State with other roads in the State; (f) that, if the Minister informs the Treasurer of the State that he is satisfied that the State has failed to fulfil a condition specified in a preceding paragraph, the State will repay to the Commonwealth the amount of the financial assistance paid to it in accordance with Part II, or such part of that amount as the Minister specifies. (2) In this section, approved project means an approved project within the meaning of Part II.
In addition to the conditions specified in any other provision of this Act, the grants of financial assistance to a State in accordance with Parts III and IV are subject to the following conditions: (a) that the State shall, if requested by the Minister to do so, establish a body or bodies, representative of Departments and other bodies in the State concerned with roads or road transport, to carry out planning and furnish advice to the State Government in connection with the provision or maintenance of roads in the State; (b) that the State shall, if requested by the Minister to do so, arrange for a representative or representatives of the Commonwealth nominated by the Minister to take part in the deliberations of a body specified by the Minister, being a body established, whether before or after the commencement of this Act and whether by reason of a request under paragraph (a) or otherwise, by the State to carry out planning and furnish advice in connection with the provision or maintenance of roads in the State; (c) that the State will, if the Minister so directs, furnish to the Minister, as soon as practicable after such date as the Minister specifies, such particulars as the Minister specifies concerning projects that the State is carrying out by way of the planning of the construction or maintenance of roads; (d) that, if the Minister informs the Treasurer of the State that he is satisfied that the State has failed to fulfil a condition specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), the State will repay to the Commonwealth the amount of the financial assistance paid to it in accordance with Parts III and IV, or such part of that amount as the Minister specifies.
The Minister for Finance may deduct any amount repayable by a State under this Act from an amount payable by the Commonwealth to the State under this Act.
Payments to a State under this Act shall be made at such times, and in such amounts, as the Minister for Finance approves.
Payments to a State for the purposes of this Act may be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or the Loan Fund.
The Treasurer may, during the year to which this Act applies, in accordance with the provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911, or in accordance with the provisions of an Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, borrow moneys not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of: (a) the total amount of financial assistance that may be granted to the States under this Act; and (b) the expenses of borrowing.
Moneys borrowed under section 34 shall be issued and applied only for the expenses of borrowing, for the purpose of making payments to the States in accordance with this Act and for the purpose of making payments to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in accordance with section 36.
(1) Where an amount has been paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund under this Act, the Minister for Finance may authorize the payment to that Fund, out of the Loan Fund, of an amount not exceeding the amount so paid. (2) In any statement prepared by the Minister for Finance under section 49 or 50 of the Audit Act 1901, amounts paid to the Consolidated Revenue Fund under subsection (1) of this section shall not be shown as receipts of that Fund but shall be shown as having reduced the total of the amounts expended from that Fund under this Act.
The Consolidated Revenue Fund and the Loan Fund are appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act.
(1) The Minister may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by him, delegate to a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 any of his powers under section 6, 7, 11 or 15. (2) A power so delegated, when exercised by the delegate, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been exercised by the Minister. (3) A delegation under this section does not prevent the exercise of a power by the Minister.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
This Act may be cited as the Roads Grants Act 1980.
This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
arterial road means an urban arterial road or a rural arterial road.
construction, in relation to a road, includes:
(a) the reconstruction or realignment of the road;
(b) the bringing of the road to a higher standard;
(c) investigation and associated engineering studies in connection with:
(i) the construction, reconstruction or realignment of the road;
(ii) the bringing of the road to a higher standard; or
(iii) the planning of alternative routes for the road;
(d) the acquisition of land for the purpose of:
(i) constructing, reconstructing or realigning the road; or
(ii) bringing the road to a higher standard; and
(e) the doing of any other thing in relation to a matter specified in paragraph (a) or (b) approved by the Minister for the purposes of this definition, but does not include the maintenance of the road.
developmental road means a road or proposed road in respect of which a declaration under subsection 5(3) is in force, or a part of such a road or proposed road.
government authority means a municipal, shire or other local authority, and includes an authority of a State, being an incorporated body, that is responsible for the construction and maintenance of local roads in an area of the State.
local road means a road that is not a national road or an arterial road.
maintenance, in relation to a road, includes the repair of the road.
national highway means a road or proposed road in respect of which a declaration under subsection 5(1) or (2) is in force, or a part of such a road or proposed road.
national road means a national highway or a developmental road.
road includes:
(a) a road sign;
(b) traffic control equipment;
(c) street lighting equipment;
(d) a vehicular ferry;
(e) a bridge or tunnel, including a bridge or tunnel for the use of pedestrians;
(f) a path for the use of persons riding bicycles;
(g) a ramp provided to facilitate the launching of boats; and
(h) vehicular access from a road to a ramp referred to in paragraph (g);
associated with a road.
road planning or research means scientific, technical or economic planning, investigation or research related to roads or road transport, and includes:
(a) the investigation of transport by road in relation to other means of transport; and
(b) research into road safety, the design of vehicles and the behaviour of road users.
road works means:
(a) the construction of roads; and
(b) the maintenance of roads.
rural arterial road means a road, or a proposed road, that is not in an urban area and that is for the time being declared by the Minister to be a rural arterial road for the purposes of this Act.
urban area means an area designated for the purposes of the Census taken in the year 1971 as:
(a) the Sydney Statistical Division;
(b) the Melbourne Statistical Division;
(c) the Brisbane Statistical Division;
(d) the Adelaide Statistical Division;
(e) the Perth Statistical Division;
(f) the Hobart Statistical Division;
(g) Proposed Greater Darwin;
(h) the Newcastle Statistical District;
(j) the Wollongong Statistical District;
(k) the Geelong Statistical District;
(l) Urban Ballarat;
(m) Urban Bendigo;
(n) Urban Townsville;
(o) Urban Toowoomba;
(p) Urban Gold Coast;
(q) Urban Rockhampton; or
(r) Urban Launceston.
urban arterial road means a road, or a proposed road, that, in the opinion of the Minister, is predominantly associated with an urban area and that is for the time being declared by the Minister to be an urban arterial road for the purposes of this Act.
State includes the Northern Territory.
year to which this Act applies means the year commencing on 1 July 1980.
(2) A reference in this Act to an amount expended by a State in respect of an approved project within the meaning of Part II is a reference to an amount expended in connection with the carrying out of the works constituting the approved project in accordance with any standards applicable to those works by virtue of a notification in force under section 6. (3) An amount paid by a State to a government authority for a particular purpose shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been expended by the State for that purpose, and an amount set aside by a State for payment to a government authority for a particular purpose shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been set aside by the State for expenditure for that purpose. (4) For the purposes of this Act, where an amount is expended by a State or a government authority by way of the payment of wages and an amount of tax is paid by the State or the authority (whether by way of a payment of moneys, the crediting of an account or otherwise) on those wages, being a tax imposed by a law of the State upon employers on wages paid by them, the amount of tax shall be deemed to be an additional amount of those wages. (5) In subsection (4), wages includes payments in the nature of wages. (6) Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of this Act, moneys paid or credited by a State to a trust account or other account in the Treasury of the State shall not be taken, by reason only of their having been so paid or credited, to have been expended by the State.
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
approved program means:
(a) a program of projects approved by the Minister under section 7; or
(b) a statement approved under subsection 22(3) in so far as it relates to national roads.
approved project means a project in, or covered by, an approved program.
project means a project by way of:
(a) the construction of a national road; or
(b) the maintenance of a national road.
(1) The Minister may declare a road in a State that constitutes, or a proposed road in a State that would, if constructed, constitute, a part of the road that, in the opinion of the Minister, is or will be the principal road linking: (a) 2 or more State capital cities; (b) a State capital city and Canberra; (c) Brisbane and Cairns; or (d) Hobart and Burnie; to be a national highway for the purposes of this Act. (2) The Minister may declare a road in a State that constitutes, or a proposed road in a State that would, if constructed, constitute, a road that should, in the opinion of the Minister, be treated, by reason of its national importance, as a national highway for the purposes of this Act to be, for those purposes, a national highway. (3) Where the Minister is of the opinion: (a) that a road in a State is of use, or a proposed road in a State would, if constructed, be of use in the development of particular industries or particular energy resources or in facilitating or developing trade or commerce with other countries or among the States; and (b) that, for that reason, the road is, or the proposed road would, if constructed, be, of national importance; the Minister may declare the road or the proposed road to be a developmental road for the purposes of this Act. (4) The Minister may revoke or vary a declaration made under this section.
(1) For the purpose of ensuring that this Act is conducive to the construction and maintenance of national roads that are of an adequate standard, the Minister may, from time to time: (a) request a State to furnish such information as the Minister specifies relating to the use or likely use of national roads, including the effect on the likely use of national roads of projects that the State is carrying out or proposes to carry out by way of the construction or maintenance of other roads in the State; (b) after consultation with a State, notify to the State works, or classes of works, by way of construction and maintenance of the national roads in the State that the Minister considers necessary to be carried out; (c) notify to a State the order in which the Minister considers that works in connection with national roads in the State should be carried out; and (d) notify to a State standards, applicable either generally or otherwise as specified in the notification, that the Minister considers necessary to be observed in connection with the construction or maintenance of national roads. (2) The Minister may revoke or vary a notification forwarded to a State in accordance with subsection (1).
(1) The Minister may request a State to submit a program of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies in accordance with any notification or notifications in force under section 6 and may, in the request, specify: (a) the form in accordance with which, and the date before which, the program of projects is to be furnished to him for the purposes of this section; (b) the particulars of projects to be specified in the program; and (c) classes of projects in respect of which particulars of the projects are to be approved by him before the projects are included in such a program. (2) Where: (a) a State, in accordance with a request made to it under subsection (1), furnishes to the Minister a program of projects of works referred to in a notification in force under paragraph 6(1)(b); and (b) the program complies with any requirements set out in a notification in force under paragraph 6(1)(c) or (d) that are applicable in relation to it; the Minister may: (c) approve the program; or (d) modify the program to the extent he thinks desirable, and approve the program as so modified. (3) A reference in subsection (2) to the modification of a program includes references to the omission of a project from a program and the addition of a project to a program. (4) For the purposes of this Part, the Minister may, whether or not a notification has been given to a State in accordance with paragraph 6(1)(b), approve, in consultation with the appropriate Minister of the State, programs of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies. (5) The Minister may approve: (a) a variation of; (b) a revocation of; or (c) a revocation of, and the substitution of a new program for, a program of projects approved by him under subsection (2) or (4).
(1) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 1. (2) Moneys are payable to a State under subsection (1) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects.
The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with section 8 is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to national roads in accordance with an approved program.
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
approved program means:
(a) a program of projects approved by the Minister under subsection 11(2); or
(b) a statement approved under subsection 22(3) in so far as it relates to arterial roads.
approved project means a project in, or covered by, an approved program.
project means a project by way of the construction of an arterial road.
(1) The Minister may notify a State of the date before which a program of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies, being projects of a kind specified in the notification, is to be submitted to him for approval. (2) The Minister, after consultation with the appropriate Minister of a State, may approve programs of projects proposed to be undertaken by the State during the year to which this Act applies. (3) A State may propose to the Minister: (a) a variation of; (b) a revocation of; or (c) a revocation of, and the substitution of a new program for; a program of projects approved by the Minister under subsection (2), but the variation, revocation or revocation and substitution does not take effect for the purposes of this Part until it has been approved by the Minister. (4) Where a variation or substitution is approved under subsection (3), the program as varied or the substituted program shall be deemed to be a program of projects approved by the Minister under subsection (2).
(1) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 2. (2) Moneys are payable to a State under subsection (1) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects in relation to urban arterial roads. (3) Subject to this Act, there is payable to each State, in respect of the year to which this Act applies, by way of financial assistance, the amount that is applicable to the State in accordance with Schedule 3. (4) Moneys are payable to the State under subsection (3) for the purpose of enabling the carrying out of approved projects in relation to rural arterial roads.
(1) The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with subsection 12(1) is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to urban arterial roads in accordance with an approved program. (2) The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with subsection 12(3) is subject to the condition that the State will, during the year to which this Act applies, expend the moneys paid to it in accordance with the grant on the carrying out of road works with respect to rural arterial roads in accordance with an approved program.
(1) In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:
allocation for local roads, in relation to a State, means an allocation of moneys for:
(a) expenditure by the State on road works; or
(b) payment by the State to a government authority in the State for expenditure by the authority on road works;
being road works that consist of the construction or maintenance of local roads for which the State or authority is responsible.
approved program means:
(a) a program of allocations for local roads approved by the Minister under subsection 15(2); or
(b) a statement approved under subsection 22(3) in so far as it relates to local roads.
approved project means road works covered by an ap
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