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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This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.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 is a one-off financial relief measure that provided Commonwealth money to four Australian states — New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia — to help them cope with revenue they lost because of drought conditions.
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Direct links to the current provisions in States Grants (Drought Assistance) Act 1968.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
This is a classic example of Commonwealth–State financial cooperation in a crisis. Because the states lost tax and other revenue as a result of drought (farmers earning less means less economic activity and less state revenue), the federal government stepped in with a supplementary payment. It is a short, simple, time-limited grant Act — once the money was paid, the Act had no further purpose.