States Grants (Drought Assistance) Act 1968

States Grants (Drought Assistance) Act 1968

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.

What does it do?

• Pays out $14 million in total from the Commonwealth's central funding pool (the "Consolidated Revenue Fund" — the main account from which the federal government draws money):
  • $13 million is shared among all four affected states, divided up in proportion to each state's share of existing annual grants under the States Grants Act 1965–1967 (an existing funding formula used to distribute general financial assistance to states).
  • $1 million extra goes specifically to Victoria, on top of its share of the $13 million.
• All payments relate to the financial year that ran from 1 July 1967.
• The Federal Treasurer had the flexibility to pay advances (early instalments) to states before the final entitlement was calculated.

Who does it affect?

• The four named states — not all Australian states (Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory are not included, noting South Australia included).