An Act to grant Financial Assistance to the States in relation to the provision of certain Home Care and other Welfare Services by States, Local Governing Bodies and Community Welfare Organisations
Part I—Preliminary
1 Short title [see Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the States Grants (Home Care) Act 1969.
2 Commencement [see Note 1]
This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
4 Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
approved home care service scheme means a scheme for the time being approved by the Minister under the next succeeding section.
approved project means a project for the time being approved by the Minister under section 8.
approved welfare service means a welfare service that:
(a) is provided, or to be provided, wholly or mainly for aged persons; and
(b) is of a kind for the time being approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
base amount, in relation to the expenditure by a participating State of an amount for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme, means the amount ascertained in accordance with subsection 6(4), or the amount determined by the Minister in accordance with subsection 6(5), to be the base amount.
base year means the financial year commencing on 1 July 1984.
first relevant period means the period commencing on the prescribed commencement day and ending on 30 June 1986.
home care service means a service in the nature of housekeeping or other domestic assistance to persons in their homes.
index number, in relation to a participating State, means:
(a) the hourly award rates of pay for adult wage earners index number for the community services industry for that State as provided by the Australian Statistician in respect of each month of March; or
(b) the All Groups Consumer Price Index number (excluding hospital and medical services) for the capital city of that State as provided by the Australian Statistician in respect of each March quarter.
joint body means any two or more of the following acting jointly:
(a) a State;
(b) a local governing body; and
(c) a community welfare organisation.
local governing body means a local governing body established by or under a law of a State.
participating State means a State that has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, given notice to the Commonwealth that it intends to seek each of the kinds of financial assistance for which provision is made by this Act.
prescribed commencement day means the day on which the Home and Community Care (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1985 receives the Royal Assent.
relevant period means:
(a) the first relevant period;
(b) the second relevant period; or
(c) the financial year commencing on 1 July 1987 or any subsequent financial year.
second relevant period means the financial year commencing on 1 July 1986.
senior citizens’ centre means an organisation a principal purpose of which is to provide, or to assist in the provision of, an approved welfare service or approved welfare services, being an organisation for the time being approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
the approved capital cost, in relation to an approved project, means all costs in respect of the project that are of a capital nature and are approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Minister shall not, on or after the prescribed commencement day, approve:
(a) a welfare service of any kind pursuant to paragraph (b) of the definition of approved welfare service in subsection (1); or
(b) an organisation pursuant to the definition of senior citizens’ centre in subsection (1).
(3) Subject to subsection (4), if at any time, whether before or after the prescribed commencement day, the Australian Statistician has provided or provides an index number for a participating State in respect of a March quarter or in respect of a month of March in substitution for an index number previously provided for that State in respect of that quarter or that month, the first‑mentioned index number shall be disregarded for the purposes of section 6.
(4) If at any time, whether before or after the prescribed commencement day, the Australian Statistician has changed or changes the reference base for an index number for a participating State then, for the purposes of the application of section 6 after the change took place or takes place, regard shall be had only to the index number for that State provided in terms of the new reference base.
(5) In determining the proportion that one period bears to another period:
(a) a period consisting of a number of whole weeks and a part of a week shall be treated as if it were a period consisting of that number of whole weeks increased by one; and
(b) a period consisting of a part only of one week shall be treated as if it were a period of a week.
Part II—Home care services
5 Approval of home care service schemes
(1) For the purposes of this Part, the Minister may, at the request of a participating State, approve a scheme conducted, or to be conducted, by the State, a local governing body, a community welfare organization or a joint body for the provision of a home care service wholly or mainly for aged persons in respect of which that State proposes to incur expenditure.
(2) The Minister shall not approve a scheme of the kind referred to in subsection (1) on or after the prescribed commencement day.
6 Grant of financial assistance in connection with home care services
(1) Subject to this Act, where a participating State has, after it has given the notice by virtue of which it is a participating State, expended, in a relevant period, an amount for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme, financial assistance is payable to that State in respect of the expenditure by that State of that amount.
(2) Financial assistance is not payable to a participating State under this Act in respect of an amount expended by that State for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme:
(a) where that State expended that amount on or after the day on which an agreement substantially in accordance with the form contained in the Schedule to the Home and Community Care Act 1985 was, or is, entered into between the Commonwealth and that State; or
(b) if, in circumstances to which paragraph (a) does not apply, that amount is expended by the State on or after the prescribed commencement day and no other amount has been expended by that State for or in connection with that scheme before the prescribed commencement day.
(3) The amount of financial assistance payable under this Act to a participating State in respect of an amount expended by that State in a relevant period for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme is:
(a) where the State expended an amount for or in connection with the scheme in that State during the base year—an amount equal to the lesser of:
(i) one‑half of the amount expended by the participating State for or in connection with the approved home care service scheme in that relevant period; and
(ii) the amount that is:
(A) where the relevant period is the first relevant period—the product of the adjustment factor and the amount that bears the same proportion to the base amount for that State for or in connection with that scheme as the first relevant period bears to a period of 52 weeks;
(B) where the relevant period is the second relevant period—the product of the adjustment factor and the amount that bears the same proportion to the amount calculated in accordance with sub-subparagraph (A) in respect of the expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme in the first relevant period as a period of 52 weeks bears to the first relevant period; or
(C) where the relevant period is neither the first nor the second relevant period—the product of the adjustment factor and the amount calculated in accordance with whichever of sub-subparagraph (B) or this sub-subparagraph (in a previous application of this subsection) applies in respect of the expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme in the immediately preceding relevant period; and
(b) where that State first expended an amount for or in connection with that scheme in that State in the period commencing on 1 July 1985 and ending on the day before the prescribed commencement day (in this paragraph referred to as the prescribed period)—an amount equal to the lesser of:
(i) one‑half of the amount expended by that State for or in connection with that scheme in the relevant period; and
(ii) the amount:
(A) where the relevant period is the first relevant period—that bears the same proportion to the amount of financial assistance paid or payable to that State in respect of expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme in the prescribed period, as the first relevant period bears to the prescribed period; or
(B) where the relevant period is the second or a subsequent relevant period—that bears the same proportion to the amount ascertained in accordance with sub-subparagraph (A) in respect of the expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme in the first relevant period as a period of 52 weeks bears to the first relevant period.
(4) For the purposes of this section, the base amount, in respect of an amount expended by a participating State for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme in the base year is, subject to subsection (5), an amount equal to the amount of financial assistance paid or payable to that State in respect of the base year under section 6 as that section was in force immediately before the prescribed commencement day in respect of that expenditure by that State in the base year for or in connection with that scheme.
(5) Where:
(a) the home care service provided under the approved scheme referred to in subsection (4) was provided for a part only of the base year or the level at which the service was provided under the scheme increased significantly during the base year; and
(b) the Minister is satisfied that, for either or both of the reasons specified in paragraph (a), the total expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme in the base year does not fairly indicate the total amount that the State is likely to expend for or in connection with that scheme in a succeeding financial year;
the Minister may, having regard to the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b), determine, in writing, a different amount to be the base amount in respect of the expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme.
(6) Where the Minister makes a determination under subsection (5), that determined amount shall, for the purposes of the operation of subparagraph (3)(a)(ii), be substituted for the base amount ascertained in accordance with subsection (4).
(7) For the purposes of subparagraph (3)(a)(ii), the adjustment factor in respect of a participating State and a relevant period, is a number calculated in accordance with the formula
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A and B are the hourly award rates of pay for adult wage earners index numbers for the community services industry for that State as provided by the Australian Statistician in relation to the series entitled “Award Rates of Pay Indexes, Australia” in respect of the month of March in that relevant period and in respect of the preceding month of March, respectively; and
C and D are the All Groups Consumer Price Index numbers (excluding hospital and medical services) for the capital city of that State as provided by the Australian Statistician in relation to the series entitled “Consumer Price Index” in respect of the March quarter of that relevant period and in respect of the preceding March quarter, respectively.
(8) Where the adjustment factor in respect of a participating State and a relevant period, as ascertained in accordance with subsection (7), would, but for the operation of this subsection, be less than one, the factor shall be taken to be one.
6A Advances
(1) The Minister may, by writing, at such times as the Minister thinks fit, authorise the making to a participating State of an advance on account of an amount of financial assistance that is expected to become payable to that State under section 6 in respect of expenditure by that State in a relevant period for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme, and the terms and conditions that would be applicable to a payment of such an amount of financial assistance are applicable to any such advance.
(2) If the total amount of advances paid to a participating State under subsection (1) on account of an amount of financial assistance that is expected to become payable to that State under section 6 in respect of expenditure by that State in a relevant period for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme exceeds the total amount of financial assistance that is so payable, an amount equal to the amount of that excess:
(a) may be deducted by the Commonwealth from the amount of financial assistance that would, but for this provision, be payable to that State under section 6 in respect of the expenditure by that State for or in connection with that scheme in a succeeding relevant period; or
(b) is recoverable by the Commonwealth from that participating State as a debt due to the Commonwealth.
7 Money paid by State to person for expenditure in connection with the provision of home care services
Moneys paid by a participating State to an authority, organisation or person to be expended by that authority, organisation or person for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme shall, for the purposes of this Part, be deemed to have been expended by the State for or in connection with an approved home care service scheme.
Part III—Senior citizens’ centres
8 Approval of projects
(1) For the purposes of this Part, the Minister may, at the request of a participating State, approve a project for:
(a) the provision of an approved welfare service:
(i) by a senior citizens’ centre; or
(ii) by the State, a local governing body, a community welfare organization or a joint body, in association with a senior citizens’ centre; or
(b) the extension of such a service.
(2) The Minister shall not approve a project of the kind referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) on or after the prescribed commencement day.
9 Grant of financial assistance in respect of approved capital costs
(1) Subject to this Act, where a participating State or a local governing body in a participating State has, after the commencement of this Act and after the State has given the notice by virtue of which it is a participating State, expended an amount for the purpose of meeting in whole or in part the approved capital cost of an approved project, there is payable to the State, by way of financial assistance, an amount equal to two‑thirds of the amount so expended.
(2) Unless the Minister otherwise approves in a particular case, the last preceding subsection does not apply in relation to any expenditure with respect to an approved project made before the project was so approved.
10 Grant of financial assistance in respect of salaries
(1) Subject to this Act, where a person is employed as a welfare officer of a senior citizens’ centre in a participating State wholly or mainly in connection with the provision of an approved welfare service or approved welfare services by or in association with the centre, there is payable to the State, by way of financial assistance, an amount equal to one‑half of the amount paid to the welfare officer by way of salary in respect of any period commencing after the commencement of this Act and after the State has given the notice by virtue on which it is a participating State.
(1A) For the purposes of the operation of this section, whether before or after the commencement of this subsection, a reference to the amount paid to a welfare officer by way of salary shall be taken as including a reference to any allowance, gratuity or compensation paid in a lump sum to the officer in consequence of the retirement, or the termination of employment, of the officer, being an allowance, a gratuity or compensation paid in respect of accrued long service leave, or other accrued leave.
(2) Where two or more persons are employed throughout the same period as welfare officers of the same senior citizens’ centre, this section does not, unless the Minister otherwise approves, apply in relation to the employment of more than one of those persons.
(3) The Minister shall not, on or after the prescribed commencement day, in a case where 2 or more persons are employed throughout the same period as welfare officers of the same senior citizens’ centre, approve the application of this section to the employment of more persons as welfare officers of that centre than the number of those persons for which the Minister had given approval under subsection (2) prior to the prescribed commencement day, being approvals that were in force immediately before the prescribed commencement day.
11 Condition of grant
Where a State:
(a) is paid an amount under section 9 in respect of expenditure by a local governing body; or
(b) is paid an amount under the last preceding section in respect of a salary that has been paid in whole or in part by a person or organisation other than the State;
the payment of the amount to the State is subject to the condition that the State will make such payment to the local governing body, to the person or to the organisation, as the case may be, as is appropriate having regard to the amount so expended by the local governing body or the amount of the salary so paid by the person or organisation, as the case may be.
12 Money paid by State to person for expenditure with respect to capital costs
Moneys paid by a participating State or a local governing body to an authority, organisation or person to be expended by that authority, organisation or person for the purpose of meeting, in whole or in part, the approved capital cost of an approved project shall, for the purposes of this Part, be deemed to have been expended by the State or the local governing body for that purpose.
Part IV—Miscellaneous
13 Amounts not payable unless required information has been furnished
A State is not entitled to financial assistance under this Act unless the State has furnished to the Minister such information, if any, as the Minister requires in respect of the expenditure to which that assistance relates.
14 Claims for financial assistance
The Minister may determine:
(a) the manner in which claims by a State for payments under this Act shall be made; and
(b) the times at which payments in respect of those claims shall be made.
15 Approvals to be in writing
An approval for the purposes of this Act shall be given by instrument in writing.
16 Delegation
(1) The Minister may, by instrument in writing, delegate to an officer of the Department or to a person performing the duties of an office in the Department, either generally or otherwise as provided in the instrument of delegation, all or any of the Minister’s powers and functions under this Act, except this power of delegation.
(2) A power or function so delegated may be exercised or performed by the delegate in accordance with the instrument of delegation.
(3) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Minister.
17 Appropriation
Payments (including advances) under this Act shall be made out of money appropriated from time to time by the Parliament for the purpose.