34Grants for primary or secondary education in prescribed country areas

34 Grants for primary or secondary education in prescribed country areas

(1) Where the Minister is of the opinion that the students, or a substantial number of the students, receiving primary or secondary education in a country area in a State would benefit from:

(a) a program of education designed to alleviate educational disadvantages as a result of restricted access to social and cultural activities and educational services; or

(b) an experimental program of education designed to improve methods of providing education to students in that country area;

the Minister may, by determination in writing, declare the area to be a prescribed country area for the purposes of this Act. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may, by determination in writing, authorise the payment to a State under this section, by way of financial assistance to the State for recurrent expenditure or expenditure on minor capital projects in respect of a program year in connection with the education of students receiving primary or secondary education in prescribed country areas in the State, of an amount not exceeding the amount set out opposite to the name of the State in the column of Part 1 of Schedule 13 that relates to that year. (3) The Minister shall not authorise a payment to a State under this section in respect of a program year unless the State has entered into an agreement of a kind specified by the Minister with the Commonwealth in respect of that year or in respect of a number of years including that year, being an agreement that sets out conditions on which financial assistance is granted to the State under this section. (4) Financial assistance is granted to a State under this section:

(a) on the conditions set out in the agreement; and

(b) on the condition that, if the State does not fulfil a condition specified in the agreement with respect to that grant within the time (if any) specified for fulfilment of the condition:

(i) the State will, if the Minister so determines, repay to the Commonwealth such amount (not being greater than the sum of the amounts of financial assistance paid to the State under this section in respect of that year) as the Minister specifies in the determination; and

(ii) the Minister may delay the making of any further payment to the State under this section until the State fulfils that condition.