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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This is a short, straightforward piece of financial legislation that authorises the Commonwealth of Australia to hand money directly to two States — Western Australia and Tasmania — as special financial assistance.
Primarily the governments of Western Australia and Tasmania, which at the time were considered to be in weaker financial positions than other States. These "special assistance" grants were part of a broader Commonwealth mechanism to help less financially capable States meet their spending needs — a form of fiscal equalisation (balancing out the financial differences between States).
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Direct links to the current provisions in States Grants (Special Assistance) Act 1962.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
This Act is a snapshot of mid-20th century Commonwealth-State financial relations. It reflects the Commonwealth's role in redistributing national revenue to States that couldn't raise enough money on their own — a principle that continues today through modern grant and GST distribution arrangements. While the amounts and currency (pounds) are historically dated, the underlying policy of helping financially disadvantaged States remains a cornerstone of Australian federalism.