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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
The States Grants (Universities) Act (No. 2) 1972 channels Commonwealth funding to the six States for their universities over the 1973–75 triennium, covering operating, capital, equipment, residential and medical teaching support. Grants are mostly conditional matching payments passed through states to named universities, hospitals and student accommodation.
It affects state governments, 17 universities, their students and affiliated teaching hospitals, and matters because it used federal grant power to shape university expansion, standards and pay by tying funds to state contributions and compliance.
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Direct links to the current provisions in States Grants (Universities) Act (No. 2) 1972.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
States Grants (Universities) (No. 2)
No. 126 of 1972
An Act to make provision for the grant of Financial Assistance to the States in connexion with Universities.
[Assented to 2 November 1972]
[Date of commencement 30 November 1972]
BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—
Short title.
Interpretation.
2.—(1.) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
“additional research expenses”, in relation to a University, means such expenses incurred, otherwise than by way of land and buildings expenditure, by the University, in connexion with research or training in research, as the Commission approves as additional research expenses for the purposes of this Act, being expenses that, in the opinion of the Commission, should not be expected to be met out of funds available for university purposes;
“collegiate accommodation” means residential accommodation (including related facilities) for students of a University, being accommodation which, having regard to the facilities and services provided for the students, the extent to which, and the manner in which, the students are supervised and to any other considerations that the Commission considers relevant, is, in the opinion of the Commission, of a collegiate nature;
“fees” means tuition, examination, matriculation and other fees payable to a University by a student enrolled at, or applying for enrolment at, the University in connexion with his course of study or attendance at the University, and includes fees payable to the University in respect of the conferring of a degree or diploma, but does not include—
(a) fees the payment of which is voluntary;
(b) fees payable to an organization of students;
(c) fees in respect of residential accommodation; or
(d) fees payable in connexion with, or in connexion with attendance for the purposes of, studies that are not included in the studies that are required or permitted to be undertaken for the purpose of obtaining a degree or diploma of the University;
“hall of residence”, in relation to a University, means a hall, college or other establishment at which any students of the University reside, being an establishment—
(a) administered by the University, or by a body corporate established by the University; and
(b) approved by the Minister, for the purposes of this Act, as a hall of residence;
“land and buildings expenditure” means expenditure on the purchase of land, with or without buildings, the planning, erection or alteration of a building, the development or preparation of land for building or other purposes or the installation of water, electricity and other services, other than expenditure on the alteration of a building at a cost of less than Ten thousand dollars;
“non-collegiate accommodation” means residential accommodation (including related facilities) for students of a University, other than collegiate accommodation;
“residential college”, in relation to a University, means a residential college (not being a hall of residence) affiliated with the University and approved by the Minister, for the purposes of this Act, as a residential college;
“State contribution” means moneys paid by a State to a University for university purposes, other than moneys paid in fulfilment of the conditions upon which a payment is or has been made to the State by the Commonwealth under this Act or any other Act;
“the Commission” means the Australian Universities Commission’ established by the Australian Universities Commission Act 1959—1971;
“University” means a University referred to in any of the Schedules,, and includes any other place of education referred to in the First Schedule;
“university purposes”, in relation to a University, means the general teaching and research purposes of that University in connexion with courses of study at that University, and includes external tuition for courses of study at that University and planning and other preparatory work in connexion with proposed courses of study;
“year to which this Act applies” means any of the years One thousand nine hundred and seventy-three, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-four and One thousand nine hundred and seventy-five.
(2.) In this Act, a reference to a Schedule shall be read as a reference to a Schedule to this Act.
Grants for recurrent expenditure.
3.—(1.) In relation to each University specified in a Part of the First Schedule there is payable, in respect of the year to which that Part relates, to the State in which the University is situated, for the purpose of financial assistance—
(a) if the sum of the fees received by the University during that year and the State contributions paid in respect of the University during that year (other than fees used for, or State contributions made for the purposes of, land and buildings expenditure, expenditure in respect of equipment in accordance with proposals approved under section 6 of this Act or additional research expenses) is not less than the amount specified in respect of that University in the second column of that Part—the amount specified in respect of that University in the third column of that Part; or
(b) in any other case—so much of the amount specified in respect of that University in the third column of that Part as bears to that amount the same proportion as the sum of those fees and State contributions bears to the amount specified in respect of that University in the second column of that Part.
(2.) Where the Minister is satisfied that a State contribution paid after the expiration of a year to which this Act applies related to university purposes in respect of that year, he may, in his discretion and with the approval of the State, direct that, for the purposes of this section, that contribution shall be treated as having been paid during that year.
(3.) The financial assistance to a State by way of payment of an amount under this section in relation to a University is granted on the conditions that—
(a) the State will, without undue delay, pay that amount to the University; and
(b) the State will ensure that the amount so paid to the University is applied by the University for expenditure on university purposes.
(4.) The financial assistance to a State by way of payments under this section in respect of a year in relation to a University specified in Part IV of the First Schedule is granted on the further condition that the State will ensure that the University will, in that year, apply, for university purposes included in the purposes specified in that Part in relation to that University, not less than the amount specified in that Part in relation to that University in respect of that year.
(5.) A reference in this section to expenditure on university purposes shall be read as not including a reference to land and buildings expenditure, expenditure in respect of equipment in accordance with proposals approved under section 6 of this Act or expenditure by way of additional research expenses.
Salary rates.
4.—(1.) For the purposes of financial assistance under this Act in respect of a year to which this Act applies—
(a) the approved rate of basic professorial remuneration is Fifteen thousand three hundred and sixty-eight dollars per annum;
(b) the approved rate of remuneration for an associate professor or a reader is Twelve thousand six hundred and ninety-seven dollars per annum;
(c) the approved maximum rate of remuneration for a senior lecturer is Eleven thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars per annum;
(d) the approved maximum rate of remuneration for a lecturer is Nine thousand three hundred and ninety dollars per annum; and
(e) the approved minimum rate of remuneration for a lecturer is Six thousand eight hundred and one dollars per annum.
(2.) Where the Minister is satisfied that a University, in a year to which this Act applies, has paid—
(a) basic professorial remuneration at a rate higher than the rate referred to in paragraph (a) of the last preceding sub-section;
(b) remuneration to associate professors or readers at a rate higher than the rate referred to in paragraph (b) of the last preceding sub-section;
(c) remuneration to senior lecturers at a rate higher than, or in accordance with a range of remuneration the maximum rate of which was higher than, the rate referred to in paragraph (c) of the last preceding sub-section;
(d) remuneration to lecturers at a rate higher than, or in accordance with a range of remuneration the maximum rate of which was higher than, the rate referred to in paragraph (d) of the last preceding sub-section; or
(e) remuneration to lecturers in accordance with a range of remuneration the minimum rate of which was higher than the rate-referred to in paragraph (e) of the last preceding sub-section,
the Minister may determine that the amount payable under the last preceding section in relation to that University in respect of that year shall be limited to such amount as he considers would have been the amount so payable if the approved rates referred to in the last preceding sub-section had been observed, and, in making such a determination, the Minister may have regard to the relationship between rates of remuneration referred to in this section and other rates of remuneration paid by the University.
Grants for expenditure on University building projects, &c.
5.—(1.) Subject to this section, if a State contribution received by a University specified in the first column of the Second Schedule in the period of three years to which this Act applies was made for the purpose of assisting the University to carry out a project of that University specified in respect of that University in the second column of that Schedule, there is payable under this section to the State in which the University is situated, for the purpose of financial assistance, an amount equal to the State contribution.
(2.) The respective total sums payable to a State under the last preceding sub-section in relation to the several projects of a University shall not exceed the amounts respectively specified in the third column of the Second Schedule opposite to the descriptions of those several projects or such other amounts, not exceeding in all the sum of the amounts so specified, as are approved by the Minister.
(3.) Where a project specified in the Second Schedule consists of, or includes, the erection, alteration or extension of a building, that project shall be deemed to include the provision of furnishings, as approved by the Commission for the purposes of this section, for that building, or for the altered parts or the extensions of that building, as the case may be.
(4.) The financial assistance to a State by way of payment of an amount under this section in relation to a project of a University is granted on the conditions that—
(a) the State will, without undue delay, pay that amount to the University; and
(b) the State will ensure that the amount so paid to the University is applied by the University, without undue delay, towards the carrying out of that project.
Grants for equipment.
6.—(1.) A University specified in the Third Schedule may, from time to time, submit for the approval of the Commission proposals for expenditure in respect of equipment for use by the University.
(2.) The Commission may approve proposals so submitted, subject to such conditions as the Commission determines.
(3.) If a State contribution received by a University in the period of three years to which this Act applies was made for the purpose of assisting the University to meet expenditure incurred, or to be incurred, by the University in accordance with proposals approved under this section, there is payable under this section to the State in which the University is situated, for the purpose of financial assistance, an amount equal to the State contribution.
(4.) The total of the amounts payable to a State under this section in relation to a University shall not exceed the amount specified in respect of that University in the Third Schedule.
(5.) The total of the amounts that may be paid under this section to the State of South Australia in relation to Flinders University of South Australia in respect of equipment other than equipment for the School of Medicine of that University shall not exceed Six hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars.
(6.) The total of the amounts that may be paid under this section to the State of Western Australia in relation to Murdoch University in respect of equipment other than equipment for the School of Veterinary Studies of that University shall not exceed Two hundred thousand dollars.
(7.) The financial assistance to a State by way of payment of an amount under this section in relation to a University is granted on the conditions that—
(a) the State will, without undue delay, pay that amount to the University; and
(b) the State will ensure that the amount so paid to the University is applied by the University, without undue delay, for the purposes of expenditure in accordance with an approval under this section.
(8.) In this section, “equipment” includes library material of a kind approved by the Commission for the purposes of this section.
Special research grants.
7.—(1.) Subject to this section, where, in the period of three years to which this Act applies, a University specified in the Fourth Schedule incurs additional research expenses and applies moneys derived from a State contribution made for the purposes of those expenses towards meeting those expenses, there is payable to the State in which the University is situated, for the purpose of financial assistance, an amount equal to—
(a) one-half of those expenses; or
(b) the amount derived from a State contribution that is applied towards meeting those expenses,
whichever is the less.
(2.) The total of the amounts payable to a State under this section in relation to a University shall not exceed the amount specified in respect of that University in the Fourth Schedule.
(3.) The financial assistance to a State by way of payment of an amount under this section in relation to any expenses of a University is granted on the conditions that—
(a) the State will, without undue delay, pay that amount to the University; and
(b) the State will ensure that the University promptly discharges any outstanding liability in respect of those expenses.
Building grants in respect of balls of residence and residential colleges.
8.—(1.) For the purposes of this section, a project of a hall of residence or residential college consists of—
(a) the purchase of land, with or without buildings, for the purposes of the hall or college;
(b) the planning, erection or alteration of a building of or for the hall or college;
(c) the development or preparation of land for such a building or for other purposes of the hall or college;
(d) the installation of water, electricity and other services for the purposes of the hall or college; or
(e) the purchase of furnishings or equipment for a building of the hall or college.
(2.) Subject to this section, if—
(a) during the period of three years to which this Act applies—
(i) a State contribution is received by a University for the purpose of expenditure by the University in carrying out a project of a hall of residence; or
(ii) an amount derived otherwise than in consequence of the grant of financial assistance by the Commonwealth to the State in which the relevant University is situated is expended by the body administering a residential college on a project of the college; and
(b) the Minister has, at the request of the State in which the relevant University is situated, approved the grant of financial assistance in respect of
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