Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) ACT 1995 - SECT 6

             (1)  The Minister, after consulting the relevant State Ministers and with a body or bodies representative of local government, must formulate national principles for the purpose of allocating among local governing bodies amounts payable to States (other than the Australian Capital Territory) under this Act in the year beginning on 1 July 1996 and later years.

             (2)  In formulating national principles, the Minister:

                     (a)  is to have regard to the need to ensure that the allocation of funds for local government purposes under section 9 is made, as far as practicable, on a full horizontal equalisation basis; but

                     (b)  must ensure that no local governing body in a State will be allocated an amount under section 9 in a year that is less than the amount that would be allocated to the body if 30% of the amount to which the State is entitled under that section in respect of the year were allocated among local governing bodies in the State on a per capita basis.

             (3)  The reference in paragraph (2)(a) to the allocation of funds for local government purposes on a full horizontal equalisation basis is a reference to an allocation of funds that:

                     (a)  ensures that each local governing body in a State is able to function, by reasonable effort, at a standard not lower than the average standard of other local governing bodies in the State; and

                     (b)  takes account of differences in the expenditure required to be incurred by local governing bodies in the performance of their functions and in their capacity to raise revenue.

             (4)  The Minister may, after consulting with relevant State Ministers and with a body or bodies representative of local government, revoke or vary any principles formulated under subsection (1).

             (5)  The Minister must cause to be given to the relevant State Minister of each State other than the Australian Capital Territory and to a body or bodies representative of local government a copy of any instrument formulating principles under subsection (1) and a copy of any instrument under subsection (4) revoking or varying any of those principles.

             (6)  National principles formulated under subsection (1), and revocations or variations of national principles under subsection (4), are legislative instruments, but neither section 42 nor Part 6 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 applies to the national principles.

             (7)  If there are no national principals in force under this section, paragraph 11(2)(d) is to be read as requiring the Commission to make the recommendations on the same basis as the basis on which the Minister is, under subsection (2) of this section, required to act in formulating national principles (see paragraphs (2)(a) and (b)).

             (8)  For the purposes of this section, any possibility of a reduction in the amount allocated to any local governing body in complying with the condition in paragraph 15(aa) is to be disregarded.