(1) The Minister must not authorise a payment to a State under a provision of this Act for government schools for a program year unless the State has made with the Commonwealth an agreement that sets out:

(a)

a commitment by the State to the National Goals for Schooling prepared by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs; and

(b)

a commitment by the State to achieve the performance measures (including the performance targets) set out in the regulations as in force from time to time; and

(c)

the conditions mentioned in subsection (3); and

(d)

the conditions mentioned in sections 14, 15, 16 and 17.

(2) The agreement mentioned in subsection (1) may have been made before the commencement of this Act. (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), the conditions must include the following:

(a)

a condition that the amount of the payment is to be spent for the purposes determined by the Minister and set out in the condition;

(b)

a condition that the State will provide to the Minister reports about the expenditure of the financial assistance that contain information of a kind that the Minister thinks appropriate relating to that assistance to the State;

(c)

a condition that the State will provide the reports mentioned in paragraph (b) to the Minister at the times, and in the manner, that the Minister thinks appropriate.

Note: The purposes that may be set out in the condition and determined by the Minister are those in Parts 5 to 14.

(4) The agreement with the State may also include other conditions that the Minister thinks appropriate in relation to financial assistance to the State.