Commonwealth Numbered Acts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) ACT 1995 No. 86, 1995 - SECT 6

6.(1) The Minister, after consulting the relevant State Ministers and with a
body or bodies representative of local government, must formulate, in writing,
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, in writing, 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 disallowable
instruments for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 
1901 .

(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)).