States (Tax Sharing and Health Grants) Amendment Act 1984

No. 70 of 1984

An Act to amend the States (Tax Sharing and Health Grants) Act 1981

[Assented to 25 June 1984]

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

Short title, &c.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the States (Tax Sharing and Health Grants) Amendment Act 1984.

(2) The States (Tax Sharing and Health Grants) Act 19811 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Health grants for 1983-84 and for 1984-85

3. Section 18 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting sub-section (2) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(2) The States are together entitled to the payment, in respect of the year commencing on 1 July 1984, by way of financial assistance, of an amount that is the difference between—

(a) an amount that bears to the sum of—

(i) the amount to which the States (other than South Australia and Tasmania) are together entitled under sub-section (1) in respect of the year commencing on 1 July 1983;

(ii) the amount to which South Australia is entitled under sub-section (3) in respect of the year commencing on 1 July 1983;

(iii) the amount to which Tasmania is entitled under sub-section (3) in respect of the year commencing on 1 July 1983;

(iv) the agreed amount for South Australia; and

(v) the agreed amount for Tasmania,

the same proportion as the total amount of the taxes collected by the Commonwealth in the last-mentioned year bears to the total amount of taxes collected by the Commonwealth in the year commencing on 1 July 1982; and

(b) an amount ascertained by—

(i) calculating, in respect of each State the name of which is specified in column 1 of Schedule 3, the amount ascertained in accordance with the formula GH,

where—

G is the number ascertained by dividing the sum of—

(A) the index number in relation to the State in relation to the March quarter in 1985; and

(B) the index numbers in relation to the State in relation to the 3 quarters that immediately preceded that quarter,

by the sum of—

(C) the index number in relation to the State in relation to the March quarter in the year 1984; and

(D) the index number in relation to the State in relation to the 3 quarters that immediately preceded that last-mentioned quarter; and

H is the amount specified in column 2 of that Schedule opposite to the name of that State specified in column 1 of that Schedule; and

(ii) adding the amounts calculated under sub-paragraph (i).”; and

(b) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-sections:

“(6) In sub-sections (2), (7) and (8), ‘index number’, in relation to a State in relation to a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number published by the Statistician in respect of the capital city of that State in respect of that quarter.

“(7) Subject to sub-section (8), if at any time the Statistician publishes an index number in respect of a quarter in substitution for an index number previously published by him in respect of that quarter, the publication of the later index number shall be disregarded for the purposes of sub-section (2).

“(8) If at any time the Statistician changes the reference base for the Consumer Price Index, then, for the purposes of sub-section (2), regard shall be had only to index numbers published in terms of the new reference base.”.

4. After section 22 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Advance payments to States for 1985-86

“23. The Treasurer may, during the period of 6 months commencing on 1 July 1985, make payments to a State of amounts not exceeding in the aggregate an amount equal to ½ of the sum of—

(a) the guaranteed minimum tax sharing amount (within the meaning of Division 2 of Part II) in relation to the State in relation to the year commencing on 1 July 1984; and

(b) the amount payable to the State under sub-section 19 (2) out of the amount to which the States are together entitled under sub-section 18 (2).”.

5. The Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following Schedule:

SCHEDULE 3 Sub-section 18 (2)

NOTE

1. No. 99, 1981, as amended. For previous amendments, see Nos. 8 and 94, 1982; and Nos. 31, 51 and 53, 1983.