Roads Acts Amendment Act 1977

Administered by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts

Legislation au C2004A01679 Not in force Act

Select Document

ROADS ACTS AMENDMENT ACT 1977

No. 41 of 1977

An Act relating to Financial Assistance to the States in relation to Roads.

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

PART I—PRELIMINARY

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as the Roads Acts Amendment Act 1977.

Commencement.

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

PART II—AMENDMENTS OF THE NATIONAL ROADS ACT 1974

Principal Act.

3. The National Roads Act 1974 is in this Part referred to as the Principal Act.

Grants of financial assistance to States.

4. Section 7 of the Principal Act is amended—

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

“(2) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State in respect of expenditure during a year to which this Act applies in relation to the construction of national highways, shall not exceed the amount, or the sum of the amounts, specified opposite to the name of that State, in relation to that year, in Schedules 1, 4 and 8.”; and

(b) by omitting sub-section (4) and substituting the following sub-section:—

“(4) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State in respect of expenditure during a year to which this Act applies, in relation to the construction and maintenance of export roads and major commercial roads, shall not exceed the amount, or the sum of the amounts, specified opposite to the name of that State, in relation to that year, in Schedules 3, 6 and 9.”.

Variations of amounts specified in Schedules.

5. Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) and substituting the following paragraph:—

“(b) the sum of the amounts specified in Schedules 1 and 4, Schedules 1 and 8, Schedules 2 and 5, Schedules 2 and 7, Schedules 3 and 6 or Schedules 3 and 9,”.

New Schedules.

6. The Principal Act is amended by adding after Schedule 7 the following Schedules:—

SCHEDULE 8 Section 7(2)

ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF GRANT IN RESPECT OF CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

State	Year commencing 1 July 1976
	$
Western Australia..........................................	1,200,000

SCHEDULE 9 Section 7(4)

ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF GRANT IN RESPECT OF CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF EXPORT ROADS AND MAJOR COMMERCIAL ROADS

State	Year commencing 1 July 1976
	$
Western Australia..........................................	190,000

PART III—AMENDMENTS OF THE ROADS GRANTS ACT 1974

Principal Act.

7. The Roads Grants Act 1974 is in this Part referred to as the Principal Act.

Grants for which financial assistance may be granted.

8. Section 6 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (2) the words “Schedules 2, 9 and 14” and substituting the words “Schedules 2, 9, 14 and 17”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (3) the words “Schedules 3, 10 and 15” and substituting the words “Schedules 3, 10, 15 and 18”;

“(6) A State shall, out of moneys paid to it under section 5 in respect of a year, expend during that year on the construction of urban local roads, in accordance with an approved program for that year, an amount equal to the amount that is applicable, or to the sum of the amounts that are applicable, to the State in respect of that year in accordance with Schedules 6, 13 and 19.”; and

(d) by omitting from sub-section (8) the words “Schedules 2, 9 and 14” and substituting the words “Schedules 2, 9, 14 and 17”.

Variations of amounts specified in Schedules.

9. (1) Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (1) and substituting the following sub-section:—

“(1) Where a State satisfies the Minister that—

(a) the amounts specified in Schedule 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7;

(b) the sum of the amounts specified in Schedules 2 and 9, Schedules 3 and 10, Schedules 4 and 11, Schedules 5 and 12, Schedules 5 and 16, Schedules 6 and 13 or Schedules 6 and 19; or

in relation to the State in respect of a year is greater than the amount that the State has been, or will be, able to expend, in accordance with this Act, in that year for the purpose or purposes specified in sub-sections 6(2) and (8) or under sub-section 6(3), (4), (5), (6) or (7), whichever is relevant, the Minister may direct that the amount referred to in paragraph (a), or any one or more of the amounts constituting the sum referred to in paragraph (b) or (c), as the case may be, shall be deemed to be reduced by such amount or amounts as is specified by the Minister.”.

(2) A direction given by the Minister under section 8 of the Principal Act before the commencement of this Act has effect after the commencement of this Act as if it had been given by the Minister under section 8 of the Principal Act as amended by this Act.

Schedule 1.

10. Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is amended by omitting the column headed “Year commencing 1 July 1976” and substituting the following column:—

Year commencing 1 July 1976
$
78,100,000
60,300,000
55,100,000
18,800,000
43,610,000
10,400,000
266,310,000

New Schedules.

11. The Principal Act is amended by adding after Schedule 16 the following Schedules:—

SCHEDULE 17 Sections 6(2) and (8)

ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF GRANT TO BE EXPENDED ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF RURAL ARTERIAL ROADS AND DEVELOPMENT ROADS

State	Year commencing 1 July 1976
	$
Western Australia..........................................	410,000

SCHEDULE 18 Section 6(3)

ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF GRANT TO BE EXPENDED ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF RURAL LOCAL ROADS

State	Year commencing 1 July 1976
	$
Western Australia..........................................	1,228,600

SCHEDULE 19 Section 6(6)

ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF GRANT TO BE EXPENDED ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN LOCAL ROADS

State	Year commencing 1 July 1976
	$
Western Australia..........................................	171,400

PART IV—EXPENDITURE ON PAY-ROLL TAX

Expenditure on pay-roll tax.

12. (1) This section applies to the following Acts:—

Commonwealth Aid Roads Act 1969;

Transport (Planning and Research) Act 1974;

National Roads Act 1974;

Roads Grants Act 1974.

(2) For the purposes of an Act to which this section applies, where an amount is expended by a State or an authority of a State by way of the payment of wages and an amount of tax is paid by the State or the authority (whether by way of a payment of moneys, the crediting of an account or otherwise) on those wages, being a tax imposed by a law of the State upon employers on wages paid by them, that amount of tax shall be deemed to be an additional amount of those wages.

(3) Sub-section (2) shall be deemed to have applied in relation to the Commonwealth Aid Roads Act 1969 on and after 1 September 1971.

(4) Subject to sub-section (3), sub-section (2) shall be deemed to have applied in relation to an Act to which this section applies on and after the date of commencement of that Act.

(5) In this section, “wages” includes payments in the nature of wages.

Overview

The Roads Acts Amendment Act 1977 was enacted to provide financial assistance to the states for the construction and maintenance of various roads, including national highways, export roads, major commercial roads, rural arterial roads, development roads, and urban and rural local roads. This legislation was introduced to address the need for a structured financial support mechanism for road infrastructure across the states. Enacted by the Parliament of Australia, the Act aims to ensure that states receive adequate funding to undertake necessary road projects. The amendments to the National Roads Act 1974 and the Roads Grants Act 1974 focus on revising the grants provided for different categories of roads and adjusting the expenditure limits, ensuring that the financial assistance aligns with the states' requirements and capabilities. Additionally, the Act includes provisions for the treatment of payroll tax in the context of wages expenditure under the specified Acts.

Scope and Application

The Roads Acts Amendment Act 1977 applies to the National Roads Act 1974 and the Roads Grants Act 1974. It amends these Acts by modifying the provisions concerning grants of financial assistance to the states for the construction and maintenance of roads. The Act specifies the amounts that can be paid to each state for different types of roads, including national highways, export roads, major commercial roads, rural arterial roads, development roads, and urban local roads, as detailed in the new and amended schedules. It also provides for the variation of specified amounts in the schedules and includes provisions for expenditure on payroll tax. This legislation applies at the national level, with specific financial allocations outlined for each state, and does not explicitly exclude any particular entities or conduct from its purview. Subordinate instruments may further define the application of this Act by detailing additional provisions or amendments.

Key Provisions

The Roads Acts Amendment Act 1977 (sections 4 and 8) amends the National Roads Act 1974 and the Roads Grants Act 1974, respectively. The key changes involve altering the financial assistance provisions for the construction and maintenance of various types of roads. For instance, section 7(2) and (4) of the National Roads Act 1974 are amended to set new limits on the grants for national highways, export roads, and major commercial roads. These new limits are specified in Schedules 1, 4, 8, 3, 6, and 9, respectively. Similarly, the Roads Grants Act 1974 is amended to include new schedules (17, 18, and 19) detailing additional grants for rural arterial roads, development roads, rural local roads, and urban local roads. The amendments impose several obligations on the parties involved. States must now comply with the new financial limits specified in the amended schedules when seeking or receiving grants for road construction and maintenance. The Minister has the authority to reduce grant amounts if a State indicates that it cannot expend the full amount allocated to it (section 9(1)). States must also ensure they adhere to the new provisions regarding the inclusion of payroll tax in the calculation of wages for grant purposes (section 12). There are no explicit offences, penalties, or consequences mentioned for breach of the Act’s provisions. However, failure to comply with the Minister’s directions or not adhering to the specified grant limits and conditions could potentially lead to disputes or the withholding of future grants. Given the nature of financial assistance, any significant non-compliance could result in administrative or legal consequences, although these are not explicitly detailed in the Act itself.

Area of Law: Infrastructure Law
Instrument: Act
Concepts: Commencement Provisions; Repeal & Amendment; Offence Provisions; Licensing & Registration; Compliance Obligations

Interactions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

Legislation content

Overview

Scope and Application

Key Provisions

Legal classification tags

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions