EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 138
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE TREASURER
SUBJECT: STATES (TAX SHARING AND HEALTH GRANTS) ACT 1981
STATES (TAX SHARING AND HEALTH GRANTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
These regulations define, for the purposes of section 19 of the States (Tax Sharing and Health Grants) Act 1981 (‘the Act’), the distribution among the States (excluding South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory of certain aggregate health grants payable to those States and the Northern Territory in 1982-83 and 1983-84, and, for 1984-85, the distribution of the aggregate health grant payable to all States and the Northern Territory in that year.
Sub-sections 16(1) and 18(1) of the Act define the aggregate health grant payable to the States (other than South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory in 1982-83 and 1983-84 respectively, while sub-section 18(2) defines the aggregate health grant payable to all States and the Northern Territory in 1984-85.
Sub-section 19(1) of the Act provides that the aggregate health grant payable to the States (excluding South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory in 1982-83 and 1983-84 shall be distributed in a manner prescribed for this purpose, which will allow regard to be had of any findings of the Commonwealth Grants Commission, while sub-section 19(2) provides that the aggregate health grant payable to all States and the Northern Territory shall be distributed in a manner prescribed for the purposes of that sub-section.
Under sub-section 16(1) of the Act, the total health grant payable to the States (other than South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory is defined as the sum of certain “prescribed amounts” for each State as defined in sub-section 16(2). Proposed sub-regulation 3B(1), subject to proposed sub-regulation 3B(6), defines each State’s health grant in 1982-83 as being equal to the prescribed amount for that State as defined in sub-section 16(2) of the Act.
In 1983-84, the total health grant payable to the States (excluding South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory is defined in sub-section 18(1) of the Act as being the total amount payable with respect to 1982-83, increased in the same proportion that total Commonwealth tax collections in 1982-83 bear to those collections in 1981-82. Subject to proposed sub-regulation 3B(6), proposed sub-regulation 3B(2) defines each State’s (other than South Australia’s and Tasmania’s) and the Northern Territory’s share of this total grant as being the same proportion that the prescribed amount for that State in 1982-83 bears to the total grant payable in 1982-83.
In 1984-85, the total health grant payable to the States (including South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory is defined in sub-section 18(2) of the Act as the sum of the total health grant payable to the States (other than South Australia and Tasmania) and the Northern Territory in 1983-84 (as defined in Sub-section 18(1) of the Act) and amounts for each of South Australia and Tasmania, all increased by the rate of growth of total Commonwealth tax collections in 1983-84 compared with 1982-83, and subtracting from that figure, the sum of certain amounts defined in sub-paragraph 18(2) (b) (i) of the Act. Proposed sub-regulations 3B(3), 3B(4) and 3B(5) define the individual State and Northern Territory distributions of this total amount.
Proposed sub-regulation 3B(6) permits the Treasurer to vary the amount that would be paid to a State or States under sub-regulation (1) or (2) having regard to any findings of the Commonwealth Grants Commission.