In recommending Financial Assistance Grant allocations to local governing bodies, the local government grants commissions in each jurisdiction (other the ACT which does not have a grants commission) are required to make their recommendations in line with the National Principles formulated under the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995 (the Act).
The main objective of having National Principles is to establish a nationally consistent basis for distributing financial assistance grants to local government under the Act. The Act includes a requirement, under subsection 6(1), for the Australian Government minister responsible for local government to formulate National Principles after consulting with jurisdictions and local government.
General purpose grants
The National Principles relating to allocation of general purpose grants payable under section 9 of the Act among local governing bodies are as follows:
1. Horizontal equalisation
General purpose grants will be allocated to local governing bodies, as far as practicable, on a full horizontal equalisation basis as defined by the Act. This is a basis that ensures each local governing body in the State or Territory is able to function, by reasonable effort, at a standard not lower than the average standard of other local governing bodies in the State or Territory. It takes account of differences in the expenditure required by those local governing bodies in the performance of their functions and in the capacity of those local governing bodies to raise revenue.
2. Effort neutrality
An effort or policy neutral approach will be used in assessing the expenditure requirements and revenue-raising capacity of each local governing body. This means as far as practicable, that policies of individual local governing bodies in terms of expenditure and revenue effort will not affect grant determination.
3. Minimum grant
The minimum general purpose grant allocation for a local governing body in a year will be not less than the amount to which the local governing body would be entitled if 30 per cent of the total amount of general purpose grants to which the State or Territory is entitled under section 9 of the Act in respect of the year were allocated among local governing bodies in the State or Territory on a per capita basis.
4. Other grant support
Other relevant grant support provided to local governing bodies to meet any of the expenditure needs assessed should be taken into account using an inclusion approach.
5. Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders
Financial assistance shall be allocated to councils in a way, which recognises the needs of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders within their boundaries.
6. Council Amalgamation
Where two or more local governing bodies are amalgamated into a single body, the general purpose grant provided to the new body for each of the four years following amalgamation should be the total of the amounts that would have been provided to the former bodies in each of those years if they had remained separate entities.
Local road grants
The National Principle relating to allocation of the amounts payable under section 12 of the Act (the identified road component of the financial assistance grants) among local governing bodies is as follows:
1. Identified road component
The identified road component of the financial assistance grants should be allocated to local governing bodies as far as practicable on the basis of the relative needs of each local governing body for roads expenditure and to preserve its road assets. In assessing road needs, relevant considerations include length, type and usage of roads in each local governing area.