STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978
STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 1. Short title.
STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46 of 1978 An Act to grant financial assistance to the States for the purposes of public transport in urban areas. BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows: Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the States Grants (Urban Public Transport) Act 1978.*1* STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 2. Commencement
2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.*1* STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 3. Interpretation
3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears- ''approved cost'', in relation to an approved project of a State, means the estimated cost of the project as notified to the State by the Minister in his approval of the relevant proposal or the relevant part of a proposal or, if a variation of the approved cost of the project has been approved by him under sub-section 5 (8), that cost as so varied; ''approved project'', in relation to a State, means a project set out in- (a) a proposal submitted by the State under sub-section 5 (1); (b) such a proposal as varied in accordance with sub-section 5 (4); or (c) a part of a proposal referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), being a proposal, or a part of a proposal, approved by the Minister under sub-section 5 (5) or, if a variation of that project is approved by the Minister under sub-section 5 (8), that project as so varied; ''maximum grant'', in relation to a State in respect of a year, means the amount that is applicable to that State in respect of that year in accordance with the Schedule and with any direction under section 7, and includes any amount allocated to the State under section 8 in respect of that year; ''project'' means a project- (a) to improve the quality, capacity, efficiency or frequency of the public transport system in an urban area; or (b) to establish a public transport system in an urban area; ''urban area'' means- (a) an area designated for the purposes of the Census taken in the year 1976 as- (i) the Sydney Statistical Division; (ii) the Melbourne Statistical Division; (iii) the Brisbane Statistical Division; (iv) the Adelaide Statistical Division; (v) the Perth Statistical Division; (vi) the Hobart Statistical Division; (vii) the Newcastle Statistical District; (viii) the Wollongong Statistical District; or (ix) the Geelong Statistical District; or (b) an area that is, by virtue of a declaration in force under section 4, an urban area for the purposes of this Act; ''year to which this Act applies'' means the year that commences on 1 July 1978 or any of the next 4 succeeding years. (2) For the purpose of calculating the amount expended by a State, an
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authority of a State or a local governing body of a State in connexion with an approved project- (a) there shall be included- (i) any amount expended in connexion with the preparation of- (A) a master plan of that project; (B) plans and specifications of works included in that project; (C) estimates of the cost of undertaking that project; (D) tender documents in connexion with that project; and (E) preliminary designs in connexion with that project; and (ii) any amount of administrative expenses directly related to the undertaking of that project, not being expenses that would have been or would be incurred whether or not the works included in that project were carried out; and (b) there shall be deducted an amount equal to the disposal value of land, plant, stores, materials and equipment that- (i) have been purchased for that project and- (A) are not used; (B) are no longer required for undertaking that project; or (C) are not necessary for the continued operation of that project; or (ii) are rendered surplus as a result of that project. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 4. Urban areas
4. The Minister, after consultation with the appropriate Minister of a State, may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare a specified area in the State to be an urban area for the purposes of this Act. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 5. Approval of projects
5. (1) The Minister may, before the commencement of a year to which this Act applies, request a State to submit to the Minister proposals for projects to be undertaken by the State or an authority of the State or by a local governing body of the State, during that year or during that year and a subsequent such year or years, and may, in the request, specify the date before which the proposals are to be so submitted. (2) The Minister may, from time to time, issue guidelines to the States with respect to the formulation of proposals to be submitted under sub-section (1) and with respect to the kinds of information that should be provided to support such proposals. (3) The Minister may, at any time, request a State to supply to him such additional information with respect to a proposal submitted by the State under sub-section (1) as the Minister specifies, being information required for the purpose of determining- (a) the economic and social value of the proposal; (b) the relevance of the proposal to overall urban transport objectives and policies; (c) the relevance of the proposal to urban development policies; and (d) the environmental impact of the proposal, and being information which, in the opinion of the Minister, the State can reasonably be expected to supply. (4) A State may, after consultation by the appropriate Minister of the State with the Minister, vary any of the particulars of a proposal submitted by it under sub-section (1). (5) The Minister may approve, in whole or in part- (a) a proposal submitted by a State under sub-section (1); or (b) if such a proposal has been varied in accordance with sub-section (4), the proposal as so varied.
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(6) The Minister shall, in giving an approval under sub-section (5), in relation to a proposal, or a part of a proposal, of a State, notify the State of the amount, as approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act, of the estimated cost of the project, or of each of the projects, set out in that proposal or that part of a proposal. (7) A State may propose to the Minister a variation of- (a) an approved project of the State; or (b) the approved cost of an approved project of the State. (8) A variation referred to in sub-section (7) does not take effect for the purposes of this Act unless it is approved by the Minister. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 6. Grant of financial assistance to States
6. (1) Subject to this Act, where a State, an authority of a State or a local governing body of a State has, during a year to which this Act applies, expended an amount in connexion with an approved project, there is payable to the State, by way of financial assistance, an amount equal to two-thirds of the amount so expended. (2) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State in respect of a year to which this Act applies shall not exceed the maximum grant in relation to that State in respect of that year. (3) The sum of the amounts paid under this section to a State in respect of an approved project shall not exceed two-thirds of the approved cost of the approved project. (4) For the purposes of this section, where a State, an authority of a State or a local governing body of a State has, during the period of 6 months immediately following the expiration of a year to which this Act applies, expended an amount in connexion with an approved project of the State, being an amount the expenditure of which was required by a commitment entered into before the expiration of that year, the amount shall be deemed to have been expended during that year. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 7. Transfer of part of maximum grant from one year to another
7. (1) Where the amount expended by a State, an authority of a State or a local governing body of a State, in connexion with approved projects, during a year to which this Act applies is such that the amount payable to the State under this Act in respect of that expenditure is less than the maximum grant for the State in respect of that year, the Minister may, after consultation with the appropriate Minister of the State, direct- (a) that there be deducted from the maximum grant for the State in respect of that year an amount not exceeding the amount of the difference; and (b) that- (i) there be added to the maximum grant for a State (whether the first-mentioned State or another State) in respect of any year to which this Act applies that commences after the date on which the direction is given an amount equal to the amount so deducted; or (ii) there be added to the maximum grants for a State (whether the first-mentioned State or another State) or States in respect of any year to which this Act applies that commences after the date on which the direction is given or in respect of 2 or more such years amounts equal, in the aggregate, to the amount so deducted. (2) A direction under sub-section (1) shall not authorize the deduction of an amount from a maximum grant for a State and the addition of an amount, or amounts, to a maximum grant, or maximum grants, for another State or other States unless- (a) the maximum grant from which the deduction is to be made includes an amount allocated under section 8; and (b) the amount, or the aggregate of the amounts, to be added to the maximum grant, or the maximum grants, for the other State or other States does not exceed the amount so allocated. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 8. Allocation of additional $20,000,000 in respect of each year to which this Act applies
8. (1) An additional amount of $20,000,000 is available, in respect of each year to which this Act applies, for allocation among the States, as the Minister determines, having regard to the needs of public transport in urban
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areas in each of the States in that year, for the purpose of increasing the maximum grant for each of the States in respect of that year. (2) An allocation under sub-section (1) shall be made by the Minister by notice in the Gazette specifying the amount allocated to each of the States. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 9. Advances
9. (1) The Minister for Finance may, at such times as he thinks fit, make advances to a State of such amounts as he thinks fit on account of an amount that may become payable to the State under this Act. (2) Without limiting the discretion of the Minister for Finance under sub-section (1), the Minister for Finance may refrain from making an advance to a State under that sub-section until the State has furnished to the Minister for Finance such documents and other evidence to justify the making of the advance to the State or to show how an amount, or part of an amount, advanced to the State under that sub-section has been used or applied, as the Minister for Finance requests. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 10. Evidence of expenditure to be furnished
10. A State is not entitled to a payment of financial assistance under section 6 in relation to any expenditure during a year to which this Act applies unless the State has furnished to the Minister for Finance- (a) as soon as practicable after 30 June in that year, a statement, in accordance with a form approved by him, as to all expenditure by the State, an authority of the State or a local governing body of the State during that year in connexion with all approved projects of the State; (b) as soon as practicable after the expiration of the period of 6 months immediately following the expiration of that year, a statement, in accordance with a form so approved, as to the expenditure during that period of 6 months of all amounts that are deemed, by virtue of sub-section 6 (4), to have been expended during that year; and (c) if the Minister for Finance so directs, a certificate by the Auditor-General of the State certifying that, in his opinion, such of the contents of a statement referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) as the Minister for Finance specifies are correct. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 11. Conditions
11. The grant of financial assistance to a State in accordance with section 6 and the payment of advances to a State in accordance with section 9 are subject to the following conditions: (a) that the State will permit a person authorized by the Minister, at all reasonable times- (i) to inspect any work involved in the undertaking of an approved project; and (ii) to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, designs, tenders, records or other documents relating to an approved project; (b) that there will be furnished to the Minister by the State, as soon as practicable after each 30 September, 31 December, 31 March and 30 June, a progress report as at each of those dates on each uncompleted approved project; (c) that there will be furnished to the Minister by the State, as soon as practicable after the completion of each approved project, a final report on the project; (d) that the State will permit a person authorized by the Minister, at all reasonable times, to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, designs, tenders, records or other documents relating to a project that is a project to which a proposal that has been submitted to the Minister under section 5 relates; (e) that the State will provide for a representative of the Commonwealth on an appropriate body comprised of State officers concerned with the forward planning and development of policies relating to urban transport, being a representative nominated by the Minister and approved by the appropriate Minister of the State; (f) that, if the Minister informs the Treasurer of the State that he is satisfied that the State has failed to fulfil a condition specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), the State will repay to the Commonwealth the amounts paid to the State under this Act, or such part of those amounts as the Minister specifies; and (g) that the State will repay to the Commonwealth, on demand by the Minister for Finance, the amount by which, at the time of the demand, the total of the amounts paid to the State under this Act exceeds the total of the amounts that have become payable to the State under this Act. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 12. Deduction of amount repayable by State
12. The Minister for Finance may deduct any amount repayable by a State to the Commonwealth under this Act from an amount payable by the Commonwealth to the State under this Act. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 13. Payments to States to be made out of Consolidated Revenue Fund or Loan Fund
13. Payments to a State for the purposes of this Act may be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or the Loan Fund. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 14. Authority to borrow
14. The Treasurer may, from time to time, in accordance with the provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911, or in accordance with the provisions of an Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, borrow moneys not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of- (a) the total amount of financial assistance that may be granted to the States under this Act; and (b) the expenses of borrowing. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 15. Application of moneys borrowed
15. Moneys borrowed under section 14 shall be issued and applied only for the expenses of borrowing, for the purpose of making payments to the States in accordance with this Act and for the purpose of making payments to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in accordance with section 16. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 16. Reimbursement of Consolidated Revenue Fund from Loan Fund
16. (1) Where an amount has been paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund under this Act, the Minister for Finance may authorize the payment to that Fund, out of the Loan Fund, of an amount not exceeding the amount so paid. (2) In any statement prepared by the Minister for Finance under section 49 or 50 of the Audit Act 1901, amounts paid to the Consolidated Revenue Fund under sub-section (1) of this section, shall not be shown as receipts of that Fund but shall be shown as having reduced the total of the amounts expended from that Fund under this Act. STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SECT. 17. Appropriation
17. The Consolidated Revenue Fund and the Loan Fund are appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act. ----------- STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - SCHEDULE
SCHEDULE Section 3 (1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State Year Year Year Year Year commencing commencing commencing commencing commencing 1 July 1978 1 July 1979 1 July 1980 1 July 1981 1 July 1982 $ $ $ $ $ New South Wales . 14,000,000 14,000,000 14,000,000 14,000,000 14,000,000 Victoria . . . . 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000 12,000,000 Queensland . . . 7,000,000 7,000,000 7,000,000 7,000,000 7,000,000 South Australia . 4,000,000 4,000,000 4,000,000 4,000,000 4,000,000 Western Australia 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000 Tasmania . . . . 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATES GRANTS (URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT) ACT 1978 No. 46, 1978 - NOTE
NOTE 1. Act No. 46, 1978; assented to 12 June 1978.