STATES GRANTS (HOUSING ASSISTANCE) ACT 1977

No. 110 of 1977

An Act to authorize advances to the States of financial assistance in connexion with housing and to authorize the borrowing of certain moneys by the Commonwealth.

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 (Housing Assistance) Act 1977.

Commencement

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

Repeal

3. The States Grants (Housing Assistance) Act (No. 2) 1976 is repealed.

Interpretation

4. In this Act—

“Housing Agreement”, in relation to a State, means—

(a) the agreement with that State executed in pursuance of the Housing Agreement Act 1973, as amended by the agreement with that State executed in pursuance of the Housing Agreement Act 1974; or

(b) if that agreement is subsequently amended by an agreement or agreements the execution of which is authorized or approved by another Act—that agreement as so amended;

“repealed Act” means the States Grants (Housing Assistance) Act (No. 2) 1976.

Advances to States

5. The Treasurer may, during the period commencing on the date of commencement of this Act and ending immediately before 1 July 1978, make advances to a State, in accordance with the Housing Agreement with that State, of amounts not exceeding in the aggregate the amount specified in Column 1 of the Schedule opposite to the name of that State.

Authority to borrow

6. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), the Treasurer may, during the period commencing on the date of commencement of this Act and ending immediately before 1 January 1979, 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 advances that may be made to the States under this Act; and

(b) the expenses of borrowing.

(2) The aggregate amount of moneys that may be borrowed under sub-section (1) of this section is reduced by the sum of any amounts borrowed by the Treasurer in accordance with section 6 of the repealed Act for the purpose of making payments to the States in accordance with section 8 of that Act.

Advances made before commencement of Act

7. (1) An advance that was made to a State under section 8 of the repealed Act before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been an advance made to that State under section 5 of this Act.

(2) An advance that was made to a State under section 5 of the Financial Agreement Act 1928 on or after 1 July 1977, and before the commencement of this Act, shall, if the Treasurer, with the concurrence of that State, so determines, be deemed to have been an advance made to that State under section 5 of this Act.

Advances to States for year 1978-79

8. The Treasurer may, during the period of 6 months commencing on 1 July 1978, make advances to a State, on such terms and conditions as he determines, of amounts not exceeding in the aggregate the amount specified in Column 2 of the Schedule opposite to the name of that State.

Advances to be made out of Consolidated Revenue Fund or Loan Fund

9. Advances to a State under section 5 or 8 may be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or the Loan Fund.

Application of moneys borrowed

10. Moneys borrowed under section 6 of this Act, and moneys borrowed under section 6 of the repealed Act and not applied before the commencement of this Act, shall be issued and applied only for the expenses of borrowing, for the purpose of making advances to the States in accordance with section 5 or 8 of this Act and for the purpose of making payments to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in accordance with section 11 of this Act.

Reimbursement of Consolidated Revenue Fund from Loan Fund

11. (1) Where an amount has been paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund under this Act or under the repealed Act, the Treasurer 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 Treasurer under section 49 or 50 of the Audit Act 1901, amounts paid to the Consolidated Revenue Fund under sub-section (1) of this section or under sub-section 11(1) of the repealed Act 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 or the repealed Act, as the case may be.

(3) Where there has been a payment from the Loan Fund to the Consolidated Revenue Fund under sub-section (1) in respect of an amount paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund under this Act or the repealed Act, the amount so paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund shall, for the purposes of sections 9 and 10 of the National Debt Sinking Fund Act 1966, be deemed to have been paid out of the Loan Fund.

Appropriation

12. The Consolidated Revenue Fund and the Loan Fund are appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act.

SCHEDULE                                       Sections 5 and 8