Working together

The Commonwealth is providing a range of payments to the States and Territories to help them deliver essential services

Payments to States and Territories

The Commonwealth will provide the States and Territories with $119 billion in payments in 2017-18, including funding of $55.9 billion for specific purposes, like hospitals and schools, and general revenue assistance, of $63.1 billion. Commonwealth payments provide around 46 per cent of State revenue.

GST

The States and Territories are expected to receive $62.3 billion in GST revenue in 2017-18, an increase of more than $3 billion compared to 2016-17. In this budget GST payments to the States and Territories are estimated to increase by $1.8 billion over the forward estimates from integrity measures.

In recent years, views have been put to the Government that the way GST is distributed to the States and Territories creates disincentives for reform. The Government has tasked the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry to consider its effect on productivity, efficiency and economic growth for the States and for Australia as a whole.

New support

The Government will provide:

• an additional $18.6 billion for States, Territories and the non-government schools sector over the next decade to achieve genuine needs-based support for all students, with 99 per cent of schools receiving increases in their Commonwealth per student funding;
• $428 million to extend the current National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education for a further 12 months, giving around 346,000 children access to preschool;
• ongoing funding for a new Skilling Australians Fund, with an estimated $1.5 billion over the first four years to train Australians;
• $300 million for a new National Partnership on Regulatory Reform to reward States that remove red tape for small businesses and unnecessary barriers to competition;
• an additional $375.3 million for front line services to help the homeless and those at risk of homelessness.