Local Government Grants Commission

The Local Government Grants Commission makes recommendations to the Minister on the distribution of untied Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants to local governing authorities in South Australia.

Each jurisdiction in Australia must have a Local Government Grants Commission (LGGC) for the state to be eligible to receive and make recommendations on the distribution of Financial Assistance Grants (FA Grants).

FA Grants help councils to provide services to their communities.

They are provided only to councils established under the Local Government Act 1999 and prescribed bodies under the South Australian Local Government Grants Commission Act 1992.

Legislative framework

The LGGC is established under the South Australian Local Government Grants Commission Act 1992 and sets out:

• how Commissioners are appointed
• the requirements around making recommendations on the distribution of FA Grants
• how the Commission's administration is supported by the state government.

The Commonwealth Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995 governs the way FA Grant recommendations are made.

It also provides for:

• a per capita distribution (to the states) for the general financial assistance component
• the continued separate identification of local road funding and maintenance of existing state shares for that funding
• a national report on the operation of the Act - specifically the achievement of horizontal equalisation, the methods used by the state commissions, performance of councils including their efficiency, provision of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• a set of seven national principles governing the distribution of grants among councils based on horizontal fiscal equalisation (subject to the minimum grant entitlement).

National principles

The National Principles underpin the distribution methodology used by the Commission. These principles are a consistent way to distribute FA Grants to local governments across Australia.

Local government consultation

The SA LGGC carries out regular visits to councils to:

• explain how the commission works
• raise queries with councils about information submitted in their financial statements, general information returns and submissions
• encourage discussion between the commission and council about both the grant calculation procedures and to address any issues councils experience with current procedures
• inspect, if necessary, physical features or structures, which are relevant to the distribution of funds.

Historical References to the Financial Assistance Grants

The Commission has received correspondence from Mr Jim Betts, Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts regarding the terminology used to describe the Financial Assistance Grants program. Please see a copy of this correspondence for information.

The Commission has not used the historical references referred to by Mr Betts for some years, however historical documents presented on the Commission’s web page have been posted as originally created. These documents may include references to an acronym for the Financial Assistance Grants program that is offensive and inappropriate, and which we no longer use. The Commission apologises for the use of this term and the harm it may cause. Currently, the Financial Assistance Grants program is referred to as the ‘FA Grants’ or the ‘Financial Assistance Grants’.