Following consultation with the states and territories at the Council on Federal Financial Relations meeting on 1 April 2020, I have accepted the recommendations of the independent Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) on the GST revenue sharing relativities for 2020-21.
The CGC’s recommendations reflect its extensive review in consultation with states and territories, over approximately three and half years, of the methods used to calculate states’ fiscal capacities.
The recommended GST relativities are based on the CGC’s assessment of each states’ fiscal capacity over the three years from 2016-17 to 2018-19.
The CGC’s recommendations are a fundamental aspect of the GST distribution system to ensure that GST revenue is distributed in a fair and sustainable way.
We are operating in challenging times but every arm of government and industry is working to keep Australians in jobs and businesses in business, and to build a bridge to recovery on the other side.
To date the Government’s total economic support in response to the economic impacts of the coronavirus is $320 billion or 16.4 per cent of GDP.
We will continue to work constructively with the states and territories to do what it takes to cushion the blow and to ensure that the Australian economy bounces back stronger on the other side.
For more information, visit the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s 2020 Review.