Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-mzp66 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-30T16:49:13.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Commonwealth Grants Power

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2025

Enid Campbell
Enid Campbell*
Affiliation:
Monash University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The Commonwealth grants power refers to the legislative power conferred by section 96 of the federal Constitution. Section 96 provides that:

During a period of ten years after the establishment of the Commonwealth and thereafter until the Parliament otherwise provides, the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit.

There is no exact counterpart of this section in the United States Constitution, though Congress has authority to make grants to States under the so-called General Welfare clause—section 8 of Article I—which declares that:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.

Type
Research Article
Information
Federal Law Review , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , June 1969 , pp. 221 - 240
Copyright
Copyright © 1969 The Australian National University

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 The State of South Australia v. The Commonwealth (1941) 65 C.L.R. 373, 429.

2 The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1926) 38 C.L.R. 399.

3 The State of South Australia v. The Commonwealth (1942) 65 C.L.R. 373; The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575.

4 The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1926) 38 C.L.R. 399; Pye v. Renshaw (1951) 84 C.L.R. 58.

5 The State of South Australia v. The Commonwealth (1941) 65 C.L.R. 373, 416-417, 455; The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575, 605, 610, 623.

6 The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575, 610.

7 (1926) 38 C.L.R. 399.

8 Ibid. 406.

9 The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575, 609.

10 Ibid.

11 For the history of section 96 see Quick, and Garran, , The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth (1901) 869-871Google Scholar; Davis, , “A Vital Constitutional Compromise” (1948) 1Google Scholar University of Western Australia Annual Law Review 21, 28.

12 Quick and Garran, Op. cit. 219.

13 Ibid. 869.

14 Ibid. 871.

15 (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575, 609.

16 Ibid. 630.

17 Ibid. 656.

18 Deputy Federal Commissioner of Taxation (New South Wales) v. W. R. Moran Proprietary Ltd (1939) 61 C.L.R. 735, 802.

19 Butler v. Attorney-General for Victoria (1961) 106 C.L.R. 268.

20 But a State Parliament may by statute reconstitute itself and by doing so, it necessarily abdicates its legislative authority to the reconstituted Parliament.

21 Anderson, , “Reference of Powers by the States to the Commonwealth” (1951) 2Google Scholar University of Western Australia Annual Law Review 1.

22 The State of South Australia v. The Commonwealth (1941) 65 C.L.R. 373; The State of Victoria v. The Commonwealth (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575.

23 (1941) 65 C.L.R. 373, 416-417.

24 Ibid. 455.

25 The State of South Australia v. The Commonwealth (1962) 108 C.L.R. 130.

26 Deputy Federal Commissioner of Taxation (New South Wales) v. W. R. Moran Proprietary Ltd (1939) 61 C.L.R. 735; W. R. Moran v. Deputy Federal Commissioner of Taxation (N.S.W.) (1940) 63 C.L.R. 338, [1940] A.C. 838; Pye v. Renshaw (1951) 84 C.L.R. 58.

27 (1940) 63 C.L.R. 338, 349-350.

28 Ibid. 341.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid. 349.

31 The Deputy Federal Commissioner of Taxation (New South Wales) v. W. R. Moran Proprietary Ltd (1939) 61 C.L.R. 735, 764 per Latham C.J.

32 (1957) 99 C.L.R. 575, 642-643.

33 Grants Commission Act 1933-1957 (Cth) ss. 9-13.

34 (1946) 330 U.S. 127.

35 Ibid. 143.

36 Ibid.

37 New South Wales v. The Commonwealth (1908) 7 C.L.R. 179; and Oklahoma v. Civil Service Commission (1946) 330 U.S. 127.

38 Kidman v. The Commonwealth [1926] A.L.R. 1; New South Wales v. Bardolph (1934) 52 C.L.R. 455.

39 (1946) 330 U.S. 127.

40 Ibid. 136.

41 New South Wales v. The Commonwealth (No.1) (1931) 46 C.L.R. 155, 176; and Australian Railways Union v. Victorian Railways Commissioners (1930) 44 C.L.R. 319, 352, 389.

42 Constitution Act 1902 (N.S.W.) ss. 39, 45; The Constitution Acts 1867 to 1961 (Qld) ss. 34, 39; Constitution Statute 1855 (Vic.) ss. XLIV, LV; Constitution Act 1889 (W.A.) ss. 64, 72.

43 For budgeting purposes, the States treat federal grant moneys as revenue subject to State parliamentary appropriation though special purposes grants are usually paid into State trust funds and moneys so paid in may be drawn upon pursuant to permanent parliament authority. An example would be the Public Account Act 1958 (Vic.).

44 New South Wales v. The Comnlonwealth (No.1) (1931) 46 C.L.R. 155.

45 The use of mandamus to compel payment out of public funds is considered elsewhere: Campbell, Enid, “Private Claims on Public Funds” (1969) 3Google Scholar University of Tasmania Law Review (forthcoming).