Tuesday 25 August 2026 SourcesAbout🌓
🇦🇺 AU ▾
BREAKING
'None of it went to plan': Lynette Bolton's cancer journey put on hold Lynette Bolton relives the moment she found the lump that led to breast cancer diagnosis Jake Kolodjashnij ‘bringing great vibes’ as he returns to training amid concussion saga Man allegedly made sexualised AI images of schoolgirls for ‘fun’ Hey Hey! It’s Saturday is making a come back with Daryl Somers back as host Carlton 'ruck nerd' ready to blunt 'freak' Demon Court hears Alan Jones was 'generous' to man alleging indecent assault AI data centre proposal approved by Tasmanian council Australia news live: Major Sydney property developer collapses leaving buyers in limbo; One Nation’s David Farley needs to ‘shut up’, George Christensen says Shoppers run to snatch up the perfect gift for Dad this Father’s Day as it drops to 30 per cent off 'None of it went to plan': Lynette Bolton's cancer journey put on hold Lynette Bolton relives the moment she found the lump that led to breast cancer diagnosis Jake Kolodjashnij ‘bringing great vibes’ as he returns to training amid concussion saga Man allegedly made sexualised AI images of schoolgirls for ‘fun’ Hey Hey! It’s Saturday is making a come back with Daryl Somers back as host Carlton 'ruck nerd' ready to blunt 'freak' Demon Court hears Alan Jones was 'generous' to man alleging indecent assault AI data centre proposal approved by Tasmanian council Australia news live: Major Sydney property developer collapses leaving buyers in limbo; One Nation’s David Farley needs to ‘shut up’, George Christensen says Shoppers run to snatch up the perfect gift for Dad this Father’s Day as it drops to 30 per cent off
Australian News

Why WA's GST arrangement is so controversial

PerthNow ·
Why WA's GST arrangement is so controversial

* As of 2018, a floor was put in place to ensure all states are guaranteed at least 75% of Goods and Services Tax revenue if it were to be divided by population.

* This means that for every dollar a state provides to the scheme, they are guaranteed to receive 75 cents back.

* Despite pressure for reform from eastern states and a Productivity Commission report calling the system 'unfair', Anthony Albanese has declared he will not change the deal.

*The current deal was created after WA received historic lows of less than 30c for every dollar paid into the scheme.

* Horizontal Fiscal Equalisation (HFE) is a system where states with high revenue from royalties, like WA's high mining royalties, are assessed as having a greater ability to fund services themselves so receive less revenue from GST.

* HFE is still in place across the GST system, although with significant reform after the 2018 deal between then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the WA government.

* A no-worse-off guarantee was put in place ensuring states that were disadvantaged by WA's greater share would receive federal government top up payments directly from the general federal reserve.

* From this current year, a second floor means no state is allowed to receive less than the percentage share of whoever is stronger out of NSW or Victoria.

* The scheme was expected to cost around $2.3 billion but had blown out to $23 billion by 2024 and is due to cost $60 billion by the end of the decade.

* The federal government gave Western Australia a guaranteed minimum share of the GST pool regardless of its actual revenue needs.

* NSW receives just 82 cents for every dollar paid into the GST, all without the significant mining royalties to assist in the state's revenue stream.

* Similarly, other states without the plentiful natural resources now have more of a financial burden than before the 2018 deal was made.

* "WA is a major driver of our national economy, and they deserve their fair share of the GST," Anthony Albanese said. "I've said it multiple times. I've signed people's body parts, for goodness sake."

* "We're now in a situation where Western Australia is so wealthy and so rich that they're competing and bidding on NSW rugby league games," NSW Premier Chris Minns said. "You're seeing similar behaviour from Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Dubai."

Read the full article on PerthNow ›

5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.perthnow.com.au — the content belongs to PerthNow.

This story in other outlets

More from PerthNow

See all ›

More in Australian News

See all ›