Federation Compact a major step toward fairer funding for councils

The Australian Labor Party National Conference has endorsed a proposed agreement with local government to meaningfully increase Financial Assistance Grants while committing to strengthen the partnership between councils and the Commonwealth.

Labor delegates attending the National Conference voted in favour of recognising the increasingly important role local government plays in supporting communities and committed to meaningfully increase Financial Assistance Grants over time.

The commitment follows coordinated advocacy from local government associations across Australia, representing all 538 councils, who wrote to the entire Federal Parliament warning of the growing financial crisis in the local government sector.

In addition to increases in Financial Assistance Grants, the five-year Federation Compact would:

• deliver new capabilities to improve outcomes in housing, planning, emergency management and aged care, as well as meaningful funding increases for essential service delivery contingent on state and territory contributions
• build on Labor’s preference for funding to support high quality, secure jobs in the range of Commonwealth programs delivered by local government
• ensure Roads to Recovery funding can be used to purchase plant and equipment to enable councils to carry out their own road maintenance with their own trained workers, to the extent possible
• deliver mechanism to support, and increase the availability of, apprenticeships in local government, as well as other employment programs
• publish an annual summary of Commonwealth funding provided to local government.

While the Conference commitment does not itself change current funding arrangements, it represents an important step toward a stronger partnership between the Commonwealth and local government.

LGA will work alongside the ALGA, our state and territory counterparts and the unions to ensure the Compact is implemented as a priority.