On this page:

The Australian Government will have provided over $77 billion under the Financial Assistance Grant program to local government since 1974–75 (including 2026-27). The grant is provided under the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995 (the Act).

The Financial Assistance Grant program consists of two components:

  • a general purpose component which is distributed between the states and territories according to population (i.e. on a per capita basis), and
  • an identified local road component which is distributed between the states and territories according to fixed historical shares.

Both components of the grant are untied in the hands of local government, allowing councils to spend the grants according to local priorities.

Local government grants commissions in each state and the Northern Territory recommend the distribution of the funding under the Financial Assistance Grant program to local governing bodies in accordance with the Act and the National Principles for allocating grants.

The Australian Capital Territory does not have a local government grants commission as the territory government provides local government services in lieu of the territory having a system of local government.

The grant is paid in quarterly instalments to state and territory governments for immediate distribution to local governing bodies.

The quantum of the grant pool changes annually in line with changes in population and the Consumer Price Index (the Act provides discretion to the Treasurer to alter this annual indexation).

back to top of page

Financial Assistance Grant program 2026-27

In 2026-27 the Australian Government will provide over $3.6 billion in untied funding to local governing bodies under the Financial Assistance Grant program. This includes $2.9 billion which was brought forward from the 2026-27 estimate and paid to states and territories on 19 June 2026. The remaining 2026-27 allocation to states and territories will be paid in four equal quarterly instalments scheduled for August, November, February and May.

Jurisdiction# General purpose
($)		 Local roads
($)		 Total
($)
New South Wales 785,023,983 324,464,882 1,109,488,865
Victoria 644,743,181 230,560,803 875,303,984
Queensland 517,537,640 209,535,525 727,073,165
Western Australia 277,650,942 170,995,491 448,646,433
South Australia 173,867,148 61,460,236 235,327,384
Tasmania 52,958,227 59,263,997 112,222,224
Northern Territory 24,283,061 26,196,863 50,479,924
Australian Capital Territory 44,250,465 35,859,986 80,110,451
Total 2,520,314,647 1,118,337,783 3,638,652,430

For information on the 2026-27 allocations to individual local governing bodies within each state and territory, refer to:

back to top of page

Past Payments to Local Governments

The payment amounts made to local governments under the Financial Assistance Grant program from 2017–18 to 2026-27 can be viewed at the link below.

For information on the allocations to individual local governing bodies within each state and territory, refer to:

back to top of page

Local Government National Report

For a more detailed explanation of the operation of the Act and the provision of funding under the Financial Assistance Grant program to local government, refer to the latest version of the Local Government National Report.

Local Government Grants Commissions

For further information on the respective local government grants commissions, refer to:

back to top of page