Overview
- NSW’s formal submission to the Productivity Commission calls the current GST system broken and proposes allocating the roughly $100–$103 billion pool by population.
- Under the plan, smaller jurisdictions would receive targeted federal grants, a 50-cent floor would apply to state shares, and the Grants Commission would publish four-year forecasts.
- The 2018 arrangement that lifted Western Australia’s share, initially forecast to cost $2.3 billion, is now reported to be tracking toward as much as $60 billion by decade’s end.
- WA’s government defends its position, saying it still provides a $2.5 billion annual GST subsidy to others and a net $39 billion contribution to the federation through mining and taxes.
- NSW’s relativity falls to about 82 cents in the dollar for 2026/27, below Victoria despite NSW’s larger population, as the Commission’s review proceeds toward a report due in August.