Many countries allocate funds to regional governments to reduce disparities in government services. This is generally known as horizontal fiscal equalisation. Countries implement it in different ways, and with slightly different goals. This paper considers four well established systems, identifying differences and common themes.

This paper explains how state circumstances differ, and how this drives Australian states’ differing shares of the GST pool. It explains how the Commission measures states’ different needs and the main drivers of different needs across the country.

This report discusses the impact the mining assessment has had on GST distributions, including volatility of GST distributions and the implications for policy neutrality. The paper also provides an outline of the potential effect of the new equalisation arrangements on volatility and policy neutrality.