NSW emerges as main loser from GST carve-up as WA gets extra $5.5bn

Western Australia will receive an extra $5.5bn in GST revenue because of a sweetheart deal struck with WA in 2018, the Commonwealth Grants Commission said as it released its recommendations for dividing a projected $102.5bn GST pool for 2026–27. New South Wales emerged as the main loser: its allocation rises slightly to about $26.1bn from $25.8bn, but its share relative to population falls from 0.86 to 0.82.

NSW Premier Chris Minns called the outcome unfair, saying “this is the lowest share of GST NSW has received since the tax was introduced in 2000” and that “This GST system is past its use-by date.” He urged a move to a population-based approach, arguing support for small jurisdictions is one thing but not for large, wealthy states such as Victoria.

CGC chair Mike Callaghan rejected the claim that NSW was at a record low and defended the calculations as complex but transparent, noting that removing the impact of the 2018 legislation would leave NSW with a relativity of 0.89.

Australia

gst, western australia, nsw, $5.5bn, cgc, chris minns, mike callaghan, 2018 deal, relativity, population-based