Loan Council

The Loan Council is an Australian Commonwealth-state ministerial council that coordinates public sector borrowing,^[1] comprising the Commonwealth of Australia and the states and self-governing territories, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory. The Loan Council now operates under the Financial Agreement between the Commonwealth, States and Territories of 25 February 1994, which is incorporated as a schedule to the Financial Agreement Act 1994, which came into effect on 1 July 1995. The 1994 arrangements made significant changes to the previous arrangements, the main changes being:

• the Commonwealth and the states each nominate a 'Loan Council Allocation' (LCA), which does not need to be approved by the Loan Council,
• the Commonwealth no longer borrows on a state's behalf,
• the states can now enter into whatever financial arrangements they choose and can issue securities in their own names, and
• the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory became full-voting members of the Loan Council (they previously had observer status).

The Loan Council consists of the Prime Minister of Australia, the premier of each state and chief minister of each territory. However, in practice each member is represented by a nominee, usually the treasurer of that jurisdiction.^[2] The Treasurer of Australia acts as the chair and the Commonwealth Treasury provides secretarial services. Each jurisdiction nominates a Loan Council Allocation for the forthcoming year and the Loan Council normally meets once a year in person (usually in March^[1]) to consider the nominations having regard to each jurisdiction's fiscal position and the macroeconomic implications of the aggregate figure;^[1] otherwise business of the council is conducted by correspondence.^[2] The Commonwealth has a dominant position over the council, having two votes and also a casting vote.^[3] Under this arrangement, the votes of six states/territories are required to outvote a Commonwealth proposition.

In the interest of transparency, each jurisdiction is required to publish its Loan Council Allocation estimates, under the 'Uniform Presentation Framework'. The method of public release is the responsibility of each jurisdiction.^[4]