State Grants Commission Annual Cycle
Hearings and Visits
The Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995 (Cth) requires local government grants commissions to hold public hearings and permit local governing bodies to make submissions in relation to recommendations regarding distribution of the grants.
To comply with this requirement, and ensure that its models, methodologies and the resulting distribution recommendations are in accordance with the National Principles and reflect contemporary practice, the Commission liaises with Tasmanian councils on an annual basis. This is undertaken as both public hearings in each region, and visits to councils on a regular rotating basis.
The Commission will be conducting its 2026 Hearings and Visits in March 2026. Dates will be advertised in regional newspapers in February 2026. Members of the public wishing to attend any specific council's hearing or visit will be given the opportunity to pre-register their attendance.
For details on the outcomes of previous Hearings and Visits, please refer to the relevant sections of the Commission's Annual Report.
Priority activities.
The 2024-25 to 2026-27 Strategic Plan sets out the Commission’s purpose and vision and its aims under the categories of consultation, accuracy, integrity and adaptability. It also identifies the Commission’s priority activities over the three-year period including:
- Monitoring the impacts of recent changes to its methodology, assessing whether they are achieving the intended outcomes and identifying whether any further changes are needed.
- Reviewing the quality, accuracy and consistency of information it uses to prepare its grant recommendations, including the information in the Consolidated Data Collection returns provided by councils.
- Undertaking a review of the cost adjustors it applies to the expenditure categories to reflect the inherent cost advantages or disadvantages faced by individual councils in providing services.
The Commission is also committed to improving councils’ understanding of its role and how it prepares its recommendations by:
- Identifying opportunities for improving the clarity and readability of its reports and other documents; and
- In response to requests from councils, discussing with elected members and senior officers the Commission’s approach to developing its recommendations and respond to any queries.
The Commission has also published a one-page summary which describes its purpose, vision and aims, which is also available on the Publications page.