Act of Grace Payments: Circumstances and Loss

What an Act of Grace Payment is

The Commonwealth act of grace power allows the Finance Minister to authorise payments in writing where special circumstances make payment appropriate. Section 65 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 provides the power. Payments remain subject to the applicable rules and can have conditions attached.

Finance advises that the power has been delegated to officials within the Department of Finance. A referring agency’s support for a request does not itself authorise payment.

Finance’s act of grace guidance identifies possible special circumstances, including unintended and inequitable effects of a Commonwealth entity’s actions. An unintended or otherwise unacceptable impact of Commonwealth legislation or policy can also be relevant. These are considerations for the decision-maker, not fixed eligibility categories.

The Commonwealth mechanism is not intended to address financial hardship by itself. Explain how Commonwealth action or policy affects the applicant’s circumstances. Identify the entity involved, including whether it is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.

State and territory ex gratia arrangements have their own powers and procedures. A payment with a similar name does not establish that section 65 or Finance’s application process applies. The wider PGPA Act framework concerns Commonwealth public resources.

Choose the Correct Claim Pathway

Route the request by what the applicant says happened and what remedy could address it. Finance’s Resource Management Guide 401 treats act of grace as generally a last-resort remedy where another viable avenue is unavailable.

The CDDA Scheme addresses detriment caused by defective administration. Its assessment belongs to the relevant agency. Act of grace is not a review mechanism for a rejected CDDA claim, as Finance’s guidance explains.

Prepare a short routing record before compiling a large submission. Identify the applicant and their authority to request assistance. Record the government act or policy said to have caused the problem, the alleged loss and the outcome sought.

List previous applications, statutory reviews, compensation requests and payments. Explain whether another remedy remains viable and why it does or does not address these circumstances. Preserve relevant deadlines for other proceedings in the legal file. An act of grace request does not establish an extension of those deadlines.

Prepare the Circumstances and Loss Record

Link the applicant’s explanation to the events and records that support it. Separate proof that an amount was paid from the argument that Commonwealth action caused that expense.

Start with an event chronology. For each event, identify the correspondence or agency decision and the financial effect alleged. Give source documents stable identifiers so the decision-maker can move from a claimed amount to the relevant record.

Hypothetical Loss Schedule

Suppose an applicant says a Commonwealth agency’s instructions caused them to arrange temporary storage while an application was resolved. This fictional schedule illustrates evidence handling. It does not establish eligibility or a payment formula.

The paid storage charges less the reimbursement leave $900 of unreimbursed expenditure: $1,200 minus $300. The $450 invoice is a separate unpaid item. Neither figure establishes that the Commonwealth caused the expense or must pay it.

Reconcile each statement debit to its invoice and purpose. A transfer between the applicant’s accounts does not establish an additional expense. Match refunds to the expense they reverse, and distinguish a supplier’s charge from loan repayments used to fund it.

Ask whether the same costs would have arisen without the alleged Commonwealth action. Attach the agency instruction relied upon and preserve any contrary explanation. If only part of an expense is attributed to that action, show the allocation and its basis.

Keep unsupported amounts visible as claims awaiting assessment. Do not turn an estimate into verified expenditure by including it in a total. Record whether the applicant disputes the agency’s account and identify the conflicting documents, so the decision-maker can assess both explanations.

Present the Request and Record the Outcome

Submit a complete written request through Finance’s official route, with the evidence attached in a form it can receive. Use the act of grace form on Finance’s application-process page, which provides submission by email or post. Finance cannot access third-party document-storage platforms.

The application form asks for the entity involved, previous review outcomes, the special circumstances and the payment sought. Include relevant supporting documents and representative authorisation where applicable. Exclude tax file numbers, which Finance says it does not require.

Finance can seek agency submissions and generally allows comment on adverse information or inferences. Retain the submitted version, further evidence, responses and decision letter. Record any reasons and payment conditions. No fixed decision timeframe applies.

Reconsideration generally requires a serious material factual error or relevant substantial new evidence. Identify the error or new evidence and explain its effect. Reconsideration is not an automatic merits appeal. Judicial review addresses legal error and cannot itself order approval of the payment.

Keep the outcome distinct from the loss schedule. If payment is authorised, record its amount and conditions against the written decision, so later handling follows the actual authorisation.