Chalmers reaffirms support for WA GST deal

At a press conference in Perth on Wednesday (19 November), Treasurer Jim Chalmers reaffirmed Labor’s support for the WA GST deal.

“We support the deal that’s been struck with the people of Western Australia to ensure that WA gets its fair share of the GST,” Chalmers said.

“For as long as this government is in office, WA will get a fair share of the GST. And the review that’s been put in place by our predecessors back in 2018 will give people the opportunity to express their views about that around the country. But our position has been made really clear.”

In 2018, parliament legislated changes to the GST revenue distribution process to ensure that each state got to keep at least 75 cents for every dollar of GST revenue it raised. This followed concerns from the WA government that it wasn’t getting a fair GST deal.

The change stipulated that the Commonwealth government would “top up” the GST pool to ensure that no state or territory would be worse off than it would have been before the deal.

The 2018 deal is projected to cost the Commonwealth $21.8 billion from 2025–26 to 2028–29 in equalisation payments to make up revenue shortfalls in states other than Western Australia. Federal estimates have indicated that it’s on track to cost the federal budget $60 billion over the 11 years to 2029.

In September 2025, the Productivity Commission (PC) launched its scheduled review into the GST distribution arrangements. The commission’s interim report on the matter is due in August 2026, and its final report in December 2026.

“The Productivity Commission Inquiry will look at ways in which the federal financial relations system can best promote fiscal sustainability across the states and territories and the Commonwealth,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in September, when the Treasury released its terms of reference.

“The PC will investigate whether the current arrangements are working efficiently, effectively and as intended, while being cognisant of the Commonwealth’s policy commitments in relation to GST distribution, and with Terms of Reference that are deliberately broad enough to enable it to look into issues raised by states and territories.”

This week, Chalmers flagged that the PC would release an issues paper before the end of the year, to give stakeholders an opportunity to express their views on the WA GST deal ahead of the review.

“The Productivity Commission will be releasing an issues paper on some of those considerations, certainly before the end of the year, but ideally quite soon, and that will give people an opportunity to express a view,” he said.

“The review that our predecessors put in place was about making sure that all states and territories had an opportunity to put forward their view, but the fundamentals of our position haven’t changed, and won’t change. A fair share of the GST for WA is really important, and that’s why we’re committed to it.”