Act of Grace

The application of the power provided under section 33 [] of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to make act of grace payments is discretionary. The special circumstances in which act of grace payments are generally approved are those in which the Commonwealth considers it has a moral, rather than legal obligation, to provide redress to an individual or other entity in relation to losses directly caused by the acts or omissions of the Commonwealth, or caused by the unintended, unfair or anomalous effect of its legislation.