Global Chinese Christian Unity Federation Incorporated and Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) concerning an application for an export market development grant. The applicant, Global Chinese Christian Unity Federation Incorporated, had its grant application initially rejected by Austrade. Austrade later varied this decision, disallowing certain expenses due to a lack of substantiation and apportioning the remaining expenses at 33%. Austrade's primary contention was that the applicant's marketing activities and expenses were primarily for preaching Christianity, rather than for an "approved promotional purpose" as defined by the relevant Act.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Austrade's reviewable decision, which allowed only a portion of the claimed expenses, was correct. Specifically, the Tribunal needed to consider whether the 33% apportionment of travel expenses was appropriate and whether certain excluded expenses, such as salary costs for a marketing manager, should have been allowed. The core legal issue revolved around whether the applicant's activities and expenses constituted "eligible promotional activities" undertaken for an "approved promotional purpose" under the Act, with Austrade accepting that a specific DVD was an "eligible product" and its overseas promotion was allowable.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's marketing activities, particularly concerning the promotion of DVDs, were indeed for an "approved promotional purpose" to the extent that they aimed to promote future Australian events to foreigners. While Austrade had allowed 33% of travel expenses related to the DVDs, the Tribunal considered this apportionment to be too low. The Tribunal also addressed the exclusion of Ms Chao Cheng's salary, which was related to marketing activities. After considering oral evidence from representatives of the applicant, the Tribunal concluded that a further payment of $1,904 was warranted, increasing the total grant from $32,081 to $33,985 for the financial year ending 30 June 2020.