Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 (Qld)

Queensland Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 Subordinate Legislation 2008 No. 298 made under the Rural and Regional Adjustment Act 1994 Contents Page 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Regulation amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 Amendment of s 7 (Approval of schemes—Act, s 11) . . . . . . . . . 2 4 Amendment of schedule (Approved assistance schemes). . . . . . 2

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 1] 1 Short title This regulation may be cited as the Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 . 2 Regulation amended This regulation amends the RuralandRegionalAdjustmentRegulation 2000. 3 Amendment of s 7 (Approval of schemes—Act, s 11) Section 7— insert— ‘(sa) the Additional Irrigators Fixed Water Charges Rebate Scheme set out in the schedule, part 19A;’. 4 Amendment of schedule (Approved assistance schemes) (1) Schedule, section 93(7)(b), ‘over the previous 5 year period’— omit. (2) Schedule— insert— ‘Part 19A Additional Irrigators Fixed Water Charges Rebate Scheme ‘198A Objective of scheme ‘The objective of this scheme is to provide additional assistance to irrigators in areas where water availability is or has been low. ‘198B Nature of assistance ‘The nature of the assistance that may be given under this scheme is a rebate for the payment of fixed water charges, or Page 2 2008 SL No. 298

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 4] part of the fixed water charges, incurred for the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. ‘198C Definitions for pt 19 ‘In this part— announced allocation , for a water area— 1 The announced allocation , for a water area, means the available water announced by the water service provider for the water area. 2 However, if— (a) the water area is a part of a water supply scheme; and (b) the water availability announced by the water service provider for the water supply scheme is different from the water availability announced for the part of the scheme; the available water announced for the part of the scheme is the announced allocation for the water area. 3 For paragraphs 1 and 2, a reference to announcing available water includes a reference to deciding available water. applicant means a person applying for assistance under this scheme. billing period , for an invoice, means the period for which the fixed water charges for the invoice are payable. current invoice means an invoice, given quarterly or half-yearly for water charges incurred in the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, that the authority is assessing for a rebate. fixed water charge means the part of a water charge that is intended to recover the fixed costs of operating and maintaining water infrastructure in a water area. irrigator means a rural water user who is paying water charges for taking water for primary production purposes, 2008 SL No. 298 Page 3

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 4] other than for stock or domestic purposes within the meaning of the Water Act 2000 , schedule 4. successful applicant means a person granted assistance under this scheme. this scheme means the scheme set out in this part. threshold test of low water availability , for a water area, means— (a) for the billing period for a current invoice— (i) the announced allocation for the water area at 1 July 2008 is not more than 20%; and (ii) the announced allocation for the water area at the start of the billing period is not more than 20%; or (b) for a financial year in the 3 financial years immediately before the billing period for a current invoice— (i) the announced allocation for the water area at 1 July 2008 is not more than 20%; and (ii) the announced allocation for the water area at 30 June in the year is not more than 20%. water area means a water supply scheme within the meaning of the Water Act 2000 , schedule 4, or part of a water supply scheme. water service provider see the Water Act 2000 , schedule 4. ‘198D Eligibility criteria ‘For an applicant to be eligible to receive assistance, the applicant must— (a) be an irrigator; and (b) be liable to pay fixed water charges; and (c) be any of the following— (i) a customer of SunWater paying the fixed water charges under the Rural Water Pricing Direction Notice (No. 01) 2006, gazetted on 14 July 2006 at page 1187; Page 4 2008 SL No. 298

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 4] (ii) a customer of another water service provider; and (d) satisfy the threshold test of low water availability for— (i) the billing period for a current invoice; or (ii) a financial year in the 3 financial years immediately before the billing period for a current invoice; and (e) have paid the water charges incurred from 1 July 2008 unless the applicant can demonstrate financial hardship under section 198E. ‘198E Financial hardship ‘(1) For an applicant to demonstrate financial hardship, the application must be accompanied by— (a) evidence that the applicant is the holder of a current health care card under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cwlth); or (b) a certificate from a suitably qualified person stating that— (i) the applicant is unable to pay the total invoice for the current water charges because of financial hardship; and (ii) the continuation of the applicant’s enterprise for which the water charges are incurred is in doubt because of the prolonged drought and the low water availability. ‘(2) In this section— suitably qualified person — (a) generally, means a person who— (i) has financial qualifications that enable the person to give a certificate mentioned in subsection (1)(b); and (ii) is a member of a professional association whose members normally provide financial advice; and 2008 SL No. 298 Page 5

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 4] (b) for an applicant for whom it is not reasonably practical to engage a person mentioned in paragraph (a) because the applicant’s residence is not located near a populated area, means a person who— (i) has experience in financial matters because of the person’s occupation, whether or not the person normally provides or provided financial advice; and Examples — accountant, bank manager, tax agent (ii) is a member of a relevant professional association. ‘198F Maximum rebate amounts ‘(1) The maximum rebate under this scheme for a successful applicant is $10000. ‘(2) Subject to subsection (3), the maximum percentage of the fixed water charges for the applicant’s current invoice that will be given as a rebate to a successful applicant in a water area that satisfies the threshold test of low water availability in the periods stated is as follows— (a) for the billing period for the current invoice and the 3 financial years immediately before the billing period for the current invoice—100%; (b) for any 3 of the following—75%— (i) the billing period for the current invoice; (ii) the financial year immediately before the billing period for the current invoice ( year 1 ); (iii) the financial year immediately before year 1 ( year 2 ); (iv) the financial year immediately before year 2 ( year 3 ); (c) for any 2 of the following—50%— (i) the billing period for the current invoice; Page 6 2008 SL No. 298

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 4] (ii) year 1; (iii) year 2; (iv) year 3; (d) for any 1 of the following—25%— (i) the billing period for the current invoice; (ii) year 1; (iii) year 2; (iv) year 3. ‘(3) If part of a billing period for a current invoice is not in the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, the rebate worked out under subsection (2) must be reduced proportionately. Example — A billing period for a current invoice is from 1 May 2008 to 31 July 2008. As there are 61 days out of a total of 91 days in the billing period that are not in the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, the rebate worked out under subsection (2) must be reduced by a factor of 61/92. ‘198G Period of assistance ‘(1) A rebate may be given for the fixed water charges incurred in the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. ‘(2) However, subsection (3) applies if, in the financial year starting on 1 July 2008, there is an announced allocation of 50% or greater for a water area. ‘(3) A rebate can not, for the water area, be given under this scheme for— (a) the fixed water charges to which the announced allocation relates; or (b) any other fixed water charges that are imposed after the announced allocation is made. ‘198H Payment of rebate ‘(1) Payment of a rebate will be made to a successful applicant’s bank account. 2008 SL No. 298 Page 7

Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2008 [s 4] ‘(2) However, a successful applicant who has demonstrated financial hardship will receive a cheque for the rebate made payable to the relevant water service provider. ‘198I Applications ‘(1) An application for assistance must be— (a) made on the application form approved by the authority; and Editor’s note — At the commencement of this section, a copy of the application form was available on the authority’s website at < (b) accompanied by the documents stated on the application form; and (c) given to the authority. ‘(2) An applicant granted assistance under this scheme is not required to again apply for assistance. ‘(3) All applications for assistance under this scheme must be received by the authority on or before 30 September 2009. ‘198J Deciding applications The authority must consider, and decide to approve or refuse to approve, each application for assistance.’. ENDNOTES 1 Made by the Governor in Council on 4 September 2008. 2 Notified in the gazette on 5 September 2008. 3 Laid before the Legislative Assembly on . . . 4 The administering agency is the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Page 8 2008 SL No. 298

© State of Queensland 2008