Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 (Qld)

Queensland Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 Subordinate Legislation 2007 No. 338 made under the Rural and Regional Adjustment Act 1994 Contents Page 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Regulation amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 Amendment of schedule (Approved assistance schemes). . . . . . 2

s1 2 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 1 Short title This regulation may be cited as the Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 . 2 Regulation amended This regulation amends the RuralandRegionalAdjustmentRegulation 2000. 3 Amendment of schedule (Approved assistance schemes) (1) Schedule, section 85(6), definition EC period , after ‘a period’— insert— ‘ , that is 1 year or less, ’. (2) Schedule, section 89, definition EC period , after ‘a period’— insert— ‘ , that is 1 year or less, ’. (3) Schedule, section 89— insert— ‘ carry-on finance means an amount used for the day to day operating expenses of a primary producer’s business, other than for acquisition of capital for the business.’. (4) Schedule, sections 93(4), 94(3) and (4), and 95(2)(g) and (7)— omit. (5) Schedule, section 95(3)(d)(i)(B)— insert— ‘Note — For the application of this provision to applications made after 24 September 2007 and before 1 October 2008, see section 98A.’. (6) Schedule, section 95(8)— renumber as section 95(7).

s3 3 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 (7) Schedule, section 96(4)— omit, insert— ‘(4) If a primary producer has received an interest rate subsidy (the first subsidy ) in an EC period, the primary producer may make a further application for assistance in the EC period only if— (a) the application relates to debt incurred in relation to carry-on finance provided to the primary producer after the primary producer received the first subsidy; and (b) the application is made on a pro-rata basis taking into account the amount of interest subsidy already paid to the primary producer in the EC period and the proportion of the EC period remaining. ‘(5) Subsection (3) does not apply to an application mentioned in subsection (4).’. (8) Schedule, section 98— insert— ‘(3) Any subsidies already given by the Commonwealth, or under a state assistance scheme, on loans or associated costs must be deducted from the amounts mentioned in section 93(7).’. (9) Schedule, part 8— insert— ‘98A Applications made after 24 September 2007 and before 1 October 2008 ‘(1) This section applies to an application made by a primary producer in an EC area after 24 September 2007 and before 1 October 2008 if it is the first or only application made by the primary producer during that period. ‘(2) This part, other than section 96(2), applies to the application as if the reference in section 95(3)(d)(i)(B) to double the Newstart Allowance assets test for homeowners (partnered) were a reference to $750000. ‘(3) The application must not be made after the EC period for which the assistance is sought ends. Note —

s3 4 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 This section may result in applications made in the same EC period being treated differently depending upon when the application is made.’. (10) Schedule, section 177, from ‘whose businesses’— omit, insert— ‘if— (a) the businesses are dependent on farming enterprises; and (b) the business turnover for the businesses has been detrimentally affected by exceptional circumstances; and (c) the businesses would have had long-term prospects of viability had exceptional circumstances not happened.’. (11) Schedule, section 179— insert— ‘ owner , of a small business includes a lessee or operator of the small business. relevant town means a town in the State that— (a) has a population of less than 10000; and (b) is located in an EC area; and (c) the authority is satisfied substantially relies on farming enterprises to support its economy.’. (12) Schedule, section 179, definition EC period , after ‘a period’— insert— ‘ , that is 1 year or less, ’. (13) Schedule, section 181(1)(b)— omit, insert— ‘(b) employs not more than— (i) 100 full-time employees of the business; or (ii) if the business has employees who do not work full-time for the business—100 equivalent full-time employees of the business.’.

s3 5 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 (14) Schedule, section 183— omit, insert— ‘183 Level of assistance ‘(1) The level of assistance to be given to the owner of a small business must be decided— (a) by the extent of assistance needed for the scheme strategies; and (b) from the budgets for the small business that allow for financial demands on the business appropriate to the exceptional circumstances. ‘(2) The total interest subsidy given under the scheme to the owner of a small business must not be more than 80% of the interest payable on, and associated costs of, the loans for which the subsidy is sought. ‘(3) The interest subsidy given under the scheme to the owner of a small business for the first EC period, in relation to an EC area declared after 6 November 2006, must not be more than 50% of the interest payable on, and associated costs of, loans for which the subsidy is sought in the period. ‘(4) The interest subsidy given under the scheme to the owner of a small business for the second or subsequent EC period must not be more than 80% of the interest payable on, and associated costs of, the loans for which the subsidy is sought in the period. ‘(5) In deciding the level of loans to be supported for an initial interest subsidy given under the scheme to the owner of a small business, the authority may deduct the full cost of a capital purchase from the balance of the existing loans if— (a) for a small business that derives 70% or more of its business turnover from providing goods or services to farming enterprises in an EC area or part of an EC area—the capital purchase was made after 6 November 2006; or (b) for a small business in a relevant town, other than a small business mentioned in paragraph (a)—the capital purchase was made after 24 September 2007.

s3 6 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 ‘(6) Subject to subsection (8), the amount of interest subsidy payable to an applicant who has 1 or more small businesses must not result in the applicant receiving under the scheme a total of more than— (a) $100000 in any 1 year period; or (b) if an EC period is less than 1 year—the proportion of $100000 that is equivalent to the proportion of the EC period. ‘(7) Any subsidies already given by the Commonwealth, or under the small business emergency assistance scheme or the exceptional circumstances scheme, on loans or associated costs must be deducted from the amounts mentioned in subsection (6). ‘(8) Assistance under the scheme is not payable in relation to any loans or associated costs for which the Commonwealth has given, or is giving, any other subsidy. ‘(9) In this section— exceptional circumstances scheme means the scheme set out in part 8. small business emergency assistance scheme means the scheme set out in part 7.’. (15) Schedule, section 185(2)(c)— omit, insert— ‘(c) demonstrate that— (i) for any application—the small business derives 70% or more of its business turnover from providing goods or services to farming enterprises in an EC area or part of an EC area; or (ii) for an application made after 24 September 2007 and before 1 July 2009—the small business is located in a relevant town and is dependant on farming enterprises for all or part of its business turnover; and’. (16) Schedule, section 185(2)(e)— omit, insert—

s3 7 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 ‘(e) demonstrate that the small business is in financial difficulty because of the impact of exceptional circumstances on farming enterprises in an EC area.’. (17) Schedule, section 185(3)(a)— omit, insert— ‘(a) the small business— (i) for any application—derives 70% or more of its business turnover from providing goods or services to farming enterprises in an EC area or part of an EC area; or (ii) for an application made after 24 September 2007 and before 1 July 2009—is located in a relevant town and is dependant on farming enterprises for all or part of its business turnover; and’. (18) Schedule, section 185(3)(d)(i)(B)— insert— ‘ Note — For the application of this provision to applications made after 24 September 2007 and before 1 October 2008, see section 188A.’. (19) Schedule, section 185(3)— insert— ‘(f) under normal circumstances— (i) the applicant or, for a private company, its shareholders, spend at least 75% of their labour on small business or, if the applicant is also an owner of a farming enterprise, spend at least 75% of their labour on the small business and the farming enterprise; and (ii) the applicant obtains at least 50% of the applicant’s total business turnover from the small business; and (g) the applicant has owned the small business for at least 2 years.’.

s3 8 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 (20) Schedule, section 187— insert— ‘(4) If the owner of a small business has received an interest rate subsidy (the first subsidy ) under the scheme in an EC period, the owner may make a further application for assistance in the EC period only if— (a) the application relates to debt incurred in relation to carry-on finance provided to the owner after the owner received the first subsidy; and (b) the application is made on a pro-rata basis taking into account the amount of interest subsidy already paid to the owner in the EC period and the proportion of the EC period remaining. ‘(5) Subsection (3) does not apply to an application mentioned in subsection (4).’. ‘(6) In this section— carry-on finance means an amount used for the day to day operating expenses of a small business, other than for the acquisition of capital for the business.’. (21) Schedule, part 18— insert— ‘188A Applications made after 24 September 2007 and before 1 October 2008 ‘(1) This section applies in relation to an application made by an applicant in an EC area after 24 September 2007 and before 1 October 2008 if it is the first or only application made by the applicant in that period. ‘(2) This part, other than section 187(2), applies to the application as if the reference in section 185(3)(d)(i)(B) to double the Newstart Allowance assets test for homeowners (partnered) were a reference to $750000. ‘(3) The application must not be made after the EC period for which the assistance is sought ends. Note —

s3 9 s3 Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007 No. 338, 2007 This section may result in applications made in the same EC period being treated differently depending upon when the application is made.’. (22) Schedule, section 191, definition fixed water charge — insert— ‘(c) if the water area is the Callide Valley groundwater management area (non-benefitted) under the WaterRegulation2002, schedule 14—the water charge for taking groundwater, mentioned in column 3 of the schedule for the area, that is the amount payable for each megalitre of announced entitlement.’. (23) Schedule, section 191, definition irrigator , after ‘domestic purposes’— insert— ‘within the meaning of the Water Act 2000 , schedule 4’. (24) Schedule, section 191, definition water area — insert— ‘(d) a part of a water management area mentioned in paragraph (c).’. (25) Schedule, section 197(3), ‘30 September’— omit, insert— ‘31 December’. ENDNOTES 1 Made by the Governor in Council on 13 December 2007. 2 Notified in the gazette on 14 December 2007. 3 Laid before the Legislative Assembly on . . . 4 The administering agency is the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. © State of Queensland 2007