Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005 (Cth)
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005
as amended
made under section 37ZJ of the
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Programs Act 1999
This compilation was prepared on 1 May 2012
taking into account amendments up to Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination (Amendment) 2011
Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra
Contents
1Name of Determination [see Note 1] 3
2Commencement [see Note 1] 3
3Definitions 3
4The Program: objective 4
5Application for a grant: general 4
6Application by a consortium 4
7Assessment 5
8Eligibility criteria 6
9Merit criteria 7
10Decision 7
11Notification of result of application 7
12Condition: grant agreement 8
13Confidentiality 9
14Consultation 9
15Publication 9
16Condition: payment of grant 9
17Condition: reports 10
18Condition: retention of documents 10
19Limits on payments 11
20Administration 11
21Guidelines 11
Notes 12
Name of Determination [see Note 1]
1.1 This Determination is the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005.
Commencement [see Note 1]
2.1 This Determination commences on the day after it is registered.
Definitions
3.1 In this Determination, unless the contrary intention appears:
Act means the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Investment and Innovation Programs Act 1999.
business enterprise culture means the nature and style of the decision‑making and production processes that occur within a business.
Note More specifically, business enterprise culture is intended to describe the extent to which the values, attitudes and norms that are dominant in a business can be described as entrepreneurial. Thus a pronounced enterprise culture might typically be found in businesses in which emphasis is placed on the importance of innovative characteristics such as initiative, self‑reliance and creativity. Businesses in this category generally understand how to maximise commercial returns on their products and services, and are skilled at securing and maintaining a competitive market edge. Change is generated and managed largely from within — and there is a strong focus among its staff upon the goals of financial growth and expansion.
consortium means a group of at least 2 entities (one of whom must be a TCF small business) who have come together for the common purpose of co‑operatively carrying out the project in accordance with the terms of a consortium agreement, each member of this group being a party to that consortium agreement.
consortium agreement means an exclusive written grant agreement between entities for the conduct of a project, including, at least, the terms described in subsection 6.3.
consortium member means a party to the consortium agreement.
employee, in relation to an applicant or small business, means an individual for whom an applicant or small business is required to withhold an amount under section 12‑35 or 12‑40 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.
grant agreement means a grant agreement described in section 12.
Program means the TCF Small Business Program mentioned in section 4.
selection round has the meaning given by subsection 5.3.
TCF small business means an entity, within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, that:
(a) undertakes eligible TCF activities within the meaning of the TCF Post‑2005 (SIP) Scheme; and
(b) has fewer than 20 employees.
The Program: objective
4.1 For section 37ZJ of the Act, the TCF Small Business Program is a competitive grants program administered by the Commonwealth to improve the business enterprise culture of TCF small businesses that did not qualify for assistance under the TCF (SIP) Scheme or the TCF Post-2005 (SIP) Scheme and do not qualify for assistance under the Clothing and Household Textile (BIC) scheme.
4.2 Program funding is available from 1 July 2006 until the end of 30 June 2016.
Application for a grant: general
5.1 Any interested TCF small business or a consortium may apply to the Secretary, in a form approved by the Secretary, for a grant under the Program for a project.
5.2 To avoid doubt, a single application may be made in relation to more than one project.
5.3 The process of considering applications is a selection round.
5.4 The Secretary:
(a) may specify a date by which applications must be received in order to be considered in a particular selection round; and
(b) must publish the date in a way that is likely to bring it to the attention of TCF small businesses as early as practicable before the date occurs.
Note There may be more than one selection round in a year, depending on whether funds are still available for the year. The Secretary will publicise additional selection rounds if they are required.
Application by a consortium
6.1 Despite section 5, if a consortium wishes to receive a grant for a project described in an application:
(a) the application for the grant must be made by a member of the consortium who has been appointed by all other members of the consortium as an agent with the power to act on behalf of all of the consortium members for the purposes of the project; and
(b) the applicant must be able to demonstrate that the costs of the project that are not met by the Program grant can be met by the consortium; and
(c) the applicant must be able to demonstrate that the consortium has available to it, and has made available, the intellectual property necessary to conduct the project; and
(d) the applicant, and the other consortium members, must not have been named as organisations that have not complied with the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999.
6.2 An applicant must provide with its application a draft or executed copy of the consortium agreement in relation to each project to which the application relates.
6.3 A consortium agreement submitted with an application must at least:
(a) describe the objectives and planned outcomes of the project; and
(b) specify the activities comprising the project; and
(c) describe the respective roles and contributions, including financial contributions, of each consortium member; and
(d) prohibit a consortium member from assigning any right or interest in the consortium agreement or any project assets; and
(e) contain terms that are not inconsistent with a standard form of program funding agreement made available by the Department to the applicant.
6.4 If the applicant submits a draft consortium agreement with its application:
(a) the Secretary may not enter into the relevant grant agreement until an executed version of the consortium agreement has been provided to the Secretary; and
(b) the executed version of the consortium agreement:
(i) must be in substantially the same terms as the draft consortium agreement that was provided with the application; and
(ii) must satisfy the requirements of subsection 6.3; and
(c) if the executed version of the consortium agreement is materially different from the draft consortium agreement that was provided with the application, or if there has been any change to the consortium members since the date of the application, the Secretary must:
(i) if the Secretary considers the changes do not materially impact on his or her original decision to approve the application under section 10 — treat the executed agreement as if it were the consortium agreement submitted with the application; or
(ii) withdraw any offer of a grant under the Program in relation to the relevant application on the ground that the consortium agreement is materially different from the draft consortium agreement.
Assessment
7.1 The Secretary must:
(a) assess each application, and each project to which it relates, against the eligibility criteria set out in section 8; and
(b) for an application that meets the eligibility criteria set out in section 8 — rank each project to which the application relates, together with other applications received for the financial year in which the application is made, in accordance with the merit criteria set out in section 9.
7.2 If the Secretary has published a date by which applications must be received to be considered in a particular selection round, the Secretary must not, in that selection round, assess or rank an application that has been received after that date.
Note There may be more than one selection round in a year, depending on whether funds are still available for the year. The Secretary will publicise additional selection rounds if they are required.
7.3 In a selection round, the Secretary must only assess and rank the applications that have been received for that selection round.
Note Successful applications in one selection round will not be reassessed and re‑ranked as part of a later selection round. Applications that have been assessed and ranked in a previous selection round, and that have not been resubmitted for a subsequent selection round, will also not be reassessed and re‑ranked in competition with later applications.
Eligibility criteria
8.1 For section 37ZJ (2) (a) of the Act, for an applicant to be eligible for a grant for a project under the Program, the applicant’s project must meet each of the following conditions:
(a) the project must meet the needs of a particular TCF small business that:
(i) has not received funding from any of the TCF (SIP) Scheme or the TCF Post-2005 (SIP) Scheme or the Clothing and Household Textile (BIC) Scheme at the time the decision that the applicant is eligible for the grant is made; and
(ii) is not entitled to receive such funding from the Clothing and Household Textile (BIC) Scheme at the time the decision that the applicant is eligible for the grant is made; and
(iii) is solvent and not under any administrative arrangement;
(b) the project must be aimed at improving the business enterprise culture of the TCF small business.
8.2 Also:
(a) the TCF small business concerned must have had a small business entity turnover (within the meaning of section 61-525 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997) of not less than $100,000 in the year immediately before the financial year in which the application is made; and
(b) the applicant must make a cash contribution to the project for which funding is sought of not less than 25% of the amount of the eligible project expenditure for the project, not being a cash contribution obtained by means of a subsidy from the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; and
(c) to avoid doubt, regardless of the eventual eligible expenditure on the project the cash contribution must not be less than 25% of the eligible project expenditure.
8.3 If an application relates to more than one project, the application must be assessed under subsections 8.1 and 8.2 in respect of each such project.
Merit criteria
9.1 If an application meets the eligibility criteria in section 8, the project to which it relates is to be further assessed against the following merit criteria:
(a) whether the project’s outcome will meet the objects of the Program, assessed by how the project will:
(i) contribute to the TCF small business’s willingness and ability to take risks; and
(ii) contribute to the TCF small business becoming more creative; and
(iii) improve the flexibility or adaptability of the TCF small business; and
(iv) contribute to the growth strategy of the TCF small business;
(b) the value for money of the project to the Commonwealth and the applicant’s commitment to the project including the level of time, resources and cash additional to 25% of the amount of the eligible project expenditure for the project that are to be contributed to the project by the applicant; and
(c) whether the project is capable of being commenced and completed within a 12 month period commencing with the execution of the funding agreement.
9.2 If an application relates to more than one project, the application must be assessed under subsection 9.1 in respect of each such project.
9.3 The Secretary must then rank each application for suitability, using the merit criteria in subsection 9.1, against the other applications for the financial year in which the application is made.
Decision
10.1 For paragraph 37ZJ (2) (a) of the Act, the Secretary must decide:
(a) whether to give a grant to an applicant for a project described in the application; and
(b) subject to section 19, the amount of the grant.
10.2 In making a decision under subsection 10.1, the Secretary must take into account the ranking of the application under subsection 9.3 and the amount of grant funds remaining to be allocated for the financial year concerned.
10.3 The decision of the Secretary is final.
Notification of result of application
11.1 The Secretary must notify an applicant in writing of the outcome of the application.
11.2 If the Secretary has decided not to give a grant, the notification must include the reason for the decision.
Condition: grant agreement
12.1 For paragraph 37ZJ (2) (d) of the Act, it is a condition of payment of a grant that a successful applicant must enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth within 30 days (or such longer period allowed in writing by the Commonwealth) after the applicant is notified of the outcome of the application.
12.2 The grant agreement:
(a) must ensure that the Secretary is empowered to recover grant funds in circumstances in which the applicant or any consortium member has acted in a manner to reduce benefits that were expected to be generated by the project; and
(b) must require that the project be conducted in a manner consistent with the terms of a consortium agreement and with the aim at all times of achieving the planned project outcomes described in the application; and
(c) must ensure that complete and accurate records and documents relating to the conduct and management of the project are maintained; and
(d) must provide for inspection by or for the Secretary of the premises where the project is undertaken and records relating to the conduct and management of the project are kept; and
(e) must ensure that the Secretary is provided with all relevant information concerning the conduct and management of the project; and
(f) must provide for variation and termination of the grant agreement; and
(g) must ensure that the project complies with all applicable Commonwealth, State and Territory laws; and
(h) must not be inconsistent with the law of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory, including this Determination; and
(i) must place restrictions on any material change to the consortium agreement or to the consortium members without the prior consent of the Secretary; and
(j) may require that any or all of the consortium members be named as a party to the grant agreement; and
(k) may include any other terms that the Secretary considers to be necessary:
(i) to protect the Commonwealth’s interests in securing the achievement of the project; or
(ii) to achieve the Program’s objectives set out in section 4; or
(iii) to make appropriate use of public monies.
12.3 The Secretary may vary the terms of a grant agreement.
12.4 The Secretary must not vary the terms of a grant agreement unless the variation would:
(a) significantly improve the outcomes of the project; and
(b) be consistent with the program objective set out in section 4 and any relevant policies of the Department; and
(c) be consistent with subsection 12.2; and
(d) be appropriate in all circumstances.
12.5 A variation to a grant agreement will take effect from the date the Secretary agrees to vary the grant agreement, unless the Secretary determines otherwise.
Confidentiality
13.1 An applicant must clearly identify in its application any confidential information that is included in, or submitted with, the application.
13.2 To the extent that an application contains genuinely confidential information, the Secretary must ensure that the information is to be kept on a strictly limited, need to know, basis.
13.3 However, confidential information may be disclosed to:
(a) the Auditor‑General; or
(b) a third party contractor engaged by the Department for audit‑related purposes; or
(c) other Commonwealth agencies for law enforcement purposes; or
(d) an expert from whom the Secretary wishes to seek advice in accordance with subsection 14.2.
13.4 Also, the Secretary may release confidential information if required or permitted by law to do so.
Consultation
14.1 The Secretary may, during the application process and the operation of the Program, consult with other Commonwealth agencies about an application.
14.2 The Secretary may also seek advice from experts including technical, financial (including auditors), economic and industry experts on a contract basis.
14.3 Any contracts for the provision of such advice must contain appropriate confidentiality provisions.
Publication
15.1 The names of the applicant and any consortium members, and the amount and purpose of a grant, are to be publicly‑available information.
Condition: payment of grant
16.1 For paragraphs 37ZJ (2) (b) and (c) of the Act, the grant agreement must specify the amount of grant funding for the project to which the grant agreement relates and the timing and method of delivery of the grant.
16.2 Despite subsection 16.1, it is a condition of payment of a grant that if:
(a) the grant agreement requires payment of an instalment of a grant only after the project has been completed; and
(b) the project is not so completed;
the Secretary may defer the grant payment until such time as the project is completed or a revised project outline (and, if applicable, a revised consortium agreement) is assessed as suitable.
Condition: reports
17.1 For paragraph 37ZJ (2) (d) of the Act, it is a condition of payment of a grant that the recipient of the grant must send to the Secretary any report required to be submitted under the grant agreement.
17.2 Not later than the end of 6 weeks after the project is completed, the recipient of the grant must submit an end of project report, including the following information:
(a) a comparison of the results and stated outcomes;
(b) details of the extent to which the project achieved its planned outcomes as demonstrated by the agreed performance indicators or milestones set out in the grant agreement;
(c) any highlights, breakthroughs or difficulties;
(d) conclusions and recommendations (if any) arising from the project;
(e) details of any unexpended funds;
(f) financial statements for the project;
(g) an independent auditor’s statement verifying expenditure.
17.3 Final payment of the grant must not be paid until the Secretary receives a final report in accordance with the grant agreement.
17.4 Unexpended funds must be returned to the Secretary with the final report.
17.5 However, if:
(a) a final report is required in accordance with the grant agreement; and
(b) the final payment of the grant has not been paid because the Secretary has not received the final report; and
(c) there are unexpended funds before the Secretary has received the final report;
the unexpended funds are not required to be returned to the Secretary until after the Secretary has considered the final report.
Condition: retention of documents
18.1 For paragraph 37ZJ (2) (d) of the Act, it is a condition of payment of a grant that the grantee retain all documents and records in relation to the application, the grant agreement and the project concerned for a period of 2 years after the completion of the project and that the grantee provide this information to the Secretary if reasonably requested to do so.
Limits on payments
19.1 For paragraph 37ZJ (2) (b) of the Act, the total of grants paid under the Program must not exceed $25 000 000.
19.2 Also, the total of grants paid under the Program for a financial year must not exceed a total of:
(a) $2 500 000; and
(b) the amount of any unspent amount from a previous financial year.
19.3 However, a particular project may not be the subject of a grant exceeding $50 000 under the Program.
19.4 A grant must subsidise actual expenditure incurred during the project period.
19.5 However, routine business expenses incurred by an applicant are not to be subsidised under the Program.
19.6 In this section, a reference to an amount of money is taken to be exclusive of GST.
Administration
20.1 The Secretary may authorise APS employees performing duties in the Department to perform administrative tasks on the Secretary’s behalf for the Program.
Guidelines
21.1 The Secretary may issue guidelines setting out administrative procedures in relation to the Program.
Notes to the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005
Note 1
The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005 (in force under section 37ZJ of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Programs Act 1999) as shown in this compilation is amended as indicated in the Tables below.
For all relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions see Table A.
Table of Instruments
| Title | Date of FRLI registration | Date of | Application, saving or |
| Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005 | 23 Dec 2005 (see F2005L04234) | 24 Dec 2005 | |
| Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination (Amendment) 2011 | 15 Dec 2011 (see F2011L02691) | 16 Dec 2011 | S. 3.2 |
Table of Amendments
| ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted | |
| Provision affected | How affected |
| S. 3................................. | am. 2011 |
| S. 4................................. | am. 2011 |
| S. 8................................. | am. 2011 |
| S. 9................................. | am. 2011 |
| S. 12............................... | am. 2011 |
Table A Application, saving or transitional provisions
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determinations (Amendment) 2011
3.2 The amendments of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program Determination 2005 in Schedule 1 apply in relation to an application for funding made after the commencement of this Determination.
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