Troozi Pty Ltd and Australian Trade and Investment Commission

This matter concerned an application by Troozi Pty Ltd for an export market development grant, which was opposed by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade). The dispute centred on whether certain online dating services, offered with free initial membership until a critical mass of users was reached, constituted eligible services and whether the promotional activities undertaken were for an approved promotional purpose under the Export Market Development Grants Act. The case was heard by Mrs J C Kelly, Senior Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether Troozi Pty Ltd's promotional activities met the requirements of the Export Market Development Grants Act, specifically concerning the definition of eligible services and the necessity for an approved promotional purpose. Austrade contended that for the promotional activity to be considered for an approved promotional purpose, Troozi Pty Ltd must have intended to sell its eligible services to persons not resident in Australia *during the grant year*. Troozi Pty Ltd argued that its intention to sell the services once membership reached a critical mass satisfied this requirement.

The Tribunal considered the meaning of "purpose" in the context of the Act, drawing guidance from previous cases such as *Parker Pen (Australia) Pty Ltd v Export Development Grants Board* and *Rala Information Services Pty Ltd v Australian Trade Commission*. While acknowledging that these cases dealt with different statutory regimes, the Tribunal found the discussions on discerning purpose from both subjective and objective elements to be relevant. The Tribunal ultimately found that section 37 of the Act requires the eligible promotional activity to be for an approved promotional purpose *when it is carried out*, meaning during the grant year. The Tribunal's reasoning indicated that the intention to sell services in the future, contingent on reaching a critical mass of membership, did not satisfy the requirement of intending to sell during the grant year itself.

The Tribunal affirmed Austrade's decision.