Commercial Ready Program Directions No. 1 of 2007

Administered by Department of Industry, Science and Resources

Legislation au F2007L03544 In force Legislative Instrument

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Commonwealth of Australia

Industry Research and Development Act 1986

Commercial Ready Program Directions No 1 of 2007

I, Ian Elgin Macfarlane, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, acting under subsections 18 (A), 19 (1) and 20 (1) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, issue the following explanatory statement on the directions to the Industry Research and Development Board (the Board).

Dated

Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources

____________

 

 

 

Explanatory Statement

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources

 

Industry Research and Development Act 1986

 

Commercial Ready Program Directions

No 1 of 2007

 

General Outline and Legislative Authority

 

The Commercial Ready program is a competitive merit based grants program delivered by AusIndustry.  It aims to stimulate greater innovation and productivity growth in the private sector by providing matching grants to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).  Projects can be supported for research and development (R&D), proof of concept, and early-stage commercialisation activities.

 

Under Commercial Ready, eligible applications are assessed and ranked by the Industry Research and Development Board (the Board), which then provides the merit ranking of eligible applications to the Commercial Ready Program Delegate (the Program Delegate).  After receiving a merit ranking from the Board, the Program Delegate may approve an application for grant funding.  In doing so, the Program Delegate must take into account the merit ranking provided by the Board.

 

The Commercial Ready Program Directions No 1 of 2007 (the Directions) update the current Commercial Ready Program Directions No 1 of 2004 to incorporate the new Commercial Ready Plus component of Commercial Ready.

 

The object of this legislative instrument is to give directions to the Board.  These directions are in relation to the provision of assessments and merit ranking of eligible applications under the Commercial Ready program and the policies and practices to be followed by the Board in the performance of this function.

 

The Directions include the merit criteria for the assessment and merit ranking of Commercial Ready applications, directions for the assessment of proposals for variation to the agreed project, other assessments that may be required of the Board, and the provision of advice on policies and operations of the Commercial Ready program by the Board.

 

Legislative Authority

 

Minister Macfarlane, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, acting under subsections 18 (A), 19 (1) and 20 (1) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, signed the Directions on 16 August 2007.

 

The Industry Research and Development Act 1986 may be found at:

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/0/07BD4B18D32C1845CA256F71004E523D/$file/IndResDev1986.pdf.

 

Financial Implications

 

The Directions have no financial impact.  The Directions provide a framework by which the Board provides assessments and merit ranking of eligible applications to the Program Delegate.  The Program Delegate has the final decision in determining the quantum, terms and conditions of a Commercial Ready grant.

 

Consultation

 

The Board was consulted and agreed with the Directions.

 

Stakeholder consultations on Commercial Ready Plus were held in June 2007.

 

Date of Effect

 

The Directions will be published in the Gazette on 30 August and will commence on 1 September 2007 when the particulars of the Directions have been lodged with the Federal Register of the Legislative Instruments (FRLI).

 


Note on Provisions of the Directions

 

PART 1 - PRELIMINARY

 

Name of Directions

 

Section 1

 

The Directions constitute the Commercial Ready Program Directions No.1 of 2007.  These Directions replace the Commercial Ready Program Directions No.1 of 2004.

 

Commencement

 

Section 2

 

The Directions will be gazetted on 30 August 2007 and will commence on 1 September 2007 when the particulars of the Directions have been lodged with the Federal Register of the Legislative Instruments (FRLI).

 

Object of these Directions

 

Section 3

 

The object of the Directions is to give direction to the Board in relation to an additional function of the Board, namely the provision of assessments and merit ranking of eligible applications under Commercial Ready, and the policies and practices to be followed by the Board in the performance of this additional function.

 

Interpretation

 

Section 4

 

Section 4 defines key terms used within the Directions.

 

PART 2 - ASSESSMENT AND MERIT RANKING OF APPLICATIONS

 

Procedure

 

Section 5

 

Section 5 states that the Board will undertake assessments and merit rankings of eligible applications and provide the Program Delegate with the merit ranking.  Once an application has been referred, the Board will consider the application as soon as practicable.

 


Board may decline to provide merit ranking

 

Section 6

 

This section states that the Board may decide not to provide a merit ranking in respect of a particular application that it considers does not show sufficient merit for one or more of the criteria or is not satisfied that the activities in the application are eligible activities or for an eligible project.

 

Assessment of eligible applications

 

Section 7

 

This section states that the Board must assess each application against the merit criteria outlined in the Directions, subject to the operation of section 6.

 

Merit criteria

 

Section 8

 

Section 8 sets out the 5 merit criteria against which eligible applications must be assessed.  These merit criteria are:

(1) Management capability of the applicant;

(2) Commercial potential of the project;

(3) Technical strength of the project, and technical capability and resources available to the applicant;

(4) Extent to which the project is likely to provide National Benefits; and

(5) Need for funding.

 

The Merit Criteria are used to assess and rank the applications.

 

PART 3 - ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL FOR VARIATION TO THE GRANT PROJECT

 

Section 9

 

This section states that if a grant recipient submits a proposal to the Department to vary its project, the Program Delegate may refer the request to the Board for its assessment of the proposal.

 

Section 10

 

This section states that the Board must assess the proposal as soon as practical and provide the assessment to the Program Delegate.

 

Section 11

 

This section sets out the matters the Board must determine when considering such a request for variation.

 


PART 4 – OTHER TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS

 

Section 12

 

This section states that the Program Delegate may request the Board to provide an assessment of any technical matter associated with applications, activities and any other matter relevant to a merit criterion.

 

Section 13

 

This section states that in carrying out a technical assessment, the Board will take into account any relevant policies or guidance relating to the administration of Commercial Ready that are issued under the Guidelines.

 

Section 14

 

This section states that the Board must undertake the assessment within a reasonable time and provide the assessment to the Program Delegate.

 

PART 5 – BOARD TO PROVIDE ADVICE ON POLICIES AND OPERATIONS OF THE PROGRAM

 

Section 15

 

This section states that the Board may advise the Minister or the Minister may request advice from the Board on non-financial matters relating to Commercial Ready, including program administration and the extent to which Commercial Ready is meeting its Program Objectives.

 

Section 16

 

This section states that the Board may collect and analyse data on the performance of Commercial Ready and provide advice to the Minister on such performance, and must co-operate with any independent evaluation of Commercial Ready.

 

 

 

Overview

The Industry Research and Development Act 1986 was enacted to facilitate the development of a competitive and innovative private sector through targeted funding and support mechanisms. This Act established the framework for various programs, including the Commercial Ready program, which provides matching grants to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for research and development (R&D), proof of concept, and early-stage commercialisation activities. The policy objective of the Act is to stimulate innovation and productivity growth in the private sector by offering financial support for activities that have the potential to lead to commercial outcomes. The Act was enacted by the Parliament of Australia and has been updated through legislative instruments such as the Commercial Ready Program Directions No 1 of 2007, which guide the Industry Research and Development Board in assessing and merit ranking eligible applications for funding. These Directions ensure that the Board adheres to specific merit criteria when evaluating applications, thereby maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the grant program.

Scope and Application

The Commercial Ready Program Directions No 1 of 2007, issued by the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources under the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, provide a framework for the Industry Research and Development Board (the Board) to assess and rank applications for the Commercial Ready Program. This program offers matching grants to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to stimulate innovation and productivity growth by funding research and development (R&D), proof of concept, and early-stage commercialisation activities. The Directions outline the merit criteria for assessing applications, including management capability, commercial potential, technical strength, national benefits, and funding need, and stipulate the procedures for the Board to follow in providing merit rankings to the Program Delegate. The Directions also allow the Board to assess proposals for variations to granted projects and provide technical assessments on matters relevant to the merit criteria. Additionally, the Board may offer advice on the policies and operations of the Commercial Ready Program, including performance data and cooperation with independent evaluations. These Directions apply to the Board's assessment functions under the Commercial Ready Program and will commence on 1 September 2007 following their gazette on 30 August 2007.

Key Provisions

The key provisions of the Commercial Ready Program Directions No 1 of 2007 pertain to the assessments and merit rankings of applications submitted under the Commercial Ready Program (section 5). The Board is tasked with evaluating eligible applications and providing a merit ranking to the Program Delegate, who then has the authority to approve the grant funding. The merit criteria for these assessments include the management capability of the applicant, the commercial potential of the project, the technical strength of the project and the resources available, the extent to which the project provides national benefits, and the need for funding (section 8). In addition, the Board may decline to provide a merit ranking for applications that do not meet the necessary criteria (section 6). The Directions also address the assessment of proposals for variations to the agreed project (sections 9-11) and other technical assessments that the Board may be requested to undertake (sections 12-14). Furthermore, the Board is authorised to provide advice to the Minister on non-financial matters related to the Commercial Ready Program (section 15) and to cooperate with any independent evaluations of the program (section 16). The Board has several obligations and requirements under these Directions. It must assess eligible applications against the specified merit criteria (section 7), provide the Program Delegate with a merit ranking (section 5), and undertake assessments of any technical matters requested by the Program Delegate (section 12). The Board may also be required to assess proposals for variations to the grant project (section 9) and provide advice to the Minister on the program's performance and administration (sections 15 and 16). Furthermore, the Board must decline to provide a merit ranking for applications that do not meet the criteria (section 6) and complete all assessments within a reasonable time (section 14). There are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined in these Directions. However, the failure to adhere to the assessment and merit ranking process, as well as the obligations and requirements, could potentially result in the rejection of an application or a variation to the grant project. In addition, the Board's failure to cooperate with independent evaluations of the Commercial Ready Program could lead to negative findings or recommendations that may impact the program's future funding and administration.

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