Export Market Development Grants Amendment Act 1992

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Export Market Development Grants

Amendment Act 1992

No. 186 of 1992

An Act to amend the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974

[Assented to 17 December 1992]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

Short title etc.

1.(1) This Act may be cited as the Export Market Development Grants Amendment Act 1992.

(2) In this Act, “Principal Act” means the Export Market Development Grants Act 19741.

Commencement

2. This Act is taken to have commenced on 1 July 1992.

Interpretation

3. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following definition in subsection (1):

“ ‘eligible expenditure for a new market’ has the meaning given by section 15;”.

Eligibility for grant

4. Section 14 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by inserting in subsection (1) “and section 15” after “and (9)”;

(b) by inserting in subsection (9) “and section 15” after “and (14)”;

“; or (c) a claimant to whom section 15 applies”.

5. After section 14 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Grants in relation to new markets

“15.(1) If:

(a) a claimant (other than an approved body, approved trading house, approved joint venture or approved consortium) (‘the claimant’) has received grants in respect of 8 or more grant years; and

(b) in a subsequent grant year, the claimant has incurred eligible expenditure for new markets; and

(d) section 14 otherwise applies to the claimant in respect of that grant year;

then, because of this section, the claimant is eligible for a grant for that grant year under section 14.

“(2) Eligible expenditure is eligible expenditure for a new market only if, in the Commission’s opinion, it is directly attributable to expenses incurred by the claimant in the grant year for the purposes of undertaking qualifying export development activities for or in connection with:

(a) the supply of a particular kind of goods, services, know-how or property rights to a market that is a new market for the claimant in relation to that kind of goods, services, know-how or property rights; or

(b) the supply of a particular kind of technical services to a market that is a new market for the claimant in relation to that kind of technical services.

Note: For the meaning of ‘qualifying export development activities’, see subsection 3(1A).

“(3) Subject to subsection (5), a market is a new market for the claimant in relation to a particular kind of goods, services, know-how or

property rights only if, in the Commission’s opinion, the claimant has received export earnings in relation to that kind of goods, services, know-how or property rights:

(a) of an amount not more than $300,000 or, if the regulations prescribe another amount, not more than that amount; and

(b) for the prescribed period;

in respect of that market.

“(4) Subject to subsection (5), a market is a new market for the claimant in relation to a particular kind of technical services only if, in the Commission’s opinion, the claimant has received export earnings in relation to that kind of technical services:

(a) of an amount not more than $1,000,000 or, if the regulations prescribe another amount, not more than that amount; and

(b) for the prescribed period;

in respect of that market.

“(5) After the claimant has received grants because of this section for 3 grant years in respect of a new market in relation to a particular kind of goods, services, know-how, property rights or technical services, the market ceases to be a new market for the claimant in relation to that kind of goods, services, know-how, property rights or technical services.

“(6) Subsection (5) does not preclude the market being, in the Commission’s opinion:

(a) a new market for the claimant in relation to other kinds of goods, services, know-how, property rights or technical services; or

(b) a new market for another claimant.

“(7) In applying this section to a particular kind of eligible internal educational services, eligible internal services or eligible tourism services supplied within Australia, the services are taken to have been supplied to a market constituted by a foreign country if, in the Commission’s opinion, the services are services:

(a) supplied to residents of that country; or

(b) otherwise destined for that market.

“(8) In this section:

‘foreign country’ means a country the territory of which is outside Australia, being a country that is:

(a) an independent sovereign state; or

(b) a separate territory (whether or not it is self-governing) that is not part of an independent sovereign state;

‘goods’ means eligible goods and ‘a particular kind of goods’ means a particular kind of eligible goods specified in the regulations for the purposes of this section;

‘know-how’ means eligible know-how and ‘a particular kind of know-how’ means a particular kind of eligible know-how specified in the regulations for the purposes of this section;

‘market’ means a market constituted by a foreign country;

‘prescribed period’, in relation to a new market for a claimant in respect of a particular kind of goods, services, know-how, property rights or technical services, means:

(a) if paragraph (b) does not apply—the period of 3 years immediately before the grant year for which the claimant first makes the claim in respect of that new market in relation to that particular kind of goods, services, know-how, property rights or technical services; or

(b) if the regulations prescribe another period—that period; ‘property rights’ means eligible industrial property rights and ‘a particular kind of property rights’ means a particular kind of eligible industrial property rights specified in the regulations for the purposes of this section;

‘services’ means any of the following:

(a) eligible services (other than technical services);

(b) eligible internal educational services;

(d) eligible internal services;

(e) eligible tourism services;

and ‘a particular kind of services’ means a particular kind of any of those services specified in the regulations for the purposes of this section;

‘supply’, in relation to the supply of property rights or know-how to a market, means the disposal of the rights or know-how in that market; ‘technical services’ means eligible services that are technical services in relation to any of the following fields:

(a) construction;

(b) engineering;

(d) protection of the environment;

(e) any other fields specified in the regulations;

and ‘a particular kind of technical services’ means a particular kind of technical services specified in the regulations for the purposes of this section.”.

Amount of grant

6. Section 16 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by omitting from subsection (3) “where eligible expenditure is the eligible expenditure incurred by the claimant during that grant year.” and substituting the following:

“where eligible expenditure is:

(a) if paragraph (b) does not apply—the eligible expenditure incurred by the claimant during that grant year; or

(b) if section 15 applies to the claimant—the eligible expenditure in respect of new markets incurred by the claimant during that grant year.”;

(b) by omitting “8” from item 6 in the Table at the end of subsection (6) and substituting “8 or more”.

Carry forward of unmatched eligible expenditure

7. Section 16A of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by omitting “If from subsection (3) and substituting “Subject to subsection (8), if;

(b) by omitting “If from subsection (6) and substituting “Subject to subsection (8), if;

“(8) In applying this section to a claimant to whom section 15 applies:

(a) if the claimant had unmatched eligible expenditure for a grant year before the claimant’s ninth grant year, that unmatched eligible expenditure has no effect in relation to the claimant’s ninth grant year or any subsequent grant year under this section; and

(b) the references to the claimant’s eligible expenditure in the following provisions are taken to be references to the claimant’s eligible expenditure in respect of new markets:

(i) sub-subparagraphs (3)(b)(ii)(A) and (B);

(ii) the definition of ‘threshold shortfall’ in paragraph (4)(b);

(iii) sub-subparagraphs (6)(a)(ii)(A) and (B).”.

NOTE

1. No. 154, 1974 as amended. For previous amendments, see Nos. 36 and 192, 1978; Nos. 74 and 119, 1981; No. 157, 1982; Nos. 65, 110 and 187, 1985; No. 168, 1986; No. 141, 1987; Nos. 38 and 90, 1988; No. 27, 1990; and Nos. 8 and 66, 1991.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 4 November 1992

Senate on 24 November 1992]

Overview

The Export Market Development Grants Amendment Act 1992 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to address a gap in the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974, specifically by introducing provisions for grants related to new markets. The 1992 Act amends the Principal Act to enable claimants who have received grants for at least eight grant years and incur eligible expenditure for new markets, provided the expenditure meets a certain threshold, to be eligible for grants under the Principal Act. The policy objective is to encourage Australian businesses to expand into new markets by providing financial assistance for qualifying export development activities in those markets. This is achieved by expanding the eligibility criteria for grants to include expenditure on new markets, subject to specific conditions regarding the amount of prior export earnings and the duration of market novelty.

Scope and Application

The Export Market Development Grants Amendment Act 1992 amends the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 to introduce new provisions for the eligibility of claimants for grants in respect of new markets. This Act applies to claimants who are not approved bodies, approved trading houses, approved joint ventures, or approved consortiums and have received grants for eight or more grant years. If such claimants incur eligible expenditure of $15,000 or more in a subsequent grant year for the purposes of undertaking qualifying export development activities in a new market, they are eligible for a grant under the amended section 14 of the Principal Act. A market is considered new for the claimant if the claimant has received export earnings in that market for a particular kind of goods, services, know-how, property rights, or technical services of a prescribed amount or less for a specified period. The geographic reach of this Act is national, as it applies to claimants operating within Australia and targeting foreign markets. The Act does not specify any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds beyond those outlined in the text. The application and interpretation of the Act may be further defined through subordinate instruments.

Key Provisions

The Export Market Development Grants Amendment Act 1992 amends the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974, primarily introducing new provisions for grants relating to new markets. Section 4 of the Act clarifies that section 15, which deals with grants in relation to new markets, is now included in the eligibility criteria for grants as outlined in section 14(1) and (9) of the Principal Act. Additionally, section 15 is added to the list of criteria in section 14(10) for determining a claimant's eligibility for a grant in a given grant year. This new section specifies that a claimant who has received grants for eight or more years can apply for a grant in a subsequent year if they have incurred eligible expenditure of $15,000 or more for new markets and meet other eligibility criteria under section 14. The Act imposes several obligations on claimants seeking grants for new markets. Section 15(1) details the specific conditions a claimant must meet, including having received grants for at least eight years and incurring eligible expenditure for new markets that meets the $15,000 threshold. Eligible expenditure must be directly related to export development activities undertaken in markets that are considered new for the claimant based on their export earnings over a specified period, as outlined in section 15(2) and (3). Furthermore, section 15(5) stipulates that a market ceases to be considered new after the claimant has received grants for three consecutive years in relation to a particular kind of goods, services, know-how, property rights, or technical services. However, the same market can still qualify as new for other kinds of goods or services or for another claimant, as clarified in section 15(6). The Act outlines the consequences for non-compliance or breaches of its provisions. While the Act itself does not explicitly state penalties or specific consequences for breaches, it is understood that violations of the terms and conditions for grant eligibility or misuse of grant funds could potentially lead to legal action under the general principles of administrative law, including judicial review or penalties as prescribed under other relevant legislation, such as the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 or other applicable Acts. It is important for claimants to adhere to the Act's requirements to avoid any legal repercussions or disqualification from future grants.

Area of Law: Export & Trade Law
Instrument: Amending Act
Concepts: Commencement Provisions; Reporting & Disclosure Obligations; Regulatory Standards

Interactions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

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