EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Export Market Development Grants (Information and Document Requirements) Instrument 2018
Authority
The Export Market Development Grants (Information and Document Requirements) Instrument 2018 is made by the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) under section 73A of the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997 (the EMDG Act).
Purpose
This legislative instrument details the information and documents that must be provided by an applicant who has elected grants Option B as its export performance measure, for the purposes of paragraphs 70(2C)(f) and (g) of the EMDG Act.
Background
The EMDG Act provides for grants to eligible Australian businesses which have incurred eligible expenses promoting the export of their Australian goods, services, intellectual property rights and know-how. The grant is a partial reimbursement of the expenses incurred.
If an applicant has received a grant for two or more grant years, it must meet an export performance measure. If the applicant has elected grants Option B, in order to prove it meets the Australian Net Benefit Requirements, it must provide information and documents to support its claim. This Instrument details this information and documents.
Decisions in relation to whether an applicant meets the information and document requirements are subject to review in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Commencement
The Instrument is made to repeal and replace the Export Market Development Grants (Information and Document Requirements) Determination 2008 which is due to sunset on 1 October 2018.
In remaking this instrument, the nature of the document required at 4(1)(ba) of the instrument has been changed. The repealed instrument required an opinion of the applicant’s export potential; whereas the remade instrument requires a statement of the applicant’s projected export earnings. This is a more realistic and practical description of the document. The statement is still required to be based on the matters detailed in the repealed instrument, and it still needs to be prepared by a person who is a registered company auditor.
The Guidelines apply when working entitlement to a grant in respect a grant made on or after 1 July 2018.
Consultation
Austrade conducted extensive stakeholder consultations before remaking this instrument. All stakeholder responses supported the proposed change to this instrument.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required (reference: OBPR ID 22807).
This Guideline is a Legislative Instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
This Guideline is compatible with human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment A.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Export Market Development Grants (Information and Document Requirements) Instrument 2018
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2001.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The Legislative Instrument details the documents an applicant must provide to Austrade when it has elected grants Option B in order to prove it meets the Australian Net Benefit Requirements.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.