Commonwealth of Australia
Industry Research and Development Act 1986
Re-tooling for Climate Change Program Ministerial Directions No. 1 of 2009
I, Kim John Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, acting under sections 18(A), 19 and 20(1) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, issue the following explanatory statement on the directions to Innovation Australia (the Board).
Dated 31 08 09 KIM CARR
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
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Explanatory Statement
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
Industry Research and Development Act 1986
Re-tooling for Climate Change Program
Ministerial Directions No 1 of 2009
General Outline and Legislative Authority
The Re-tooling for Climate Change program is a competitive based grants program delivered by AusIndustry. It aims to help small and medium sized enterprises undertaking manufacturing in Australia, reduce their environmental footprint, through projects that improve the energy and/or water efficiency of their production processes.
The program supports projects directed towards improving the energy and/or water efficiency of one or more production processes, by an organisation undertaking manufacturing activities in Australia. The program eligibility criteria, and minimum requirements for assessment of applications and management of grant contracts, are set out in Program Guidelines issued by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (the Minister).
In accordance with the provisions of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, the Minister through these Ministerial Directions has directed Innovation Australia (the Board) to assess all eligible applications to the Re-tooling for Climate Change Program. The Ministerial Directions set out the merit criteria against which eligible applications must be assessed and ranked.
In addition, they provide for the Board to assist with assessment of variation requests by grantees or with other technical matters, to provide advice to the Minister on non-financial administration matters relating to the Program, and to support evaluation of the Program.
The Ministerial Directions were first issued in August 2008. The present document includes a minor change in the definition of an “eligible project” ” to replace the reference to “a company undertaking manufacturing activities in Australia” with a reference to “an organisation undertaking manufacturing activities in Australia”. This follows an expansion of the eligibility criteria in the Program Guidelines, to include not only manufacturing companies incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001, but also other types of manufacturing businesses that incorporated in Australia under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory. This change led of necessity to a change in the definition of “eligible project” in the Program Guidelines issued by the Minister and also in the Ministerial Directions to Innovation Australia.