Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985

Administered by Department of Agriculture

Legislation au C2004A03150 Not in force Act

Legislation content

Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985

Act No. 111 of 1985 as amended

[Note: This Act was repealed by Act No. 73 of 2008 on 3 July 2008]

This compilation was prepared on 7 March 2005
taking into account amendments up to Act No. 8 of 2005

The text of any of those amendments not in force
on that date is appended in the Notes section

The operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be
affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
AttorneyGeneral’s Department, Canberra

 

 

 

Contents

1 Short title [see Note 1]

2 Commencement [see Note 1]

3 Definitions

4 Dealing with securities deemed to be borrowing

5 Guarantee of certain loans

6 Conditions of guarantees

7 Delegation by Finance Minister

Notes

 

An Act relating to the guarantee of the repayment of money borrowed for the purposes of the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme

1  Short title [see Note 1]

  This Act may be cited as the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985.

2  Commencement [see Note 1]

  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3  Definitions

  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

Authority means the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority constituted by the Fisheries Act 1994 of Queensland.

Finance Minister means the Minister who administers the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

4  Dealing with securities deemed to be borrowing

  For the purposes of this Act, the issue of, or other dealing with, securities by the Authority in consideration of the payment of money or provision of credit shall be deemed to be a borrowing to the extent of the amount of that money or credit.

5  Guarantee of certain loans

 (1) The Finance Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, at the request of the Authority, and subject to the conditions required by this Act, guarantee:

 (a) the repayment by the Authority of amounts borrowed by the Authority for the purposes of:

 (i) making payments to persons holding licenses under the Fisheries Act 1952 in respect of the voluntary surrender of endorsements of those licences authorising the use of boats in the northern prawn fishery; and

 (ii) making payments to persons in respect of the voluntary surrender of units of fishing capacity held by those persons under that Act in relation to that fishery; and

 (iia) making payments to persons who are, or have been, the holders of units of fishing capacity under that Act in relation to that fishery in respect of the voluntary withdrawal by them of a boat or boats from fishing in that fishery; and

 (iii) reimbursing the Authority for administrative costs incurred by the Authority in relation to the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme, being costs included in a class of costs approved by the Minister; and

 (b) the payment of interest (including any interest on that interest) on amounts so borrowed.

 (2)  A guarantee or guarantees shall not be given under subsection (1) in respect of borrowings exceeding in the aggregate $40,900,000.

6  Conditions of guarantees

  For the purpose of the protection of the financial interests of the Commonwealth, the Finance Minister shall not give a guarantee under section 5 unless:

 (a) the money is borrowed on terms and conditions that the Finance Minister is satisfied are reasonable; and

 (b) such other conditions as the Finance Minister thinks necessary are fulfilled.

7  Delegation by Finance Minister

 (1) The Finance Minister may, by written instrument, delegate any of the Finance Minister’s powers or functions under section 5 or 6 to an official (within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997).

 (2) In exercising powers or functions under a delegation, the official must comply with any directions of the Finance Minister.

Notes to the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985

Note 1

The Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 111, 1985 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 22 February 2005 is not included in this compilation. For subsequent information see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act

Number
and year

Date
of Assent

Date of commencement

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985

111, 1985

21 Oct 1985

21 Oct 1985

 

Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Amendment Act 1990

123, 1990

28 Dec 1990

28 Dec 1990

Primary Industries and Energy Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 1995

36, 1995

12 Apr 1995

S. 3 (items 27, 28): 27 Jan 1995 (a)

S. 3 (item 28)

Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act 2005

8, 2005

22 Feb 2005

Schedule 2 (items 142–145, 174): Royal Assent

Sch. 2 (item 174) [see Table A]

(a) The Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985 was amended by the Primary Industries and Energy Legislation Amendment (No. 1) Act 1995, subsection 2(5) of which provides as follows:

 (5) Part 5 of the Schedule is taken to have commenced on 27 January 1995.

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

S. 3....................

am. No. 36, 1995

 

rs. No. 8, 2005

S. 5....................

am. No. 123, 1990; No. 8, 2005

S. 6....................

am. No. 8, 2005

S. 7....................

ad. No. 8, 2005

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act 2005 (No. 8, 2005)

Schedule 2

174  Saving provision—provisions that formerly referred to the Treasurer

(1) Any thing that:

 (a) was done by the Treasurer, or by a delegate of the Treasurer, before the commencing time under an affected provision; and

 (b) was in effect immediately before the commencing time;

continues to have effect after the commencing time as if it had been done by the Finance Minister under the affected provision.

(2) In this item:

affected provision means a provision that is amended by an item in this Schedule so as to replace references to the Treasurer with references to the Finance Minister.

commencing time means the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

Finance Minister means the Minister who administers the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

 

 

Overview

The Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985 was enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament to address the need for financial support for the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme. This Act allows for the guarantee of loans made to the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority for payments to license holders and others involved in the northern prawn fishery as part of a voluntary adjustment scheme. The primary policy objective was to provide financial assistance to the fishery by ensuring the availability of funds for compensation and administrative costs associated with the scheme, while also protecting the financial interests of the Commonwealth by imposing conditions on the loans guaranteed. The Act was repealed by the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act 2008 on 3 July 2008, reflecting changes in the legislative framework or the completion of its intended purpose.

Scope and Application

The Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985 is a Commonwealth Act that was enacted to provide for the guarantee of the repayment of loans borrowed by the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority for the purposes of the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme. This Act allows the Finance Minister to guarantee the repayment by the Authority of amounts borrowed for making payments to licence holders for the voluntary surrender of endorsements and units of fishing capacity, payments for voluntary withdrawal of boats from the fishery, and reimbursing the Authority for administrative costs incurred in relation to the scheme. The Act specifies that a guarantee will not be provided for borrowings exceeding $40,900,000 in aggregate and sets conditions for the protection of the Commonwealth’s financial interests, including that the borrowing terms must be reasonable and other conditions deemed necessary by the Finance Minister are met. The Act also allows for the delegation of the Finance Minister’s powers and functions under certain sections to an official, who must comply with any directions from the Minister. This Act was repealed by the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act 2005 on 3 July 2008, with provisions ensuring that actions taken by the Treasurer under the Act prior to its repeal continued to have effect as if done by the Finance Minister.

Key Provisions

The Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme Loan Guarantee Act 1985 (sections 4, 5, and 6) allows the Finance Minister to guarantee the repayment of loans borrowed by the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority (referred to as the "Authority") for specific purposes related to the Northern Prawn Fishery Voluntary Adjustment Scheme. These purposes include making payments to licensees for the voluntary surrender of fishing endorsements and units, compensating for voluntary boat withdrawals, and covering administrative costs. The total guaranteed amount cannot exceed $40,900,000. The Finance Minister may only provide such guarantees if the borrowing terms are deemed reasonable and any additional conditions the Minister considers necessary are met. The Act imposes several obligations on the parties involved. The Finance Minister must ensure that any loans guaranteed are for permissible purposes and do not exceed the specified limit (section 5). The Authority must borrow funds only for the outlined purposes and ensure that the terms and conditions of the loans meet the Finance Minister’s approval (section 6). Furthermore, the Finance Minister has the authority to delegate any of their powers or functions under the Act to an official, provided that such delegations are exercised in compliance with any directions from the Minister (section 7). Breaches of the Act may lead to civil or criminal consequences. While the Act itself does not explicitly state penalties, breaches could potentially result in legal actions under related legislation or common law principles. For instance, unauthorised use of funds or failure to adhere to the conditions set by the Finance Minister might lead to financial recovery actions or other legal remedies. The specific penalties would depend on the nature of the breach and applicable laws at the time of the offence.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Finance & Banking Law
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Commencement Provisions
Guarantee of certain loans
Delegation by Finance Minister

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

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.