EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Dairy Produce Act 1986
Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 Variation (No. 8)
Clause 37B of Schedule 2 of the Dairy Produce Act 1986 requires the Minister formulate a scheme - the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme - to grant payment rights to eligible entities.
Subsection 13 (1A) of the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 allows the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to make eligibility determinations for discretionary payment rights to eligible entities at any time after 1 January 2003.
Section 37Y of Schedule 2 of the Dairy Produce Act 1986 allows the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme to be varied.
OUTLINE
The purpose of the Variation is to remove the Minister’s authority to make eligibility determinations for discretionary payment rights under the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001. The Variation is required to formally close the Dairy Industry Adjustment Program.
CONSULTATION
Dairy Australia Limited has been consulted about this Variation. Dairy Australia is the dairy industry services body and trustee of the Dairy Structural Adjustment Fund into which receipts from the Dairy Adjustment Levy were appropriated and used for Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 payments.
EXPLANATION
The Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 formed part of the Dairy Industry Adjustment Program, which was introduced in 2000 to assist dairy farmers, their families and dairy dependant communities to adjust to deregulation.
The Dairy Industry Adjustment Program was funded by the Dairy Adjustment Levy which was applied to retail sales of drinking milk from 8 July 2000 until 22 February 2009. Levy receipts were held in the Dairy Structural Adjustment Fund.
The Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 allowed for additional quarterly payments to dairy farmers who were most heavily impacted by deregulation. Three types of payment rights were offered:
- basic milk payment rights;
- additional market milk payment rights; and
- discretionary payment rights (which allowed the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to make payments to farmers affected by a significant event, crisis or anomalous circumstances).
The application period for the basic market milk and additional market milk payment rights has closed and no further payments can be made. There is no time limit on the Minister’s authority to grant discretionary payment rights to eligible entities.
Final payments under the Dairy Industry Adjustment Program were made to farmers in April 2008 and the Dairy Adjustment Levy was terminated from 23 February 2009. The Dairy Structural Adjustment Fund is expected to be closed by 30 June 2009.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for the declaration (OBPR ID: 9790).
The Variation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Details of the Variation are as follows:
Section 1 provides the name of the Variation to be Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 Variation (No.8).
Section 2 provides that the Variation commences on the day after it is registered.
Section 3 provides that the Variation varies the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Item 1 provides that subsection13 (1A) applies only until this variation commences. Section 13 (1A) sets out the requirements for the Minister to determine whether a discretionary grant under the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme can be made.
Item 2 provides that the Minister can no longer make discretionary grants under the Supplementary Dairy Assistance Scheme 2001 after this variation comes into effect.