Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
2002-2003
THE PARLIAMENT OF
THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry,
the Hon Warren Truss MP)
1. The “Farm Help – Supporting Families Through Change”
program is the Commonwealth’s key program for supporting farmers in severe
financial difficulties. Under Farm Help, assistance is available to low-income
farm families who cannot borrow further against their assets while they consider
their future. The program encourages these farmers to work towards improving
their farm’s financial situation, whether it is by improving their
farm’s financial performance or by obtaining off farm income, or to
re-establish themselves outside of farming.
2. The Commonwealth announced
in the 2003 Budget that it would extend all elements of the Farm Help Program.
The Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2003 will amend the
Farm Household Support Act 1992 to extend the closing date for
applications for Farm Help Income Support from 30 November 2003 to 30 June 2004
and the deadline for Farm Help Income Support payments from 30 November 2004 to
30 June 2005.
3. The Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2003
will also give effect to a number of proposed enhancements to the Farm Help
program, including:
the expansion of the requirement to
develop an Activity Plan to all applicants for the Farm Help Program (currently,
this requirement only applies to farmers whose farm businesses are assessed as
non-viable) and to allow the Activity Plan to be used to identify activities
that keep the farm in a viable position;
the amalgamation of the current
Professional Advice and Retraining grants into a single
grant;
the
introduction of a requirement for the certificate of inability to obtain
finance, which is needed to qualify for the program, to be only provided by the
finance institution that is the farmer’s primary lender;
and
provision for a certificate of inability
to obtain finance to have effect for 13 months from the date of issue and the
specification of the circumstances in which the Certificate ceases to have
effect.
4. The proposed enhancements have emanated from the on-going
monitoring of the program’s performance, a mid-term evaluation of Farm
Help conducted in 2002 and the Performance Audit of Key Agriculture-Advancing
Australia Programs undertaken by the Australian National Audit Office in 2002
and 2003.
5. It should be noted that the Instruments established under
the Farm Household Support Act 1992 are to be amended to implement other
program enhancements. The Farm Help Advice Scheme 1997 Instrument is to
be amended to specify the operational details of the combined Farm Help Advice
and Training grant. The Farm Help Re-establishment Grant Scheme 1997
Instrument is to be amended to extend the closing date
for applications for the Re-establishment Grant out to 30 June 2004 and
to clarify the eligibility criteria for the Grant so
that it is paid to farmers for whom it was intended, that is farmers who have
been and continue to be reliant on the farm for their livelihood.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
6. The proposed
amendments contained in the Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2003
will not impose any additional costs on the Commonwealth. The overall cost
of the Farm Help program in 2003-04, including the proposed enhancements, are
expected to be met from within existing budgeted expenditure
levels.
NOTES OF CLAUSES
Clause 1 –
Short Title
7. This clause provides for the Act to be called the
Farm Household Support Amendment Act 2003.
Clause 2 -
Commencement
8. Clause 2 specifies the commencement date for the
provisions in the Act. Most provisions will come into effect on the date the
Farm Household Support Amendment Act 2003 receives Royal
Assent.
Clause 3 – Schedule(s)
9. Clause 3 provides
that the amendments specified in a Schedule to the Act, and any other items in a
Schedule, are amended or repealed according to the terms of the
Schedule.
Item 1 – Subsection 3(2)
10. Item 1 provides for the
farm help advice and training scheme. The combined effect of Items 1 and
2 is to rename the farm help advice scheme, an instrument established under the
Farm Household Support Act 1992, as the farm help advice and training
scheme.
Item 2 – Subsection 3(2) (definition of farm help
advice scheme)
11. Item 2 repeals the definition of the farm help
advice scheme.
Item 3 – Subsection 3(2)
12. Item 3
provides for the definition of farm help scheme payments to include the payment
of farm help advice and training grants
Item 4 – Subsection
4(1)
13. Item 4 clarifies that the Certificate of Inability to Obtain
Finance, which is required to qualify for Farm Help Income Support, needs to be
provided by the finance institution that is the farmer’s primary
lender.
Item 5 – Subsections 4(2) and
4(3)
14. Item 5 provides for a Certificate of Inability to Obtain
Finance to have effect for 13 months from the date of issue and specifies the
circumstances in which the Certificate ceases to have effect.
Item 6
– Subsection 4(4)
15. Item 6 specifies the meaning of primary
lender in relation to the Certificate of Inability to Obtain Finance.
Item 7 – Paragraph 6B(a)
16. Item 7 extends the Farm
Help program by extending the closing date for applications for income support
from 30 November 2003 to 30 June 2004.
Item 8 – Paragraph
6B(b)
17. Item 8 extends the Farm Help program by extending the last
date for income support payments from 30 November 2004 to 30 June
2005.
Item 9 – Paragraph (9)(3)(f)
18. Item 9 omits
farm help advice scheme and substitutes farm help advice and training
scheme.
Item 10 – Section 13A
19. Item 10 omits farm
help advice scheme and substitutes farm help advice and training
scheme.
Item 11 – Subsection 13B(1)
20. Item 11
obligates the Secretary to issue a direction to everyone who makes a claim for
Farm Help Income Support to develop and act in accordance with an individual
activity plan.
Item 12 –
Subsection 13B(2)
21. Item 12 repeals the restrictions placed on the
Secretary in terms of who can be given an activity plan direction. The repeal of
this subsection enables the Secretary to issue an activity plan direction to all
applicants for Farm Help Income Support.
Item 13 – after
Paragraph 13B(3)(a)
22. Item 13 extends the scope of the Activity
Plan so that it can be used to assist a farmer to keep his or her farm in a
viable position.
Item 14 – Subsection 13B(4)
23. Item
14 omits farm help advice scheme and substitutes farm help advice and training
scheme.
Item 15 – Subsection 13B(5)
24. Item 15
provides the consequences for not complying with an Activity Plan direction to
be determined in accordance with the farm help advice and training
scheme.
Item 16 – Subsection 52A(3)
25. Item 16 omits
restart advice scheme and substitutes farm help advice and training Scheme. The
restart advice scheme is the same as the farm help advice scheme.
Item
17 – Subsections 52A(3A), (3B) and 3(C)
26. Item 17 repeals
these subsections.
Item 18 – Subsection
52A(4)
27. Item 18 omits the reference to subsection 52A(3A) as this
subsection is to be repealed.
Item 19 – Subsection
52A(4)
28. Item 19 omits restart advice scheme and substitutes farm
help advice and training scheme. The restart advice scheme is the same as the
farm help advice scheme.
Item 20 – Subsection
52A(5)
29. Item 20 omits the reference to sub-section 52A(3A) as this
subsection is to be repealed.
Item 21 – Subsection
52A(5)
30. Item 21 omits restart advice scheme and substitutes farm
help advice and training scheme. The restart advice scheme is the same as the
farm help advice scheme.
Item 22 – Part 9B
(heading)
31. Item 22 omits farm help advice scheme from the heading
and substitutes farm help advice and training scheme.
Item 23 –
Subsection 52B(1)
32. Item 23 enables the Minister, by written
instrument, to formulate a scheme to be known as the farm help advice and
training scheme. This item also specifies the purposes for which assistance may
be provided under the scheme.
Item 24 – Subsection 52B(2)(d) and
(e)
33. Item 24 allows the Minister to specify, in the farm help
advice and training scheme, the types of training for which the farm help advice
and training grant may be used and the people who may provide this training.
Item 25 – Subsection 52B(3)(a)
34. Item 25 omits
restart and substitutes farm help.
Item 26 – Subsection
52B(3)(b)
35. Item 26 omits the reference to subsection 52A(3A) as
this subsection is to be repealed.
Item 27 – Subsection
52B(3)(c)
36. Item 27 provides that the farm help advice and training
scheme specifies the method for determining the consequences of not complying
with a direction made by the Secretary that relates to obtaining advice or
developing an activity plan.
Item 28 – Subsection
53(4)
37. Item 28 omits farm help advice scheme and substitutes farm
help advice and training scheme.
Item 29 – Subsection 53A(8)
38. Item 29 omits farm help advice scheme and substitutes farm help
advice and training scheme.
Item 30 – Definitions
39. Item 30 defines
commencement and Principal Act for the purposes of Part 2 of the Farm
Household Support Amendment Bill 2003.
Item 31 –
Certificates of Inability to Obtain Finance
40. Item 31 states that
the amendments relating to the Certificate of Inability to Obtain Finance apply
to Certificates issued after the commencement date. This Item also provides for
Certificates in effect immediately prior to the commencement date to be valid
for 13 months from the date of issue. Such certificates would cease to have
effect if a finance institution makes a loan available to the farmer or if farm
help income support ceases to be paid.
Item 32 – Extension of
Farm Help Income Support
41. Item 32 allows for persons who applied
for Farm Help Income Support before or after the commencement date to receive
farm help income support up to 30 June 2005 (subject to the other provisions of
the Act relating to the payment of Farm Help Income Support).
Item 33
– Activity Plan Directions under Section 13B
42. Item 33
provides for amendments relating to Activity Plan directions to apply to claims
for Farm Help Income Support made after commencement. This item also provides
for the continued effect, after commencement, of any Activity Plan directions
that were issued by the Secretary prior the commencement date, as if the
amendments to Section 13B had not been made.
Item 34 – Activity
plan directions under farm help re-establishment grant scheme
43. Item 34 provides for amendments relating to Activity Plan
directions under the Farm Help Re-establishment grant scheme to apply to claims
for re-establishment grant made after commencement. This item also provides for
the continued effect, after commencement, of subsections 52(3A), (3B) and (3C)
in relation to claims for re-establishment grant, the provisions of the farm
help re-establishment grant scheme and any activity plan directions established
under the scheme that were in force immediately before commencement, as if the
repeal of these subsections had not been made.
Item 35 – Farm
help advice and training scheme
44. Item 35 provides for the
continued effect of the farm help advice scheme after commencement, despite the
repeal of this subsection. This item also provides for the amendments to the
farm help advice scheme to apply to claims for the farm help advice and training
grant made after commencement. At the same time, farmers who were eligible for
assistance under the farm help advice scheme or the retraining grant under the
farm help re-establishment grant scheme immediately before commencement are
eligible to receive the farm advice and training grant. However, the Secretary
may give an Activity Plan direction to these farmers if they seek payments of
the farm advice and training grant. Any such Activity Plan direction is to be
taken to be an Activity Plan direction given under subsection
13B(1).
Item 36 – Application of Item 27
45. Item 36
states that the method for determining the consequences of not complying with
directions made by the Secretary specified in the farm help advice and training
scheme will apply to breaches, made after commencement, of directions given
before and after commencement.
Item 1 – Item 51 of Schedule 1
46. Item 1 is a
statute law revision amendment to correct an error in Item 51 of Schedule 1 of
the Farm Household Support Amendment Act 2000.
Social
Security Act 1991
Item 2 – Subsection 23(1) (definition
of Farm Household Support Act 1992)
47. Item 2 omits farm help advice
scheme from the definition of Farm Household Support Act 1992 contained in the
Social Security Act 1991and substitutes farm help advice and training
scheme.
Item 3 – Application of Item 2
48. Item 3
states that Item 2 will apply to claims for Farm Help Income Support that are
made after the commencement of this item.