This regulation may be cited as the Rural and Regional Adjustment (COVID-19 Daintree Area Scheme) Amendment Regulation 2020.
This regulation amends the Rural and Regional Adjustment Regulation 2011.
3Amendment of s 3 (Approval of schemes—Act, s 11)
Section 3(1), ‘28 and 30 to’—
omit.
After schedule 28—
insert—section 3(1)
(1)The objective of the scheme is to support the community in the Daintree area in response to the COVID-19 emergency.(2)In this section—COVID-19 emergency means the declared public health emergency under the Public Health Act 2005, section 319(2) for COVID-19 declared on 29 January 2020, as extended and further extended under that Act.The purpose of assistance under the scheme is to benefit the community in the Daintree area by giving financial assistance to eligible entities operating from off-grid premises in the area.In this schedule—applicant means a person applying for assistance under the scheme.Daintree area means the area bounded by a line starting at the point on the northern bank of the Daintree River and the low-water mark of the Pacific Ocean then running progressively—(a)generally northerly along the low-water mark of the Pacific Ocean to the south bank of the Bloomfield River; and(b)generally southerly along the western border of the Cape Tribulation section of the Daintree National Park to the intersection with the boundary of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area; and(c)generally southerly to the point on the northern bank of the Daintree River directly opposite Kilkeary Point; and(d)generally easterly along the northern bank of the Daintree River to the starting point.eligible entity means—(a)a small business or non-profit organisation that is eligible for assistance under section 8; or(b)a household that is eligible for assistance under section 9.household means 1 or more individuals who occupy the same premises as a usual place of residence.non-profit organisation means a charity or other not-for-profit entity that is incorporated under a law of the Commonwealth or a State.off-grid premises see section 4.owner, of a small business, means a sole trader, partnership, private company or trust that carries on the business.scheme means the scheme set out in this schedule.small business see section 5.Premises are off-grid premises if—(a)the premises are not connected to the supply network under the Electricity Act 1994; and(b)the occupier of the premises is not a customer of an electricity entity for the premises under the Electricity Act 1994.(1)A small business is a business—(a)for which an entity holds an Australian Business Number; and(b)in which are employed no more than—(i)100 full-time employees; or(ii)if the business has part-time employees—100 equivalent full-time employees; and(c)that is not operated by a public company.(2)For subsection (1)(b), the number of equivalent full-time employees of a small business is worked out using the formula—where—
E means the number of equivalent full-time employees of the business.F means the number of full-time employees of the business.P means the total number of hours worked each week by employees other than full-time employees.(3)In this section—full-time employee, of a small business, means an employee who ordinarily works for at least 35 hours each week for the entity.part-time employee, of a small business, means an employee, other than a full-time employee.public company means a public company within the meaning of the Corporations Act, section 9.The nature of the assistance that may be given under the scheme is the payment of an amount to an eligible entity under section 7 for the purpose mentioned in section 2.(1)The maximum amount of assistance payable under the scheme for a household is $200.(2)The maximum amount of assistance payable under the scheme for a small business or non-profit organisation for each off-grid premises at which the business or organisation is operated is $500.8Eligibility criteria—small business or non-profit organisation
An applicant is eligible for assistance under the scheme if the authority is satisfied—(a)the applicant is—(i)the owner of a small business; or(ii)a non-profit organisation; and(b)the applicant is carrying on the small business or operations as a non-profit organisation from off-grid premises located within the Daintree area; and(c)the authority has not previously approved assistance under the scheme in relation to the off-grid premises.9Eligibility criteria—households
An applicant is eligible for assistance under the scheme if the authority is satisfied—(a)the applicant is a member of a household; and(b)the household occupies off-grid premises located within the Daintree area; and(c)the applicant has lived in the premises for at least 6 months immediately before applying for assistance under the scheme; and(d)the authority has not previously approved assistance under the scheme in relation to the off-grid premises—(i)whether the applicant or another person applied for the assistance; or(ii)whether the premises were occupied as a household or used to carry on a small business or operations as a non-profit organisation; and(e)the authority has not previously approved assistance under the scheme for the applicant as a member of a household occupying other off-grid premises.(1)An application for assistance under the scheme must—(a)be made on the form approved by the authority; and(b)be accompanied by the documents stated in the application form; and(c)be given to the authority on or before 30 June 2021.(2)If the authority asks the applicant to provide further information to decide the application, the applicant must provide the information.(1)The authority must consider, and decide to approve or refuse to approve, each application for assistance under the scheme.(2)The authority must consider applications in the order the applications are received by the authority.(3)However, for subsection (2), if the authority asks an applicant for further information under section 10(2), the applicant’s application is taken to have been received when the authority receives the further information.(4)The authority may approve an application only if the authority’s assistance funds for the scheme are sufficient to pay for the assistance.
