(1) The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated for the purposes of payments by the Commonwealth under section 5.
Overall limit for dairy service payments
(2) For dairy service payments, the total limit on the appropriation is the sum of:
(a) the total amount of new dairy levy amounts; and
(b) the total amount of old dairy levy amounts.
Overall limit for matching payments
(3) For matching payments, the total limit on the appropriation is the sum of:
(a) the total amount of new dairy levy amounts; and
(b) the total amount of old dairy levy amounts ; and
(c) amounts prescribed by the regulations.
(3A) Subsection ( 3) does not apply if the eligible body is prescribed by the regulations as a body to which the subsection does not apply.
Matching payments--retention limit
(4) The matching payments made to the eligible body during a particular financial year are subject to the condition that, if:
(a) before the end of 31 October next following the financial year, the Minister determines the amount of the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia in the financial year; and
(b) as at the end of 31 October next following the financial year, the sum of the matching payments that were paid to the eligible body during the financial year exceeds the lesser of:
(i) 0.5% of the amount of the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia in the financial year as determined by the Minister; and
(ii) 50% of the amount spent by the eligible body in the financial year on activities that qualify, under the funding contract, as research and development activities;
the eligible body will pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the excess.
Note: This ensures that the sum of the matching payments that are retained by the eligible body in relation to the financial year does not exceed the lesser of the amounts calculated under subparagraphs ( b)(i) and (b)(ii).
(4A) If:
(a) before the end of 31 October next following a financial year, the Minister has not determined under subsection ( 4) the amount of the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia in the financial year; and
(b) the Minister has determined under subsection ( 4) the amount of the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia in the previous financial year;
the Minister is taken to have made, immediately before the end of that 31 October, a determination under subsection ( 4) that the amount of the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia in the financial year is equal to the amount of the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia determined under subsection ( 4) for the previous financial year.
(4B) An amount payable under subsection ( 4) by the eligible body:
(a) is a debt due to the Commonwealth; and
(b) may be recovered by the Minister, on behalf of the Commonwealth, by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(4C) A determination made under subsection ( 4) is not a legislative instrument.
(5) For the purposes of subsection ( 4), the regulations may prescribe the manner in which the Minister is to determine the gross value of whole milk produced in Australia in a financial year.
Matching payments--unmatched R&D excess
(6) If there is an unmatched R&D excess for a financial year, the amount spent by the eligible body in the following financial year on activities that qualify, under the funding contract, as research and development activities is taken, for the purposes of this section (including for the purposes of this subsection and subsection ( 7)), to be increased by the amount of the unmatched R&D excess.
Note: This means that research and development expenditure that is not "50% matched" in one financial year because of the condition in subparagraph ( 4)(b)(i) can be carried forward into later years.
(7) For the purposes of subsection ( 6), there is an unmatched R&D excess for a financial year if:
(a) the eligible body spends a particular amount (the R&D spend amount ) in the financial year on activities that qualify, under the funding contract, as research and development activities; and
(b) because of the operation of subparagraph ( 4)(b)(i) , the net matching payments for the financial year are less than 50% of the R&D spend amount;
and the amount of the unmatched R&D excess is:
Set off
(8) If:
(a) an amount (the first amount ) is payable by the eligible body under subsection ( 4); and
(b) another amount (the second amount ) is payable by the Commonwealth to the eligible body under the funding contract;
the Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, set off the whole or a part of the first amount against the whole or a part of the second amount.
Net matching payments
(9) For the purposes of this section, net matching payments for a financial year means the total of the matching payments made to the eligible body during the financial year, less the amount payable by the eligible body under subsection ( 4) as a condition of those matching payments.