A Bill for an Act to amend the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Australian Sports Commission Amendment (Ensuring a Level Playing Field) Act 2020.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
| Commencement information |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. The whole of this Act | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Australian Sports Commission Act 1989
1 After section 57A
Insert:
57AA Community sport infrastructure grants
Definitions
(1) In this section:
eligibility criteria means the eligibility criteria outlined in the document entitled Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program – Program Guidelines August 2018.
Note: The document could in 2020 be viewed on the Commission’s website (https://www.sportaus.gov.au/grants_and_funding/community_sport_infrastructure_grant_program/resources).
unsuccessful CSIG applicant means an applicant under the grant program known as the Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program that had its application endorsed by the Commission but that application did not receive final approval by the Minister.
Commission to reassess community sport infrastructure grant applications
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Commission must decide in relation to the application of each unsuccessful CSIG applicant whether, as at the date this section commences:
(a) the application meets the eligibility criteria; or
(b) the application does not meet the eligibility criteria.
(3) The Commission must not decide that an application does not meet the eligibility criteria because the relevant project specified in the application has already commenced works if those works:
(a) have not yet been completed; and
(b) commenced after the unsuccessful CSIG applicant was notified by the Commission that the application had not been approved.
Commission to decide grant amounts
(4) If the Commission decides that the application of an unsuccessful CSIG applicant meets the eligibility criteria, the Commission must decide the grant amount to be awarded in relation to that application (the relevant grant amount).
(5) In determining the relevant grant amount for an application, if the unsuccessful CSIG applicant commenced works on the project relating to its application after it was notified by the Commission that its application had not been approved, the Commission may decide to award a grant amount of no more than the amount required to complete the works on the project.
Commission may require information to be provided by applicants
(6) The Commission may require an unsuccessful CSIG applicant to provide any information to the Commission that the Commission considers necessary for the Commission to decide:
(a) whether the application of the unsuccessful CSIG applicant meets the eligibility criteria; and
(b) the relevant grant amount.
Commission to provide reasons for decisions
(7) If the Commission decides that:
(a) the application of an unsuccessful CSIG applicant does not meet the eligibility criteria; or
(b) the relevant grant amount is zero;
the Commission must, as soon as practicable after making the decision, give the unsuccessful CSIG applicant written reasons for the decision.
Minister may not direct Commission
(8) The Minister may not give written directions to the Commission with respect to the policies and practices to be followed by the Commission in relation to any of the matters set out in this section.
Financial assistance to States and Territories
(9) The Commission may determine that an amount specified in the determination be paid to a State or Territory specified in the determination for the purpose of making a grant of financial assistance for the purpose of expenditure in relation to community sport infrastructure projects.
(10) The amount specified in a determination in respect of a State or Territory must be equal to the sum of the relevant grant amounts relating to applications for projects located in the State or Territory plus an additional amount of 20 per cent of the sum of the grant amounts in relation to applications relevant to the State or Territory.
(11) A determination under subsection (9) must identify each community sport infrastructure project and the relevant grant amount in relation to the project.
(12) A determination under subsection (9) is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the determination.
(13) Financial assistance is payable to a State or Territory under this section on condition that the State or Territory is required to pay to each unsuccessful CSIG applicant the relevant grant amount relating to the application of the unsuccessful CSIG applicant as identified in any determination made under subsection (9).
Repayment if condition not fulfilled
(14) It is a condition of a payment of financial assistance under this section that if the State or Territory does not fulfil a condition in respect of the payment, the State or Territory will, if the Minister so determines, repay to the Commonwealth the amount stated in the determination.
(15) The amount stated in the determination under subsection (14) must not be more than the amount of the payment.
(16) A determination made under subsection (14) is not a legislative instrument.
(17) An amount payable by a State or Territory to the Commonwealth under this section is a debt due by the State or Territory to the Commonwealth.
2 After subsection 43(2)
Insert:
(3) Payments under section 57AA are to be made out of money appropriated by the Parliament for those purposes.