Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL ACT 2001 - SECT 58

             (1)  Financial assistance under section 55 in relation to a proposal for expenditure by an organisation on a research program in respect of a year to which this Division applies is paid to the organisation subject to the following conditions:

                     (a)  the sum of the amounts spent by the organisation in connection with the proposal in respect of the year (being amounts spent before the end of the year or spent after the year in respect of commitments entered into before the end of the year) must not be less than the sum of the amounts of financial assistance paid to the organisation under section 55 in relation to the proposal in respect of the year;

                     (b)  the organisation must give the Minister, not more than 6 months after the end of an accounting period of the organisation that includes part or all of the year, a statement by a qualified auditor in an approved form as to the amounts spent as described in paragraph (a) in respect of so much of the year as is included in the accounting period;

                     (c)  if the Minister informs the organisation that the Minister is satisfied that the organisation has failed to fulfil a condition applicable to the financial assistance, the organisation will pay to the Commonwealth the amount (if any) specified by the Minister, not exceeding the amount of the financial assistance;

                     (d)  if the amount of the financial assistance paid to the organisation exceeds the amount of the financial assistance that is properly payable to the organisation, the organisation will pay an amount equal to the excess to the Commonwealth;

                     (e)  despite paragraph (d), if:

                              (i)  the organisation fails to spend all of that financial assistance as required by this Division (including the other conditions) in respect of the year; and

                             (ii)  the Minister determines that this paragraph is to apply in relation to the organisation in respect of the year;

                            so much of the unspent amount as the Minister specifies will be taken to have been paid to the organisation under section 55 in respect of the next following year under similar conditions to the conditions of the original payment or under other conditions determined by the Minister;

                      (f)  the organisation will comply with any applicable additional accountability requirements specified in the governing funding rules;

                     (g)  such other conditions as the Minister imposes by notice in writing to the applicant.

             (2)  In this section:

"approved form" means a form approved in writing by the Minister for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b).

"qualified auditor" means:

                     (a)  the Auditor‑General of a State, of the Australian Capital Territory or of the Northern Territory; or

                     (b)  a person registered as a company auditor or a public accountant under a law in force in a State, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory; or

                     (c)  a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, or of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants; or

                     (d)  a person approved by the Minister in writing as a qualified auditor for the purposes of this Act.