Commonwealth Numbered Acts

INCOME EQUALISATION DEPOSITS LAWS AMENDMENT ACT 1992 No. 238 of 1992 - SECT 9

9. After section 14 of the Principal Act the following sections are inserted:
Farm management bonds

"15.(1) Subject to this section, when making a deposit on or after 1 October
1992, the depositor may elect in the application form that the deposit, or a
specified part of the deposit, is to be a farm management bond.

"(2) Subject to this section, the depositor in respect of a deposit made
before l October 1992 may, at any time, elect that the deposit, or a specified
part of the deposit, is, after the election is made, to be a farm management
bond.

"(3) If the depositor specifies a part of a deposit, the part must be $1,000
or a multiple of $1,000.

"(4) An election under this section does not have effect:

   (a)  unless the taxable non-primary-production income of the owner of the
        deposit for the year of income in which the election is made is less
        than $50,000; and

   (b)  to the extent that it results in the total of the balances of all farm
        management bonds of the owner being more than $80,000; and

   (c)  to the extent that the amount of the deposit or the part is not
        allowable under section 159GC of the Assessment Act as a deduction
        from the assessable income of the owner.

"(5) If the authorised person is satisfied that an election was not effective
because paragraph (4)(a) or (b) was not satisfied, the authorised person must:

   (a)  advise the depositor in writing of the fact; and

   (b)  in the advice, ask whether the depositor wishes to request repayment
        of the deposit or the part of the deposit concerned under any
        provision of this Act that may be applicable.

"(6) If a deposit that consists partly of a farm management bond is repaid in
part, the repayment is taken to be made first from the part that is not a farm
management bond. Requests for repayment of farm management bonds

"15A.(1) The depositor in respect of a deposit that is wholly or partly a farm
management bond may, in accordance with this section, request the authorised
person to declare so much of the farm management bond as is specified in the
request to be repayable.

"(2) The depositor may, at any time, make the request on the ground that:

   (a)  if the depositor is a trustee who made the deposit on behalf of a
        beneficiary-the beneficiary; or

   (b)  in any other case-the depositor; is experiencing serious financial
        difficulties because of a significant fall in commodity prices, or
        because of drought, disease, fire, flood or similar natural events,
        affecting the business of primary production concerned.

"(3) If a request under subsection (2) is made on the ground of serious
financial difficulties caused by a substantial fall in commodity prices
affecting a business of primary production:

   (a)  the authorised person must not accept the request unless it is
        accompanied by evidence of the prices received by the business for
        sales of commodities comprising the major part of the beneficiary's or
        depositor's income for:

        (i)    the year ('the application year') ending at the time the
               request is made; and

        (ii)   each of the 3 years before the application year; together with
               any other evidence of the ground required by the authorised
               person; and

   (b)  unless the authorised person considers that there are special
        circumstances relating to the beneficiary or depositor or the
        commodities concerned, in order for the authorised person to be
        satisfied of the ground, the average of the prices received for the
        sales for the application year must be at least 25% below the average
        for the total period of 3 years before that year.

"(4) Subsection (3) is not intended to affect the evidence, information or
(except as mentioned in paragraph (3)(b)) considerations to be taken into
account by the authorised person in deciding whether the ground is made out.

"(5) The depositor may, within 12 months after the date on which the deposit
was made, make the request on the ground that:

   (a)  if the depositor is a trustee who made the deposit on behalf of a
        beneficiary-the beneficiary; or

   (b)  in any other case-the depositor; is experiencing serious financial
        difficulties that did not result from:

   (c)  the matters set out in subsection (2); or

   (d)  circumstances that were in existence when the deposit was made.

"(6) To be effective in a subsection (5) case, the request must be accompanied
by evidence, of a kind required by the authorised person, of the ground on
which it is made.

"(7) If the depositor makes the request under subsection (2) or (5) and the
authorised person is satisfied that the ground in the request is made out, he
or she must, in writing, declare that the deposit, to the extent that it
consists of the part of the farm management bond specified, is repayable. Once
the declaration is made, the deposit, to that extent, becomes repayable.

"(8) The depositor may, at any time after 12 months have passed since the date
on which the deposit was made, make the request without specifying any ground.
If so, the deposit, to the extent that it consists of the part of the farm
management bond specified, is repayable on the day on which the request is
made.

"(9) If the deposit or part of the deposit becomes repayable in a case where
subsection (5) or (8) applies:

   (a)  the deposit or part is taken for the purposes of this Act never to
        have been a farm management bond; and

   (b)  any interest that, because of paragraph (a), should not have been paid
        to a person is, for the purposes of section 27B, an amount that
        exceeds the amount properly payable; and

   (c)  any amount that, because of paragraph (a), should not have been paid
        into the Income Equalization Deposits Trust Account and added to the
        balance of a deposit is taken for the purposes of this Act not to have
        been so paid and added.".