Commonwealth Numbered Acts

RURAL INDUSTRIES RESEARCH ACT 1985 No. 102, 1985 - SECT 4

4. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

"acting Chairperson" means-

   (a)  in relation to a Research Council or State Research Committee-the
        person appointed to act as Chairperson of that Research Council or
        State Research Committee under sub-section 15 (1);

   (b)  in relation to the Selection Committee-the person appointed to act as
        Chairperson of the Selection Committee under sub-section 49 (1); and

   (c)  in relation to the Special Research Council-the person appointed to
        act as Chairperson of the Special Research Council under sub-section
        15 (1) in its application by virtue of section 39;

"animal" means any member, alive or dead, of the animal kingdom, other than
man;

"annual research and development program" means-

   (a)  a program required to be developed by a Research Council or State
        Research Committee in accordance with section 27; or

   (b)  a program required to be developed by the Special Research Council in
        accordance with section 27 in its application by virtue of section 39;

"appoint" includes re-appoint;

"appropriate Minister", in relation to a State, means the Minister of the
Crown of the State who has primary responsibility for agricultural matters and
includes a Minister of the Crown of State of that State acting on behalf of
that Minister;

"Chairperson" means-

   (a)  in relation to a Research Council or State Research Committee-the
        Chairperson of that Research Council or that State Research Committee;

   (b)  in relation to the Selection Committee-the Chairperson of the
        Selection Committee; and

   (c)  in relation to the Special Research Committee-the Chairperson of the
        Special Research Committee;

"goods" means-

   (a)  an animal or a plant, or a part of an animal or a plant; or

   (b)  an article or a substance derived from an animal or a plant, whether
        or not in combination with any other article or substance;

"government member" means-

   (a)  in relation to a Research Council-the person appointed under section
        14 to be the government member of that Research Council; and

   (b)  in relation to the Special Research Council-the person appointed under
        section 14 in its application by virtue of section 39 to be the
        government member of the Special Research Council;

"plant" means any member, alive or dead, of the plant kingdom;

"prescribed organization" means an organization that is declared by the
Minister, by notice published in the Gazette pursuant to sub-section (6), to
be a prescribed organization;

"relevant industry organization", in relation to goods of a particular kind or
kinds, means an organization that is declared by the Minister, by notice
published in the Gazette pursuant to sub-section 5 (3), to be a relevant
industry organization in relation to goods of that kind or those kinds;

"research and development", in respect of goods generally or goods of a
particular kind or kinds, means systematic experimentation or analysis in any
field of science, technology or economics carried out with the object of-

   (a)  acquiring knowledge that may be of use for the purpose of improving
        any aspect of the production, processing, storage, transport or
        marketing of goods generally or goods of that kind or those kinds; or

   (b)  applying knowledge for the purpose referred to in paragraph (a);

"research and development activity", in respect of goods generally or goods of
a particular kind or kinds, means-

   (a)  a research and development project in respect of goods generally or
        goods of that kind or those kinds;

   (b)  the training of persons to carry out research and development in
        respect of goods generally or goods of that kind or those kinds;

   (c)  the dissemination of information, or the provision of advice and
        assistance, to persons who, or organizations that, are engaged in any
        aspect of the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing
        of goods generally or goods of that kind or those kinds for the
        purpose of encouraging those persons or organizations to follow
        practices, or to adopt technical developments, designed or adapted to
        improve the operation or efficiency of that aspect of production,
        processing, storage, transport or marketing;

   (d)  the publication of reports, periodicals, books or papers containing
        information that is related to research and development in respect of
        goods generally or goods of that kind or those kinds; or

   (e)  an activity incidental to an activity referred to in paragraph (a),
        (b), (c) or (d);

"research and development plan" means-

   (a)  a plan developed by a Research Council or State Research Committee and
        approved by the Minister in accordance with section 23 or that plan as
        varied in accordance with section 24 or 25; or

   (b)  a plan developed by the Special Research Council and approved by the
        Minister in accordance with section 23 in its application by virtue of
        section 39 or that plan as varied in accordance with section 24 or 25
        in its application by virtue of section 39;

"research and development project", in respect of goods generally or goods of
a particular kind or kinds, means a project for research and development in
respect of goods generally or goods of that kind or those kinds;

"research component", in relation to a levy that is declared by regulations
made for the purposes of section 5 to be a prescribed levy or that is included
in a class of levies that is declared by regulations made for the purposes of
that section to be a prescribed class of levies, means-

   (a)  if that levy is referred to in column 1 of a Part of Schedule 1-so
        much of that levy as is described in column 2 of that Part opposite to
        the reference to the levy in column 1; or

   (b)  if that levy is not referred to in column 1 of any Part of Schedule
        1-so much of that levy as is declared by the regulations made for the
        purposes of section 5 to be the research component of that levy;

"Research Council" means a council established under sub-section 11 (1), (2),
(3) or (4);

"Research Fund" means a research fund established under sub-section 6 (1),
(2), (3) or (4);

"Selection Committee" means the Research Councils Selection Committee
established by this Act;

"Special Research Fund" means the Australian Special Rural Research Fund
established under sub-section 32 (1);

"Special Research Council" means the Australian Special Rural Research Council
established by sub-section 33 (1);

"State Research Committee" means a research committee established for a State
by sub-section 12 (1) or (2).

(2) For the purposes of this Act-

   (a)  where the Chairperson of a Research Council or State Research
        Committee, of the Selection Committee or of the
        Special Research Council is a man, he may be referred to as the
        Chairman of the Council or Committee of which he is the Chairperson;
        and

   (b)  where the Chairperson of a Research Council or State Research
        Committee, of the Selection Committee or of the
        Special Research Council is a woman, she may be referred to as the
        Chairwoman of the Council or Committee of which she is the
        Chairperson.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, a research and development activity in
respect of goods generally or goods of a particular kind or kinds shall be
taken to have been specified by a Research Council, a State Research Committee
or the Special Research Council in an annual research and development program
that has been prepared by that Council or Committee if that activity is
included within a class of research and development activities in respect of
goods generally or goods of that kind or those kinds that are described in
that program as activities of a kind that that Council or Committee is
prepared to fund.

(4) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

   (a)  a reference to an aspect of the marketing of goods generally or of
        goods of a particular kind or kinds shall be construed as not
        including the promotion of goods generally or of goods of that kind or
        those kinds, as the case may be; and

   (b)  a reference to a levy shall be construed as a reference to any tax,
        whether that tax is designated as a levy, a tax or a charge, that is
        imposed by an Act.

(5) Where goods of a particular kind, being goods in respect of which a levy
is imposed, are grown, reared or maintained, either wholly or partly, to
enable the production of goods of another kind, a reference in this Act,
either by express words or by implication, to research and development, to a
research and development activity, or to a research and development project,
in respect of goods of that kind, shall be construed as including a reference
to research and development, to a research and development activity, or to a
research and development project, in respect of goods of that other kind, as
the case requires.

(6) The Minister-

   (a)  shall, by notice published in the Gazette, declare an organization
        that is, or organizations that are, concerned with the production,
        processing, storage, transport or marketing of goods in respect of
        which research and development activities are likely to be funded from
        the Special Research Fund, to be, with effect from 1 January 1986, a
        prescribed organization or prescribed organizations; and

   (b)  may, by notice published in the Gazette, vary any declaration made
        pursuant to paragraph (a) or, by virtue of a previous application of
        this sub-section, pursuant to this paragraph, with effect from a day
        specified in the notice, by declaring another such organization to be,
        with effect from that last-mentioned day, a prescribed organization in
        lieu of an organization that had previously been declared under this
        sub-section to be a prescribed organization or in addition to the
        organization or organizations that had previously been declared under
        this sub-section to be a prescribed organization or
        prescribed organizations.