New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FARM DEBT MEDIATION ACT 1994 - SECT 4

4 Definitions

(1) In this Act:
"Authority" means the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority constituted by the Rural Assistance Act 1989 .
"creditor" means a person to whom a farm debt is for the time being owed by a farmer.
"default", in relation to a farm mortgage, means failure to perform an obligation that, under the terms of the mortgage, is a ground for enforcement action.

Note: Examples of default on the part of a farmer include failure to pay the principal, interest or other money the payment of which is secured by a farm mortgage; failure to keep the property subject to the farm mortgage insured; and failure to submit financial statements required by the creditor.

"enforcement action", in relation to a farm mortgage, means taking possession of property under the mortgage or any other action to enforce the mortgage, including the giving of any statutory enforcement notice, or the continuation of any action to that end already commenced, but does not include:

(a) the completion of the sale of property held under the mortgage in respect of which contracts were exchanged before the commencement of this Act, or

(b) the enforcement of a judgment that was obtained before the commencement of this Act.

"exemption certificate" means a certificate of exemption from enforcement action that is issued under section 9B.
"farm" means land on which a farmer engages in a farming operation.
"farm debt" means a debt incurred by a farmer for the purposes of the conduct of a farming operation that is secured wholly or partly by a farm mortgage.
"farm machinery" means:

(a) a harvester, binder, tractor, plough or other agricultural implement, or

(b) any other goods of a class commonly used for the purposes of a farming operation that are prescribed by the regulations as being farm machinery for the purposes of this Act,

if the goods are acquired for the purposes of a farming operation.
"farm mortgage" includes any interest in, or power over, any farm property securing obligations of the farmer whether as a debtor or guarantor, including any interest in, or power arising from, a hire purchase agreement relating to farm machinery, but does not include:

(a) any stock mortgage or any crop or wool lien, or

(b) the interest of the lessor of any farm machinery that is leased.

"farm property" means:

(a) a farm or part of a farm, or

(b) farm machinery used by a farmer in connection with a farming operation, or

(c) an access licence (within the meaning of the Water Management Act 2000 ) held by a farmer in connection with a farming operation.

"farmer" means a person (whether an individual person or a corporation) who is solely or principally engaged in a farming operation and includes a person who owns land cultivated under a share-farming agreement and the personal representatives of a deceased farmer.
"farming operation" means:

(a) a farming (including dairy farming, poultry farming and bee farming), pastoral, horticultural or grazing operation, or

(b) any other operation prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.

"function" includes a power, authority or duty.
"Heads of Agreement", in relation to a mediation, means heads of agreement referred to in section 11AA.
"hire purchase agreement" has the same meaning as it has in the Duties Act 1997 .
"mediator" means a mediator for the time being accredited by the Authority pursuant to arrangements instituted by the Authority under this Act, and "mediation" means mediation by such an accredited mediator.
"statutory enforcement notice" means:

(a) a notice under section 57 (2) (b) of the Real Property Act 1900 , or

(b) a notice under section 111 (2) (b) of the Conveyancing Act 1919 , or

(b1) a notice under section 71X (1) (b) of the Water Management Act 2000 , or

(c) a notice, given under any Act or statutory instrument, that is prescribed by the regulations as being within the scope of this definition.

(1A) A reference in this Act to "satisfactory mediation" is a reference to:

(a) a mediation that has achieved a resolution of a farm debt dispute, or

(b) a mediation that has proceeded as far as it reasonably can in an attempt to achieve a resolution of a farm debt dispute but has nevertheless failed to resolve the dispute, or

(c) a mediation specified or of a class described in regulations made for the purposes of this subsection to be a satisfactory mediation.

(2) This Act extends to:

(a) a farm mortgage that was entered into before the commencement of section 6, and

(b) a liability or obligation that arose under a farm mortgage before the commencement of section 6.