Purpose:

The purpose of this legislation is to establish the Regional Investment Corporation to administer farm business loans and financial assistance for water infrastructure projects on behalf of the Commonwealth, and to administer other programs prescribed by rules.

Objectives:

• To administer farm business loans, including providing, determining terms, taking security, charging costs, managing, enforcing, and reviewing loans.
• To administer financial assistance to States and Territories for water infrastructure projects.
• To set and adjust interest rates applicable to loans and financial assistance.
• To provide advice to the responsible Ministers on the Corporation’s activities.
• To provide advice and assistance to borrowers and prospective borrowers.
• To administer programs prescribed by the rules.
• To ensure the proper, efficient and effective performance of the Corporation’s functions.

Key Provisions:

• Establishment of the Regional Investment Corporation as a body corporate with a seal and powers to acquire, hold, and dispose of property, and to sue and be sued.
• Delineation of the Corporation’s core functions: administering farm business loans and financial assistance for water infrastructure projects, and administering prescribed programs.
• Requirement for the Corporation to perform its functions in a proper, efficient, and effective manner.
• Mandate for the responsible Ministers to issue an “Operating Mandate” through legislative instrument, providing directions to the Corporation on the performance of its functions, including objectives, strategies, eligibility criteria, and financial arrangements.
• Prohibition on the Operating Mandate from directing the Corporation on particular farm business loans or specific loans under prescribed programs.
• Provisions for responsible Ministers to give other written directions regarding classes of farm business loans or specific water infrastructure project agreements.
• Establishment of the Board of the Corporation to decide strategies and policies, ensure effective performance, and appoint the Chief Executive Officer.
• Specification of Board member qualifications, including experience in agribusiness, banking, water infrastructure, rural industries, economics, finance, government funding, law, or drought resilience.
• Establishment of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Corporation and signing loan agreements.
• Authority for the Corporation to employ staff and engage consultants.
• Provisions stating that parties to a loan must comply with its terms and conditions.
• Authority for the Corporation to charge and recover transaction costs incurred in relation to loans.
• Exemption of the Corporation from income tax and State/Territory taxation where the Commonwealth is also exempt.
• Powers of delegation for the Corporation, Board, and CEO.
• Requirement for a review of the Act’s operation to be finalised by 1 July 2024, considering the Corporation’s scope and governance post-30 June 2026.
• Power for responsible Ministers to make rules for the Act’s implementation.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Agricultural organisations must satisfy “relevant lending criteria” to be eligible for farm business loans provided by the Corporation, as determined by the Board in accordance with its strategies and policies, and potentially specified in the Operating Mandate. The specific documentation or action needed to satisfy these criteria is not detailed in this Act, but would be outlined in the Corporation’s policies and loan application processes.
• Any agricultural organisation that is a party to a loan provided by the Corporation must comply with all the “terms and conditions of the loan” (Section 46). This implies ongoing adherence to loan agreements, repayment schedules, and any other stipulations set forth in the loan contract. Specific actions or documentation would be as per individual loan agreements.
• Agricultural organisations may be charged for “transaction costs incurred by the Corporation in relation to the loan” (Section 47). If such costs are charged, the agricultural organisation is required to pay them, as they constitute “a debt due to the Corporation” and are “recoverable by the Corporation in a court of competent jurisdiction.”

Metadata Keywords:

Regional Investment Corporation, farm business loans, water infrastructure, agricultural finance, rural development, government loans, Australia, drought resilience, agribusiness.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 1 September 2019 Version number: Compilation No. 1

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Beef & Veal, Chicken, Coarse Grains, Cotton, Dairy, Eggs, Fisheries, Forestry, Horticulture, Oilseeds, Pig, Sheep Meat, Sugar, Wheat, Wine, Wool.

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2018A00006/2019-09-01/2019-09-01/text/original/pdf →