{"id":"tas:act-1984-098","name":"Business Undertakings Assistance Act 1984","slug":"business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"98 of 1984","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":109920,"registerId":"tas-act-1984-098-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Business Undertakings Assistance Act 1984](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1984-098) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This Act shall be deemed to have commenced on 12th September 1984.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 3 Interpretation\n\n> In this Act, ***business undertakings*** includes –\n> \n> > > (a) the provision of services;\n> > \n> > > (b) the carrying on of agricultural, pastoral, forestry, horticultural, apicultural, orcharding, dairy farming, poultry farming, or horse farming pursuits; and\n> > \n> > > (c) the carrying on of such other activities as may be prescribed by the regulations.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Assistance to certain persons engaged in business undertakings","content":"### 4 Assistance to certain persons engaged in business undertakings\n\n> > (1)  The Treasurer may provide financial assistance, by way of grants, loans, or both, to persons engaged in business undertakings who, the Treasurer considers –\n> > \n> > > > (a) are adversely affected by economic conditions;\n> > > \n> > > > (b) are suffering disadvantages by reason of competition from other persons outside this State who receive special concessions by way of reduced taxation or otherwise; or\n> > > \n> > > > (c) by reason of any financial, economic, manpower, or other conditions or circumstances affecting them, should be provided with such assistance.\n> \n> > (2)  Financial assistance provided under this Act shall be provided on such terms and conditions as the Treasurer may determine or as may be specified in any agreement relating to the provision of that assistance.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recovery of loans and grants in certain circumstances","content":"### 5 Recovery of loans and grants in certain circumstances\n\n> > (1)  Where a person contravenes or fails to comply with a term or condition applicable to any financial assistance provided to him under this Act –\n> > \n> > > > (a) if that assistance is by way of a grant – the grant, or, if the Treasurer so determines, any part of the grant specified by him, becomes payable immediately by that person to the Treasurer; or\n> > > \n> > > > (b) if that assistance is by way of a loan – the whole of that loan or such part of it as is then outstanding, as the case may be, and any interest owing under the agreement for the loan become payable immediately by that person to the Treasurer.\n> \n> > (2)  Any money that is payable under [subsection (1)](#GS5@Gs1@EN) by a person to the Treasurer constitutes a debt due to the Crown and may be recovered by or on behalf of the Treasurer in a court of competent jurisdiction.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Expenses of Act","content":"### 6 Expenses of Act\n\n> > (1)  Financial assistance provided under this Act shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament for the purpose.\n> \n> > (2)  Any money appropriated by Parliament for expenditure during the financial year beginning on 1st July 1984 or a subsequent financial year for the purpose of providing assistance to persons engaged in business undertakings who are referred to in [section 4](#GS4@EN) [(1)](#GS4@Gs1@EN) may be applied for the purpose of providing assistance under this Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"### 7 Regulations\n\n> > (1)  The Governor may make regulations for the purposes of this Act.\n> \n> > (2)  In addition to regulations for the purposes of [section 3](#GS3@EN) [(c)](#GS3@Hpc@EN) and without prejudice to the generality of [subsection (1)](#GS7@Gs1@EN) , the Governor may make regulations for or with respect to –\n> > \n> > > > (a) prescribing the manner and form in which applications for the provision of financial assistance under this Act may be made; and\n> > > \n> > > > (b) requiring the verification of those applications by statutory declaration or declaration.\n> \n> > (3)  Regulations under this section may be made subject to such conditions, or be made so as to apply differently according to such factors, as may be specified in the regulations or according to such limitations or restrictions, whether as to time or circumstance or otherwise, as may be so specified.\n> \n> > (4)  *\\[Section 7 Subsection (4) amended by No. 43 of 1991, s. 5 and Sched. 1 \\]*Regulations under this section may provide that it is an offence, punishable on summary conviction, for a person to contravene or fail to comply with any of the regulations and may provide in respect of any such offence for the imposition of a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.\n> \n> > (5)  A regulation under this section may authorize any matter or thing to be from time to time determined, applied, or regulated by any person specified in the regulation.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears to remain within its original scope as a targeted business assistance scheme. The broad definition of 'business undertakings' and the discretionary criteria in section 4(1)(c) ('any financial, economic, manpower, or other conditions') provided significant flexibility from inception, suggesting the original intent was always to give the Treasurer wide latitude. No evidence of scope creep through subsequent amendments is visible in the provided text."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 sections total, with minimal cross-referencing","Single defined term ('business undertakings') with an inclusive (non-exhaustive) definition covering services and agriculture","Straightforward conditional structure in section 4: three alternative grounds for assistance, any one of which suffices","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions","Simple binary recovery mechanism in section 5 (grant vs loan) with immediate acceleration on breach","Standard regulation-making powers in section 7, including a penalty provision capped at 10 penalty units","Minimal appropriations language in section 6 — standard 'money provided by Parliament' formula"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act gives the **Treasurer** (the state's chief finance minister) the power to hand out **government money** to businesses that are struggling. The help can come as:\n- **Grants** (money you don't pay back), or\n- **Loans** (money you do pay back), or\n- Both.\n\n**Who can get the money?**\n\nThe Treasurer can give assistance to people running **\"business undertakings\"** — a broad term that covers:\n- Service businesses (like consultants, tradespeople, etc.)\n- Farms of almost every type (cattle, sheep, crops, forestry, orchards, bees, dairy, chickens, horses)\n- Any other activities the government adds later via regulations.\n\n**Why would a business qualify?**\nThe Treasurer has wide discretion. A business might get help if they are:\n- **Hit by bad economic conditions** (recessions, downturns, etc.)\n- **Losing out to competitors from other states** who get tax breaks or other advantages\n- **Facing financial, economic, or staffing problems** that the Treasurer thinks justify assistance.\n\n**The catch — strings attached:**\n- The Treasurer sets whatever **terms and conditions** they want.\n- If a business breaks those rules, the money can be **clawed back immediately**:\n  - Grants become repayable (in full or part, at the Treasurer's choice)\n  - Loans become due immediately (the whole balance plus interest)\n- Unpaid money becomes a **debt owed to the Crown** (the government) and can be chased through the courts.\n\n**How it's funded:**\nMoney comes from **Parliamentary appropriations** — meaning the legislature has to budget for it.\n\n**Rule-making power:**\nThe **Governor** (acting on ministerial advice) can make regulations covering:\n- How to apply for assistance\n- Requiring formal declarations (statutory declarations) to verify applications\n- Creating offences with fines (up to 10 penalty units) for breaking the rules\n- Delegating decisions to specified officials.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a **discretionary bailout mechanism** — a blank cheque for the Treasurer to prop up struggling businesses during economic hardship. It reflects 1980s concerns about interstate competition and regional economic stress, giving ministers sweeping power to pick winners and losers with minimal procedural constraints."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The supplied text does not show an alteration to the Act’s stated scope. The Act defines eligible activities and empowers the Treasurer to provide assistance and the Governor to make regulations (ss 3–4, 7), preserving original scope while permitting extension of activities by regulation (s 3(c))."},"complexity_factors":["Broad discretionary power of the Treasurer to decide eligibility and terms for assistance (s 4(1)–(2)) increases unpredictability for applicants.","Wide statutory definition of “business undertakings” with an open-ended regulation hook to add activities (s 3(c)) enlarges possible scope.","Immediate recovery mechanics for breaches convert grants/loans into enforceable Crown debts, involving court recovery processes (s 5(1)–(2)).","Funding is tied to Parliamentary appropriation but can reuse earlier appropriations, creating reliance on annual budgeting (s 6).","Regulation‑making powers allow detailed application, verification and penalty rules (including summary offence/fine), shifting implementation detail to subordinate instruments (s 7(1)–(4)).","Regulations may delegate determinations to specified persons, introducing additional administrative discretion (s 7(5)).","Commencement clause deems an earlier start date, which may affect retrospective eligibility or payments (s 2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act allows the Treasurer to give financial assistance (grants or loans) to people carrying on defined “business undertakings” — including various farming and service activities and any others prescribed — when they are harmed by economic conditions, unfair outside competition, or other qualifying circumstances (ss 3–4). Assistance must be funded from Parliamentary appropriations (s 6), is given on Treasurer‑set terms (s 4(2)), becomes repayable on breach (s 5), and is subject to Governor‑made regulations including application and verification rules and penalties (s 7)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient legislative text was provided to assess whether the scope of the Act changed from its original 1984 intent. The metadata indicates amendments have been made, but without access to the substantive provisions or amendment history details, no meaningful comparison between original and current scope is possible."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient legislative text provided — only metadata and administrative information is available, making meaningful complexity assessment impossible","The Act appears to be a relatively narrow, single-purpose piece of state legislation","Long period of stability (unchanged since at least 1997) suggests limited accumulated complexity from amendments","Business assistance legislation can involve eligibility criteria, ministerial discretion, and financial conditions — but none of these are visible in the provided text"],"plain_english_summary":"The Business Undertakings Assistance Act 1984 (Tas) is a state law that authorises the Tasmanian government to provide financial or other support to business undertakings operating in or affecting Tasmania. It affects businesses seeking aid and the agencies that administer it, because it supplies the legal basis for grants, loans, guarantees or similar assistance. The summary material lacks the Act’s detailed provisions, so eligibility and limits aren’t shown."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984","history":"/api/acts/business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984/history","analysis":"/api/acts/business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/business-undertakings-assistance-act-1984/documents"}}