{"id":"C2004A05142","name":"Export Market Development Grants (Repeal and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997","slug":"export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"44 of 1997","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":27196,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A05142-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"##### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Export Market Development Grants (Repeal and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"##### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on 1 July 1997.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Repeal and amendments","content":"## Part 2—Repeal and amendments","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Schedule(s)","content":"##### 3 Schedule(s)\n\n  Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Transitional provisions","content":"## Part 3—Transitional provisions","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"##### 4 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In this Part:\n\n> new Act means the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997.\n\n  (2) Unless the contrary intention appears, expressions used in this Part that are also used in the new Act have in this Part the same meaning as in that Act.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Approved body etc. under the repealed Act to continue to exist","content":"##### 5 Approved body etc. under the [Repealed] Act to continue to exist\n\n  (1) An approval of a person as an approved body under section 40B of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997:\n    (a) continues to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and cancelled, as if it were an approval of the person as an approved body under section 89 of the new Act; and\n    (b) continues to have effect until:\n    (i) the third anniversary of the approval; or\n    (ii) if the third anniversary of the approval occurs or has occurred before the day 3 months after the commencement of this subparagraph—that day;\n    (unless cancelled sooner).\n  (2) An approval of a person as a trading house under section 40BA of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997:\n    (a) continues to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and cancelled, as if it were an approval of the person as a trading house under section 89 of the new Act; and\n    (b) unless sooner cancelled, continues so to have effect until the day on which it would have ceased to be in force under the repealed Act if that Act had not been repealed.\n  (3) An approval of a group of persons as an approved joint venture or approved consortium under section 40BD of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997:\n    (a) continues to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and cancelled, as if it were an approval of the group as a joint venture under section 89 of the new Act; and\n    (b) unless sooner cancelled, continues so to have effect until the day on which it would have ceased to be in force under the repealed Act if that Act had not been repealed.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Guidelines relating to approved trading houses etc.","content":"##### 6 Guidelines relating to approved trading houses etc.\n\n  Any guidelines under section 41 or 42 of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997 continue to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and revoked, as if they were guidelines made under paragraph 101(1)(c) of the new Act.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application for approval as a trading house etc.","content":"##### 7 Application for approval as a trading house etc.\n\n  (1) Any application for approval as a trading house, as a joint venture or consortium, or as an approved body, under the repealed Act that was pending when that Act was repealed, is taken, for the purposes of the new Act, to be an application for approval as a trading house, as a joint venture or as an approved body (as the case may be) made under section 88 of the new Act on 1 July 1997.\n  (2) Any questions asked by Austrade before 1 July 1997 of the person that made the application under the repealed Act, and any answers to those questions given before that date, are taken to be questions asked and answers given on 1 July 1997 for the purposes of the application that is taken to have been made under section 88 of the new Act.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Cancellation of approval as trading house etc.","content":"##### 8 Cancellation of approval as trading house etc.\n\n  (1) An invitation under paragraph 40BC(2)(c) or 40BG(2)(c) of the repealed Act to make a written submission to Austrade within a period that ends on or after 1 July 1997 is taken to be an invitation issued on that day under paragraph 91(1)(b) of the new Act.\n  (2) Any submission received by Austrade before 1 July 1997 as a result of any invitation referred to in subsection (1) is to be treated as a submission received on 1 July 1997 for the purposes of section 91 of the new Act.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Determination limiting the number of approved joint ventures of which a person may be a member","content":"##### 9 Determination limiting the number of approved joint ventures of which a person may be a member\n\n  A determination under section 40BH of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997 continues to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and revoked, as if it were a determination made under section 92 of the new Act.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Registration for purposes of new Act","content":"##### 10 Registration for purposes of new Act\n\n  (1) If a person was registered under section 13I of the repealed Act for the grant year commencing on 1 July 1996, the person is taken to be registered for the purposes of the new Act under section 19 of that Act.\n  (2) If a person:\n    (a) had applied, under section 13I of the repealed Act, to be registered for the grant year commencing on 1 July 1996; but\n    (b) had not been so registered before 1 July 1997;\n  Austrade must, as soon as practicable, register the person for the purposes of the new Act under section 19 of that Act.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Determination for purposes of grants entry test","content":"##### 11 Determination for purposes of grants entry test\n\n  A determination under section 13K of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997 continues to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and revoked, as if it were a determination made under section 21 of the new Act.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Grants entry test for grant year 1996‑97","content":"##### 12 Grants entry test for grant year 1996‑97\n\n  (1) If:\n    (a) a person had taken a grants entry test under the repealed Act; but\n    (b) Austrade had not decided before 1 July 1997 whether the person had passed the test;\n  the person is to be treated, for the purposes of the new Act, as having taken the test under section 20 of that Act.\n  (2) Any request under subsection 13L(2) of the repealed Act for information to be given to Austrade within a period that ends on or after 1 July 1997 is taken to be a request made on that day under section 22 of the new Act.\n  (3) Any information given to Austrade before 1 July 1997 as a result of a request referred to in subsection (2) is to be treated as information received on that day for the purposes of section 22 of the new Act.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Change in ownership of business etc.—principles relating to the exemption of claimants from relevant provisions","content":"##### 13 Change in ownership of business etc.—principles relating to the exemption of claimants from relevant provisions\n\n  Any principles under section 19A of the repealed Act that had effect immediately before 1 July 1997 continue to have effect on and after that day, and may be varied and revoked, as if they were guidelines made under paragraph 101(1)(d) of the new Act.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Person applying for grant in respect of grant year 1996‑97 and previous year","content":"##### 14 Person applying for grant in respect of grant year 1996‑97 and previous year\n\n  (1) This section applies if a person that is not a grantee in respect of any previous year applies for a grant in respect of the grant year commencing on 1 July 1996.\n  (2) In working out the person’s eligible expenses, expenses incurred by the person during the previous year are to be excluded if they were incurred in respect of an eligible promotional activity carried out for an approved promotional purpose relating to eligible external services that were not eligible services for the purposes of the repealed Act.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"Schedule 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Repeal","content":"# Schedule 1—Repeal\n\n##### Export Market Development Grants Act 1974\n\n1 The whole of the Act\n\n  Repeal the Act.\n\n2 Continued application of repealed Act\n\n  (1) Despite its repeal, the repealed Act continues to apply to:\n    (a) a claimant whose claim for a grant under that Act had not yet been finalised immediately before 1 July 1997; and\n    Note: For claim not being finalised see subitem (3).\n    (b) a person that would, but for the repeal of that Act, have been permitted by Austrade to submit a claim in respect of a claim period under subsection 13(2B) of that Act; and\n    (c) a person to whom a grant was payable under the repealed Act immediately before 1 July 1997; and\n    (d) a person that was, immediately before 1 July 1997, indebted to Austrade under section 39A or 40 of that Act; and\n    (e) a person that was, immediately before 1 July 1997, liable to be prosecuted, or against whom a prosecution was at that time pending, for an offence against that Act.\n  (2) In so far as it applies to a person because of subitem (1), the repealed Act has effect as if the definition of grant year in subsection 3(1) of that Act did not include:\n    (a) the year commencing on 1 July 1996; or\n    (b) a subsequent year.\n  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a claim for a grant under the repealed Act is taken not to be finalised so long as:\n    (a) Austrade has not made a determination under section 12 of that Act whether the claimant is entitled to a grant; or\n    (b) such a determination by Austrade in respect of the claimant, or a decision of a court affecting that determination, may still be, or is, subject to a review by, or an appeal to, another court.\n  (4) In this item:\n\n> Austrade means the Australian Trade Commission established by section 7 of the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985.\n\n> court includes the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.\n\n> repealed Act means the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974.","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"Export Market Development Grants Act 197","sectionType":"section","heading":"Export Market Development Grants Act 1974","content":"##### Export Market Development Grants Act 1974\n\n1 The whole of the Act\n\n  Repeal the Act.\n\n2 Continued application of repealed Act\n\n  (1) Despite its repeal, the repealed Act continues to apply to:\n    (a) a claimant whose claim for a grant under that Act had not yet been finalised immediately before 1 July 1997; and\n    Note: For claim not being finalised see subitem (3).\n    (b) a person that would, but for the repeal of that Act, have been permitted by Austrade to submit a claim in respect of a claim period under subsection 13(2B) of that Act; and\n    (c) a person to whom a grant was payable under the repealed Act immediately before 1 July 1997; and\n    (d) a person that was, immediately before 1 July 1997, indebted to Austrade under section 39A or 40 of that Act; and\n    (e) a person that was, immediately before 1 July 1997, liable to be prosecuted, or against whom a prosecution was at that time pending, for an offence against that Act.\n  (2) In so far as it applies to a person because of subitem (1), the repealed Act has effect as if the definition of grant year in subsection 3(1) of that Act did not include:\n    (a) the year commencing on 1 July 1996; or\n    (b) a subsequent year.\n  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a claim for a grant under the repealed Act is taken not to be finalised so long as:\n    (a) Austrade has not made a determination under section 12 of that Act whether the claimant is entitled to a grant; or\n    (b) such a determination by Austrade in respect of the claimant, or a decision of a court affecting that determination, may still be, or is, subject to a review by, or an appeal to, another court.\n  (4) In this item:\n\n> Austrade means the Australian Trade Commission established by section 7 of the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985.\n\n> court includes the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.\n\n> repealed Act means the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974.","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"Schedule 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Amendment of the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985","content":"# Schedule 2—Amendment of the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985\n\n1 Subsection 3(3)\n\n  Omit “1974” (wherever occurring), substitute “1997”.\n\n2 At the end of section 3\n\n  Add:\n  (4) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997 includes a reference to the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 to the extent that that Act continues to apply because of item 2 of Schedule 1 to the Export Market Development Grants (Repeal and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997.\n\n3 Section 6\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n> Note: The heading to section 6 is altered by omitting “1974” and substituting “1997”.\n\n4 Subparagraph 8(a)(viii)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n5 Subsection 10(3)\n\n  Omit “other application for a benefit”, substitute “application for a grant or other benefit”.\n\n6 Subsection 10(3)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n7 Subsection 10(4)\n\n  Omit “a claim”, substitute “an application”.\n\n8 Subsection 10(4)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n9 Subsection 13(3)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n10 Subsection 23(3)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n11 Subsection 30(1)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n12 Subsection 71(1)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n13 Section 90\n\n  Omit “1974” (wherever occurring), substitute “1997”.\n\n14 Paragraph 92(1)(b)\n\n  Omit “1974”, substitute “1997”.\n\n15 Paragraph 94(4)(b)\n\n  After “Export Market Development Grants Act 1974”, insert “or the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997”.\n\n16 At the end of paragraph 94(4)(c)\n\n  Add “or the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997”.\n\n17 Subsection 94(5)\n\n  Omit “or the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974”, substitute “, the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 or the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997”.","sortOrder":19}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act changes the legal governing framework by repealing the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 and shifting administration to the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997 (Schedule 1, item 1; s 1). It preserves a limited set of existing approvals, pending applications, claims, debts and prosecutions so they continue under the new regime or, in specified respects, under the old Act (ss 5–14; Schedule 1, item 2). Concretely, the repeal narrows the ongoing applicability of the 1974 Act (it is treated as not covering the grant year commencing 1 July 1996 or later for persons to whom the repealed Act continues to apply (Schedule 1, item 2(2))), while transferring administrative control and discretion to Austrade under the 1997 Act (ss 5, 6, 10)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple targeted transitional rules converting approvals, applications and guidelines from the repealed Act to the new Act (ss 5–14)","Date‑specific treatments (commencement 1 July 1997; special rules for grant year commencing 1 July 1996) that require case‑by‑case temporal analysis (s 2; Schedule 1 item 2(2); s 10; s 14)","Cross‑references between the repealed Act and the new Act throughout the Part and Schedules, requiring mapping of old provisions to new equivalents (ss 4–14; Schedule 2)","Preservation of ongoing legal processes (claims, debts, prosecutions) under the repealed Act with limits — legal status depends on whether matters were finalised before repeal (Schedule 1, item 2(1)–(3))","Amendments to a separate statute (Australian Trade Commission Act 1985) to change internal references, increasing the number of statutes involved (Schedule 2)"],"plain_english_summary":"# What this Act does\n\n- Mechanically, the Act repeals the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 (Schedule 1, item 1) and brings into force transitional and consequential rules to move administration to the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997 (short title s 1; commencement s 2).  It amends the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985 to update references from the 1974 Act to the 1997 Act (Schedule 2, items 1–17).\n\n- The Act does not leave people and administrative actions in limbo. It preserves particular approvals, registrations, guidelines, determinations, pending applications, claims and related debts or prosecutions that existed immediately before 1 July 1997, and treats them as continuing under the new Act or as otherwise specified (see ss 4–14 and Schedule 1, item 2). Examples:\n  - An approval as an approved body, trading house, joint venture or consortium that was in force immediately before 1 July 1997 continues and may be varied or cancelled as if it were an approval under the new Act; each category has specific expiry or continuation rules (s 5).\n  - Guidelines and principles in force under the old Act continue and may be varied or revoked as if they were made under the new Act (s 6; s 13).\n  - Applications and related correspondence or questions that were pending are taken to have been made or asked under the corresponding provisions of the new Act on 1 July 1997 (s 7, s 8, s 12).\n  - Registrations for the grant year beginning 1 July 1996 under the old Act are taken to be registrations under the new Act; Austrade must register applicants who had applied but were not yet registered (s 10).\n  - The repealed Act continues to apply to certain persons (for example, claimants with unresolved claims, persons owed grants, people indebted under sections of the repealed Act, and persons subject to proceedings) but, for those persons, the repealed Act is taken not to cover the grant year commencing 1 July 1996 or later (Schedule 1, item 2(1)–(3)).\n\n# Who this affects and who decides\n\n- Affected parties: businesses and persons who had approvals, registrations, pending applications, unresolved claims, outstanding debts or prosecutions under the 1974 Act immediately before 1 July 1997 (Schedule 1, item 2(1)).  Also applicants for grants in the 1996–97 grant year who were not previously grantees (s 14).\n\n- Decision-maker and administrator: Austrade (defined in Schedule 1, item 4) is the agency referenced throughout. Austrade is given explicit tasks (for example, to register applicants under the new Act (s 10(2)), to receive submissions treated as made under new provisions (s 8), and to ask and record questions/answers treated as made under the new Act (s 7(2))). Approvals, guidelines and determinations can be varied or revoked \"as if\" made under the new Act (s 5, s 6, s 9, s 11).\n\n# Why this matters (stated purpose and practical trade‑offs)\n\n- The Act’s operative effect is continuity: it shifts legal administration from the 1974 statute to the 1997 statute while carrying over existing administrative decisions, pending processes and certain legal obligations so those matters continue without automatic loss because of repeal (see ss 5–14; Schedule 1, item 2).\n\n- Testing that continuity against costs, incentives and trade‑offs using the Act’s text:\n  - Continuity reduces risk that pending claims, approvals and registrations would be invalidated by repeal (Schedule 1, item 2; ss 5, 7, 10). That reduces legal uncertainty for affected claimants and for Austrade as administrator.\n  - Austrade retains discretion to vary or cancel approvals and guidelines under the new Act framework (s 5, s 6). That preserves administrative flexibility but also concentrates decision power in the agency (textual support: ss 5–6). The Act does not set new substantive grant rules; it converts or preserves existing administrative instruments into the new statutory framework.\n  - For applicants and businesses, the primary compliance effects are administrative: pending applications, questions/answers and tests are treated as carried over to the new Act (ss 7, 10, 12). This reduces the need for re‑filing but may require dealing with new procedural requirements under the 1997 Act as determined by Austrade.\n  - The Act preserves outstanding financial relationships: people owed grants and people indebted under the repealed Act continue to be covered (Schedule 1, item 2(1)(c)–(d)). That preserves creditor/debtor positions rather than extinguishing them by repeal.\n  - The Act narrows the temporal scope of the repealed Act for continuing cases by treating the repealed Act as not covering the grant year commencing 1 July 1996 or later for persons to whom it continues to apply (Schedule 1, item 2(2)). That is a concrete limit: the old Act’s coverage for future grant years is removed, while past entitlements/proceedings are preserved.\n  - Specific substantive impacts on who can claim particular expenses are preserved or adjusted: for a person who is not a previous grantee but applies for the 1996–97 year, certain expenses from the previous year are excluded where they related to external services that were not eligible under the repealed Act (s 14). That changes how eligible expenses are calculated for that category of applicant.\n\n# Practical implications and implementation risk\n\n- Administrative burden is concentrated on Austrade to register, convert and continue matters under the new Act (s 10(2), ss 5–8). The Act places clear obligations on Austrade to treat pending matters as if dealt with under the new Act.\n- The conversion language \"continues to have effect ... as if ... under the new Act\" (repeated in ss 5, 6, 9, 11 and Schedule 1) aims to avoid legal gaps; however, relying on that conversion creates implementation work to ensure each approval, guideline or determination fits the new statutory categories and time limits (for example, s 5(1)(b) sets a specific maximum continuation period for certain approvals).\n\n# Net effect on private enterprise, competition and choice (text‑based observation)\n\n- The Act is primarily administrative and transitional: it keeps existing approvals and pending actions alive and transfers them into the new statutory framework. It does not, in its text, introduce new grant policy, change pricing, or reallocate ownership rights. It may impose procedural adjustments on applicants and gives Austrade continuing discretion to vary or cancel approvals (ss 5–6). For most businesses, the immediate effect is continuity rather than a substantive change in grant entitlements, except where specific rules (for example s 14 or the grant‑year limitation in Schedule 1, item 2(2)) alter eligibility calculations or temporal reach of the repealed Act.\n\nSources in the Act: short title (s 1); commencement (s 2); transitional provisions (ss 4–14); Schedule 1 (repeal and continued application); Schedule 2 (amendments to the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: managing the legislative transition between the 1974 and 1997 Export Market Development Grants schemes. The scope has not expanded beyond consequential amendments necessary for this repeal-and-replace operation."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-references between the repealed 1974 Act and the new 1997 Act (the 'new Act' is defined and referenced throughout)","Nested transitional provisions with time-specific cut-off dates (1 July 1997) and conditional continuation periods (e.g., 'third anniversary' rules in section 5)","Dual-application mechanism in Schedule 1 item 2 where the repealed Act continues to apply to specific categories of people despite being repealed","Defined terms used across multiple Acts (Austrade, repealed Act, new Act, court) requiring careful tracking","Mechanical amendment schedule (Schedule 2) with 17 specific textual substitutions across the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation is a 'clean-up' law that manages the switchover from the old Export Market Development Grants scheme (from 1974) to a new one (from 1997). It does three main things:\n\n**1. Repeals the old 1974 Act**\n- The old Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 is abolished, but with important exceptions to protect people already in the system.\n\n**2. Saves existing rights and applications**\n- If you had an approval, registration, pending application, or outstanding claim under the old law, this Act ensures you don't lose your place. Your approvals continue as if they were made under the new 1997 Act (though some have time limits).\n- Pending applications are treated as if they were lodged under the new Act.\n- Any ongoing legal proceedings or debts under the old Act continue to be governed by the old rules.\n\n**3. Updates references in other laws**\n- The Australian Trade Commission Act 1985 is amended to replace all references to the '1974' Act with '1997', ensuring Austrade (the Australian Trade Commission) can administer the new scheme properly.\n\n**Who it affects:** Australian exporters who received or applied for government grants to help market their products overseas, as well as Austrade staff administering the scheme.\n\n**Why it matters:** Without this Act, the transition between the old and new grant schemes would have created a legal mess—people with pending applications might have had to start over, and existing approvals might have vanished. This ensures continuity while allowing the modernised 1997 scheme to take over."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act does exactly what its title advertises: it repeals the old 1974 Export Market Development Grants Act and makes the consequential (flow-on) amendments needed to keep related legislation consistent. The transitional provisions are a standard and expected feature of any repeal-and-replace exercise. There is no evidence of scope creep or departure from the original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple Acts (the repealed 1974 Act, the new 1997 Act, and the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985), requiring the reader to consult several pieces of legislation simultaneously","Transitional provisions with precise date-based conditions (1 July 1997 cutoffs) that require careful tracking of whether events occurred before or after the transition","Multiple categories of affected persons (approved bodies, trading houses, joint ventures/consortia, registered claimants, debtors, defendants) each with slightly different transitional rules","The old Act is partially preserved ('zombie legislation') for certain purposes while being simultaneously repealed — a conceptually tricky arrangement","Deeming provisions that treat past events (applications, questions, submissions) as having occurred on a different date for legal purposes","Technical legislative amendment machinery in Schedule 2 (substituting year references) that requires knowledge of the parent Act to fully understand"],"plain_english_summary":"## What This Law Does\n\nThis Act is essentially a **housekeeping law** — it tidies up the legal landscape when the old Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 was replaced by a new version (the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997) on 1 July 1997.\n\n**Export Market Development Grants (EMDG)** are government payments that help Australian businesses cover the costs of promoting their goods and services overseas — things like overseas travel, advertising, and trade fair participation.\n\n## Who Does It Affect?\n\nThis law matters to:\n- **Businesses that had already applied for grants** under the old law and were still waiting on a decision when the new law kicked in\n- **Businesses that owed money** to Austrade (the Australian Trade Commission, the government body that runs the grant program) under the old law\n- **Trading houses, joint ventures, and approved bodies** (groups of companies banding together to export) whose approvals were granted under the old law\n- **Anyone facing legal action** under the old law at the time of the switch\n\n## What Does It Actually Do?\n\n1. **Repeals the old 1974 Act** — but not completely. The old rules still apply to anyone with unfinished business under that Act (pending grant claims, debts, prosecutions, etc.)\n\n2. **Carries over existing approvals** — If your business was already approved as a trading house, joint venture, or approved body under the old law, that approval keeps working under the new law. You don't have to reapply.\n\n3. **Carries over pending applications** — If you had applied for approval but hadn't heard back yet, your application is automatically treated as if it was made under the new law.\n\n4. **Carries over registrations** — If you were registered for the 1996-97 grant year under the old law, you're automatically registered under the new law too.\n\n5. **Updates references** in related legislation (the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985) to point to the new 1997 Act instead of the old 1974 Act.\n\n## The Bottom Line\n\nIf you had any dealings with the Export Market Development Grants program before 1 July 1997, this law ensures you're not left in legal limbo — your rights, obligations, and applications are smoothly transferred to the new system without you having to start over."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997","history":"/api/acts/export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997/history","analysis":"/api/acts/export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/export-market-development-grants-repeal-and-consequential-provisions-act-1997/documents"}}