{"id":"F2009L01628","name":"Green Car Innovation Fund Directions No. 1 of 2009","slug":"green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":78412,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2009L01628-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Green Car Innovation Fund Directions No. 1 of 2009","content":"Commonwealth of Australia\n\nIndustry Research and Development Act 1986\n\nGreen Car Innovation Fund Directions No 1 of 2009\n\nI, Kim John Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, acting under subsections 18A, 19 and 20 (1) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, give the following directions to Innovation Australia (the Board).\n\nDated 24 04 09\n\nKIM CARR\n\nMinister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nPART 1 - PRELIMINARY\n\nName of directions\n\n1.  These directions are the Green Car Innovation Fund Directions No 1 of 2009.\n\nCommencement\n\n2. These Directions will commence on the day after the day they are registered on the Federal Register of the Legislative Instruments.\n\nObject of these directions\n\n3. The object of this instrument is to give directions to the Board in relation to:\n\n(a) an additional function of the Board, namely the provision of technical assessments and merit ranking of eligible applications under the Green Car Innovation Fund; and\n\n(b) the policies and practices to be followed by the Board in the performance of the function.\n\nInterpretation\n\n4. In these directions, unless the contrary intention applies:\n\nagreed project activities means the activities that are specified in an agreement.\n\nagreement means an agreement between a recipient and the Commonwealth for grant funding under the program, as amended from time to time in accordance with the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines and these Directions.\n\n  \napplicant means an entity that makes an application to the Green Car Innovation Fund.\n\n  \nDepartment means the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.\n\neligible activities means:\n\n(a) research and development (R&D) activities; and/or\n\n(b) proof-of-concept activities; and/or\n\n(c) early-stage commercialisation activities; and/or\n\n(d) pre-production development activities;\n\nthat are carried out in Australia and aimed at achieving the program policy objectives described at clause 3 of the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines.\n\neligible application means an application for grant funding under the program, that is an application that the Program Delegate has determined is eligible for technical assessment and merit ranking by the Board in accordance with the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines.\n\nGreen Car Innovation Fund (GCIF) means the competitive merit-based grants program, that is administered by the Department, and that is designed to enhance research and development and the commercialisation of Australian technologies that significantly reduce fuel consumption and/or greenhouse gas emissions of passenger motor vehicles in accordance with these Directions and the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines.\n\nGreen Car Innovation Fund Guidelines means the guidelines that are made by the Minister to the Department, as in force from time to time, for the delivery of the GCIF.\n\nMinister means the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.\n\npassenger motor vehicle means a passenger vehicle as defined in section 4.3 of Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule – Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005, and variants of such vehicles, to a gross vehicle mass up to 3.5 tonnes.\n\nprogram refers to the GCIF unless otherwise indicated.\n\nProgram Delegate means an employee of the Department who has been empowered by the Minister, or otherwise duly authorised, to carry out the relevant function in respect of the program.\n\nproject means a project that:\n\n(a) directly relates to the creation, acquisition, application or commercialisation of knowledge, technology, process materials or products which:\n\n1.  are new or additional to the grantee; and\n2.  significantly reduce fuel consumption and/or greenhouse gas emissions of passenger motor vehicles; and\n\n(b) involves eligible activities.\n\nproposed project activities mean all eligible activities that are proposed to be undertaken by or on behalf of the applicant.\n\nrecipient means an entity that is entitled to receive funding under the program pursuant to an agreement between the entity and the Commonwealth.\n\nIn these directions, ‘may’ is permissive and not mandatory.\n\nPART 2 – ASSESSMENT AND MERIT RANKING OF APPLICATIONS\n\nProcedure\n\n5. (a) Subject to clause 6, the Board will assess eligible applications and provide a merit ranking of those applications to the Program Delegate.\n\n(b) The Board must consider eligible applications as soon as practicable after those applications have been provided to the Board.\n\nBoard may decline to provide merit ranking\n\n6. The Board may decide to refuse to provide a merit ranking in respect of a particular applicant if it is not satisfied:\n\n(a) with the level of merit of an eligible application in relation to one or more of the merit criteria; or  \n(b) that the activities described in the eligible application are eligible.\n\nAssessment of applications\n\n7. Subject to clause 6, the Board must assess each eligible application on its merit according to the extent to which the application meets the merit criteria.\n\nMerit criteria\n\n8. The merit of eligible applications must be assessed against the following criteria:\n\nCriterion 1: The extent of the reduction in passenger motor vehicle fuel consumption and/or greenhouse gas emissions arising from the proposed project.\n\nThe applicant may indicate merit by demonstrating:\n\na) the extent of improvements in passenger motor vehicle fuel consumption; and/or\n\nb) the extent of reduction in passenger motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.\n\n  \n\nCriterion 2: The technical merit and extent and calibre of innovation generated in Australia by the proposed project.\n\nThe applicant may indicate merit by demonstrating:\n\na) technical capacity to undertake the project, including:\n\n(i) adequate infrastructure, facilities and equipment available to meet the short and long-term requirements of the project;\n\n(ii) a good understanding of technical product development, testing and production start-up;\n\n(iii) appropriately skilled technical staff, and sub-contractors; and\n\n(iv) a well-articulated project plan, including activities, methodologies and milestones linked to a feasible timeframe and budget;\n\nb) a strong track record in the project field;\n\nc) the degree of innovation evident in the project described in terms of being:\n\n(i) new to the firm\n\n(ii) new to the Australian automotive industry\n\n(iii) new to Australia or\n\n(iv) new to the world;\n\nd) the degree of technical risk, or that the project is building on prior work that has an appropriate level of technical risk, and strategies or collaborative arrangements to manage those risks.\n\nCriterion 3: The capacity and capability of the applicant to undertake the project, including management capability.\n\nThe applicant may indicate merit by demonstrating:\n\na) key management personnel have appropriate expertise and a solid track record in:\n\n(i) project management\n\n(ii) commercialisation management, and\n\n(iii) business management, including human resources and financial management;\n\nb) the applicant, or consortium members, have core business interests directly relevant to the project;\n\nc) the applicant, or consortium members, have company business plans which includes and supports the proposed project;\n\nd) company stability and/or growth over the two financial years prior to lodging the application if the applicant is an established company; and\n\ne) the need for funding, including, where applicable, arguments to support the applicant in seeking an investment ratio other than one dollar provided by government for every three dollars provided by the applicant.\n\nCriterion 4: The commercialisation potential of the proposed project to the benefit of Australia.\n\nThe applicant may indicate merit by demonstrating:\n\na) key commercialisation personnel have appropriate expertise and a solid track record in commercialising and marketing innovative products, processes or services;\n\n  \n\nb) a sound commercialisation plan setting out a clear route to market for the project outcomes including:\n\n(i) an understanding of any trade barriers;\n\n(ii) access to manufacturing or commercialisation partners; and\n\n(iii) actions and timeframes to achieve commercial exploitation which benefits Australia;\n\nc) a realistic estimate of market demand for the project outcomes;\n\nd) a realistic understanding of the competitiveness of the project’s outcomes, including:\n\n(i) the competitive advantage(s) of the project’s outcomes compared to competing products, processes or services; and\n\n(ii) the frequency of entry of new products, processes or services in the relevant market.\n\nFor Stream A applicants commercialisation plans are expected to include:\n\n(i) the development and/or engineering and sale and/or fitment of technologies to passenger motor vehicles; or\n\n(ii) the introduction of new passenger motor vehicle models.\n\nCriterion 5: The contribution of the proposed project to a sustainable and internationally competitive Australian automotive industry, and the benefits to the broader Australian economy.\n\nThe applicant may indicate merit by demonstrating how:\n\na) the project will contribute to a sustainable and internationally competitive Australian automotive industry;\n\nb) the project will contribute to improvements in the Australian automotive supply chain skills, capabilities and competitiveness;\n\nc) the project will improve investment in innovation, national productivity and economic growth;\n\nd) the project will result in social, community and/or environmental benefits; and\n\ne) Australia will receive significant spill-over benefits through:\n\n(i) conduct of the project and/or commercialisation of its results;\n\n(ii) diffusion of knowledge and skills;\n\n(iii) diffusion of new products, processes or services; and/or\n\n(iv) increased collaboration between businesses and/or businesses and research institutions.\n\nPART 3 – ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS FOR VARIATION TO THE AGREED PROJECT\n\n9. If a recipient has submitted a proposal to the Department for approval of changes to the project, including the addition of new activities, the discontinuance of activities, the substitution of new activities in the place of discontinued activities, a variation to funding, or a variation to the project’s timeframe, the Program Delegate may request that the Board assess the proposal.\n\n  \n\n10. If the Board receives a request under clause 9, it must assess the proposal as soon as is practicable and provide the assessment to the Program Delegate.\n\n11. In undertaking an assessment of a proposal to change the project the Board will determine:  \n(a) the extent to which the changed project meets the merit criteria; and  \n(b) whether the change to the project would:  \n(i) significantly improve the outcomes of the project;  \n(ii) be consistent with the policy objectives set out in the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines; and/or  \n(iii) otherwise be appropriate in all the circumstances.\n\nPART 4 – OTHER TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS\n\n12. The Program Delegate shall request the Board to provide an assessment of technical matters associated with applications, activities and projects, or on any other matter relevant to or impacting on a merit criterion, including:\n\n(a) technical matters relating to the eligibility of applications, activities or projects against the definitions contained in these Directions;\n\n(b) the progress reported by a recipient against the technical milestones for a project or compliance with agreement conditions that are of a technical nature;  \n(c ) matters pertaining to assessment of benefit to the broader Australian economy assessments;  \n(d) any other matter that pertains to technical merit or the technical assessment of compliance with the terms and conditions of the program or an agreement.\n\n13. In carrying out technical assessments pursuant to clause 12, the Board will take into account any relevant policies relating to the administration of the program that are issued under the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines.\n\n14. If the Board receives a request under clause 12 it must conduct the assessment within a reasonable time and provide the assessment to the Program Delegate.\n\nPART 5 – BOARD TO PROVIDE ADVICE ON POLICIES AND OPERATIONS OF THE PROGRAM\n\n15. The Board may advise the Minister, or the Minister may request advice, on non-financial administration matters relating to the program, including program administration and the extent to which the program is meeting its objectives.\n\n16. The Board may collect and analyse data on the performance of the program, provide advice to the Minister on such performance, and will cooperate with any independent evaluation of the program.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument implements a program-specific set of directions rather than expanding the Board's powers beyond the Minister's statutory ability to give directions under the Industry Research and Development Act. It adds defined, targeted functions—technical assessment, merit ranking and advisory duties—for the Green Car Innovation Fund. Those are narrower, program-focused duties rather than a broad change in legislative scope; administrative discretion remains controlled by delegated processes and Minister-made Guidelines (cl.3; definitions)."},"complexity_factors":["16 substantive defined terms in the Interpretation section (e.g. eligible activities, agreement, Program Delegate, GCIF)","Five merit criteria (cl.8) each with multiple sub-criteria and evidentiary points (many nested sub-points a–d etc.)","Five Parts with distinct procedural regimes: preliminary, assessment/merit ranking, variation assessment, other technical assessments, advisory roles","Multiple discretionary verbs ('may' and 'must') creating conditional paths (e.g. Board 'may' refuse to rank (cl.6) but 'must' assess eligible applications (cl.7))","Cross-references to external instruments and delegated instruments: Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines (multiple clauses) and Vehicle Standard (definition)","Division of responsibilities between Board and Program Delegate produces two-stage decision flow with eligibility gating and commissioned assessments (cl.5, cl.12)","Time-based but vague obligations: 'as soon as practicable' and 'reasonable time' (cl.5(b), cl.14), introducing temporal uncertainty","Procedural duplication: separate but overlapping assessment processes for initial applications and subsequent project variations (cl.5–8; cl.9–11)","Technical assessment remit is broad (eligibility, milestone compliance, economic benefit) increasing the range of expertise required (cl.12)","References to program administration being governed by Guidelines, placing substantive policy in an external, updatable document (cl.13)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- Adds a program-specific function to Innovation Australia (the Board): to provide technical assessments and a merit ranking of applications for the Green Car Innovation Fund (GCIF) and to advise on related technical and administrative matters (cl.3).\n- Sets out who does what: the Department administers the GCIF; a Program Delegate in the Department decides which applications are eligible for Board assessment and can ask the Board to carry out particular technical assessments (definitions; cl.5, cl.12).\n- Requires the Board to assess eligible applications against five specified merit criteria and to provide a merit ranking to the Program Delegate (cl.5, cl.7–8). The Board must act “as soon as practicable” when applications are provided (cl.5(b)).\n- Allows the Board to refuse to provide a merit ranking if it is not satisfied about an application’s eligibility or level of merit (cl.6).\n- Permits the Program Delegate to ask the Board to assess proposed changes (variations) to an agreed project; the Board must assess whether the changed project meets the merit criteria and whether the change is consistent with program policy (cl.9–11).\n- Authorises the Program Delegate to request technical assessments on matters such as eligibility, technical progress against milestones, or benefits to the broader economy; the Board must provide those assessments within a reasonable time (cl.12–14).\n- Enables the Board to advise the Minister on non-financial administration matters and to collect program performance data; it will cooperate with independent evaluations (cl.15–16).\n\nWho is affected\n\n- Applicants: organisations that apply for GCIF grants to carry out R&D, proof-of-concept, early-stage commercialisation or pre-production development in Australia that aim to reduce passenger vehicle fuel use or greenhouse gases (definitions: applicant; eligible activities; GCIF; project).\n- Recipients: entities that receive grant funding under an agreement with the Commonwealth (definition: recipient; agreement).\n- Innovation Australia (the Board): gains new, program-specific assessment and advisory duties (cl.3, cl.5, cl.12).\n- The Department and the Program Delegate: retain gatekeeping powers (deciding eligibility and commissioning Board assessments) and manage the program (definitions; cl.5, cl.12).\n- The Commonwealth (taxpayers) funds the grants; applicants typically must demonstrate co-investment and need for funding (see Criterion 3(e)).\n\nWhy it matters (official purpose and practical implications)\n\n- Official purpose: to create a formal, transparent assessment process for distributing competitive grants aimed at technologies that significantly reduce fuel consumption and/or greenhouse gas emissions in passenger motor vehicles (cl.3; definition of GCIF).\n\n- Practical effects and mechanics:\n  - The Board provides technical expertise and a ranked list of meritorious projects to a Program Delegate who retains final eligibility and funding decisions (cl.5, cl.6). This separates technical merit assessment (Board) from administrative and funding decisions (Program Delegate).\n  - Applicants must satisfy detailed merit criteria (five criteria with multiple sub-points) about technical impact, innovation, capability, commercialisation plans and industry/economic benefits; these drive application content and compliance effort (cl.8).\n  - The instrument embeds discretion at multiple points: the Program Delegate determines which applications are deemed eligible for Board assessment; the Board can decline to rank; and many procedural terms are governed by the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines, which the Minister issues and may update (definitions; cl.6; cl.13).\n\nCosts, incentives, trade-offs and implementation risks\n\n- Who pays and who must act: The Commonwealth provides grants; applicants bear the cost of preparing detailed technical and commercial materials and may be expected to co-invest (Criterion 3(e)). The Department and Board incur administrative costs in assessing, ranking and re-assessing project variations.\n- Incentives: The detailed merit criteria incentivise applicants to present measurable fuel/GHG improvements, demonstrable technical capacity, clear commercialisation pathways and Australian economic benefits (cl.8). Applicants may prioritise projects that score strongly against these five criteria.\n- Trade-offs and opportunity costs: Concentrating assessment and technical advice in the Board centralises technical judgement. That can speed consistent technical evaluation but may concentrate decision-making power and create single points of administrative delay if the Board is resourced insufficiently.\n- Implementation risk and timing: Key steps are conditional on requests by the Program Delegate and on Board capacity to act \"as soon as practicable\" or within a \"reasonable time\"—terms that create timing uncertainty for applicants and grant timelines (cl.5(b), cl.14).\n- Compliance and discretion: Several discretionary hooks (e.g. Board \"may\" refuse ranking (cl.6); Minister-made Guidelines govern many administration details (definition)) mean outcomes depend on administrative choices and the content of Guidelines.\n\nConcrete behavioural changes the instrument causes\n\n- Applicants must design and document projects to meet five merit criteria and to demonstrate Australian-based implementation (cl.8; definition of eligible activities).\n- The Board shifts from a more general advisory role to a formal assessor and rater for GCIF applications and project variations (cl.3, cl.5, cl.9–11).\n- The Program Delegate retains control over eligibility gates and can commission technical assessments and variation reviews from the Board (cl.5, cl.9, cl.12).\n\nKey cross-references and limits\n\n- The instrument repeatedly defers to the Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines for administrative detail and to the Department for program delivery (definitions; cl.13).\n- Passenger motor vehicles are limited to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes as defined by an external Vehicle Standard (cl.4, definition of passenger motor vehicle).\n\nSources in the instrument: object and additional Board function (cl.3); definitions (cl.4); assessment and ranking duties and limits (cl.5–8); variation assessment (cl.9–11); technical assessments (cl.12–14); advisory and data roles (cl.15–16)."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing assessment procedures for the Green Car Innovation Fund. It does not expand beyond the technical evaluation function described in the enabling legislation (Industry Research and Development Act 1986, sections 18A-20)."},"complexity_factors":["Moderate length (16 clauses) with clear Part structure","11 defined terms in the interpretation section, including nested definitions (e.g., 'project' contains multi-part criteria)","Five detailed merit criteria with multiple sub-criteria (some with 4+ nested points)","Cross-references to external documents (Green Car Innovation Fund Guidelines) that are not reproduced in the instrument","Conditional logic in clauses 5-6 (assessment subject to refusal power) and clause 9 (variation proposals)","Permissive vs mandatory language explicitly flagged ('may' is permissive)","Technical automotive terminology incorporated by reference (Australian Design Rule definitions)"],"plain_english_summary":"The Minister’s directions tell Innovation Australia how to run the Green Car Innovation Fund: assess and rank grant applications against five merit criteria, manage changes to approved projects, provide technical advice on milestones and compliance, and report to the Minister. \n\nIt affected Australian carmakers, suppliers, Innovation Australia and administering officials, guiding allocation of hundreds of millions to keep the industry afloat and drive lower‑emission vehicle technology."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009","history":"/api/acts/green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009/history","analysis":"/api/acts/green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/green-car-innovation-fund-directions-no-1-of-2009/documents"}}