{"id":"F2020L00413","name":"Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Rules 2020","slug":"guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":100931,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2020L00413-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n  This instrument is the Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Rules 2020.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Act 2020.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Act 2020.\n\n> annual turnover has the meaning given by subsection 5(2).\n\n> business has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.\n\n> entity has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.\n\n> non‑profit body has the same meaning as in section 23‑15 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\n> Note: The term non‑profit body is not defined in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999. However, this definition ensures that the meaning of the term in this instrument does not diverge from the meaning of the term in section 23‑15 of that Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Meaning of SME entity","content":"#### 5 Meaning of SME entity\n\n  (1) For the purposes of the definition of SME entity in section 4 of the Act, an entity is an SME entity at a time in a financial year (the current year) if:\n    (a) the entity carries on a business in the current year, or is a non‑profit body during the current year; and\n    (b) one or more of the following applies:\n    (i) the entity’s annual turnover for the current year is likely to be less than $250 million;\n    (ii) the entity carried on a business in one of the 2 financial years immediately before the current year, and its annual turnover for that year was less than $250 million;\n    (iii) the entity was a non-profit body during one of the 2 financial years immediately before the current year, and its annual turnover in that year was less than $250 million.\n  Meaning of annual turnover\n  (2) The annual turnover of an entity for a financial year is the total of the following that is earned in the year in the course of the business:\n    (a) the proceeds of sales of goods and/or services;\n    (b) commission income;\n    (c) repair and service income;\n    (d) rent, leasing and hiring income;\n    (e) government bounties and subsidies;\n    (f) interest, royalties and dividends;\n    (g) other operating income.\n  (3) In applying subsection (2) to a non‑profit body, treat the operations or activities carried out by that body as the business of the body.","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"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":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument remains tightly focused on its original purpose: defining SME eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 loan guarantee scheme. The scope has not expanded beyond this administrative function."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with only 5 sections and minimal cross-referencing","Only 6 defined terms, with most borrowing existing definitions from other Acts (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, GST Act)","Single substantive operational section (section 5) with straightforward conditional logic","Simple alternative tests for eligibility (current year OR previous two years)","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Turnover calculation is a simple additive list without exclusions or special adjustments"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the eligibility rules for the Australian Government’s COVID-19 SME loan guarantee scheme, defining which businesses and non‑profit bodies can access government‑backed loans. It draws the line at $250 million annual turnover (current or recent), specifies how turnover is measured for for‑profits and charities, and thereby determines which borrowers and participating lenders can use the guarantee to reduce bank risk and support lending during the pandemic."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument operationalises the Act’s SME definition by specifying how annual turnover is calculated, applying a $250 million threshold and a two‑year lookback, and treating non‑profits as businesses for turnover purposes. The text provided does not expand or narrow scope beyond those criteria; it clarifies measurement and temporal rules used to determine eligibility."},"complexity_factors":["Turnover threshold uses a forecasted test — ‘likely to be less than $250 million’ — introducing judgement and ex ante estimation (s5(1)(b)(i)).","Two‑year lookback to prior financial years requires historical accounting verification and choice of which year’s figures apply (s5(1)(b)(ii)–(iii)).","Annual turnover definition aggregates multiple income streams (sales, commissions, rent, subsidies, interest, royalties, dividends, other operating income), requiring accounting treatment decisions (s5(2)).","Non‑profit bodies are treated as carrying on a business for turnover measurement, changing how their receipts are assessed (s5(3)).","Cross‑references to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and the GST Act create interpretive dependency on those Acts for terms like ‘business’, ‘entity’ and ‘non‑profit body’ (s4).","Temporal framing — ‘at a time in a financial year’ — creates timing and eligibility complexity for applicants and lenders (s5(1)).","Instrument implements authority under the primary Act rather than creating new guarantee powers, so its scope depends on the Act’s language (s3)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets rules for who counts as an SME for the Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package). It defines SME status by whether an entity carries on a business or is a non‑profit and has annual turnover below $250 million, measured using specified income categories and a two‑year lookback.\n\nIt matters because it determines which entities can access the government lending guarantee and which accounting and eligibility rules they must meet."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202","history":"/api/acts/guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202/history","analysis":"/api/acts/guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/guarantee-of-lending-to-small-and-medium-enterprises-coronavirus-economic-response-package-rules-202/documents"}}