{"id":"F2025L00274","name":"Industry Research and Development (Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program) Instrument 2025","slug":"industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442769,"registerId":"F2025L00274-fast-fetch-1775957708578","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Industry Research and Development (Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program) Instrument 2025","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nIndustry Research and Development (Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program) Instrument 2025\n\nI, Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, as delegate of the Minister for Industry and Science, make the following instrument.\n\nDated  1 March 2025  \n\nChris Bowen\n\nMinister for Climate Change and Energy\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Prescribed program\n\n6  Specified legislative power\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Industry Research and Development (Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program) Instrument 2025.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 33 of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Industry Research and Development Act 1986.\n\nKyoto Protocol means the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, done at Kyoto on 11 December 1997, as in force for Australia from time to time.\n\nNote: The Protocol is in Australian Treaty Series 2008 No. 2 ([2008] ATS 2) and could in 2025 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).\n\nNSP means an electricity transmission or distribution network service provider.\n\nParis Agreement means the Paris Agreement, done at Paris on 12 December 2015, as in force for Australia from time to time.\n\nNote: The Agreement is in Australian Treaty Series 2016 No. 24 ([2016] ATS 24) and could in 2025 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).\n\nProgram: see subsection 5(1).\n\nUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change means the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, done at New York on 9 May 1992, as in force for Australia from time to time.\n\nNote: The Convention is in Australian Treaty Series 1994 No. 2 ([1994] ATS 2) and could in 2025 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).\n\n5  Prescribed program\n\n (1) For the purposes of subsection 33(1) of the Act, the Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program (the program) is prescribed.\n\n (2) The program provides competitive grants to NSPs and other eligible applicants, including but not limited to technology or software companies and research organisations, to:\n\n1.     apply grid enhancing technologies to existing electricity transmission and distribution networks; or\n2.     deliver evidence of commercial and technical viability of grid enhancing technologies.\n\n\n(3) The program objective is to accelerate the development, trialling and application of grid enhancing technologies in Australian electricity transmission and distribution networks. The program aims to derisk the commercial application of grid enhancing technologies in Australian networks and contribute to the efficient use of networks to allow more renewable energy to enter grids sooner and reduce emissions associated with electricity generation.\n\n6  Specified legislative power\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 33(3) of the Act, the power of the Parliament to make laws with respect to external affairs (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxix) of the Constitution) is specified, as it relates to measures to give effect to Australia’s obligations under one or more of the following:\n\n1.     the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, particularly Article 4;\n2.     the Kyoto Protocol, particularly Article 10;\n3.     the Paris Agreement, particularly Article 4.\n\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument prescribes a grants program under the existing power in section 33 of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986 and specifies the use of the external affairs power to support measures related to specified climate treaties. It does not amend the Act or expand legislative powers beyond identifying treaty-linked constitutional support; it establishes program purpose and eligible applicant categories but leaves operational rules to be developed under the Act’s framework."},"complexity_factors":["Short, self-contained instrument with limited operative text (low statutory volume)","Direct reliance on another statute: made under section 33 of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986","Invocation of external affairs constitutional power tied to three international instruments (UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement) and particular treaty articles","Eligibility phrased broadly: 'NSPs and other eligible applicants, including but not limited to...' creates administrative discretion about who qualifies","Program objective blends technical, commercial and emissions outcomes, producing multi-disciplinary assessment criteria not set out in the instrument","Minimal operational detail: no application, assessment, funding, reporting or compliance procedures specified in the instrument itself"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument prescribes the Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program, which provides competitive grants to electricity network service providers (NSPs) and other eligible applicants (for example, technology or software companies and research organisations) to trial or demonstrate the commercial and technical viability of technologies that increase the capacity and efficiency of transmission and distribution networks. It also specifies that Parliament’s external affairs power (tied to UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement provisions) is a relevant legislative basis for the program’s measures."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a discrete, single-purpose instrument that does exactly what its title suggests: establishes a specific grants program. There is no evidence of scope creep; it precisely matches its original intent of creating the Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program under the IR&D Act framework."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 short sections total","7 defined terms, all straightforward (mostly treaty names and 'NSP' for network service provider)","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act and Constitution","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Single purpose instrument with linear structure","No operative provisions creating rights or obligations — purely declaratory (prescribing a program and specifying constitutional power)"],"plain_english_summary":"The instrument creates the Grid Enhancing Technologies Grants Program, offering competitive grants to electricity network operators, technology and software firms, and research organisations to deploy and demonstrate technologies that increase capacity and flexibility of existing powerlines. It aims to speed connection of renewables and reduce the need for costly new transmission by squeezing more capacity from current networks. The program is established under the Industry Research and Development Act 1986, relying on the Commonwealth’s external affairs power."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025","history":"/api/acts/industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/industry-research-and-development-grid-enhancing-technologies-grants-program-instrument-2025/documents"}}