21Board to consider application for certificate for the location offset and other information

21 Board to consider application for certificate for the location offset and other information

(1) If the Arts Minister asks the Board to advise him or her about an application for a certificate for the location offset, the Board must: (a) consider the application; and (b) advise the Arts Minister as requested. (2) For paragraph (1)(a), in considering the application, the Board: (a) may seek information or advice from any person or source; and (b) may take into account the knowledge and experience of its members; and (c) must consider all relevant information, including the following information: (i) the application and attached documents; (ii) any written report requested by the Board under subrule (3) and any written submission made by the applicant in response to that report; (iii) any additional information provided by the applicant under rule 22; (iv) any other relevant information or advice obtained by the Board. (3) Without limiting paragraph (2)(a), the Board may ask an independent line producer to provide a written report to the Board about any matter that is relevant to whether a condition set out in subsection 376‑20(2), (3), (5), (7) or (8) of the Act has been met. (4) A report under subrule (3) may include advice about any of the following matters: (a) whether the applicant’s expenditure statement is commercially reasonable; (b) whether specific items claimed in the applicant’s expenditure statement are reasonably attributable to the estimated qualifying Australian production expenditure on the film; (c) whether costs that are charged for specific items indicate that the parties to the transaction were dealing with each other at arm’s length. (5) If the Board intends to use information or advice from a third party to support advice to the Arts Minister not to issue a certificate for the location offset to an applicant, the Board must give the applicant an opportunity to comment on the substance of that information or advice. (6) If the Board asks an independent line producer to provide the Board with a written report under subrule (3), the Board must: (a) give a copy of the report to the applicant to whom it relates as soon as practicable; and (b) give the applicant an opportunity to make a written submission to the Board in response to the report. (7) If under subrules (5) or (6), the applicant is provided with an opportunity to comment on the substance of information or advice, or to make written submissions to the Board in response to a report, the applicant has 28 days from the day they are notified of the opportunity to provide a response. (8) At the request of the applicant, the Board may extend the period in which the applicant is to provide a response. (9) If an applicant does not provide a response within the 28 days, or any extended period under subrule (8), the Board may proceed to advise the Arts Minister in accordance with rule 23.