9Research centres of excellence

9 Research centres of excellence

(1) The Minister may approve a proposal for expenditure upon a program of research that is submitted to him in respect of a university as a proposal deserving financial assistance under this section in respect of a specified year to which this Act applies or specified years to which this Act applies subject to such conditions as the Minister determines and may vary or revoke any such approval. (2) Where the Minister approves a proposal in respect of a particular year to which this Act applies, he shall determine an amount, not exceeding the estimated expenditure on the program in that year, as the amount of approved expenditure on the proposal in respect of that year. (3) Subject to subsection (4), in relation to each approved proposal for expenditure, there is payable to the State in which is situated the university in respect of which the proposal was submitted, in respect of each year in respect of which the proposal is approved, for the purpose of financial assistance in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the university in connection with the approved proposal in respect of that year, an amount equal to the amount of the approved expenditure on the proposal in respect of that year. (4) The total of the amounts determined by the Minister to be the amounts of approved expenditure in respect of all proposals approved by him under this section in respect of all of the years to which this Act applies shall not exceed $14,300,000. (5) Financial assistance is granted to a State under subsection (3) in relation to approved proposals for expenditure by a university in respect of a year to which this Act applies on the conditions that:

(a) the State will pay each amount of that financial assistance received by it to the university without undue delay;

(b) the State will ensure that the sum of the amounts expended by the university in connection with approved proposals of the university in respect of that year, being amounts expended before 1 January next following the end of that year or expended on or after that date in respect of commitments entered into before that date is not less than the sum of the amounts of financial assistance paid to the State under this section in relation to approved proposals of the university in respect of that year; and

(c) the State will ensure that the university furnishes to the Commission, not later than 30 September next following the expiration of that year, a statement by a qualified auditor, in accordance with a form approved by the Commission, as to the expenditure by the university in connection with approved proposals of the university in respect of that year, being expenditure that occurred before 1 January next following the end of that year or that occurred on or after that date in respect of commitments entered into before that date.