The Act’s reach is defined primarily by the statutory-body concept in s 5, and by the express exclusions in s 6. Who pays, who decides and whose behaviour changes follow directly from those definitions and the approval architecture.
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Affected entities (statutory bodies): Entities established under an Act that control funds and have members or an appointed decision-maker are in scope (s 5). The Act explicitly treats single-person corporations sole, entities with appointed members, entities whose decisions or funds are controlled by other appointed persons or entities established under the same Act, corporation sole constituted by a Minister or officer, and local governments as statutory bodies unless excluded or declared otherwise (s 5(2)(a)-(f)). A regulation may declare an entity a statutory body (s 5(3)).
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Excluded entities: Corporations incorporated under the Corporations Act, departments or parts of departments, government-owned corporations (GOCs), certain financial regulators and the Public Trustee of Queensland as a corporation sole, QTC, and other named bodies are not statutory bodies under this Act (s 6(1)). Entities whose income or expenses are paid into or out of the consolidated fund (other than endowments/grants) are also not statutory bodies (s 6(2)). A regulation may declare an entity not to be a statutory body (s 6(1)(j)).
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Finance counterparties and creditors: Banks, institutional lenders, bondholders and other persons who enter into financial arrangements with statutory bodies are affected by the statutory protections and constraints in the Act. Section 67 limits their duties of inquiry and liability for misapplication of funds by the body, but section 68 curtails remedies against a body for illegal arrangements entered outside this Act (unless the creditor was shown a document evidencing Treasurer approval). Creditors’ procedural rights when a statutory body defaults are constrained by notice periods and the 14-day windows and, where guarantees are relevant, by the need to send copies to the Treasurer and await possible payment (s 37).
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The Treasurer and the State: The Act gives decision-making power and discretion to the Treasurer over guarantees (ss 15-16), approvals for borrowing, encumbrances, derivatives and funds managers (Parts 5-7, Part 9), can impose conditions and fees (s 16A), and is vested with recovery and enforcement tools (ss 23-30). The Treasurer may delegate powers (s 76), except the power to give a guarantee under s 16 (s 76(2)).
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Ministers and administering Ministers: Ministers who administer statutory bodies’ authorising Acts are required to monitor derivative transactions entered by bodies under their Acts (s 57). Where a statutory body must report its derivatives to the Treasurer, it must also provide a copy to the administering Minister (s 56), introducing an additional oversight line.
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Funds managers and agents: Persons appointed as funds managers must be approved by the Treasurer prior to appointment (s 59), and their appointments must be subject to Treasurer-imposed conditions and to subsequent amendment or repeal (s 59(2)-(3)). A statutory body may, with Treasurer approval, appoint an agent to enter into derivative transactions in the agent’s name (s 53).
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Existing contractual counterparties and holders of securities: Transitional provisions treat existing guarantees, borrowings and instruments that predate amendments in particular ways (Part 11). For some existing arrangements a guarantee becomes taken to be a s 16 guarantee, and pre-existing ranking or terms may continue to apply where the Act provides (see ss 80-83).
Who pays: Where the State guarantees a statutory body’s obligations and the Treasurer makes payments under that guarantee, the consolidated fund is appropriated for those payments (s 17), and the Treasurer may recover those amounts from the statutory body (s 23). Statutory bodies are the first-level payers of investment decisions, borrowings and compliance costs; if a statutory body is reimbursed or paid under a guarantee, the body becomes liable for repayment to the Treasurer (s 23).
Who decides: The Treasurer holds the key decision nodes: whether to guarantee, what conditions to impose, whether to approve encumbrances, borrowings, derivatives, funds managers and type 1/2 arrangements, and whether to appoint appointees. Statutory bodies must make their own internal decisions (s 14), decide to exercise powers only on reasonable grounds of necessity/convenience (s 7), and keep records (s 47, s 74).
Behavioural change: Entities in scope must follow formal approval routes for non-routine finance, keep records, obtain Treasurer approvals for encumbrances/borrowing/investments beyond basic accounts, and follow prescribed reporting flows for derivatives. Counterparties benefit from statutory protections (less diligence burden) but face limits on remedies where bodies have acted outside the Act.