Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982

The Act rests on a limited set of repeatable legal concepts that govern how statutory bodies may act financially.

• Statutory body: A central definitional concept. Section 5 gives a multi-branch rule: an entity established under an Act that has control of funds and either consists of one appointed person, has members appointed under an Act, or whose decisions or funds are controlled by specified appointed persons or entities. A regulation may declare an entity a statutory body. Section 6 then lists entities that are not statutory bodies (for example, companies under the Corporations Act, departments, certain state financial institutions and entities with consolidated fund flows). The status determines whether Parts 4-7 and other provisions apply.

• Treasurer’s exclusive guarantee power: Section 15 restricts State guarantees of statutory bodies’ obligations to guarantees given under s 16 by the Treasurer. This concentrates the decision to guarantee performance in the Treasurer’s office. Section 16 allows the Treasurer to issue guarantees generally or for particular classes and to do so by writing or gazette notice. Guarantees may include waivers of immunity and clauses preserving enforceability despite events that might otherwise end a guarantee (s 19).

• Approval regime: Many operational powers are subject to Treasurer approval. Part 9 structures approvals as either general (gazette-based: s 70) or specific (application-based: ss 71-73). Approvals can be conditional, amended or repealed and statutory bodies must keep a register of approvals (s 74). The Acts Interpretation Act power to amend or repeal instruments is expressly referenced in ss 59 and 71.

• Financial arrangement taxonomy: The Act distinguishes categories of financial powers. Borrowing (Part 5) and investment (Part 6) powers are separately regulated; investments are assigned category 1, 2 or 3 by regulation (s 42) with ascending asset scope (ss 44-46). The Act also distinguishes type 1 and type 2 financial arrangements (Parts 7 and 7A, ss 60A and 61A) and treats derivative transactions separately (Part 7 div 1, ss 53-56). Funds managers may be appointed subject to Treasurer approval (s 59).

• Limits and procedural preconditions: Where an authorising Act lacks an express power (to borrow, invest, enter derivatives or appoint funds managers), the statutory body’s power is limited to the corresponding parts of this Act (ss 8-11). Section 14 adds procedural preconditions: if the authorising Act requires a specified decision-making process before a body exercises a financial power, the body must follow it; otherwise it must make a written decision and record it before exercising the power. Section 7 imposes a necessity/convenience test: a power under this Act may be exercised only if the body is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the exercise is necessary or convenient for performing its functions.

• Third-party protections and limits on remedies: Persons dealing with statutory bodies receive statutory protections. Section 67 removes the duty to enquire into application of funds and relieves other parties from responsibility for misapplication by the body. Section 68 limits remedies a person has against a statutory body in relation to illegal financial arrangements entered outside this Act or another applying Act, subject to an exception where a document showing Treasurer approval was provided.

• Recovery and enforcement: If the Treasurer pays under a guarantee, it is entitled to recover guarantee amounts, interest (per a regulation), and recovery costs from the statutory body (s 23). The Treasurer can appoint appointees to collect amounts (ss 24-25), give written directions to appointees and members (s 27), take secured property to the extent of the guarantee amount (s 30), and recover by action in court (s 29). Creditor remedies against statutory bodies are regulated: creditors need to give notice and wait 14 days, copies to the Treasurer where a guarantee exists, and only then may seek receivers or sue (s 37). A debenture or bond may instead include alternative remedy provisions to replace ss 37-40 (s 41).

• Interaction with trusteeship and trusts law: Where a statutory body is a trustee or holds property on condition, the exercise of powers is subject to the trust instrument or trust-establishing Act (s 12). Separately, s 66 provides that a statutory body must not receive notice of a trust in relation to a financial arrangement and is not bound to see to the execution of trusts affecting the arrangement.

These main concepts create a system where Treasurial oversight, category-based investment permissions, prescribed procedural steps, and targeted creditor and third-party rules structure how statutory bodies manage financial risk and enter obligations.

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.

• 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)).

• 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)).

• 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).

• 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)).

• 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.

• 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).

• 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.

This section lists statutory duties, core rights and mandatory behaviours that the Act imposes or confers, each grounded in the relevant section.

Duties of statutory bodies

• Exercise powers only for authorised purposes and on reasonable grounds: A body may exercise a power under the Act only if satisfied on reasonable grounds that it is necessary or convenient for performing its functions under its authorising Act or another Act (s 7).

• Observe authorising Act preconditions and record decisions: If the authorising Act requires the body to perform or observe conditions before exercising a financial power, the body must comply (s 14(1)-(2)). If the authorising Act is silent on the decision-making process, the body must decide to exercise the power and make a written record before doing so (s 14(3)). If Treasurer approval is required under this Act, the body must decide before asking for the approval (s 14(4)).

• Operate deposits in Australian money and get approval for overdrafts: Day-to-day deposit and withdrawal accounts must be in Australian money; overdraft facilities require Treasurer approval (s 31).

• Follow allocation-based investment rules: Investments are permitted only if a category of investment power has been allocated to the body by regulation (s 42). Investments must be in Australian money and undertaken in Australia (s 43). Category-specific permissible investments and term limits are set out in ss 44-46.

• Use best efforts for rate and keep records: A statutory body must use its best efforts to invest at the most advantageous interest rate available for the proposed type and in a way it considers most appropriate in all circumstances; it must keep records showing it invested in the most appropriate way (s 47).

• Hold investment documents appropriately: Securities, safe custody acknowledgements or other title documents must be held by the body or in another way approved by the Treasurer (s 48).

• For rated investments, respond to rating downgrades promptly: If a rated investment loses its prescribed rating, the body must obtain Treasurer approval to continue or liquidate the investment within 28 days of becoming aware (s 52).

• For derivatives: Bodies may enter derivatives only if prescribed by regulation as allowed to do so and only with Treasurer approval; derivative use must be for hedging exposures (ss 53-54). Bodies must report each derivative transaction to the Treasurer at times prescribed by regulation and include specified information (s 55). Copies go to the administering Minister on the same day (s 56). The administering Minister must monitor the derivative transaction (s 57).

• For funds managers: Bodies may appoint funds managers only if satisfied on reasonable grounds of suitability and after obtaining Treasurer approval; the appointment must be subject to the conditions of the Treasurer’s approval, including its amendment or repeal (s 59). Funds managers may enter certain financial arrangements only within the authority provided and subject to the manager’s own lawful limits (s 60).

• Register Treasury approvals: Bodies must keep a register of Treasurer’s approvals under Part 9 division 3 that apply to their exercise of powers (s 74).

Rights and entitlements

• Right to seek Treasurer approval: A statutory body may apply in writing for the Treasurer’s approval to exercise a power under the Act and may be dealt with either by a specific approval or by a general gazette approval (ss 71, 70).

• Right to guarantees (subject to Treasurer discretion): The Treasurer may give guarantees for the State (s 16). Guarantees may be general or limited, conditional, and in writing or by gazette notice. Where borrowing is from QTC under Part 5, the Treasurer is taken to have guaranteed the borrowing (s 21).

• Protections for persons dealing with bodies: Persons entering into financial arrangements with statutory bodies are not bound to inquire into the application of funds or responsible for misapplication by the body (s 67(1)(a)-(b)). If a creditor receives an apparently properly signed document creating an encumbrance, they need not inquire whether the body properly authorised the signing (s 67(1)(c)).

• Recovery and priority rules where Treasurer pays under a guarantee: If the Treasurer pays under a guarantee, the Treasurer is entitled to recover the guarantee amount, interest at a regulated rate, and recovery costs from the statutory body (s 23). The Treasurer is entitled to the benefit of security up to the guarantee amount (s 30).

Powers of the Treasurer and enforcement devices

• General and conditional approvals by gazette: The Treasurer may issue general approvals by gazette and may specify conditions and classes of bodies or exceptions (s 70). Approvals may be amended or repealed (ss 59(2), 71(4)).

• Power to require security in guarantees: The Treasurer may require persons dealing with a statutory body to take security of a description specified in the guarantee; failure to take or improper release/waiver without written consent will render the guarantee void ab initio (s 18).

• Recovery mechanisms and appointees: If the Treasurer pays under a guarantee, it may appoint appointees (by regulation or temporary gazette appointment) to collect amounts, and the appointee is to pay collected amounts first to costs and remuneration, then to the Treasurer, then to the body (ss 24-28). The Treasurer may recover amounts as a debt (s 29).

• Receivership and creditor remedies: Creditors have constrained remedies (ss 37-40). The Supreme Court may appoint a receiver only after specified notice procedures and timeframes. A debenture or bond may instead include alternative remedy provisions that displace ss 37-40 as agreed (s 41).

Obligations on documents and misrepresentation

• Documents for approvals: The Treasurer may require documents or information as part of an approval application; supplying false or misleading information knowingly is an offence attracting a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units (s 75).

• Waivers and enforceability clauses: Documents forming part of financial arrangements may include waivers of immunity and clauses keeping arrangements enforceable despite events that might at law discharge or excuse performance (ss 19, 63). Those clauses operate despite other Acts or rules of law unless the guarantee or document expressly provides otherwise.

Trust constraints and non-receipt of trust notices

• Trusteeship: Where a body acts as trustee or holds property on condition, the body’s exercise of powers is subject to the trust or trust-establishing Act (s 12).

• Notice of trusts not received: A statutory body must not be taken to have received notice of a trust in relation to a financial arrangement, and is not bound to see to execution of a trust that may affect the arrangement; this applies to agents acting for the statutory body (s 66).

Collectively, these duties and rights allocate responsibilities between statutory bodies, the Treasurer, counterparties and courts, and impose reporting, recordkeeping and approval preconditions that shape financial conduct.

The Act combines administrative controls, statutory liability, recovery powers and a single explicit criminal/civil penalty tied to false or misleading information for approval processes. Enforcement is executed through a mix of Treasurer-led actions, court remedies and procedural barriers.

Criminal or penal sanctions

• False or misleading documents: Section 75 makes it an offence to give a document under ss 71 or 72 to the Treasurer containing information the person knows is false or materially misleading. The maximum penalty is 50 penalty units. There is a statutory defence (s 75(2)) where the person, when giving the document, advises the Treasurer in writing of the inaccuracy and, if the person has or can reasonably obtain the correct information, provides it. It is sufficient in a complaint to allege knowledge of falsity without particularising the false part (s 75(3)).

Statutory recovery and financial enforcement

• Treasurer’s entitlement to recover guarantee payments: If the Treasurer pays amounts under a guarantee, s 23 expressly entitles the Treasurer to recover the guarantee amount, interest at a rate prescribed by regulation, and costs and expenses of recovery. Recovery may be pursued as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction (s 29).

• Appointee and collection powers: Regulations may appoint an appointee for the statutory body, or the Treasurer may temporarily appoint an appointee by gazette notice if urgent action is necessary to prevent losses or mismanagement (s 24). The appointee may collect amounts payable to the statutory body and is taken to be the body for that purpose, exercising the body’s powers (s 25). Collected amounts are applied first to collection costs and the appointee’s remuneration, then to the Treasurer, then to the body (s 28). The Treasurer may give written directions to the appointee and to statutory body members, and those persons must comply (s 27).

• Security rights and transfer of security: Where a person holds security for a statutory body’s obligations and the Treasurer pays under a guarantee, the Treasurer is entitled to the benefit of that security to the extent of the guarantee amount. If the guarantee amount equals or exceeds the security, the security must be transferred to the Treasurer (s 30). If less, the person must realise the security and apply proceeds in the statutory order directed by s 30(4).

Creditor remedies and receivership

• Creditor limitations and notice regime: A creditor to whom a statutory body owes principal or interest under a debenture, bond or inscribed stock may apply to the Supreme Court for a receiver or sue for debt only after giving written notice to the body, waiting 14 days without payment, and, where the instrument is guaranteed under s 16, delivering a copy of the notice to the Treasurer and waiting a further 14 days for payment by the Treasurer (s 37(3)). The Supreme Court-appointed receiver acts under the court’s direction and may be appointed only for the general or specified revenue of the statutory body (s 37(4)).

• Receiver powers and payment waterfall: A receiver may collect amounts paid to or payable to the statutory body and is taken to be the body for that purpose, exercising necessary powers (s 39). Collected amounts are applied first to costs and remuneration, second (subject to court order) to persons entitled under the debenture/bond/inscribed stock, and third to the remainder to the statutory body (s 40).

Alternative contractual remedies

• Alternative provisions in debentures, bonds or inscribed stock: A debenture, bond or inscribed stock may include alternative remedy provisions (appointed receiver, powers, remuneration) which, if present, operate in place of ss 37-40 (s 41). That means parties may contract for a specified enforcement scheme that displaces statutory receivership mechanisms.

Administrative direction and compliance

• Treasurer directions: The Treasurer may give written directions to appointees and members of a statutory body about how to exercise their powers, and those persons must comply (s 27). This creates a compulsory administrative compliance mechanism short of legal proceedings.

Limitations and protection for third parties

• Protection from inquiry obligations: Third parties entering arrangements with statutory bodies are not bound to inquire into application of the funds nor responsible for misapplication, and are protected where documents creating encumbrances appear properly signed (s 67). However, these protections do not extend where the arrangement was entered other than under this Act unless the person received a document from the body stating Treasurer approval for the arrangement and, if relevant, for the creation of encumbrances (s 68(3)).

Administrative sanctions not involving penalty units

• Voidance of guarantee for failure to take security: Under s 18, where the Treasurer requires counterparty security as a condition of a guarantee and the counterparty fails to take the specified security, releases it, or waives rights without the Treasurer’s written consent, the guarantee is void and void ab initio. This is a contractual/administrative sanction with direct financial effect.

Transitional enforcement rules

• Transitional provisions preserve older remedies and rights for certain existing guarantees, borrowings and instruments (Part 11). For example, existing guarantees may be taken to be s 16 guarantees but some pre-existing powers of the Treasurer and court remedies as applied immediately before commencement may continue to apply where the Treasurer has paid under an existing guarantee prior to the commencement (s 81(4)-(5)).

Overall enforcement architecture combines a civil recovery model for sums paid under guarantees, statutory appointment and receivership options subject to notice regimes, discretionary administrative directions and a targeted penal offence for giving false or misleading documents to the Treasurer in the approvals process (s 75). The Treasurer’s discretion and the power to rank encumbrances by gazette notice (s 36) are significant levers of administrative control.

The Act expressly interacts with and is shaped by other legislation in several ways; these interactions determine power boundaries, exclusions, and procedural cross-references.

Hierarchy and explicit subjecting to later Acts

• Subject to later express provisions: Section 13 states that the Act “has effect subject to a provision of an Act passed after the commencement that expressly provides that this Act, or a provision of this Act, is subject to it.” That creates an explicit rule that later parliamentary enactments may displace the Act only by express provision. In practice this means new statutory regimes can override specific provisions here where they say so.

Exclusive guarantee channeling

• Guarantees channelled to Treasurer: Section 15 takes provisions in other Acts that allow a Minister to give guarantees on behalf of the State and treats them as requiring or allowing the Treasurer only to guarantee under s 16. This centralises guarantee powers and makes other statutory guarantee provisions for statutory bodies operate through the Treasurer’s power in s 16 unless the other Act itself guarantees anything.

Corporations Act exclusions

• Excluded matter under Corporations Act: Section 13A declares a statutory body to be an “excluded matter” for Corporations Act, s 5F, in relation to certain specified parts and chapters of the Corporations Act (parts 2D.1 and 2D.6; chapters 2K and 2L; parts 5.7, 5.7B, 5.9 and 5B.2). That signals a legislative intent that particular corporate regulatory regimes are not to apply to statutory bodies for certain topics; the Act therefore carves out a regulatory gap intentionally filled by this Act.

Specific cross-references to other state laws

• Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) Act and QTC: Section 21 states that if, under Part 5, a statutory body borrows from QTC, the Treasurer is taken to have guaranteed the body’s obligations. Section 16A limits guarantee charges by reference to QTC statutory attributed amounts under the Queensland Treasury Corporation Act 1988, s 19(1). The Act therefore builds a direct operational relationship with the QTC regime.

• Land Act 1994 references: Category 3 investment power in s 46 permits, inter alia, purchase of leasehold land held under a lease for a term of 40 years or more and subject to the Land Act 1994 a freeholding lease of land held from the State under that Act. The Act therefore relies on Land Act classifications and definitions (s 46 and the definitions for freeholding lease).

• Acts Interpretation Act 1954 reference: Sections 59(2) and 71(4) rely on the Acts Interpretation Act, s 24AA, noting that the power to make an instrument or decision includes power to amend or repeal it. This frames how approvals and conditions can be subsequently changed.

Trust law interaction

• Trustee constraints: Section 12 expressly provides that where a statutory body acts as trustee, the body’s exercise of powers under this Act is subject to the trust instrument or trust-establishing Act. That preserves core trustee duties and rights and places the trust instrument above the exercise of powers here.

• Notice of trusts: Section 66 states a statutory body must not be taken to have received notice of a trust in relation to a financial arrangement and is not bound to see to the execution of a trust that may affect the arrangement. This limits the reach of equitable trust notice doctrines in the context of financial arrangements under this Act.

Contract and property law overrides

• Waiving immunity and enforceability despite events: Sections 19 and 63 permit guarantees and financial arrangement documents to include provisions waiving State immunity and keeping guarantees/arrangements enforceable despite events that might at law end them or excuse performance. These clauses are stated to operate despite an Act or rule of law to the contrary, subject to express provisions in the guarantee/arrangement (s 19(3), s 63(3)). That permits parties to contract around some statutory or common-law protections, within the limits of the document.

• Ranking of encumbrances: Section 36 allows the Treasurer by gazette notice to direct the ranking of income encumbrances. It also states that a property encumbrance ranks as provided by law. Section 36(5) indicates that a provision of another Act providing for a different ranking does not apply after commencement, which may displace statutory priority rules created elsewhere for income encumbrances.

Creditors and securities law

• Creditor remedies and alternative contractual arrangements: Section 37 regulates creditor remedies and allows instruments (debentures etc) to include alternative remedy provisions that can take the place of the statutory remedy schema (s 41). That means market practice and contractual design can shape enforcement outcomes, subject to the Act’s displacement of statutory receivership in favour of agreed alternative mechanics.

Transitional interactions

• Transitional provisions (Part 11) preserve the effect of existing arrangements, authorities and guarantees entered under the pre-amended Act or other Acts, and treat certain existing guarantees as s 16 guarantees (ss 80-82). The transitional regime specifies how older laws continue to interact with the Act post-amendment.

Regulation-making power and delegated instruments

• Regulations are prominent: The Act contemplates numerous regulatory measures (s 78). Regulations may declare bodies eligible to borrow, allocate investment categories (s 42), prescribe permitted investments and ratings, set interest rates for recovery, appoint appointees for statutory bodies, and prescribe special guarantee conditions (see ss 32, 42, 44-46, 51, 52, 23, 24, 82). The Act therefore delegates significant technical detail to subordinate legislation.

Taken together, the Act creates a structured regime that interacts with financial, property, trust and corporate laws, while explicitly carving out certain interactions (Corporations Act exclusion in s 13A), preserving the operation of trust instruments (s 12), centralising guarantees via the Treasurer (s 15-16), and relying on regulations to fill detailed technical gaps.

The supplied text includes numerous marginal amendment notes that show the Act has been subject to staged legislative change. The source material records insertions (ins), amendments (amd), substitutions (sub), and omitted provisions (om) with references to amending instruments and years. The following summarises the pattern and examples evident in the supplied text; this is a summary of the textual amendment annotations contained in the Act as supplied.

• 1980s and early structural changes: Several early amendments are recorded. Section 4 was amended in 1988 (s 4 amd 1988 No. 55 s 6) and s 4A (continuation as Queensland Treasury Corporation) was inserted in 1988 (s 4A ins 1988 No. 55 s 7). Section 12 shows an amendment in 1984 and later formal insertions, signalling ongoing structural adjustments to trusteeship provisions.

• 1994 and 1996 substantial recasts and insertions: Multiple sections show insertions or presentational changes in 1996 (notably s 3A, s 3B, s 5, and many other sections were "pres s" meaning present section inserted or re-enacted in 1996 No. 54 s 4 or s 5). The Act’s object (s 2) was preserved and expanded by a 1996 insertion (pres s 2 ins 1996 No. 54 s 4). Section 16A (Treasurer may charge for a guarantee) was inserted in 1994 (s 16A ins 1994 No. 31 s 7) and subsequently amended in 1999 and 2013 as noted in the marginal notes (amd 1999 No. 29; 2013 No. 39 s 43).

• 1997-1999 technical revisions: Several sections show substitutions or amendments in 1997 (e.g. s 20 amd 1997 No. 57 s 33) and 1999 (e.g. s 32 amd 1999 No. 19 s 3; s 46 sub 1999 No. 69). These mostly relate to clarifications of definitions, the meaning of borrowing and other financial accommodation, and the treatment of specific investment categories.

• 2001, 2003, 2006 and later amendments: The text records insertions in 2001 (s 13A ins 2001 No. 45 s 29 sch 3) carving out certain Corporations Act matters. In 2003 there were a number of amendments and insertions, for example s 11 amended by 2003 No. 12 s 6 and new provisions for type 1 and type 2 financial arrangements were inserted (s 60A ins 2003 No. 12 s 15; s 61A ins 2003 No. 12 s 15). The ability of the Treasurer to give general approvals by gazette and related mechanics were amended/inserted in 2003 (s 70 amd 2003 No. 12 s 16). Section 76 (delegations) is noted as inserted in 1996 but has an ongoing function.

• Re-enactments and presentational notes: Several provisions include “pres s” and “sub” marginal notes indicating that, at the time of the consolidation of the supplied text, certain sections had been re-presented, relocated or substituted. For example, s 5 shows "pres s 5 ins 1996 No. 54 s 5", indicating the present text was placed in 1996. Section marginal notes also show when older subsections were omitted (om) by specific instruments.

• Transitional amendment instruments: Part 11 contains detailed transitional provisions referring to the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Amendment Act 1996 and to the 2003 Amendment Act, together with the dates of commencement for particular transitional rules (see s 79 and s 86). These transitional provisions preserve certain existing arrangements, authorities and guarantees and provide particular treatment for QTC loans and existing guarantees.

• Regulatory and subordinate-law evolution implied: The Act delegates many details to regulations (s 78). The marginal notes and repeated references to "a regulation may" throughout the Act show that the practical application of investment categories, ratings, prescribed investments, appointment of appointees, rates of interest for recovery and special guarantee conditions have been, and continue to be, implemented by delegated legislation. The Act’s amendment history therefore interacts with regulatory change which is not printed in this supplied text.

This summary is limited to the amendment annotations and transitional clauses present in the supplied text and does not add external legislative history beyond the amendment markers shown. The annotations make clear that the Act has been progressively amended over a series of years (notably 1984, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 and later), inserting new parts (for example Parts 7 and 7A) and adding regulatory hooks for detailed implementation.

The supplied legislation text contains no case law, judicial decisions, or references to litigation. The Act itself provides statutory remedies and routes for judicial enforcement (for example, recovery of debts by action in a court of competent jurisdiction, s 29, and applications to the Supreme Court for appointment of receivers, s 37). The transitional provisions (Part 11) preserve existing rights and powers of courts and receivers in relation to existing guarantees and instruments as they stood before particular amendments (e.g. s 81(4)-(5)), which shows the statute contemplates court involvement.

Beyond those procedural references, however, the supplied text does not identify any reported litigation, judicial interpretation, or decisions construing its provisions. Any assessment of litigation risk, interpretive issues, or precedential authorities would therefore require consulting case law databases and court records external to this text. The Act’s substantive provisions create enforcement paths (recovery, receivership, appointment of appointees, rights to security and priority), but the practical operation and interpretation of those provisions in disputed cases would be a matter for the courts and is not recorded in the legislation supplied here.

The Act contains several drafting features and procedural traps that can catch practitioners, statutory bodies and counterparties if not explicitly managed. These are concrete, statutory mechanics that change legal positions or procedural burdens.

• Statutory-body status can be non-intuitive (s 5-6): Whether an entity is a statutory body under this Act depends on the particular statutory formation and control of funds. Some bodies that are statutory for other Acts (for example under the Financial Accountability Act 2009) may not be statutory bodies here (s 5(1) note). Conversely, regulations can declare entities statutory bodies or not (s 5(3); s 6(1)(j)). Practitioners must confirm statutory-body status under this Act before relying on its powers or protections.

• Treasurer exclusivity on guarantees and conditions (ss 15-16, 18): Only the Treasurer may give State guarantees under Part 3 (s 15-16). Guarantees may require counterparties to take specified security; failure to take that security or improper release/waiver without written consent from the Treasurer renders a guarantee void ab initio (s 18). Counterparties who accept guarantees should check the guarantee document for specified security and the Treasurer’s written consent requirements; absence of compliance can eliminate the guarantee retrospectively.

• Approvals may be general, conditional and capable of amendment or repeal (ss 59(2), 70, 71(4)): Approvals by the Treasurer can be general (gazette) or specific, may impose conditions and are expressly subject to later amendment or repeal. Appointments of funds managers and other approvals must be made subject to conditions and a subsequent amendment or repeal of the approval (s 59(2)-(3)). That means a counterparty cannot assume permanence for rights given under such approvals.

• Authorising Act silence limits powers (ss 8-11): If an authorising Act lacks an express power (for example to borrow, invest, enter derivatives or appoint a funds manager), the statutory body’s powers are limited to the versions in this Act (ss 8-11). A broad corporate capacity clause in an authorising Act (powers of a body corporate or ability to enter contracts) does not automatically permit powers beyond those allowed here (ss 8(2), 9(2), 10(2), 11(2)-(4)). Practitioners should check both the authorising Act and this Act before relying on an asserted power.

• Documentary proof required to preserve remedies for third parties (s 68(3)): Section 68 denies remedies against a statutory body for arrangements entered other than under this Act or another applying Act. However, subsection 68(3) preserves a party’s remedies if the party received a document from the statutory body stating that Treasurer approval had been obtained (for this Act) or required approvals under another Act. That creates a documentary condition precedent for preserving rights in some cases. Counterparties dealing with bodies should seek express written confirmation of Treasurer approval where appropriate.

• Derivative transactions tightly constrained and reported (ss 53-57): Derivative transactions are permitted only for prescribed bodies and only with Treasurer approval; they must be entered for hedging purposes (s 54) and require specified reporting to the Treasurer and the administering Minister (s 55-56). Failure to obtain Treasurer approval or to report can put the derivative transaction outside the Act and potentially limit remedies (cf. s 68).

• Investment category allocation and term limits (ss 42-46): Statutory bodies have no default investment power; they only gain power if a regulation allocates a category to them (s 42(1)-(4)). Category-specific term limits, permitted instruments and ratings requirements apply (ss 44-46). Investing outside those categories or terms may render an arrangement “illegal” relative to the Act and affect counterparty remedies (s 68).

• Creditor enforcement constrained by notice and Treasurer timelines (s 37): Creditors can only pursue receivership or sue after giving notice to the statutory body and waiting 14 days, and, where a s 16 guarantee applies, after supplying a copy to the Treasurer and waiting an additional 14 days for a possible Treasurer payment. That creates unavoidable delay before enforcement action.

• Guarantee charges capped relative to QTC attributed amounts (s 16A): The Treasurer can charge a fee for giving a guarantee other than to QTC, but the amount must not exceed the attributed amounts that would have applied had the financial arrangements been entered into with QTC under the Queensland Treasury Corporation Act 1988, s 19(1). This ties the cost of a guarantee to a parallel QTC tariff.

• Treasurer powers to rank income encumbrances by gazette notice (s 36): Absent a gazette notice, income encumbrances rank equally; a Treasurer gazette notice can alter relative ranking among income encumbrances, potentially shifting priority post facto for future arrangements. This is a discretionary administrative lever that affects creditor expectations.

• Waivers of immunity and clauses preserving enforceability (ss 19, 63): Guarantees and financial-document clauses may waive State immunity and include enforceability clauses that operate despite other Acts or rules of law. Parties should be alert to these contractual choices as they can alter the usual legal defences or immunities.

• Trustee constraints versus statutory non-receipt of trust notices (ss 12, 66): Where a statutory body is acting as trustee its powers are subject to the trust; but s 66 also provides that a statutory body must not be taken to have received notice of a trust in relation to a financial arrangement. There is a tension to be managed: trustee obligations remain primary (s 12), but for financial arrangements under the Act the body is insulated from trust notice doctrines (s 66).

• Record-keeping and decision-making formalities (s 14, s 47, s 74): Bodies must make written decisions where required and keep investment records showing best efforts to obtain the most advantageous rate (s 47). A register of Treasurer approvals must be kept (s 74). Failure to observe these formalities can undermine compliance positions and evidence in disputes.

• False or misleading information offence (s 75): Supplying false or misleading documents to the Treasurer in the approvals process carries an express penalty and potential reputational risk; the statutory exception requires contemporaneous written disclosure and correction.

Practitioners must therefore ensure careful pre-transaction due diligence: confirm statutory-body status, secure Treasurer approvals and written guarantees as required, obtain necessary securities in the form and with Treasurer consent, and maintain documentary evidence of approvals and decision-making to preserve remedies and protections under the Act.

This section synthesises the specific statutory steps a statutory body, its directors or officers, and counterparties should follow to operate within the Act’s constraints. Each compliance step references the source sections that create the obligation or opportunity.

1. Confirm statutory-body status and regulatory allocations (s 5, s 6, s 42)

   • Before relying on any power in the Act, determine whether the entity is a statutory body under s 5. Review the authorising Act for appointment mechanisms and fund control language.
   • Check s 6 exclusions. If the entity is a company under the Corporations Act or a department, the Act may not apply.
   • Confirm any regulatory allocations that apply the body to borrow, invest, enter derivatives, or be allocated an investment category (s 33, s 42). If no category is allocated, the body has no investment power under Part 6 (s 42(4)).

2. Follow authorising Act procedural preconditions and make written decisions (s 14)

   • If the authorising Act prescribes a decision-making process for exercising a financial power, follow that process before acting (s 14(1)-(2)).
   • If the authorising Act is silent, make a contemporaneous written decision to exercise the power and retain it before proceeding (s 14(3)).
   • If Treasurer approval is required under this Act, ensure the body formally decides to enter the arrangement before asking for Treasury approval (s 14(4)).

3. Secure Treasurer approvals where required (Parts 7, 7A, 9; ss 53, 59, 60A, 61A, 69-74)

   • Identify which powers require Treasurer approval (s 69): derivative transactions (s 53), funds manager appointments (s 59), type 1 or 2 financial arrangements (s 60A, s 61A), creation of encumbrances (s 35), borrowing (s 34 requires Treasurer approval), and overdraft facility use (s 31).
   • Apply in writing for specific approvals (s 71) and be prepared to provide documents or information requested by the Treasurer (s 72).
   • Expect conditions; ensure any appointment or arrangement is subject to those conditions and to the possibility of amendment or repeal (s 59(2)-(3), s 71(4)). Keep a register of approvals (s 74).

4. Structuring guarantees and securities (ss 16-19, 30)

   • If the State guarantee is required, engage the Treasurer early as guarantees can be general or tailored and must be in writing (s 16).
   • If a guarantee requires counterparties to take specific security, ensure that the security is taken and is not released or waived without the Treasurer’s written consent; otherwise the guarantee is void ab initio (s 18).
   • Where the Treasurer pays under a guarantee, understand the Treasurer’s right to the benefit of any security up to the guarantee amount (s 30) and prepare to comply with directions about realisation and application of proceeds.

5. Investment compliance: categories, terms, and records (ss 42-52)

   • Confirm which investment category (1, 2 or 3) has been allocated under regulation (s 42). Invest only in instruments authorised for that category (ss 44-46).
   • Ensure investments are in Australian money and undertaken in Australia (s 43), unless a Treasurer approval under Part 7A permits otherwise (s 61A).
   • Use best efforts to invest at the most advantageous rate and retain records demonstrating this (s 47). Hold title documents or safe custody acknowledgements as approved by the Treasurer (s 48).
   • For rated investments, monitor rating changes and, if a rating falls outside the prescribed rating, obtain Treasurer approval to continue or liquidate within 28 days of discovery (s 52).

6. Derivatives and reporting (ss 53-57)

   • Enter derivatives only if the body is prescribed by regulation and has Treasurer approval for the transaction or transaction type (s 53).
   • Use derivatives only to hedge exposures (s 54).
   • Report each derivative transaction to the Treasurer at times prescribed by regulation, including sufficient identification, underlying exposure, purpose and gains/losses (s 55). Provide a copy to the administering Minister on the same day (s 56). Where reporting per-transaction is burdensome