(1) The total amount of capped assistance under the Automotive Transformation Scheme must not exceed:
(a) for stage 1--$1.5 billion; and
(b) for stage 2--$1 billion.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the total amount of capped assistance paid in respect of a year must not exceed $300 million.
(3) However, if the total amount of capped assistance paid in respect of a particular year is less than $300 million, the balance may be paid as capped assistance in respect of any later year within the relevant stage.
Example: If the total amount of capped assistance paid in respect of the year beginning on 1 January 2012 is $270 million, the amount of capped assistance available in respect of the year beginning on 1 January 2013 is $330 million.
Note: Except for recovered amounts (dealt with under subsection (6)), capped assistance cannot be carried forward from stage 1 to stage 2.
(4) Subject to subsection (6), an amount of capped assistance in respect of a year must not be paid on or after 1 April in the following year.
(5) For the purposes of subsections (1) to (3), an amount of capped assistance recovered by the Commonwealth is treated as if it had never been paid.
(6) To the extent that the balance referred to in subsection (3) consists of amounts of capped assistance recovered by the Commonwealth during the last year of a stage, the balance may be paid in the year following the last year of that stage. For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), such a payment is taken to have been made in respect of the last year of that stage.