Trade Support Loans Amendment (Improving Administration) Bill 2019 [2019] AUSStaCSBSD 166 (5 December 2019)

• Trade Support Loans Amendment (Improving Administration) Bill 2019
• Significant matters in delegated legislation 47

---

Trade Support Loans Amendment (Improving Administration) Bill 2019

Purpose	This bill seeks to amend the Trade Support Loans Act 2014 to empower the Secretary to: • make a determination to offset a payment of a trade support loan that a person is required to pay through the tax system once their income reaches the minimum repayment income threshold; and • prescribe the circumstances in which later instalments can be reduced in rules
Portfolio	Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business
Introduced	House of Representatives on 28 November 2019

Significant matters in delegated legislation ^[47]

1.80 Item 6 of Schedule 1 to the bill seeks to empower the Secretary to provide for offsetting arrangements where an amount of trade support loan (TSL) is wrongly paid to a person who was not entitled to the payment. Proposed subsection 11(4) will allow the rules (i.e. delegated legislation) to prescribe the circumstances in which the Secretary is to determine that amounts of later TSL instalments are to be reduced.

1.81 The committee's view is that significant matters, such as the circumstances in which the amounts of later trade support loan instalments may be reduced, should be included in primary legislation unless a sound justification for the use of delegated legislation is provided. The explanatory memorandum provides no explanation as to why it is necessary to prescribe such circumstances in delegated legislation.

1.82 In this instance, it is unclear to the committee why at least high-level guidance regarding the circumstances in which the amounts of later TSL instalments may be reduced cannot be included in primary legislation. The committee notes that a legislative instrument, made by the executive, is not subject to the full range of parliamentary scrutiny inherent in bringing proposed changes in the form of an amending bill.

1.83 The committee's view is that significant matters, such as the circumstances in which the amounts of later trade support loan (TSL) instalments may be reduced, should be included in primary legislation unless a sound justification is provided. The committee therefore requests the minister's advice as to:

• why it is considered necessary and appropriate to leave significant matters, such as the circumstances in which the amounts of later TSL instalments may be reduced, to delegated legislation; and

• whether it would be appropriate for the bill to be amended to set out at least high level guidance regarding the relevant circumstances on the face of the primary legislation.

---

[47] Schedule 1, item 6. The committee draws senators’ attention to this provision pursuant to Senate Standing Order 24(1)(a)(iv).