1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011.
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Bill homepage (APH)This Act may be cited as the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011.
This Act commences on 1 July 2012.
The main object of this Act is to:
improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies; and
increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia; and
facilitate the achievement of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; and
contribute to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
In this Act:
agreement includes a contract or deed.
appointed member means a Board member appointed under section 30.
ARENA: see Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
ARENA’s money: see section 67.
Australia, when used in a geographical sense, includes the external Territories.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency or ARENA means the body established by section 7.
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets means:
if:
Australia’s current nationally determined contribution was communicated in accordance with Article 4 of the Paris Agreement in June 2022; and
that nationally determined contribution has not been adjusted in accordance with paragraph 11 of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;
the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets set out in paragraphs 10(1)(a) and (b) of the Climate Change Act 2022; or
in any other case—the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets included in:
Australia’s current nationally determined contribution communicated in accordance with Article 4 of the Paris Agreement; or
if that nationally determined contribution has been adjusted in accordance with paragraph 11 of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement—that nationally determined contribution, as adjusted and in force from time to time.
Board means the Board of ARENA.
Board member means a member of the Board.
CEO means the Chief Executive Officer of ARENA.
Chair means the Chair of the Board.
Climate Change Convention means the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change done at New York on 9 May 1992, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.
The text of the Convention is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1994 No. 2 ([1994] ATS 2). In 2011, the text of a Convention in the Australian Treaty Series was accessible through the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (www.austlii.edu.au).
constitutional corporation means a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies.
Deputy Chair means the Deputy Chair of the Board.
electrification technologies means:
technologies that use electricity and replace technologies that use fossil fuels; or
technologies that facilitate the replacement of technologies that use fossil fuels with technologies that use electricity.
energy efficiency technologies includes:
energy conservation technologies; and
demand management technologies; and
technologies (including enabling technologies) that are related to energy efficiency technologies.
Finance Minister means the Minister who administers the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
financial assistance means:
grants; or
any other kinds of assistance specified by the Minister by legislative instrument for the purpose of this paragraph.
non‑Commonwealth money means money that ARENA receives from a person other than the Commonwealth.
Paris Agreement means the Paris Agreement, done at Paris on 12 December 2015, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.
The Agreement is in Australian Treaty Series 2016 No. 24 ([2016] ATS 24) and could in 2022 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).
renewable energy technologies includes:
hybrid technologies; and
technologies (including enabling technologies) that are related to renewable energy technologies.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Department.
vacancy, in relation to the office of an appointed member, has a meaning affected by subsection 33(4).
This Act extends to every external Territory.
This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is established by this section.
ARENA:
is a body corporate; and
must have a seal; and
may sue and be sued.
The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 applies to ARENA. That Act deals with matters relating to corporate Commonwealth entities, including reporting and the use and management of public resources.
ARENA’s seal is to be kept in such custody as the Board directs and must not be used except as authorised by the Board.
All courts, judges and persons acting judicially must:
take judicial notice of the imprint of the seal of ARENA appearing on a document; and
presume that the document was duly sealed.
ARENA has the following functions:
to provide financial assistance for:
research into renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies; or
the development, manufacture, demonstration, commercialisation or deployment of renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies; or
the storage and sharing of information and knowledge about renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies;
to enter into agreements for the purpose of providing financial assistance as mentioned in paragraph (a) and to administer such agreements;
to collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate information and knowledge relating to renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies, and projects relating to such technologies;
to provide advice to the Minister relating to renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies, including advice about the following:
improving the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies;
increasing the supply of renewable energy in Australia;
improving the development of skills in the renewable energy technology sector;
increasing the use of renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies;
to liaise with State and Territory governments and other authorities for the purpose of facilitating projects relating to renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies or energy efficiency technologies for which financial assistance is, or is proposed to be, provided as mentioned in paragraph (a);
any other functions that are prescribed by the regulations;
any other functions conferred on ARENA by this Act or any other Commonwealth law;
to do anything incidental to, or conducive to, the performance of the above functions.
Paragraph (f) allows additional functions to be prescribed related to renewable energy technologies as well as electrification technologies or energy efficiency technologies.
In performing its functions, ARENA must:
act in a proper, efficient and effective manner; and
ensure that decisions about the provision of financial assistance are based on merit; and
if appropriate:
act collaboratively with other persons, organisations and governments (including international organisations and foreign governments); and
promote the sharing of information and knowledge about renewable energy technologies, electrification technologies and energy efficiency technologies.
ARENA must not enter into an agreement for the provision of financial assistance unless the financial assistance provided for is in accordance with the general funding strategy that is in force under Subdivision A of Division 2 of Part 3 at the time when the agreement is entered into.
The Minister may, in writing, request ARENA to consider providing financial assistance for a particular project specified in the request.
ARENA must consider the request.
ARENA must not, without the written approval of the Minister, make grants totalling more than $50 million for a particular project.
Guidelines for grant programs enabling grants exceeding $15 million for a particular project must be approved by the Minister under section 25.
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