Mining Act 1992

There is established in the Special Deposits Account a fund called the Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund (the Rejuvenation Fund).

The object of the Rejuvenation Fund is to alleviate economic impacts in affected coal mining regions caused by a move away from coal mining by supporting other economic diversification in those regions, including by the funding of infrastructure, services, programs and other activities.

The Rejuvenation Fund is to be administered by the Secretary.

There is payable into the Rejuvenation Fund—

money advanced, if any, by the Treasurer for the Rejuvenation Fund, and

money appropriated, if any, by Parliament for the purposes of the Rejuvenation Fund, and

other money directed or authorised to be paid into the Rejuvenation Fund by or under this or another Act or law, and

the proceeds from the investment of money in the Rejuvenation Fund.

There is payable from the Rejuvenation Fund—

money authorised by the Minister to promote the object of the Rejuvenation Fund, but only if the Minister has considered—

written advice about the payment given by the Secretary, including advice as to how the payment complies with the eligibility criteria specified under subsection (6), and

advice and recommendations given by an Expert Panel, and

for a payment that relates to an affected coal mining region—advice and recommendations given by an Expert Panel established for the region, and

the public interest, and

whether the payment would lead to a negative impact on the environment, and

money required to meet the administrative expenses related to the Rejuvenation Fund, and

money authorised or required to be paid from the Rejuvenation Fund by or under this or another Act or law.

Money must not be paid from the Rejuvenation Fund under subsection (5)(a) unless it is paid in accordance with eligibility criteria issued and made publicly available by the Secretary for the purposes of this section.

The Secretary must—

keep a public register on the Department’s website of all programs and projects funded from the Rejuvenation Fund under subsection (5)(a), and

update the register, as soon as practicable after the end of each quarter, with details of projects or programs funded or approved for funding from the Rejuvenation Fund.

The Secretary may invest money in the Rejuvenation Fund—

if the Department is a GSF agency for the purposes of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018, Part 6—in a way the Department is permitted to invest money under that Part, or

if the Department is not a GSF agency for the purposes of the Government Sector Finance Act 2018, Part 6—in a way approved by the Treasurer.

The annual report of the Department must include details of the amounts paid from the Rejuvenation Fund during the financial year to which the report relates and the purposes for which those payments were made.

In this section—

affected coal mining region means an area of the State prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.

The Minister must not recommend the making of a regulation under subsection (10) unless the Minister is satisfied that the area to be prescribed—

relies, or has relied, on coal mining for employment and economic activity, and

is, or is likely to be, impacted by a transition away from coal mining.