Happy Australia Day for yesterday. It always seems to bring the blasé-best out in us all. BBQ's, snags, chops (check the Sam Kekovich ad) a few beers, a mini-riot, hooning tennis players, cricketers walloping the Indians...or sitting inside out of the rain and humidity. Not for Australia are the grand military parades or call-to-arms speeches. We're too cool (or hot) for that.
That's what I like about Australia.

The kids went back to school thist week, and Aimee Lancaster gives some tips on what to look out for when claiming education tax refund expenses in July. Make sure to keep your receipts. As the end of January fast approaches, so does the deadline for those of you in New South Wales to get your flood relief applications in. Those of you in Queensland have been given an extension; Amy Wren gives us an overview below.

A piece of legisation that has been skipping under the radar is the Personal Properties Securities Act (PPSA). This fundamentally changes the concept of ownership. Who has possession, rather than legal title, is now more important. Read the side article for more information. We will be covering this topic in greater detail in future issues.

So, all the best for a successful 2012 and read on for a few good tips.

Cheers

Pete Crothers
Partner

The first joke for 2012:
There are four engineers traveling in a car. One is a mechanical engineer, one a chemical engineer, one an electrical engineer and the other one an engineer from Microsoft. The car breaks down.

"Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again," says the mechanical engineer.

"Well," says the chemical engineer, "it sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system."

"I thought it might be a grounding problem," says the electrical engineer, "or maybe a faulty plug lead."

They all turn to the Microsoft engineer who has said nothing and ask him, "What do you think?"

"Well, I think we should close all the windows, get out, get back in, and open the windows again."

QRAA Flood Grant Extension

Article by Amy Wren
akw@insightcpa.com

The QRAA (Queensland Rural Assistance Authority) recently announced they have extended the due date for lodgement of the QRAA Flood & Cyclone Yasi Grant applications to 30 June 2012. The NSWRAA (New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority) has not extended its deadline.

In summary:

31 January 2012 is the due date for the NSWRAA grant for the June 2011 floods
30 June 2012 is the due date for the QRAA grant for the November 2010 to January 2011 floods
30 June 2012 is the due date for the QRAA grant for the February 2011 Tropical Cyclone Yasi

Below are some major points relating to the QRAA Flood Grant:

Grant available of up to $25,000 per farm enterprise or small business
Assistance is available only to direct damage caused by flooding in November 2010 to January 2011.
The assistance enable you to cover the costs associated with cleaning & restoration activities including:
- purchasin g, hiring or leasing plant, equipment or materials to clean up or resume business activities
- clearing or disposing of debris and damaged goods or injured or dead livestock
- repairing buildings or essential fittings in buildings other than houses
- repairing or reconditioning essential plant or equipment
- repairing roads, fences and dams and other essential infrastructure
- repairing or restoring fields
- purchasing fodder or saving crops or feed for livestock
- replacing lost or damaged stock essential to resuming trading (other than livestock)
- maintain the health of livestock or poultry
- leasing temporary premises to resume operations
- engaging a person to clean or conduct a safety inspection of premises
- paying additional wages to an employee to assist with the clean-up and restoration work.
Expenses not covered by the grant include:
- Damage to dwellings
- Loss of income from destroyed crops
- Damages covered by insurance
- Your own labour costs
- All capital purchases

The following government areas are eligible to apply for the flood grant:

Balonne	Banana	Barcaldine
Blackall Tambo (East of Landsborough Hwy)
Brisbane	Bundaberg	Central Highlands
Cherbourg	Fraser Coast	Goondiwindi
Gladstone (Boyne River, Kolan River and Baffle Creek catchments including east of Baffle Creek Catchment and south of Palm Grove Road and Deepwater National Park).
Gympie	Ipswich	Lockyer Valley
Isaac (south-east sectioned defined as west of Sarina Marlborough Rd, south of Peak Downs Hwy and east of Gregory Hwy).
Maranoa	Moreton Bay	North Burnett
Murweh (North-eastern section defined as south along Landsborough Hwy from Blackall Tambo to Mt Tabor Rd, east along Mt Tabor Rd to Maranoa at Hoganthulla)
North Burnett	Rockhampton	Scenic Rim
Somerset	South Burnett	Southern Downs
Sunshine Coast	Toowoomba	Western Downs
Woorabinda

To be eligible for the Primary Producer Grant you must:

Be a primary producer
Have been engaged in your primary production enterprise, in the prescribed November 2010 to January 2011 flood disaster area and have suffered direct damage as a result of the flood event
Intend to re-establish your primary production enterprise
Be responsible for meeting the costs you are claiming
Primary producers in the areas above that have suffered direct damage and who have generated more than 50% of their income from their businesses are eligible to apply.

To be eligible for the Small Business Grant you must:

Own (whether as sole owner, in partnership or as a private company) a small business
Have been engaged in your small business, in the prescribed November 2010 to January 2011 flood disaster area and have suffered direct damage as a result of the flood event
Intend to re-establish your small business enterprise
Be responsible for meeting the costs you are claiming
Small businesses in the areas above that have suffered direct damage and who have generated more than 50% of their income from their businesses are eligible to apply.

To support the claim, you will be required to have made payments for the above mentioned expenses:

Tax invoices showing full details of goods or services supplied (to be identifiable as flood related damage on the invoice)
An official receipt from the supplier or contractor – if this cannot be obtained, photocopies of cheque butts, bank transfers and bank statements will be required.

If you are unable to pay for the costs up front, you may be eligible to apply for assistance under financial hardship.

The above points also apply to farm enterprise or small business who received direct damages caused by Tropical Cyclone Yasi in February 2011. The following points apply only to Cyclone Yasi and differ to the above points for the flood grant:

The following government areas are eligible to apply for the Cyclone Yasi grant:

Burdekin	Cairns	Cassowary Coast
Charters Towers	Croydon	Etheridge
Flinders	Hinchinbrook	Isaac
Mackay	Palm Island	Richmond
Tablelands	Townsville	Whitsundays
Yarrabah

For NSW clients, NSWRAA (New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority) are still offering a Flood Grant for the June 2011 flooding in the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales. However, there is no extension date on this application, and all applications & invoices are due to NSWRAA by 31 January 2012.

Below are some major points relating to the NSWRAA Flood Grant that differ to the QRAA grant:

Grant available of up to $15,000 per farm enterprise or small business
Assistance is available only to direct damage caused by flooding in June 2011.

The following government areas are eligible to apply for the flood grant:

Bellingen	Clarence Valley	Coffs Harbour
Gloucester	Greater Taree	Kempsey
Nambucca	Port Macquarie - Hastings

To support the claim, you will be required to have made payments for the above mentioned expenses:
- Tax invoices showing full details of goods or services supplied (to be identifiable as flood related damage on the invoice) dated after 12 June 2011
- Copy of latest Local Government Council rate notice
- Provide complete copies of latest tax returns and financial statements for the farm enterprise or small bu