Overview

The Science and Industry Endowment Fund (referred to as “the Fund”) was established under the Science and Industry Endowment Act 1926 with the Trustee of the Fund being the CSIRO Chief Executive and is a not-for-profit entity. An appropriation of 100 000 pounds was received at the time the Fund was established. The principal activity of the Fund is to provide assistance to persons engaged in scientific research and in the training of students in scientific research.

In October 2009 the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research announced a gift of $150 million to be donated by CSIRO to the Fund. The gift is intended to be used for scientific research for the purposes of assisting Australian industry, furthering the interests of the Australian community or contributing to the achievement of Australian national objectives. The gift was made subject to the terms of a Deed of Gift between the Trustee and CSIRO dated 15 October 2009. In June 2018, the CSIRO made a further gift of $10 million to the Fund. This gift was also made subject to the terms of the Deed of Gift between the Trustee and CSIRO dated 15 October 2009. The total cash payments made in 2018-19 under the Deed of Gift was $13,482,202 (GST exclusive).

In June 2017, the NSW Government acting through the NSW Department of Industry provided a $25 million endowment to SIEF to create the NSW Generation STEM Program. The program will be delivered over a 10 year period and will implement activities including research, to increase the supply of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skilled labour to meet the current and future needs of New South Wales. The total cash payments made in 2018-19 under the NSW Endowment were $2,038,761 (GST exclusive).

In November and December 2018, National ICT Australia Limited (NICTA), a controlled entity of CSIRO, provided two gifts to SIEF in the total amount of $20m to fund the Future National ICT Industry Platform Program. The program is a scale of research activities and projects that address challenges in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) and it is intended that the outcomes from the Program will benefit Australia by helping create new Australian technology-based industries and/or applied technology platforms that can reach global scale. The total payments made in 2018-19 under the Future National ICT Industry Platform Program were $8,328,507 (GST exclusive).

In April 2019, SIEF received a bequest from the estate of the late David Ross Metcalf for $1 million. The Trustee determined to use the bequest for industry/research engagement programs. The total cash payments made in 2018-19 was $1,037,633 (GST exclusive).

In any one financial year a maximum amount of $25 million exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST) can be disbursed from the Fund for the CSIRO GIFT, NSW Generation STEM Program and the Future National ICT Industry Platform Program. The total payments made in 2018-19 were $24,887,103 (GST exclusive).

Basis of Preparation of the Financial Statements

The financial statements for the Fund are general purpose financial statements and are required by section 10 of the Science and Industry Endowment Act 1926. They have been prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and Interpretations – Reduced Disclosure Requirements issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) that apply for the reporting period.

The financial statements have been prepared on an accrual basis and are in accordance with the historical cost convention. No allowance is made for the effect of changing prices on the results or the financial position.

The financial statement is presented in Australian Dollars and values are rounded to the nearest dollar unless otherwise specified.

Significant Accounting Judgements and Estimates and New Accounting Standards

No accounting assumptions or estimates have been identified that have a significant impact on the amounts recorded in the financial statements.

The Fund has reviewed new standards, revised standards and interpretations/amending standards issued prior to the signing of the financial statements. They do not have a material effect to SIEF’s financial statements.

Events after the Reporting Period

The Trustee is not aware of any other significant events occurring after the reporting date that could impact on the financial report.

Taxation

The Fund is exempt from all forms of taxation except GST.

Note 1 Scientific Research Grants

Note 2 Contributions Income

Contributions are recognised as income when the Fund obtains control of the contribution and the amount of the contribution can be measured reliably. Contributions are recognised at fair value of the contributions received or receivable. In 2017-18, the Fund received $10m in contributions from the CSIRO. In 2018-19, the Fund received $20m in contributions from NICTA and $1.0m from the bequest from the estate of David Ross Metcalf. Further details about these contributions have been disclosed in the overview.

Note 3 Interest Revenue

Interest revenue is recognised using the effective interest method as set out in AASB 9 Financial Instruments.

Note 4 Cash and cash equivalents

Note 5 Trade and other receivables

Note 6 Grants payable

Grants payable relates to grants where the milestone has been met, but are yet to be paid. These items will be paid in the first quarter 2019-20.

Note 7 Financial Instruments

On implementation of AASB 9, there was no change in the measurement of financial assets under any category. Cash and cash equivalents and interest receivable were previously classified as held-to-maturity financial assets. GST receivable was previously classified as loans and receivables.

Note 8 Schedule of Commitments

The below table shows the monies SIEF is committed to pay on its executed grant funding agreements as at 30 June 2019, subject to grantees meeting funding milestones.

Note 9 Cash Flow Reconciliation

Note 10 Contingent Assets and Liabilities

No contingent assets or liabilities existed as at 30 June 2019 (2018: nil).

Note 11 Related Party Disclosures

The fund is a wholly controlled subsidiary of CSIRO. The trustee is the Chief Executive Officer of CSIRO who is remunerated through CSIRO and not paid an additional salary for his role as trustee of the fund. There were no transactions during the reporting period between the trustee and the fund. Related parties to this entity other than the trustee are other Australian Government entities.

Significant transactions with related parties can include the payment of grants, the purchase of goods and services. Given consideration to relationships with related entities, and transactions entered into during the reporting period by the entity, it has been determined that there are no related party transactions required to be separately disclosed. Grants are awarded based on assessment against a set of established selection criteria prior to approval. All eligible applications are assessed equally.