Prescribed period
3.—(1) The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, prescribe a period not exceeding 6 months for the purposes of this part and Parts 2 and 3.
(2) The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, extend or shorten the prescribed period for or by a period determined by the Minister, and the period may be extended or shortened more than once.
(3) An order mentioned in subsection (2) may specify that the extension of the prescribed period does not apply in relation to any paragraph of section 5(3), and the provisions of Part 2 apply during such an extension as if that paragraph were omitted.
PART 2
TEMPORARY RELIEF FOR INABILITY TO PERFORM CONTRACTS
Division 1—Preliminary
Application
4.—(1) This Part does not apply to a scheduled contract entered into or renewed (other than automatically) on or after 25 March 2020.
(2) A reference to a scheduled contract in this Act includes one to which the Government is a party.
Division 2—Relief measures
Temporary relief from actions for inability to perform scheduled contract
5.—(1) This section applies to a case where—
- (a) a party to a scheduled contract (called in this Division A) is unable to perform an obligation in the contract, being an obligation that is to be performed on or after 1 February 2020;
- (b) the inability is to a material extent caused by a COVID-19 event (called in this Division the subject inability); and
