Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

The ASC Board recommends dividend payments having regard to its optimal capital structure. The Government takes into account the Board's recommendation in considering whether to accept dividend payments and Government does not release the Board's advice to the public. The actual cash dividends paid by ASC can be found in the table below.

Annual ordinary dividend targets are generally a percentage of profit after tax, consistent with the Commonwealth Government Business Enterprise Governance and Oversight Guidelines 2011, and will vary in absolute terms depending on actual versus forecast results. Dividend targets for 2012-13 have not yet been agreed.