{"id":"F2007B00748","name":"Cheques Act 1986 - Determination No. 1 of 2004","slug":"cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":62625,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2007B00748-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Cheques Act 1986 - Determination No. 1 of 2004","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n|  | DETERMINATION under the CHEQUES ACT 1986 |\n| --- | --- |\n\n\nDetermination No 1 of 2004\n\n \n\n \n\nThe RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA makes the following determination under section 70A(4) of the Cheques Act 1986:\n\n1. The Australian Paper Clearing System (APCS) is hereby determined to be a recognised settlement system in terms of the Cheques Act.\n2. This approval is a disallowable instrument under section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and, accordingly, is being tabled before each House of the Commonwealth Parliament.\n3. Subject to disallowance, this determination will take effect from the date of notification in the Gazette.\n4. This determination may be reviewed from time to time.\n\n\n \n\nSigned\n\nIJ Macfarlane  Governor  Reserve Bank of Australia  \n\n18 August 2004\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination performs exactly the narrow function intended by section 70A(4) of the Cheques Act 1986: recognising a specific clearing system. There is no evidence of scope creep or expansion beyond the original statutory purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document (4 numbered paragraphs)","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation beyond a single citation (section 70A(4) of the Cheques Act 1986 and section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901)","No conditional logic or exceptions","Straightforward declarative language ('is hereby determined')"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short official decision made by the Reserve Bank of Australia in 2004. It formally recognises the **Australian Paper Clearing System (APCS)** — the system banks use to process paper cheques between themselves — as a 'recognised settlement system' under the Cheques Act 1986.\n\n**What this means:**\n- When you deposit a cheque, banks don't physically swap paper for every transaction. Instead, they use clearing systems to settle (balance out) what they owe each other.\n- By giving APCS this official status, the Reserve Bank ensures the cheque clearing system operates with legal backing and regulatory oversight.\n- This matters because it protects the reliability of cheque payments — still important for many businesses and individuals, even as electronic payments grow.\n\n**Key points:**\n- **Who made it:** The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (IJ Macfarlane).\n- **Legal effect:** The determination is a 'disallowable instrument' — meaning Parliament can veto it if it chooses, but otherwise it becomes law after being published in the Gazette.\n- **Review:** The Reserve Bank can revisit this decision periodically."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not indicate any change of scope from its apparent purpose. It performs a single, explicit function: to declare the Australian Paper Clearing System a recognised settlement system under the Cheques Act, set out its procedural status as a disallowable instrument, specify the effective date condition, and note that it may be reviewed. The text contains no indication that the declared scope differs from the original intent expressed in the determination itself."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose instrument with few operative clauses","Legal effect depends on cross-reference to the Cheques Act 1986 (external statutes not reproduced here)","Procedural detail (disallowable instrument, tabling before Parliament, Gazette effective date) requires familiarity with parliamentary and statutory instrument processes","Administrative discretion retained (review from time to time) introduces future uncertainty","Absence of operational detail in the instrument means practical implications require further statutory or regulatory lookup"],"plain_english_summary":"What this instrument does\n\n- The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), by its Governor, formally declares the Australian Paper Clearing System (APCS) to be a \"recognised settlement system\" under the Cheques Act 1986 (the determination is made under section 70A(4) of that Act). (source: Determination text)\n- The determination is a disallowable instrument under section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. That means it will be tabled before each House of the Commonwealth Parliament and can be disallowed by Parliament. (source: Determination text)\n- The determination takes effect from the date it is notified in the Gazette, unless Parliament disallows it. (source: Determination text)\n- The RBA states the determination may be reviewed from time to time. (source: Determination text)\n\nWho decides, who can act, and who pays\n\n- Who decides: The RBA (the Governor signed the determination) makes the declaration. Parliament has the power to disallow the instrument after it is tabled. (source: Determination text)\n- Who pays: The text does not set out any fees, financial obligations, or state who bears costs. The instrument is limited to declaring APCS to be a recognised settlement system and setting its procedural status; it contains no provisions about charges or funding. (source: Determination text)\n- Who acts/changes behaviour: The instrument changes the legal designation of APCS. The text does not itself spell out obligations, rights, or operational changes for APCS operators or participants — those consequences, if any, flow from the Cheques Act and associated rules outside this document. (source: Determination text)\n\nWhy this matters (mechanics and practical checks)\n\n- Legal status: By declaring APCS a \"recognised settlement system\" the RBA is making a legal designation under the Cheques Act; the determination is the formal instrument that records that status. The practical legal effects of that status are not described in the determination itself and therefore require reference to the Cheques Act for detail. (source: Determination text)\n- Parliamentary oversight: Because the instrument is disallowable and will be tabled, Parliament can annul the declaration. That introduces a route for political or legislative review without changing the RBA's initial decision. (source: Determination text)\n- Timing and uncertainty: The effective date is the Gazette notification date, but subject to possible disallowance; that combination gives immediate legal effect on notification but preserves a backward-looking parliamentary check. (source: Determination text)\n- Administrative discretion and reviewability: The RBA explicitly preserves the ability to review the determination \"from time to time,\" which keeps the designation subject to future administrative reassessment. (source: Determination text)\n\nCosts, incentives, trade-offs, and compliance burden (what the text shows and what it does not)\n\n- The instrument itself imposes no identified compliance duties, reporting requirements, or fees. Any such obligations would need to be identified in the Cheques Act or other instruments; they are not in this text. (source: Determination text)\n- The text creates an administrative and parliamentary process: the RBA can declare a system recognised, Parliament can disallow, and the RBA can review — this allocates decision power to the RBA initially and oversight power to Parliament. The instrument does not allocate costs or set operational rules. (source: Determination text)\n- Implementation risk and opportunity cost: The text preserves potential for change (review and disallowance). Any practical effects, regulatory burdens, or competitive impacts would depend on how the Cheques Act treats a \"recognised settlement system,\" which this determination does not restate. (source: Determination text)\n\nTaken together\n\n- Mechanically, the document is a short administrative declaration by the RBA recognising APCS under the Cheques Act, flagged for parliamentary oversight, effective on Gazette notification, and subject to later review. The determination does not specify financial obligations, operational requirements, or the downstream legal consequences of that recognition; those must be found in the Cheques Act and related instruments rather than in this determination itself. (source: Determination text)"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004","history":"/api/acts/cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004/history","analysis":"/api/acts/cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/cheques-act-1986-determination-no-1-of-2004/documents"}}