{"id":"co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978","name":"Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited Act 1978","slug":"co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":177973,"registerId":"vic-co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited Act 1978","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct\nMeat Supply Limited Act 1978\nAct No. 9092/1978\nVersion as at 1 November 1999\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Short title, commencement and definition 2\n2. Additional powers to Society 2\n3. As to guarantee by Treasurer 2\n4. Limitation on guarantee by Treasurer 3\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 4\n1. General Information 4\n2. Table of Amendments 5\n3. Explanatory Details 6\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct\nMeat Supply Limited Act 1978\nAct No. 9092/1978\nVersion as at 1 November 1999\nAn Act to authorize the Co-operative Farmers and Graziers\nDirect Meat Supply Limited to obtain certain financial\naccommodation and to authorize the giving of a guarantee in\nrespect of financial accommodation obtained by the said\nCo-operative and for other purposes.\nPreamble\nWHEREAS the Co-operative Farmers and\nGraziers Direct Meat Supply Limited is a society\nincorporated under the Co-operation Act 1958:\nAND WHEREAS the Society is in receivership:\nAND WHEREAS the Society proposes to obtain\nfinancial accommodation to enable it to satisfy its\nliabilities and to resume trading operations:\nAND WHEREAS the Government of the\nCommonwealth of Australia and the Government\nof the State of Victoria have agreed to assist the\nSociety by the provision of guarantees to secure\nthe financial accommodation so obtained:\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen's Most\nExcellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the\nLegislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria\nin this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of\nthe same as follows (that is to say):\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9092/1978\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited\nAct 1978\n2\n1. Short title, commencement and definition\n(1) This Act may be cited as the Co-operative\nFarmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply\nLimited Act 1978.\n(2) This Act shall come into operation on the day on\nwhich it receives the Royal Assent.\n(3) In this Act the Co-operative Farmers and Graziers\nDirect Meat Supply Limited is called \"the\nSociety\".\n2. Additional powers to Society\nIn addition to any accommodation that the Society\nmay obtain pursuant to the powers conferred on it\nby the Co-operation Act 1958 the Society may\nobtain advances or financial accommodation from\nany person whether in Victoria or elsewhere of\nsuch amount and secured and arranged in such\nmanner and for such period as is approved by the\nTreasurer.\n3. As to guarantee by Treasurer\n(1) The Treasurer may on behalf of the State of\nVictoria at the request of the Society and subject\nto the conditions required by this Act give one\nguarantee in respect of the repayment by the\nSociety of one-half of the principal moneys in\nrelation to the financial accommodation obtained\nby the Society for the purpose of repaying debts\nowed by the Society.\n(2) A guarantee shall not be given under sub-section\n(1) that would render the State of Victoria liable to\npay an amount that exceeds or amounts that in the\naggregate exceed $4 500 000 or one-half of so\nmuch of the principal moneys referred to in that\nsub-section as have not for the time being been\nrepaid by the Society, whichever is the less.\ns. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9092/1978\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited\nAct 1978\n3\n(3) Such sums as may from time to time be deemed\npayable by the Treasurer of Victoria under any\nguarantee authorized by this Act shall be paid out\nof the Consolidated Fund (which is hereby to the\nnecessary extent appropriated accordingly).\n4. Limitation on guarantee by Treasurer\nFor the purpose of the protection of the financial\ninterests of the State the Treasurer shall not give a\nguarantee under section 3 in relation to financial\naccommodation obtained by the Society unless—\n(a) a like guarantee is given by the Treasurer of\nthe Commonwealth on behalf of the\nCommonwealth in respect of the repayment\nby the Society of one-half of the principal\nmoneys in relation to the same borrowing;\n(b) the accommodation is obtained for a period\nnot exceeding three years and on such other\nterms and conditions as the Treasurer is\nsatisfied are reasonable; and\n(c) such other conditions as the Treasurer thinks\nnecessary are fulfilled.\n═══════════════\ns. 4\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9092/1978\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited\nAct 1978\n4\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nThe Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited Act\n1978 was assented to on 18 April 1978 and came into operation on 18 April\n1978: section 1(2).\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9092/1978\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited\nAct 1978\n5\n2. Table of Amendments\nThere are no amendments made to the Co-operative Farmers and Graziers\nDirect Meat Supply Limited Act 1978 by Acts and subordinate instruments.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9092/1978\nCo-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited\nAct 1978\n6\n3. Explanatory Details\nNo entries at date of publication.\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"There is insufficient information in the provided text to determine whether the scope of the Act changed from its original intent. The document contains only version history metadata and no substantive provisions or amendment history details."},"complexity_factors":["The Act appears to be narrowly focused on a single specific co-operative entity, limiting its broad complexity","Insufficient legislative text was provided to assess the complexity of substantive provisions","Legislation from 1978 may use older drafting conventions that can be harder to interpret","Co-operative law can involve intersecting corporate, agricultural, and industry-specific regulatory frameworks"],"plain_english_summary":"## Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited Act 1978\n\nThis is a Victorian law from 1978 that appears to deal with a specific co-operative (a business jointly owned and run by its members) called **Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited**.\n\n**Who does this affect?**\nThis law would primarily affect farmers, graziers (livestock farmers), and members of this specific co-operative organisation involved in direct meat supply.\n\n**What does it do?**\nBased on the available information, this Act likely established, regulated, or made special provisions for this particular co-operative entity — potentially relating to its incorporation, powers, operations, or governance in the meat supply industry.\n\n**Important caveat:** The text provided contains almost no substantive content — only metadata about the Act's version history. It is not possible to provide a detailed summary of the Act's actual provisions without access to the full legislative text."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: facilitating a specific financial rescue of one named co-operative in 1978. There is no evidence of scope creep; the Act has never been amended and serves as a historical snapshot of a targeted intervention rather than an expanding regulatory regime."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute: only 4 operative sections spanning 3 pages","Single defined term ('the Society') in section 1(3)","No cross-references to other legislation except incidental reference to Co-operation Act 1958","Simple conditional structure: one main limitation section (section 4) with three straightforward criteria (a), (b), (c)","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions","Straightforward monetary cap ($4.5 million) with simple 'whichever is the less' calculation","Preamble provides clear factual context but does not create operative legal complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short Victorian law from 1978 that helped rescue a struggling farmers' co-operative that was in financial trouble.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows **Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Limited** (a meat supply co-operative) to borrow money beyond what it could normally borrow under existing co-operative laws.\n- Lets the **Victorian Treasurer** (the state's finance minister) guarantee up to half of the co-operative's debts — but only up to **$4.5 million**.\n- Requires the **Commonwealth Government** to match Victoria's guarantee dollar-for-dollar (so both governments share the risk equally).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The co-operative itself — it gets access to emergency loans to pay off debts and restart trading.\n- Victorian taxpayers — their money (via the Consolidated Fund, which is the government's main bank account) backs the guarantee if the co-operative defaults.\n- Farmers and graziers who were members of or suppliers to the co-operative.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was a **bailout law**. The co-operative was in receivership (a form of insolvency where an outside manager takes control to protect creditors). Without this legislation, the co-operative likely would have collapsed, potentially hurting rural communities dependent on it for meat processing and sales. The law reflects a joint federal-state rescue package typical of the era for protecting agricultural industries.\n\n**Key safeguards:**\n- The loan term cannot exceed **3 years**.\n- The Commonwealth must guarantee the other half.\n- The Treasurer must be satisfied the terms are \"reasonable\" and other protective conditions are met."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act implements the preamble: it authorizes borrowing by the Society and a conditional State guarantee to secure repayment of half the principal, with specified caps and conditions. The endnotes record no amendments, and the enacted text matches the Preamble’s stated rescue/repayment purpose, so the statutory scope remains as originally expressed."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused statute with few provisions (limited textual complexity).","Clear monetary cap on State exposure ($4,500,000 or half of unpaid principal) (s.3(2)).","Explicit appropriation mechanism: payments under guarantee charged to the Consolidated Fund (s.3(3)).","Cross-jurisdictional condition requiring a matching Commonwealth guarantee before State guarantee is given (s.4(a)), adding coordination complexity.","Treasurer discretion to approve loan terms, security and additional conditions (s.2; s.4(c)), requiring administrative assessment and judgement.","Temporal limit on accommodation (maximum three years) constrains structuring and refinancing options (s.4(b)).","Context-specific purpose tied to a particular society in receivership, narrowing applicability but concentrating fiscal risk."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the Co-operative Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Ltd borrow money and allows the Victorian Treasurer to guarantee repayment of half the loan principal to help the society meet its debts and restart trading. The State guarantee is capped (maximum $4.5 million or half of unpaid principal), is payable from the Consolidated Fund if called, and is conditional on a matching Commonwealth guarantee and other Treasurer-imposed requirements, including a maximum three-year loan term."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978","history":"/api/acts/co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978/history","analysis":"/api/acts/co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/co-operative-farmers-and-graziers-direct-meat-supply-limited-act-1978/documents"}}