{"id":"C1973A00018","name":"Commonwealth Banks Act 1973","slug":"commonwealth-banks-act-1973","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"18 of 1973","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2532,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1973A00018-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-29","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commonwealth Banks Act 1973","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\nCommonwealth Banks Act 1973\n\nNo. 18 of 1973\n\n \n\nAN ACT\n\nTo amend the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959–1968 to remove the Limitation on the Amount of Housing Loans to Individuals.\n\n[Assented to 11 April 1973]\n\nBE IT ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title and citation.\n\n1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Commonwealth Banks Act 1973.\n\n(2) The Commonwealth Banks Act 1959–1968, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959–1973.\n\nCommencement.\n\n2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\nAmount of loans.\n\n3. Section 66 of the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959–1968 is repealed.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This amending Act changes the scope of the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959–1968 by removing the statutory limitation on the amount of housing loans to individuals through the repeal of section 66 (see section 3). The repeal expands the set of loan sizes that may be lawfully agreed under the Act; it does not create alternative caps, new supervisory controls, or other lending rules."},"complexity_factors":["Very short, single-purpose amendment (repeals one section).","Effect depends on interaction with the remaining provisions of the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959–1968 and with other prudential/regulatory regimes not altered by this Act.","No new procedures, standards, or definitions introduced — lowers administrative complexity but raises practical credit-risk and market-structure questions.","Potential for interpretative questions about the scope and practical effect of the repealed provision in relation to other statutes or regulations.","Immediate commencement on Royal Assent reduces transitional uncertainty but concentrates operational change on existing actors."],"plain_english_summary":"This short Act repeals the statutory cap on individual housing loans in the Commonwealth Banks Act, taking effect on Royal Assent. It lets lenders subject to that Act and individual borrowers agree to larger loan amounts while removing the specific compliance obligation that enforced the prior limit.\n\nIt does not create new limits, approvals, funding or supervisory rules — other legal, prudential and contractual constraints continue to govern risk and market effects."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose. It does exactly what the long title states: removes the limitation on housing loan amounts. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this narrow technical amendment."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 3 operative sections","No defined terms section","Single substantive amendment: one repeal (Section 66)","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act","No conditional logic, exceptions, or procedural requirements","Straightforward commencement provision (immediate upon Royal Assent)"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a very short law that removes a cap on how much money Australia's government-owned banks (the Commonwealth Banks) could lend to individuals for buying homes.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Removes a lending limit:** Before this law, Section 66 of the Commonwealth Banks Act put a dollar limit on housing loans to individuals. This Act deletes that section entirely.\n- **Lets the banks decide:** Without the statutory cap, the banks could now set their own lending limits based on commercial judgment rather than being restricted by Parliament.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Home buyers:** Australians seeking home loans from Commonwealth Banks could potentially borrow more.\n- **The Commonwealth Banks:** The government-owned banking group (predecessor to today's Commonwealth Bank) gained more flexibility in its lending operations.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was part of the gradual deregulation of Australia's financial system in the 1970s. By removing artificial caps on lending, the government allowed the Commonwealth Banks to compete more freely with other lenders and respond to market conditions. It reflects a shift away from rigid government control of banking toward greater commercial autonomy."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-banks-act-1973","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-banks-act-1973/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-banks-act-1973/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-banks-act-1973/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-banks-act-1973/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-banks-act-1973/documents"}}