{"id":"nsw:act-1992-104","name":"Commonwealth Powers (State Banking) Act 1992","slug":"commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"104 of 1992","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106187,"registerId":"nsw-act-1992-104-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act","content":"#### 1 Name of Act\n\n1 Name of Act\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Commonwealth Powers (State Banking) Act 1992](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1992-104).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n2 Commencement\n\n> This Act commences on a day to be appointed by proclamation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Object","content":"#### 3 Object\n\n3 Object\n\n> The object of this Act is to remove the constitutional barrier which prevents the Parliament of the Commonwealth from legislating with respect to State banking carried on within the limits of the State by State Bank Limited or a subsidiary of that company.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n4 Definitions\n\n> In this Act:\n> \n> Bank means State Bank Limited, and includes a subsidiary of that company (within the meaning of the [Corporations Law](/view/html/inforce/current/sl-1999-0703)) and also includes that company under any altered name.\n> \n> State banking means State banking as referred to in section 51 (xiii) of the [Commonwealth Constitution](http://www.legislation.gov.au/).","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Reference of matters relating to the Bank","content":"#### 5 Reference of matters relating to the Bank\n\n5 Reference of matters relating to the Bank\n\n> The matter of State banking (but only in so far as it applies in relation to the Bank), to the extent to which it is not otherwise included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, is referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth for a period commencing on the day on which this Act commences and ending on the day fixed, pursuant to section 7, as the day on which the reference under this Act is to terminate, but no longer.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Excluded matters","content":"#### 6 Excluded matters\n\n6 Excluded matters\n\n> > (1) The reference under section 5 does not include any matter so far as it would confer powers to make provision for or with respect to all or any of the following matters:\n> > \n> > > (a) prohibiting the Bank (whether specifically or as part of a provision of more general application) from carrying on banking business unless it is in possession of an authority (however described) to do so under a law of the Commonwealth,\n> > \n> > > (b) granting, suspending, cancelling or otherwise dealing with such an authority in relation to the Bank.\n> \n> > (2) Subsection (1) ceases to have effect on a day to be appointed by proclamation for the purposes of this section.\n> \n> Editorial note—\n> \n> Section 6 (1) ceased to have effect on 30 June 1994. See proclamation pursuant to section 6 (2) in Gazette No 83 of 24.6.1994, p 3107.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Termination of reference","content":"#### 7 Termination of reference\n\n7 Termination of reference\n\n> The Governor may, at any time, by proclamation published on the NSW legislation website, fix a day as the day on which the reference under this Act is to terminate.\n> \n> **s 7:** Am 2009 No 106, Sch 3.11.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Crown bound","content":"#### 8 Crown bound\n\n8 Crown bound\n\n> This Act binds the Crown.","sortOrder":7}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The Act initially limited the Commonwealth referral by excluding powers to require or regulate an authority to carry on banking in respect of the Bank (s 6(1)), but s 6(1) was set to cease by proclamation (s 6(2)) and an editorial note records that it ceased to have effect on 30 June 1994. After that cessation the referral no longer excluded those licensing-related powers, widening the scope of matters the Commonwealth could legislate about in relation to the Bank. The referral remains time-limited and terminable by the Governor (s 5, s 7)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, entity-specific referral: applies only to \"State banking\" as it relates to State Bank Limited and its subsidiaries (definitions in s 4; referral in s 5).","Temporal and terminable referral: the referral runs from commencement until a day fixed by the Governor by proclamation (s 5 and s 7).","Initial exclusion of licensing powers: s 6(1) excluded Commonwealth powers to prohibit operation without an authority and to deal with such authorities; that exclusion was made to cease by proclamation (s 6(2)) and an editorial note records it ceased on 30 June 1994.","Commencement and proclamation dependence: commencement occurs by proclamation (s 2) and several operative moments depend on proclamations, increasing administrative discretion.","Cross-reference to Corporations Law for the definition of subsidiary (s 4) and to the Constitution for the concept of State banking, creating interpretive dependencies.","Binding of the Crown (s 8) affects who is subject to the law and may influence enforcement and compliance dynamics."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act refers to the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make laws about \"State banking\" only insofar as it applies to State Bank Limited and its subsidiaries, removing a constitutional barrier that prevented Commonwealth legislation about that specific bank. It changes who makes regulatory rules for that bank (Commonwealth rather than solely State), affects State Bank Limited and its subsidiaries, and gives the NSW Governor the power to end the reference by proclamation. A temporary exclusion of Commonwealth licensing powers over the Bank was included but later lapsed."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the Act appears to have maintained its original narrow scope — referring NSW's constitutional powers over state banking to the Commonwealth. The 2010 amendment appears to have been minor and administrative in nature, not a substantive expansion or contraction of the law's purpose. No evidence of scope creep or significant change from original intent is apparent."},"complexity_factors":["Involves Australian constitutional law concepts — specifically the 'referral of powers' mechanism under section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution, which is not widely understood","Requires understanding of the division of powers between Commonwealth and state governments","Historical context of state-owned banking institutions is needed to fully appreciate the law's purpose","The actual substantive provisions of the Act are not reproduced in the provided text, making full analysis impossible — only metadata and navigation elements are visible","Interacts with Commonwealth banking legislation and constitutional law, creating a multi-layered legal framework"],"plain_english_summary":"The Commonwealth Powers (State Banking) Act 1992 (NSW) is a state law by which NSW referred its constitutional power over state-owned banking to the Commonwealth, enabling federal banking laws to apply to state banks. It affected NSW residents, state-owned banks and the wider financial sector by helping create a single national regulatory framework and consistent oversight."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: referring power over State Bank Limited to the Commonwealth. The 2009 amendment to section 7 merely updated the publication mechanism for termination proclamations (from Gazette to NSW legislation website), without expanding the substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute (8 sections, approximately 500 words)","Only 2 defined terms ('Bank' and 'State banking')","Minimal cross-referencing (only to Corporations Law and Constitution)","Simple conditional structure (temporary referral with single exclusion that has already expired)","No nested exceptions or complex operational provisions","Essentially a single-purpose referral mechanism with straightforward temporal limits"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short, technical law that allows the Australian federal Parliament to make laws about a specific state-owned bank—State Bank Limited (and its subsidiaries)—even though the Constitution normally reserves \"State banking\" as a state matter.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Hands over power:** The NSW Parliament temporarily gives (\"refers\") its constitutional power over State Bank Limited to the federal Parliament. This lets Canberra regulate this specific bank as if it were a federal matter.\n- **Why it matters:** Without this law, the federal government couldn't properly supervise or regulate State Bank Limited because of a constitutional quirk. This was particularly important in the early 1990s when State Bank was being prepared for sale or restructuring.\n- **Key limits:**\n  - The referral is **temporary**—it lasts until the NSW Governor proclaims an end date (section 7).\n  - Originally, the federal government couldn't force State Bank to get a federal banking license (section 6), but that restriction expired in 1994.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Primarily State Bank Limited (now long since privatised and absorbed into other banks).\n- Historically important for banking regulators and anyone dealing with the bank during its transition period in the 1990s.\n\n**In simple terms:** This is a constitutional handover note—NSW telling the federal government \"you can make banking rules for our State Bank now, but only for a limited time.\""}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-state-banking-act-1992/documents"}}