{"id":"F2009L00842","name":"Currency (Royal Australian Mint) Determination 2009 (No. 1)","slug":"currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":77999,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2009L00842-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Currency (Royal Australian Mint) Determination 2009 (No. 1)","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nCurrency (Royal Australian Mint) Determination 2009 (No. 1)1\n\nCurrency Act 1965\n\nI, NICK SHERRY, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, make this Determination under subsection 13A (1) of the Currency Act 1965.\n\nDated 23 February 2009\n\nNICK SHERRY\n\nMinister for Superannuation and Corporate Law\n\n1 Name of Determination\n\nThis Determination is the Currency (Royal Australian Mint) Determination 2009 (No. 1).\n\n2 Commencement\n\nThis Determination commences on the day after it is registered.\n\n3 Specification of coin\n\nFor subsection 13A (1) of the Currency Act 1965, the item in Schedule 1 specifies:\n\n(a) the denomination of a coin; and\n\n(b) the coin’s standard composition; and\n\n(c) the coin’s standard weight, and the allowable variation from that weight; and\n\n(d) the coin’s dimensions; and\n\n(e) the coin’s design.\n\n4 Application of Determination\n\nThe specifications in Schedule 1 do not affect any other determination of the specifications of a coin.\n\nSchedule 1 Specification of coin\n\n(section 3)\n\n| Item 1                                  | 20 cent coin                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |\n| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Denomination                            | 20 cents                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |\n| Standard composition                    | Copper and nickel                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |\n| Standard weight and allowable variation | 11.30 g ± 0.33 g                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |\n| Maximum diameter                        | 28.65 mm                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |\n| Maximum thickness                       | 2.52 mm                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |\n| Shape                                   | Circular                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |\n| Edge                                    | Continuously milled                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |\n| Obverse design                          | An effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, and the initials “IRB”, surrounded by the inscriptions:(a) “ELIZABETH II”; and(b) “AUSTRALIA 2009”.                                                                                                                                                              |\n| Reverse design                          | A design consisting of:(a) a representation of:(i) a nurse; and(ii) a wounded soldier supported by a pillow; and(iii) a rifle beside the soldier’s hat; and(b) 2 crosses separating the inscriptions:(i) “AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS”; and(ii) “AUSTRALIAN SERVICE NURSES”; and(c) the inscription “20”. |\n\n> Note\n\n> Note: 1. All legislative instruments and compilations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments kept under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. See http://www.frli.gov.au.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination serves its original narrow purpose: authorising a single commemorative coin with specific technical and design parameters. There is no evidence of scope creep or expansion beyond the standard function of coinage determinations under the Currency Act 1965."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (approximately 1 page of substantive content)","Only 4 operative sections, with section 3 being a simple cross-reference to the Schedule","Single Schedule containing one table with straightforward technical specifications","No defined terms section, no nested exceptions, no conditional logic","Minimal cross-referencing (only to section 13A(1) of the Currency Act 1965)","Clear, descriptive language with no legal jargon requiring explanation"],"plain_english_summary":"The instrument authorises the Royal Australian Mint to produce a 2009 commemorative 20‑cent coin honoring Australian service nurses and prescribes its status as legal tender. It fixes the coin’s metal (copper‑nickel), weight, dimensions, circular milled edge, and the designs: Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a nurse with inscriptions “AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS” / “AUSTRALIAN SERVICE NURSES” on the reverse. It primarily binds the Mint and affects collectors and the public."},"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":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Determination remains within the original and narrow purpose of the Currency Act power: specifying the physical and design characteristics of a denomination of Australian coinage. It does not expand regulatory reach or add new policy elements beyond authorising a commemorative design and standard technical parameters for a 20 cent coin."},"complexity_factors":["Single-schedule instrument (Schedule 1 contains all technical specifications)","Very short (4 operative sections + one detailed schedule)","Few cross-references (only to subsection 13A(1) of the Currency Act 1965)","Straightforward numeric specifications (weight, diameter, thickness) with one allowable variation noted","No nested exceptions, conditional logic, or multiple defined terms"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanics)\n\n- This Determination (made under subsection 13A(1) of the Currency Act 1965) prescribes the technical specifications for a 20 cent coin to be produced by the Royal Australian Mint. (See section 3 and Schedule 1.)\n- It sets the coin’s denomination, metal composition, standard weight and allowable variation, maximum diameter and thickness, shape, edge style, and the obverse and reverse designs. (Schedule 1.)\n- The instrument takes effect the day after it is registered. (Section 2.)\n- It expressly states these specifications do not alter any other existing determination about coin specifications. (Section 4.)\n\nWho is directly affected\n\n- The Royal Australian Mint: required to produce coins that meet the listed specifications.\n- The Minister (as the decision-maker under the Currency Act): exercises the statutory power to specify coin characteristics.\n- Commercial users of coin (banks, retailers, vending-machine operators) and the public: recipients and users of the coin, though the Determination preserves compatibility by specifying nominally standard dimensions and composition.\n- Coin collectors and the Mint’s retail customers: the design (a commemorative reverse honoring Australian service nurses) creates numismatic interest and potential commercial sale as collector items.\n\nWhy it matters (official purpose and practical effects)\n\n- Officially, the Determination enables minting of a commemorative 20 cent coin for 2009 with a specific design: the reverse depicts a nurse and wounded soldier with inscriptions including \"AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS\" and \"AUSTRALIAN SERVICE NURSES\"; the obverse carries the Queen’s effigy and year. (Schedule 1.)\n- Mechanically, it authorises production of legal tender coins with defined physical and design characteristics so they can circulate, be used in transactions, and be accepted by coin-handling equipment. Because the dimensions, weight, and composition match the established standards for a 20 cent piece, the new design should be compatible with machines and existing coinage.\n\nCosts, incentives and trade-offs (practical analysis)\n\n- Direct fiscal cost: production and design costs are borne by the Mint/government, but the Mint commonly recovers costs through sales of collector items and by minting circulation quantities; this Determination itself imposes no explicit spending requirement. (See section 3 and Schedule 1 for the specification mandate.)\n- Compliance and administrative burden: minimal. The instrument simply records required technical specifications; it imposes no reporting, licensing, or compliance regime on private parties.\n- Effects on private enterprise and markets: limited. Because the coin matches standard 20 cent physical parameters (weight, diameter, composition), businesses that accept coins or operate coin-operated machines are unlikely to face compatibility problems. The Mint and downstream retailers of collectors’ items may capture concentrated benefits (numismatic sales). Consumers will decide whether to keep or spend commemorative coins.\n- Opportunity cost and substitution effects: the principal opportunity cost is the Mint’s allocation of design and production capacity to this commemorative issue rather than other minting tasks. Some coins may be removed from circulation by collectors, slightly reducing circulated coin supply, which the Mint can offset by issuing additional coins if necessary.\n- Implementation risk and discretion: low. The instrument is prescriptive and technical; the principal discretion was exercised by the Minister in choosing the design and approving specifications under the Currency Act. Quality control and accurate minting are operational risks managed by the Mint.\n\nConcrete incentives and who pays/decides\n\n- Who pays: Mint/government bears production costs initially; collectors or purchasers may pay premiums for special numismatic products.\n- Who decides: the Minister acting under subsection 13A(1) of the Currency Act 1965 (the instrument records the Minister’s decision). (Front page and section 3.)\n- Behaviour change required: the Mint will produce coins to the specified design and technical standard; banks and businesses will accept the coins as 20 cent legal tender.\n\nLimited scope\n\n- The Determination is narrowly technical and design-focused. It does not introduce new offences, taxes, regulatory burdens on third parties, or wide-ranging policy changes. Section 4 explicitly limits its effect so other determinations remain in force.\n\nSource claims vs. effects\n\n- The instrument’s text provides the functional claim (it makes the 20 cent specifications). Any stated commemorative purpose is implicit in the reverse design inscriptions; the instrument does not set out policy rationales or cost–benefit analysis. The practical effects described above follow from the specification duties and standard minting practice.\n"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1","history":"/api/acts/currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1/history","analysis":"/api/acts/currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/currency-royal-australian-mint-determination-2009-no-1/documents"}}