{"id":"C1934A00020","name":"Defence Equipment Act 1934","slug":"defence-equipment-act-1934","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"20 of 1934","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3652,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1934A00020-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Defence Equipment Act 1934","content":"DEFENCE EQUIPMENT.\n\nNo. 20 of 1934.\n\nAn Act to grant and apply out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund the sum of Four million one hundred and sixty thousand pounds for Naval Construction and for other Defence purposes.\n\n\\[Assented to 4th August, 1934.\\]\n\nPreamble.\n\nBE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, for the purpose of appropriating the grant originated in the House of Representatives, as follows:—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the Defence Equipment Act 1934.\n\n  \nDefence Equipment Trust Account.\n\n2.—(1.) For the purposes of this Act there shall be a Trust Account which shall be known as the Defence Equipment Trust Account.\n\n(2.) The account established in pursuance of this section shall be a Trust Account for the purposes of section sixty-two a of the Audit Act 1901-1926.\n\nPayment to Trust Account.\n\n3. There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, to the credit of the Defence Equipment Trust Account the amount of Four million one hundred and sixty thousand pounds.\n\nPayments from Trust Account.\n\n4. The moneys standing to the credit of the Defence Equipment Trust Account may be applied—\n\n(a) for naval construction;\n\n(b) for the purchase of arms, armament, aircraft, munitions, equipment, machinery, plant, and reserves of ammunition and oil fuel; and\n\n(c) for defence works and buildings and the acquisition of sites therefor.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":3107},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is the original 1934 enactment; it remains a straightforward appropriation for defence equipment procurement exactly as originally intended."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 operative sections with minimal subsection structure","No defined terms or interpretation section","Single external cross-reference to Audit Act 1901-1926","No conditional logic, exceptions, or discretionary provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does**\n\nThis Act authorizes the Australian Government to spend **£4,160,000** (a major appropriation during the Great Depression) on military hardware and infrastructure in 1934.\n\n**How the funding works**\n\nThe law creates a special holding account called the **Defence Equipment Trust Account** (a legally separate bank account that \"ring-fences\" the money so it cannot be spent on other government bills). The funds are drawn from the **Consolidated Revenue Fund** (the Commonwealth’s main government account containing all tax revenue).\n\n**What the money can buy**\n\nThe Act strictly limits spending to three specific categories:\n*   **Naval construction** — building warships and naval vessels;\n*   **Military equipment** — purchasing arms, armament, aircraft, munitions, machinery, ammunition reserves, and oil fuel; and\n*   **Defence infrastructure** — constructing military buildings and works, plus buying land for these sites."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/defence-equipment-act-1934","history":"/api/acts/defence-equipment-act-1934/history","analysis":"/api/acts/defence-equipment-act-1934/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/defence-equipment-act-1934/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/defence-equipment-act-1934/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/defence-equipment-act-1934/documents"}}