{"id":"C2008A00129","name":"Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding Appropriation Act 2008","slug":"guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"129 of 2008","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8075,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2008A00129-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding Appropriation Act 2008","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nGuarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding Appropriation Act 2008\n\n \n\nNo. 129, 2008\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for an appropriation for the Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definitions\n\n4 Application within and outside Australia\n\n5 Appropriation\n\n6 Borrowing\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nGuarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding Appropriation Act 2008\n\nNo. 129, 2008\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for an appropriation for the Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 27 November 2008]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding Appropriation Act 2008.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\nDeed of Guarantee means the Deed of Guarantee in respect of the Australian Government Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding, executed on behalf of the Commonwealth on 20 November 2008, as that Deed is in force from time to time.\n\nScheme Rules means the Scheme Rules identified in the Deed of Guarantee, as those Rules are in force from time to time.\n\n4  Application within and outside Australia\n\n  This Act applies both within and outside Australia.\n\n5  Appropriation\n\n  The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated for the following purposes:\n\n (a) paying claims under the Deed of Guarantee in accordance with the Scheme Rules;\n\n (b) repaying a borrowing, and paying interest on a borrowing, made under section 6.\n\n6  Borrowing\n\n (1) The Minister may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, borrow money for the purposes of paying claims under the Deed of Guarantee in accordance with the Scheme Rules.\n\n (2) However, a borrowing in accordance with subsection (1) must not be for a period longer than 24 months.\n\n (3) In this section:\n\nborrow includes raise money or obtain credit, whether by dealing in securities or otherwise, but does not include obtain credit in a transaction forming part of the day‑to‑day operations of the Commonwealth.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 25 November 2008\n\nSenate on 26 November 2008]\n\n(224/08)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation remains tightly focused on its original emergency purpose: providing the parliamentary appropriation needed to back the 2008 financial crisis guarantee scheme. It has not expanded beyond this specific, time-limited crisis response function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 6 operative sections","Minimal defined terms: only 2 definitions ('Deed of Guarantee' and 'Scheme Rules')","No cross-references to other legislation except incidental references to the Deed of Guarantee and Scheme Rules","Simple conditional logic: only one substantive limitation (24-month borrowing cap in section 6(2))","Single purpose legislation with straightforward appropriation mechanism","No exceptions, exemptions, or nested conditions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a financial safety net for Australia's banking system during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. It allows the government to pay out money if banks fail to honour their obligations to large depositors and wholesale lenders (big investors and other banks who lend money to financial institutions). \n\n**What it does:**\n- **Sets up a guarantee scheme**: The government promises to cover losses if certain financial institutions can't pay back large deposits or wholesale funding debts.\n- **Provides the money**: It takes money from the government's main bank account (the Consolidated Revenue Fund) to pay these guarantees if needed.\n- **Allows short-term borrowing**: The Minister can borrow money for up to 24 months to cover these payouts, if the guarantee fund runs low.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Large depositors (people or businesses with deposits over $1 million at the time)\n- Wholesale lenders (other banks and big investors who provide short-term funding to financial institutions)\n- Australian banks and financial institutions participating in the scheme\n- Australian taxpayers (who ultimately back the guarantee)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nDuring the 2008 financial crisis, there was a real risk that big investors would pull their money out of Australian banks, causing a collapse. This law gave confidence that the government would step in if a bank failed, preventing a run on the banks and keeping the financial system stable. It was emergency legislation passed quickly during a crisis."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act confines itself to appropriating funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet claims under the Deed of Guarantee and to authorising short‑term borrowings for that purpose (see s.5 and s.6). It defines and applies the Deed and Scheme Rules (s.3) but does not, on its face, expand or narrow the substantive guarantee terms in those instruments. No text in the Act alters that defined scope."},"complexity_factors":["Reliance on external documents: substantive coverage and procedures are located in the Deed of Guarantee and the Scheme Rules referenced but not reproduced in the Act (s.3).","Appropriation mechanism is direct and narrowly drafted: Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated to pay claims and to service/repay related borrowing (s.5).","Ministerial discretion to borrow: the Minister may borrow on behalf of the Commonwealth for the purpose of paying claims (s.6(1)), creating executive operational discretion.","Temporal constraint on borrowings: any borrowing under the Act must not exceed 24 months, which limits financing structure options (s.6(2)).","Extra‑territorial application: Act applies within and outside Australia, broadening geographic reach of fiscal obligations (s.4).","Statute is short and procedural: lack of operational detail increases dependence on the Deed/Scheme Rules for implementation and interpretation.","Low legislative complexity overall: only six operative sections focus on title, commencement, definitions, scope, appropriation and borrowing."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises the Commonwealth to pay claims under the Australian Government Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding by appropriating money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and by allowing the Minister to borrow short‑term to meet those claims. It defines the Deed of Guarantee and Scheme Rules (which set who is covered and how claims are handled) and limits borrowings to no more than 24 months. It matters because it commits public funds and temporary borrowing power to meet guarantees under the Deed."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008","history":"/api/acts/guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008/history","analysis":"/api/acts/guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/guarantee-scheme-for-large-deposits-and-wholesale-funding-appropriation-act-2008/documents"}}