{"id":"C2004A01905","name":"Loan Act 1978","slug":"loan-act-1978","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"106 of 1978","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6525,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A01905-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Commencement","sectionType":"part","heading":"Commencement","content":"# Commencement\n\n2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\nAuthority to borrow $2,000,000,000\n\n3. The Treasurer may, from time to time during the financial year ending on 30 June 1979, in accordance with the provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911, or in accordance with the provisions of an Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, borrow moneys not exceeding in the aggregate $2,000,000,000.\n\nApplication of moneys borrowed\n\n4. Moneys borrowed under section 3 shall be applied only for the expenses of borrowing and for services specified under the heading “DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE” in the Supply Act (No. 1) 1978-79 or in an Act passed after the commencement of this Act and appropriating the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the service of the year ending on 30 June 1979, being an Act that is expressed to have effect subject to section 5 of this Act.\n\nLimitation of expenditure\n\n5. (1) Nothing in this Act or in an Act referred to in section 4 shall be taken to authorize the expenditure for a service referred to in section 4 of an amount the expenditure of which would result in the total expenditure for that service under this Act and the Acts referred to in section 4 exceeding the total of the amounts authorized by the Acts referred to in section 4 to be expended in respect of that service.\n\n(2) Sub-section (1) does not affect the expenditure of moneys appropriated under the heading “ADVANCE TO THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE” in an Act referred to in section 4.\n\n(3) Nothing in this Act shall be taken to authorize expenditure (otherwise than for the expenses of borrowing) after 30 June 1979.\n\n![](image.001.png)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"On its face the Act establishes a single-year borrowing authority with specified caps, purpose limits and a hard temporal end. The text contains no provision expanding or narrowing that scope beyond the explicit limits and cross-references to appropriation Acts, so the statutory scope as enacted is the operative scope."},"complexity_factors":["Temporal limitation to one financial year (ends 30 June 1979) increases implementation urgency and tracking","Cross-references to other statutes (Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911; Acts authorising Treasury Bills; Supply Act (No.1) 1978-79 and appropriation Acts) create dependency on external texts for full effect","Discretion granted to the Treasurer to borrow from time to time (section 3) concentrates decision-making power and requires internal procedures","Earmarking of proceeds for Defence services (section 4) restricts permissible uses and requires accounting to the relevant appropriation headings","Aggregate cap on borrowing ($2,000,000,000) and cap on total expenditure for each service (section 5(1)) create monitoring and reconciliation obligations","Exception preserving the Advance to the Minister for Finance (section 5(2)) adds a parallel funding stream to be managed","Prohibition on expenditure after the financial year (section 5(3)) creates a hard cut-off and potential timing risks"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act authorises the Treasurer to borrow up to $2,000,000,000 during the 1978–79 financial year to meet borrowing costs and services listed under the “DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE” in the Supply Act(s). It commences on Royal Assent and forbids expenditure (other than borrowing costs) after 30 June 1979.\n\nMechanically, the Treasurer decides borrowing; funds are drawn for services appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund; total spending for each service is capped to amounts in the referenced Acts; an existing appropriation for “ADVANCE TO THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE” is preserved."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard annual Loan Act with tightly constrained scope - borrowing authority limited to specific financial year, specific amount, and specific purpose (Defence). No scope creep evident."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 operative sections","No defined terms section","Minimal cross-referencing (only to Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 and Supply Act)","Simple conditional logic (spending caps and date limits)","Straightforward purpose: single-year borrowing authority for specific purpose"],"plain_english_summary":"This law gives the Australian Treasurer permission to borrow up to $2 billion during the 1978-79 financial year. The money can only be spent on Defence Department expenses that have been approved by Parliament through other spending laws. There's a cap on spending - you can't spend more than Parliament actually authorized for Defence, even with this borrowing power. The borrowing authority expires on 30 June 1979, and the law takes effect as soon as the Governor-General signs it (Royal Assent)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears entirely consistent with its original intent: a narrowly scoped, time-limited borrowing authorisation exclusively for Defence Department expenditure in the 1978-79 financial year. No scope creep or amendments are evident in the text."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-referencing multiple Acts (Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911, Supply Act (No. 1) 1978-79, Treasury Bills Act) requires reading several laws together","The spending limitation provision (section 5) introduces a subtle cap mechanism that requires careful reading to understand it doesn't expand existing appropriations","The carve-out for 'Advance to the Minister for Finance' in s5(2) adds a minor layer of complexity","Archaic legislative drafting style typical of the era"],"plain_english_summary":"The Loan Act 1978 gave the Australian Treasurer a one‑off power to borrow up to $2 billion in 1978–79, solely to fund Defence services (as already authorised elsewhere) and the costs of borrowing. The power expired on 30 June 1979 and did not create new spending approvals. It chiefly affected the Commonwealth and the Department of Defence, reflecting how major Defence outlays were temporarily financed."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/loan-act-1978","history":"/api/acts/loan-act-1978/history","analysis":"/api/acts/loan-act-1978/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/loan-act-1978/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/loan-act-1978/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/loan-act-1978/documents"}}