{"id":"C1946A00015","name":"National Security Act 1946","slug":"national-security-act-1946","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"15 of 1946","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":14362,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1946A00015-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-31","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"National Security Act 1946","content":"NATIONAL SECURITY.\n\nNo. 15 of 1946.\n\nAn Act to provide for the termination of the National Security Act 1939–1943.\n\n\\[Assented to 18th April, 1946.\\]\n\n\\[Date of commencement, 16th May 1946.\\]\n\nPreamble.\n\nWHEREAS it is by the National Security Act 1939–1943 provided that that Act shall continue in operation until a date to be fixed by Proclamation, and no longer, but in any event not longer than six months after His Majesty ceases to be engaged in war:\n\nAnd whereas a state of war still exists between His Majesty and Germany, Italy, Japan and other countries:\n\nAnd whereas some considerable time must elapse before a state of peace comes into existence with each of the countries with which a state of war still exists, and it is desirable that the National Security Act 1939–1943 should be terminated before a state of peace with all of those countries has come into existence:\n\nBe it therefore enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title and citation.\n\n1.—(1.) This Act may be cited as the National Security Act 1946.\n\n(2.) The National Security Act 1939–1943 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.\n\n(3.) The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the National Security Act 1939–1946.\n\n2. Section nineteen of the Principal Act is repealed, and the following section inserted in its stead:—\n\nDuration of Act, regulations, &c.\n\n“19. This Act, and all regulations made thereunder, and all orders, rules and by-laws made in pursuance of any such regulation shall cease to have effect at midnight on the thirty-first day of December, One thousand nine hundred and forty-six.”.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":1760},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation precisely targets its stated purpose of terminating the 1939 Act. It does not expand beyond this remit; rather, it accelerates the sunset date compared to the original legislation's timeline, which is consistent with the stated intent in the preamble to end wartime powers sooner rather than later."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision (repeals and replaces only one section of the Principal Act)","No defined terms or interpretation section","No conditional logic or exceptions","Extremely short (3 effective sections total)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law pulled the plug on Australia's World War II emergency powers. During the war, the **National Security Act 1939** gave the government extraordinary authority to control prices, censor the press, detain enemy aliens, and regulate industry. Originally, these sweeping powers would linger until six months after formal peace treaties were signed with *every* enemy nation—including Japan, Germany, and Italy.\n\nThis Act says \"enough is enough\" and sets a hard deadline of **31 December 1946** for all those wartime regulations to vanish, even if peace treaties haven't been finalised with everyone by then. It was essentially the government's way of ending the \"war footing\" and returning to normal democratic rule, refusing to wait for slow diplomatic formalities while the country wanted to get back to business as usual."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act changes the duration mechanism of the Principal Act. The Principal Act had been described in the Preamble as continuing \"until a date to be fixed by Proclamation\" (subject to a separate maximum), which left continuation to executive proclamation. The 1946 Act repeals the old section 19 and inserts a new section fixing a statutory expiry at midnight on 31 December 1946, and provides that all regulations, orders, rules and by‑laws made under the Principal Act cease on that date (s.2, inserted s.19). This shifts the decision from a proclamation mechanism to a fixed parliamentary determination and removes executive discretion to extend operation under the Principal Act beyond the stated date."},"complexity_factors":["Very short and narrowly focused amendment (single repeal and insertion of section 19).","Direct automatic effect (statutory expiration of Act and all subordinate instruments on a single fixed date).","Interaction required with the Principal Act (the amendment changes the Principal Act’s duration mechanism).","Absence of transitional provisions or savings clauses for ongoing matters increases implementation risk despite statutory clarity.","Legal consequence affects many subordinate instruments collectively, which requires administrative action across multiple agencies before the expiry date."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act fixes a statutory expiry for the National Security Act 1939–1943 and all regulations, orders, rules and by‑laws made under it, so they automatically cease at midnight on 31 December 1946. It affects anyone subject to those instruments and removes the Executive’s prior power to extend them by proclamation.\n\nThe change gives legal certainty about the end of the wartime framework but leaves transitional and enforcement gaps to be resolved separately before that date."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/national-security-act-1946","history":"/api/acts/national-security-act-1946/history","analysis":"/api/acts/national-security-act-1946/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/national-security-act-1946/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/national-security-act-1946/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/national-security-act-1946/documents"}}