{"id":"C1940L00109","name":"National Security (Subversive Associations) Regulations","slug":"national-security-subversive-associations-regulations","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"109 of 1940","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":22206,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1940L00109-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"National Security (Subversive Associations) Regulations","content":"STATUTORY RULES.\n\n1940\\. No. 109.\n\n––––––\n\nREGULATIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT 1939.\\*\n\nI, THE DEPUTY OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the National Security Act 1939.\n\nDated this fifteenth day of June, 1940.\n\nWINSTON DUGAN\n\nDeputy of the Governor-General.\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command,\n\nROBERT G. MENZIES\n\nMinister of State for Defence Co-ordination.\n\n––––––\n\nNational Security (Subversive Associations) Regulations.\n\nCitation.\n\n1. These Regulations may be cited as the National Security (Subversive Associations) Regulations.\n\nDefinitions.\n\n2. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n“print” means make or produce a copy or copies by any method of making, duplicating or multiplying copies;\n\n“the Act” means the National Security Act 1939;\n\n“unlawful doctrines” includes any doctrines or principles which were advocated by a body which has been declared to be unlawful, and any doctrines or principles whatsoever which are prejudicial to the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war.\n\nSubversive associations.\n\n3. Any body corporate or unincorporated the existence of which the Governor-General, by order published in the Gazette, declares to be in his opinion, prejudicial to the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war, is hereby declared to be unlawful.\n\nDissolution of subversive associations.\n\n4. Any body in respect of which a declaration is made in pursuance of the last preceding regulation shall, by force of that declaration, be dissolved.\n\n\\*Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on 15th June , 1940.\n\n3418.—Price 3d.\n\n  \n\nMinister may require information.\n\n5.—(1.) If a Minister believes that any person has in his possession any information or documents relating to a body which has been declared to be unlawful, he may by order require the person, or, in the case of a corporation, any person holding a specified office in the corporation—\n\n(a) to answer questions;\n\n(b) to furnish information; and\n\n(c) to allow the inspection of documents belonging to or in the possession of that person or that corporation, as the case may be,\n\nrelating to—\n\n(d) any money property or funds which, immediately prior to the dissolution of the body belonged to or were held by or on behalf of the body, or as to which there is reasonable cause to believe that they so belonged to or were held by or on behalf of the body;\n\n(e) any payments made directly or indirectly by, to, or on behalf of, the body, or as to which there is reasonable cause to believe that they have been so made; or\n\n(f) any transactions to which the body was or is reasonably believed to have been a party.\n\n(2.) Any member of the Police Force of the Commonwealth, or of a State or Territory of the Commonwealth, if not below the rank of sergeant, or if thereto authorized in writing by a member of the Force not below that rank, shall at all times have full and free access to, and may if need be by force and with such assistance as is necessary break open, enter and search, any house, premises or place, in which he suspects that there are any books, documents or papers relating to a body which has been declared to be unlawful, and may take possession of, remove and impound any books, documents and papers in any such house, premises or place.\n\nSurrender of property of body declared unlawful.\n\n6.—(1.) Any person (including a bank) having in his possession or custody any property which immediately prior to the dissolution of a body which has been declared to be unlawful belonged to that body or belonged to or was held by trustees for and on behalf of that body, shall on demand deliver that property to a person thereto authorized by a Minister.\n\n(2.) The acknowledgment in writing by the person so authorized of the receipt of any such property shall be a sufficient discharge to the person delivering the property to him.\n\n(3.) A bank having in its possession or custody any such property shall not suffer or permit or be a party to any dealing with such property.\n\n(4.) The Minister may by order direct all property which belonged to a body immediately prior to its being dissolved by or under these Regulations or held by any person for or on behalf of that body to be forfeited to the King for the use of the Commonwealth.\n\n  \n\nPrinting and publication of certain matter.\n\n7. A person shall not—\n\n(a) print, publish, distribute or circulate any book, periodical, pamphlet, “dodger”, circular, handbill, card, poster or newspaper; or\n\n(b) broadcast by means of wireless telegraphy or wireless telephony any message or other communication,\n\ncontaining any matter advocating any unlawful doctrines.\n\nUnlawful meetings.\n\n8.—(1.) A person shall not hold or convene any meeting, or with any other person assemble, in any place, for the purpose of advocating any unlawful doctrines.\n\n(2.) In any prosecution in respect of any contravention of this regulation the averment of the prosecutor contained in the information or indictment that the purpose for which a meeting was held or convened was the purpose of advocating any unlawful doctrines shall be prima facie evidence of the purpose for which the meeting was held or convened.\n\nAppeals for funds for furtherance of unlawful doctrines.\n\n9.—(1.) A person shall not make any appeal for or collect, or receive or pay, any funds for the purpose of promoting any unlawful doctrines.\n\n(2.) In any prosecution in respect of any contravention of this regulation the averment of the prosecutor contained in the information or indictment that the purpose for which an appeal was made for any funds, or any funds were collected, received or paid was the purpose of promoting any unlawful doctrines shall be prima facie evidence of the purpose for which the appeal was made or the funds were collected, received or paid.\n\nPower to prohibit publication of certain matters.\n\n10.—(1.) A Minister may by order published in the Gazette prohibit the publication in any periodical or newspaper of any particulars with respect to any proceedings taken for the contravention of any provision of these Regulations or of any order made in pursuance of any of these Regulations other than particulars—\n\n(a) specifying the subject-matter of the proceedings;\n\n(b) giving a brief statement of the submissions made by any party; and\n\n(c) indicating the decision of the court.\n\n(2.) A person shall not publish in any periodical or newspaper any particulars the publication of which is prohibited by an order under this regulation.\n\nProhibition of meetings.\n\n11.—(1.) A Minister may by order published in the Gazette prohibit the holding of any meeting specified in the order or the holding of meetings of all kinds or of such kinds as are specified in the order, in any place so specified at which a Minister is satisfied it is likely that unlawful doctrines will be advocated.\n\n(2.) A person shall not attend, or continue in attendance at, any meeting the holding of which is prohibited under this regulation.\n\nBy Authority: L. F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text of these Regulations sets out their scope (which organisations and activities are covered, and the powers exercised) but contains no statements comparing this instrument to an earlier version or to a different original intent. On the face of the document, scope is defined by the Governor‑General’s and Ministers’ powers and the listed prohibitions (Regs 3–11). There is no material within the Regulations themselves indicating a change in scope from a prior instrument or a different original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Broad executive discretion to declare bodies unlawful and to issue orders (Reg 3; Regs 5(1), 10(1), 11(1))","Automatic legal effect of a declaration (dissolution by force of declaration) without procedural detail in the text (Reg 4)","Wide investigatory and coercive powers for police, including forcible entry and seizure (Reg 5(2))","Mandatory surrender and possible forfeiture of property, with obligations on banks not to deal with such property (Reg 6(1)–(4))","Criminal prohibitions affecting speech, publishing, broadcasting, meetings and fundraising with broad definitions of prohibited \"unlawful doctrines\" (Defs, Regs 7–9, 11)","Prima facie evidentiary rules that ease prosecution of meeting and fundraising offences (Regs 8(2), 9(2))","Ministerial power to prohibit publication of particulars of proceedings, creating interaction between censorship and criminal enforcement (Reg 10)","Procedural omissions in the text: no penalties, no specified appeal or review mechanisms, and no timelines for orders included within these Regulations","Dependence on Gazette orders for many actions (procedural complexity and public‑law implications)","Overlap of affected parties (individuals, corporations, banks, media) producing varied compliance obligations"],"plain_english_summary":"## What these Regulations do (mechanics)\n\n- Declare entire organisations unlawful: The Governor‑General may publish an order in the Gazette declaring any corporate or unincorporated body \"prejudicial to the defence of the Commonwealth or the efficient prosecution of the war\"; that declaration makes the body unlawful (Reg 3). By force of that declaration the body is dissolved (Reg 4).\n\n- Require persons and organisations to provide information and documents: A Minister may order any person (or specified officers of a corporation) believed to hold information or documents related to a declared body to answer questions, provide information and allow inspection of documents about the body’s money, payments or transactions (Reg 5(1)).\n\n- Give police wide search and seizure powers: Commonwealth or State police members (sergeant or above, or those authorized) may at any time enter, break into, search and take possession of books, documents and papers they suspect relate to a declared body (Reg 5(2)).\n\n- Require surrender and allow forfeiture of property: Anyone (including banks) holding property that immediately before the dissolution belonged to a declared body or its trustees must deliver it to a person authorised by a Minister on demand; a Minister may order that such property be forfeited to the Crown for Commonwealth use (Reg 6(1), (4)). Banks are forbidden from dealing with such property (Reg 6(3)).\n\n- Prohibit certain speech, meetings and fundraising associated with \"unlawful doctrines\": The Regulations forbid printing, publishing, distributing, broadcasting or circulating material that advocates any \"unlawful doctrines\" (Reg 7); forbid holding or convening meetings for that purpose and make the prosecutor’s averment of purpose prima facie evidence (Reg 8(1)–(2)); and forbid appeals for or collection, receipt or payment of funds to promote unlawful doctrines, again with the prosecutor’s averment treated as prima facie evidence (Reg 9(1)–(2)). \"Unlawful doctrines\" is defined broadly to include doctrines of a declared body and any doctrines regarded as prejudicial to defence or the efficient prosecution of the war (Defs).\n\n- Allow Ministers to prohibit publication of particulars and to ban meetings in specified places: A Minister can order that publications not report specified particulars of proceedings under these Regulations (Reg 10(1)), and can prohibit holding specified meetings or types of meetings in specified places where unlawful doctrines are likely to be advocated (Reg 11(1)). Publishing material prohibited by such an order or attending a prohibited meeting is an offence (Regs 10(2), 11(2)).\n\n\n## Who is affected (who pays and who decides)\n\n- Decisions: The Governor‑General (by Gazette order) declares bodies unlawful (Reg 3), and Ministers make orders requiring information, prohibiting publication particulars, and banning meetings in specified places (Regs 5(1), 10(1), 11(1)). Police exercise search and seizure powers under ministerial framework (Reg 5(2)).\n\n- Those who bear direct costs or restrictions: members or officers of a declared body (the body is dissolved by the declaration) (Reg 4); any person or corporation holding documents or property of the dissolved body (Reg 5(1), 6(1)); banks (must not deal with such property) (Reg 6(3)); publishers, broadcasters and printers (restrictions under Reg 7 and Reg 10); people who hold meetings or raise funds that advocate the defined \"unlawful doctrines\" (Regs 8–9, 11).\n\n\n## Incentives and compliance burdens\n\n- Incentives created by the rules: Automatic dissolution (Reg 4) and the possibility of property forfeiture (Reg 6(4)) create strong material incentives for custodians of assets to surrender property when demanded (Reg 6(1)–(2)) and to avoid association with declared bodies. Restrictions on printing, broadcasting, meetings and fundraising (Regs 7–9, 11) create incentives for publishers, meeting organisers and fundraisers to avoid content or activities that could be characterised as advocating \"unlawful doctrines.\" Prosecutorial prima facie rules (Regs 8(2), 9(2)) lower the initial evidentiary hurdle for proving purpose in prosecutions.\n\n- Compliance burdens: requirements to answer questions, produce documents and allow inspections (Reg 5(1)); potential forced entry and seizure of documents (Reg 5(2)); mandatory handover of property on ministerial demand (Reg 6(1)); prohibition on banks dealing with certain property (Reg 6(3)); need to monitor publications and broadcasts for prohibited advocacy (Reg 7). Ministers must publish orders in the Gazette to exercise several powers (Regs 3, 10(1), 11(1)), creating procedural steps for enforcement.\n\n\n## Discretion, enforcement and procedural features\n\n- Centralised executive discretion: Key determinations — declaring a body unlawful (Reg 3), ordering disclosure (Reg 5(1)), prohibiting publication of particulars (Reg 10(1)) and banning meetings in places (Reg 11(1)) — rest with ministers or the Governor‑General acting by Gazette order.\n\n- Enabling investigatory enforcement: Police may enter, break in, search and seize papers related to declared bodies (Reg 5(2)). Ministers authorise recipients of property and receipts serve as discharge for those who hand over property (Reg 6(2)).\n\n- Evidentiary easing for prosecutions: A prosecutor’s averments about the purpose of meetings or fundraising are prima facie evidence (Regs 8(2), 9(2)), shifting the initial burden in prosecutions.\n\n- Limits and omissions in the text: These Regulations set out prohibitions and powers but do not themselves state criminal penalties, detailed procedural safeguards, appeal mechanisms or time limits for orders within the text provided. That absence affects how enforcement and legal challenge would operate in practice (text silent on penalties and appeals).\n\n\n## How this measure interacts with private activity and markets (reporting mechanisms, not judgement)\n\n- Publishing and broadcasting: The ban on advocacy of \"unlawful doctrines\" (Reg 7) and the Minister’s power to prohibit reporting particulars of proceedings (Reg 10) impose obligations and potential restraints on media businesses and printers; firms that print, circulate or broadcast material must assess whether content falls within the prohibition and face legal risk if it does.\n\n- Financial institutions and asset holders: Banks and other custodians face an obligation to surrender property and a prohibition on dealing with such property once a body has been declared and dissolved (Reg 6(1), (3)), creating operational constraints and potential losses if property is forfeited (Reg 6(4)).\n\n- Associations, clubs and charities: Meetings, fundraising and membership activities that could be characterised as advocating the defined \"unlawful doctrines\" are prohibited (Regs 8–9, 11), which restricts organisational activity and fundraising choices for groups that might be within the scope of a declaration.\n\n\n## Trade-offs, costs and risks implicit in the instrument (mechanisms, not judgments)\n\n- Speed vs. review: The instrument allows executive actors to declare and dissolve bodies and to order disclosure and forfeiture (Regs 3–6). That structure can achieve swift legal effect but places primary decision‑making and initial enforcement power in the executive (Reg 3, Reg 5(1)), with the text not specifying procedural review within the Regulations themselves.\n\n- Enforcement resource costs: Searches, seizures and investigations (Reg 5(2)) require policing resources and administrative handling of surrendered or seized property (Reg 6). Those are costs borne by public agencies.\n\n- Compliance costs to private parties: People, corporations and banks holding documents or property must respond to orders and may lose possession of property (Regs 5–6). Publishers and broadcasters must alter operations to avoid prohibited advocacy (Reg 7).\n\n- Prosecution facilitation and legal risk: Prima facie rules for purpose in prosecutions (Regs 8(2), 9(2)) lower the prosecutor’s initial proof burden, increasing legal risk for organisers and fundraisers whose activities are alleged to promote unlawful doctrines.\n\n\n## Official purpose-claims and testing them against concrete trade-offs\n\nThe Regulations frame their measures as protecting defence and the efficient prosecution of the war by removing organisations and communications judged prejudicial (Defs, Regs 3, 7). The concrete mechanisms that implement that aim are executive declaration and automatic dissolution (Regs 3–4), investigatory and seizure powers (Reg 5(2)), compulsory disclosure and surrender of assets (Reg 5(1), Reg 6), and prohibition of advocacy, meetings and fundraising (Regs 7–9, 11). Those mechanisms create material incentives and compliance costs for affected persons and firms, concentrate decisive power in ministers and the Governor‑General for making declarations and orders (Regs 3, 5(1), 10(1), 11(1)), and ease the evidentiary pathway for prosecutions (Regs 8(2), 9(2)). The text does not specify penalties, appeal routes, or internal procedural limits within these Regulations, which matters to how the stated purpose will be implemented and contested in practice (text silent)."},"summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These regulations were made in 1940 under temporary wartime legislation and are no longer in force. They ceased to have effect after the expiry of the National Security Act 1939."},"complexity_factors":["Reliance on executive declarations without judicial review","Broad police search and seizure powers","Forfeiture of property by ministerial order","Archaic terminology and wartime context"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations, made in June 1940 under the *National Security Act 1939*, gave the Commonwealth Government broad powers to suppress organisations and activities considered prejudicial to Australia’s war effort during the Second World War.\n\n**What it does**  \nThe Governor-General could, by notice in the *Gazette*, declare any incorporated or unincorporated body unlawful if it was seen as harmful to defence or the efficient prosecution of the war. Once declared, the body was automatically dissolved.\n\nMinisters were empowered to:  \n- Compel individuals or corporations to answer questions, provide information, and allow inspection of documents relating to the dissolved body’s property, funds, payments, and transactions.  \n- Authorise police (of at least the rank of sergeant) to forcibly enter, search, and seize documents from any premises suspected of holding records of the unlawful body.  \n- Require anyone (including banks) to hand over property that belonged to the dissolved body, and order its forfeiture to the Crown.\n\nThe regulations created several offences, making it illegal to:  \n- Print, publish, distribute, circulate or broadcast any material advocating “unlawful doctrines” (defined as doctrines of a declared body, or anything prejudicial to defence or the war effort).  \n- Hold or convene a meeting for the purpose of advocating such doctrines.  \n- Make appeals for, collect, receive or pay funds to promote unlawful doctrines.\n\nA Minister could also prohibit the publication of most details of proceedings for breaches (allowing only a brief statement of the subject, submissions and the court’s decision), and could prohibit specific meetings or types of meetings where advocacy of unlawful doctrines was considered likely.\n\n**Who it affects**  \nThe regulations applied to any person or organisation in Australia. They directly affected bodies suspected of subversive activity, their members and officers, anyone holding their documents or property, banks holding their funds, and individuals involved in publishing, meeting or fundraising covered by the prohibitions.\n\n**Practical point**  \nThis is a wartime instrument that is no longer in force. It illustrates the extensive executive powers enacted during a national emergency. By modern standards, many of its provisions (such as forced dissolution by executive order and property forfeiture without court oversight) would be regarded as highly unusual. Researchers, historians and lawyers examining Australia’s wartime security laws are the most likely to encounter this document."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/national-security-subversive-associations-regulations","history":"/api/acts/national-security-subversive-associations-regulations/history","analysis":"/api/acts/national-security-subversive-associations-regulations/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/national-security-subversive-associations-regulations/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/national-security-subversive-associations-regulations/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/national-security-subversive-associations-regulations/documents"}}