{"id":"C1926A00005","name":"Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926","slug":"petroleum-prospecting-act-1926","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"5 of 1926","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3376,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1926A00005-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926","content":"PETROLEUM PROSPECTING.\n\nNo. 5 of 1926.\n\nAn Act relating to the Encouragement of Prospecting for Petroleum Oil.\n\n\\[Assented to 15th February, 1926.\\]\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 Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926.\n\nEstablishment of Trust Account.\n\n2. For the purposes of this Act there shall be established in the books of the Treasury a Trust Account which shall be known as the Prospecting for Petroleum Trust Account and that account shall be a Trust Account for the purposes of section sixty-two a of the Audit Act 1901-1924.\n\nPayments to Trust Account.\n\n3. There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, the sum of Sixty thousand pounds for the purposes of this Act.\n\nAdvances from Trust Account.\n\n4.—(1.) The Minister may, out of the moneys standing to the credit of the Trust Account, make advances—\n\n(a) to persons or companies engaged in the search for oil in Australia for the purpose of testing their holdings; and\n\n(b) to assist persons, companies and State Governments to make detailed geological surveys.\n\n(2.) Any advances under this Act shall be made upon such conditions, and subject to such terms, as are prescribed.\n\nRegulations.\n\n5. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":1682},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow scope of encouraging petroleum prospecting through financial assistance, consistent with the preamble and short title."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 short sections with no subsections beyond (1) and (2)","No definitions or interpretation section","Single appropriation mechanism with straightforward disbursement powers","Minimal cross-referencing (only one mention of the Audit Act for accounting purposes)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or temporal limitations"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a government fund to kickstart oil exploration in Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Sets up a special government bank account called the **Prospecting for Petroleum Trust Account**\n- Deposits **£60,000** (roughly $6 million in today's money) from the national budget into this account\n\n**Who gets the money:**\nThe Minister can hand out advances (loans or grants) to:\n- **Oil prospectors and companies** to help them test their drilling sites\n- **State Governments, companies, or individuals** conducting detailed geological surveys\n\n**The catch:**\nAny money given out comes with conditions attached. The specific rules are set by regulations made by the Governor-General.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was one of Australia's earliest attempts to jump-start a domestic oil industry by sharing the financial risks of exploration with private operators and state governments."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1926","history":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1926/history","analysis":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1926/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1926/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1926/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1926/documents"}}