{"id":"C1927A00016","name":"Petroleum Prospecting Act 1927","slug":"petroleum-prospecting-act-1927","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"16 of 1927","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3431,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1927A00016-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Petroleum Prospecting Act 1927","content":"PETROLEUM PROSPECTING.\n\nNo. 16 of 1927.\n\nAn Act to amend the Petroleum Prospecting Acts 1926.\n\n\\[Assented to 8th April, 1927.\\]\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 and citation.\n\n1.—(1.) This Act may be cited as the Petroleum Prospecting Act 1927.\n\n(2.) The Petroleum Prospecting Acts 1926 are 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 Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926–1927.\n\nPayments to Trust Account.\n\n2. Section three of the Principal Act is amended by inserting, after the words “the sum of”, the words “One hundred and”.\n\nApplication of moneys.\n\n3. Section four of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (1.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—\n\n“(1.) The Minister may apply the moneys standing to the credit of the Trust Account for the purpose of—\n\n(a) advances to persons or companies engaged in the search for oil in Australia, Papua, or New Guinea;\n\n(b) advances to assist persons, companies, or State or Territorial Governments to make geological surveys in Australia, Papua, or New Guinea;\n\n(c) the conduct, either directly or through an agent, of geological surveys in Australia, Papua, or New Guinea; and\n\n(d) the conduct, either directly or through an agent, of prospecting operations in the area reserved in Papua for that purpose.”.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":2998},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act maintains the original purpose of facilitating petroleum prospecting in Australia and its territories. While it expands the methods from purely financial assistance to include direct government operations, this is an extension of implementation strategy rather than a departure from the core objective."},"complexity_factors":["Only three operative sections","Minimal cross-referencing (only amends sections 3 and 4 of the Principal Act)","Simple permissive language ('may apply') without nested exceptions or provisos","No definitions, schedules, or interpretive provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act increases appropriations to the Petroleum Prospecting Trust Account and broadens the Minister’s spending powers so funds can be used more actively—including lending to explorers, subsidising surveys, conducting government surveys through agents, and carrying out prospecting in a reserved Papua area. \n\nIt affects oil prospecting firms, State/Territory governments needing geological data, and the Minister, giving the government greater control over domestic oil discovery efforts."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1927","history":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1927/history","analysis":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1927/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1927/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1927/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/petroleum-prospecting-act-1927/documents"}}