{"id":"C1935A00047","name":"Primary Producers Relief Act 1935","slug":"primary-producers-relief-act-1935","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"47 of 1935","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3738,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1935A00047-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Primary Producers Relief Act 1935","content":"PRIMARY PRODUCERS RELIEF.\n\nNo. 47 of 1935.\n\nAn Act to provide for Financial Assistance to the States in the provision of Relief to Primary Producers, and for other purposes.\n\n\\[Assented to 4th November, 1935.\\]\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.—(1.) This Act may be cited as the Primary Producers Relief Act 1935.\n\n(2.) The Financial Relief Act 1932–1933\\*, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the Financial Relief Act 1932–1935.\n\n  \n\n(3.) The Financial Relief Act 1934†, as amended by the Financial Relief Act 1935‡ and by this Act, may be cited as the Financial Relief Act 1934–1935.\n\nDefinitions.\n\n2. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n“artificial manure ” means any substance—\n\n(а) which contains nitrogen, phosphoric acid or potash;\n\n(b) which has been manufactured, produced or prepared in any manner for the purpose of fertilizing the soil or supplying nutriment to plants; and\n\n(c) in respect of which, if used in a State, the laws of that State in relation to the preparation and sale of that substance as a fertilizer have been complied with,\n\nbut does not include—\n\n(d) any animal or vegetable matter which has not been subjected to process or manufacture ;\n\n(e) agricultural lime or other soil amendment; or\n\n(f) any product prepared primarily for supplying lime to the soil;\n\n“Territory” means a Territory of the Commonwealth situated within the Commonwealth\n\nAppropriation of £275,000 for relief to primary producers.\n\n3. Subject to this Act, there shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, the sum of Two hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds for the purposes of financial assistance to the States in the provision of relief to primary producers in respect of the production of primary produce other than wheat and for the purposes of providing relief to primary producers in any Territory in respect of that production.\n\nAmount payable to each State.\n\n4. The amount which may be paid under the last preceding section to any State shall be such as represents payments made by the State to primary producers in respect of the production of primary produce other than wheat, in that State, at the rate of fifteen shillings for each ton of artificial manure used in that State, in respect of that production, by primary producers during the year ending on the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six:\n\nProvided that, in calculating the amount which may be paid to a State under this section in respect of artificial manure used by any primary producer during that year, fractions of a ton less than one-half of a ton shall be excluded and fractions of a ton greater than one-half of a ton shall be excluded to the extent by which they exceed one-half of a ton.\n\n† Act No. 16, 1934.\n\n‡ Act No. 36, 1935.\n\n  \n\n5. No payment made by a State to a primary producer shall be taken into account in calculating the amount which may be paid to that State under this Act unless—\n\nConditions of payment.\n\n(a) the primary producer has obtained, upon application lodged by him with the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth on or before the thirty-first day of October, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six, a certificate in writing from the Secretary of that Department stating that the primary producer has furnished satisfactory evidence that he has used in that State, during the year ending on the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six, in the production of primary produce other than wheat, the quantity of artificial manure stated in the certificate; and\n\n(b) the amount of the payment is calculated at the rate of fifteen shillings for each ton of artificial manure stated in the certificate.\n\nPayments to primary producers in Territories.\n\n6. There shall be payable, out of the amount appropriated by this Act, to each primary producer in respect of the production of primary produce other than wheat, in any Territory, an amount representing fifteen shillings for each ton of artificial manure used by that primary producer in that Territory during the year ending on the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six:\n\nProvided that—\n\n(a) in calculating the amount which may be paid to a primary producer under this section in respect of artificial manure used by him during that year, fractions of a ton less than one-half of a ton shall be excluded and fractions of a ton greater than one-half of a ton shall be excluded to the extent by which they exceed one-half of a ton; and\n\n(b) no amount shall be paid under this section to a primary producer unless an application therefor has been lodged by him with the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth on or before the thirty-first day of October, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six.\n\nOffences.\n\n7. No person shall—\n\n(a) obtain any payment under this Act by means of any false or misleading statement ; or\n\n(b) present, to any officer or other person doing duty in relation to this Act or the regulations made under this Act, any document, or make to any such officer or person any statement, which is false in any particular.\n\nPenalty: Five hundred pounds, or imprisonment for two years.\n\nMinister may require information.\n\n8.—(1.) The Minister, or any person thereto authorized in writing by him, may, by notice in writing, call upon any person to furnish to him, within such time as is specified in the notice, such books, documents and information as the Minister or that authorized person\n\n  \n\nthinks necessary for the purposes of, or in relation to compliance with, this Act or the regulations made under this Act, or any suspected contravention thereof.\n\n(2.) Any person who, without reasonable excuse (proof whereof shall lie upon him), fails, after receipt of a notice under the last preceding sub-section, to comply with the requirements of the notice, shall be guilty of an offence.\n\nPenalty: One hundred pounds, or imprisonment for six months.\n\nRegulations.\n\n9. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act 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, and in particular for prescribing penalties not exceeding Fifty pounds or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months for any breach of the regulations.\n\nAmendment of section 32 of Financial Relief Act 1932-1933.\n\n10. Section thirty-two of the Financial Relief Act 1932–1933 is amended by omitting from paragraph (a) the words “from the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth a certificate in writing”, and inserting in their stead the words “, upon application lodged by him with the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth on or before the thirtieth day of November, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, a certificate in writing from the Secretary of that Department”.\n\nAmendment of section 33 of Financial Relief Act 1932–1933.\n\n11. Section thirty-three of the Financial Relief Act 1932–1933 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following proviso:—\n\n“Provided further that no amount shall be paid under this section to a primary producer unless an application therefor has been lodged by him with the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth on or before the thirtieth day of November, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five”.\n\nAmendment of section 21 of Financial Relief Act 1934.\n\n12. Section twenty-one of the Financial Relief Act 1934, as amended by the Financial Relief Act 1935, is amended by omitting from paragraph (a) the words “ upon application ma.de by him on or before the thirty-first day of October, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-live, from the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth a certificate in writing ”, and inserting in their stead the words “ upon application lodged by him with the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth on or before the thirty-first day of October, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, a certificate in writing from the Secretary of that Department ”.\n\nAmendment of section 22 of Financial Relief Act 1934.\n\n13. Section twenty-two of the Financial Relief Act 1934, as amended by the Financial Relief Act 1935, is amended by omitting from paragraph (b) the words “made to” and inserting in their stead the words “lodged by him with”.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Section 4 (Proviso)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Standard rounding provisions round to the nearest whole unit. This proviso instead creates a half-ton rounding step that is not explained or justified. The phrase 'fractions greater than one-half of a ton shall be excluded to the extent by which they exceed one-half of a ton' means a fraction of 0.7 tons is treated as 0.5 tons — so payment is made on half-ton increments, not whole tons. This is internally consistent but directly conflicts with the operative rate in s.4 which is expressed per ton, and is almost certainly not what was intended. The status of exactly 0.5 tons is also left undefined.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The rounding proviso is self-defeating: fractions less than half a ton are excluded (rounded down), AND fractions greater than half a ton are excluded to the extent they exceed half a ton (i.e., rounded down to the nearest half-ton). The proviso never states what happens to exactly half a ton, nor does it grant any benefit for the half-ton increment itself — meaning a producer using, say, 1.7 tons is paid for 1.5 tons, but the proviso's language about excluding 'to the extent by which they exceed one-half of a ton' effectively rounds everything down to the nearest half-ton rather than the nearest whole ton, producing a peculiar and likely unintended payment schedule."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 6 (Proviso)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 3 pools the £275,000 for both purposes. Section 6 imposes a mandatory obligation ('shall be payable') to Territory producers with no cap or proportional allocation. If Territory producers collectively used very large quantities of artificial manure, their entitlements could consume the entire fund before States receive anything. There is no priority rule or apportionment mechanism.","confidence":0.78,"description":"The identical half-ton rounding ambiguity from s.4 is reproduced verbatim for Territory producers, compounding the same logical flaw. Additionally, s.6 creates a direct payment obligation ('there shall be payable') to individual producers in Territories, while s.3 appropriates the total sum for both State assistance and Territory payments combined, with no mechanism to allocate or cap the Territory share — meaning Territory payments could theoretically exhaust the entire £275,000 appropriation, leaving nothing for State payments."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Section 5(a)","severity":"low","reasoning":"This is inherent in the design of the Act — it incentivises future manure use during a period still ongoing at the time of passage. However, the certificate must attest to completed use of a quantity, which cannot be known until 30 June 1936. Applications lodged before that date would be premature and the Secretary could not properly certify quantities not yet used. This is a structural timing flaw, though likely managed in practice by requiring applications after 30 June 1936 but before 31 October 1936.","confidence":0.65,"description":"Retroactive impossibility: The Act was assented to on 4 November 1935, yet s.5(a) requires primary producers to have already lodged their applications with the Secretary of Commerce 'on or before the thirty-first day of October, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six' to obtain a certificate. While the 1936 deadline is prospective, the certificate must confirm manure used 'during the year ending on the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six' — a year that had not yet ended when the Act was passed. Producers are therefore required to certify use of manure for a period extending seven months into the future at the time of enactment."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 2 — Definition of 'artificial manure' (paragraphs (c) and (d))","severity":"low","reasoning":"The paragraph (c) condition introduces a State-law compliance element into a Commonwealth definition, creating circularity where the qualification of a substance as 'artificial manure' depends on compliance with laws that may themselves depend on the nature of the substance. This is a genuine, if low-severity, definitional flaw. The paragraph (d) exclusion issue is secondary but creates edge-case ambiguity for processed organic fertilizers.","confidence":0.7,"description":"The definition of 'artificial manure' contains a circular compliance condition: paragraph (c) requires that the laws of the relevant State regarding 'preparation and sale of that substance as a fertilizer have been complied with.' This means a substance only qualifies as 'artificial manure' under this Act if State law has been complied with — but whether State fertilizer law applies may itself depend on whether the substance qualifies as a fertilizer under State law, which may track the Commonwealth definition. More critically, paragraph (d) excludes 'any animal or vegetable matter which has not been subjected to process or manufacture,' yet many substances containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid or potash (the criteria in (a)) are of animal or vegetable origin. The definition does not resolve whether a substance of animal/vegetable origin that has been processed falls within both the positive definition and the exclusion simultaneously."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 9","severity":"low","reasoning":"This is a boilerplate regulations clause grafted onto legislation that contains no regulation-making hooks. While the 'necessary or convenient' limb provides a functional basis for regulations, the standard formula referring to things 'required or permitted to be prescribed' is inapplicable on the face of this Act. This is a common drafting inelegance rather than a serious flaw, but it is a genuine logical gap.","confidence":0.6,"description":"The regulations power in s.9 is hollow: it empowers the Governor-General to prescribe matters 'required or permitted to be prescribed' by the Act, but no provision in the Act actually requires or permits anything to be prescribed. The Act is entirely self-executing. The general 'necessary or convenient' tail saves the power from being entirely empty, but the specific reference to prescribable matters is superfluous."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 1(2) and 1(3)","severity":"low","reasoning":"This is a stylistic/structural quirk common to the drafting era. The amended citation names in s.1(2) and (3) presuppose the amendments in ss.10–13, but all provisions of an Act commence simultaneously on assent, so there is no genuine legal defect. It is nonetheless logically inelegant.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The Act purports to amend two prior Acts and grants them new citation names ('Financial Relief Act 1932–1935' and 'Financial Relief Act 1934–1935'), yet sections 10–13 contain the actual amendments. The short title provision in s.1 thus references amended citation names before the amendments effecting those names have been made within the same instrument — creating a logical sequencing issue where the name exists before the amendment authorising it is formally operative."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Section 3","section_b":"Section 6","confidence":0.8,"description":"Section 3 appropriates a single pooled sum of £275,000 for both State assistance payments and Territory producer payments. Section 6 then imposes a mandatory, uncapped obligation ('there shall be payable') to Territory producers calculated purely on their manure usage, with no regard for what remains in the fund after State payments. Section 4 similarly imposes what reads as an entitlement for States. There is no provision allocating, sequencing, or capping draws on the fund between these two competing mandatory obligations, meaning both cannot be guaranteed to be satisfied from the single appropriation if total entitlements exceed £275,000."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 4","section_b":"Section 5(b)","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 4 sets the rate of payment to States at fifteen shillings per ton of artificial manure used by primary producers. Section 5(b) conditions any payment on the State having paid the producer 'at the rate of fifteen shillings for each ton of artificial manure stated in the certificate.' Section 4 uses gross tonnage as used in the State; s.5(b) uses tonnage 'stated in the certificate' issued under s.5(a). The certificate tonnage under s.5(a) is the quantity the producer has 'furnished satisfactory evidence' of using — which may differ from actual tonnage used if evidence is incomplete. The State is thus required to pay on the certified quantity, while the Commonwealth calculates reimbursement on actual usage, creating a potential mismatch where States may pay producers on a certified figure that differs from the figure used for Commonwealth reimbursement."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Section 7(b)","section_b":"Section 8(1)","confidence":0.6,"description":"Section 7(b) makes it an offence to present any false document or make any false statement to 'any officer or other person doing duty in relation to this Act.' Section 8(1) empowers the Minister or an authorised person to require information. A person who provides information under compulsion pursuant to s.8(1) that later proves inaccurate could theoretically be prosecuted under s.7(b), yet s.8(2) provides a 'reasonable excuse' defence only for failure to comply with the notice — not for compliance that turns out to involve inaccurate information. This creates tension between the compulsory disclosure obligation and the absolute terms of the s.7(b) offence."}]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is self-contained and purpose-built for a single, clearly defined objective: providing time-limited fertiliser-based relief to non-wheat primary producers for one specific financial year (ending 30 June 1936). The amendments to earlier Acts are narrow technical corrections to application procedures, not expansions of scope. There is no evidence of scope creep — the legislation does exactly what its title and preamble promise."},"complexity_factors":["Small number of defined terms — only 'artificial manure' and 'Territory' are formally defined, with 'artificial manure' carrying a multi-limbed definition with inclusions and exclusions","Conditional payment structure: eligibility depends on produce type (non-wheat), geographic location (State vs Territory), time period, application deadlines, and certification requirements","Rounding rule in sections 4 and 6 is slightly technical — fractions under half excluded, fractions over half reduced to the half-tonne mark","Cross-references to three earlier Acts (Financial Relief Act 1932–1933, Financial Relief Act 1934, Financial Relief Act 1935) which must be read together for full context","Amendments in sections 10–13 require the reader to locate and mentally reconstruct the amended provisions in the earlier Acts","Dual payment pathway (States as intermediaries for their producers; Commonwealth paying Territory producers directly) adds a layer of structural complexity","Archaic drafting style (e.g. 'proof whereof shall lie upon him', currency in pounds and shillings) may create readability challenges for modern readers"],"plain_english_summary":"## Primary Producers Relief Act 1935 — Plain English Summary\n\n**What does this law do?**\n\nThis Act sets aside **£275,000 of Commonwealth government money** to provide financial relief to farmers and other primary producers (people who grow, raise, or harvest natural produce) who were doing it tough during the Great Depression era. The relief is delivered through **subsidies based on fertiliser use** — specifically, how much artificial manure (manufactured fertiliser) a producer used during the year ending 30 June 1936.\n\n**Who does it affect?**\n\n- **Primary producers in Australian States** — farmers and growers producing anything *except wheat* (wheat had its own separate relief scheme)\n- **Primary producers in Commonwealth Territories** (e.g. the ACT or Northern Territory at the time)\n- **State governments**, which act as middlemen — they pay producers directly and are then reimbursed by the Commonwealth\n\n**How does the money work?**\n\n- Producers receive **15 shillings for every ton of artificial manure** they used in non-wheat production during the qualifying year\n- There's a rounding rule: fractions of a tonne **under half a tonne are ignored**, and fractions **over half a tonne are rounded down** to the half-tonne mark (so you only ever get credit for whole or half tonnes)\n- States are reimbursed by the Commonwealth for what they pay out to their producers\n- Producers in Territories are paid directly by the Commonwealth\n\n**What do producers have to do to get paid?**\n\nTo qualify, a producer must:\n- **Apply in writing** to the Secretary of the Department of Commerce **by 31 October 1936**\n- Provide **satisfactory evidence** of how much fertiliser they used\n- Receive a **written certificate** from the Secretary confirming the quantity\n- Be paid at exactly the 15 shillings per tonne rate — no more, no less\n\n**What about fraud?**\n\nThe Act takes a firm line on dishonesty:\n- Making a **false or misleading statement** to get a payment is an offence — penalty up to **£500 or 2 years' imprisonment**\n- Failing to provide books, documents, or information when asked by the Minister is also an offence — penalty up to **£100 or 6 months' imprisonment**\n\n**What else does it do?**\n\nThe Act also makes **minor technical amendments** to two earlier laws — the *Financial Relief Act 1932–1933* and the *Financial Relief Act 1934* — mainly to tighten up the application process by requiring applications to be formally \"lodged with\" the Department Secretary by specific deadlines, rather than simply \"made.\"\n\n**Why does it matter?**\n\nThis Act is a snapshot of Depression-era Commonwealth policy: using fertiliser consumption as a proxy for genuine farming activity, and routing relief through State governments. It reflects the economic hardship facing Australian farmers in the mid-1930s, and the Commonwealth's effort to provide targeted, evidence-based assistance rather than a blanket handout."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/primary-producers-relief-act-1935","history":"/api/acts/primary-producers-relief-act-1935/history","analysis":"/api/acts/primary-producers-relief-act-1935/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/primary-producers-relief-act-1935/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/primary-producers-relief-act-1935/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/primary-producers-relief-act-1935/documents"}}