{"id":"sa:decimal-currency-act-1965","name":"Decimal Currency Act 1965","slug":"sa-decimal-currency-act-1965","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":438055,"registerId":"sa:decimal-currency-act-1965-seed-1775954630335-o1ohx0","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Decimal Currency Act 1965","content":"South Australia\nDecimal Currency Act 1965\nAn Act to amend the law of the State in consequence of the adoption of decimal currency in Australia; to make other necessary provisions in relation thereto; for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto and for other purposes.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tReferences to old currency to be construed as references to new currency\n5\tReferences in documents which are not statutory instruments to amounts in old currency to be construed as references to equivalent amounts in new currency\n7\tTransactions in old currency\n8\tPower to amend statutory instruments\n9\tGeneral power to remove doubts\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Decimal Currency Act 1965.\n3—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—\nCommonwealth Currency Act means the Currency Act 1965 of the Commonwealth as amended from time to time or any Act in substitution therefor;\nnew currency means the currency provided for by the Commonwealth Currency Act;\nold currency means the currency provided for by the Coinage Act 1909, of the Commonwealth;\nstatutory instrument means any proclamation, order in council, regulation, rule, by-law, determination, award, fixation order, or other instrument made under the authority of any Act or in the exercise of the prerogative rights of the Crown, or having effect by virtue of any Act, regulation, rule or by-law; but does not include any award, order, industrial agreement, or determination made pursuant to the Industrial Code 1920 or any order made under the Prices Act 1948.\n\t(2)\tIn any Act or statutory instrument, the symbol \"$\" or \"$\" shall denote the word \"dollar\" or, as the case may require, the word \"dollars\", and the symbol \"c\" when used as an expression of an amount of money, shall denote the word \"cent\" or, as the case may require, the word \"cents\".\n4—References to old currency to be construed as references to new currency\n\t(1)\tSubject to section 6 and to this section, a reference in any Act or statutory instrument to an amount of money in the old currency shall, unless the context is such that it would be inappropriate, or the contrary intention appears, be read and construed as a reference to a corresponding amount of money in the new currency calculated on the basis of the equivalents specified in subsection (4) of section 8 of the Commonwealth Currency Act.\n\t(2)\tWhere any such reference as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section is to a percentage or other proportion expressed in terms of money in the old currency, that reference however expressed shall be read and construed as a reference to an equivalent percentage or proportion expressed in terms of money in the new currency.\n\t(3)\tWhere any Act or statutory instrument contains, prescribes, or provides for, a form that refers to an amount of money in the old currency or a form that provides for an amount of money to be specified in that currency, a person using the form may fill it in in such a manner as to set forth or specify the equivalent of that amount in the new currency.\n\t(4)\tFor the purposes of this section the expression guinea, when used as an expression of an amount of money, means an amount of one pound one shilling in denominations of money in the old currency.\n\t(5)\tFor the purposes of this section any reference in any Act to an amount of money in sterling shall be deemed to be a reference to the old currency: Provided that this section shall not apply to the Agent-General Act 1901 as amended from time to time.\n\t(6)\tWhere in any Act it is provided that any amount shall be calculated to the nearest pound or to the nearest shilling, nearest sixpence, or nearest penny, that provision shall be read and construed as a provision that such amount shall be calculated to the nearest dollar or, as the case may be, to the nearest multiple of ten cents, nearest multiple of five cents or nearest cent.\n5—References in documents which are not statutory instruments to amounts in old currency to be construed as references to equivalent amounts in new currency\n\t(1)\tWhere in any document (including any register, instrument or record), not being a statutory instrument or an award order industrial agreement or determination made pursuant to the Industrial Code 1920 or an order made under the Prices Act 1948 which is made by or under the authority of or for the purposes of a law of the State there appears a reference to an amount of money (including a reference to a percentage or other proportion) expressed in the old currency the provisions of section 4 of this Act shall, with such modifications as may be necessary, extend and apply thereto in the same manner as to a reference in a statutory instrument.\n\t(2)\tCustodian of such document may alter reference for administrative purposes\nThe person in whose custody any such document is kept may, where he deems it necessary or expedient so to do for administrative purposes, substitute for any such reference the appropriate reference in the new currency.\n7—Transactions in old currency\n\t(1)\tWhere on or after the fourteenth day of February, 1966 any matter or thing relating to money is, pursuant to Part V of the Commonwealth Currency Act made executed entered into or done according to the old currency, any amount payable under or by virtue of a law of the State in respect of such matter or thing shall be the amount in the new currency which would have been payable if the references to the old currency in such matter or thing had been expressed in the new currency on the basis of the equivalents specified in subsection (4) of section 8 of the Commonwealth Currency Act.\n\t(2)\tFor the purposes of this section—\nmatter or thing includes a payment, a sale or a security for money, or any other contract, agreement, deed, instrument, transaction or dealing.\n8—Power to amend statutory instruments\n\t(1)\tNotwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Act or statutory instrument contained the Governor may, by regulation under this Act, amend a statutory instrument by substituting references to amounts of money in terms of the new currency for any references in that statutory instrument to amounts of money in terms of the old currency calculated on the basis of the equivalents specified in subsection (4) of section 8 of the Commonwealth Currency Act or, if the Governor thinks fit, on the basis so far as concerns pence of the equivalents specified in subsection (3) of section 11 of that Act and for any purpose ancillary to or consequent upon any such substitution and every such amendment shall take effect on a day specified in the regulation not being a day earlier than the 14th day of February, 1966.\n\t(2)\tSection 38 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1915 shall not apply to any regulation made under this section and any such regulation may be made without regard to any method prescribed by law for the amendment of the statutory instrument concerned and notwithstanding that such statutory instrument may be incapable of amendment apart from this section and any amendment made pursuant to this section shall not affect the scope or period of operation of the statutory instrument amended thereby or be the subject of any appeal or disallowance or similar procedure and every statutory instrument so amended shall in all other respects take effect subject to the amendment from the day on which the regulation takes effect.\n9—General power to remove doubts\n\t(1)\tIf any doubt or difficulty arises in relation to the construction under this Act of any reference to an amount of money or a percentage or proportion expressed in terms of money or to any matter in respect of any such reference or arising out of the passing of this Act or any matter, situation or circumstance arises for which provision is by this Act not made the Governor may by proclamation resolve that doubt or difficulty or give directions for the purpose of removing the same or declaring what is to be done or deal with the matter, in such a manner as he considers just and any such proclamation shall have effect as if it were a provision of this Act.\n\t(2)\tThe Governor may by proclamation amend the Schedule to this Act by the addition thereto of any Act requiring amendment in consequence of this Act or the adoption of the new currency specifying particulars of the amendments to be made to the Act so added. Upon the making of any such proclamation the Schedule to this Act shall be deemed to be amended and the Act or Acts specified in such proclamation shall be amended to the extent specified.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation amended by principal Act\nThe Decimal Currency Act 1965 amended the following:\nCattle Compensation Act 1939\nCrown Lands Act 1929\nGas Act 1924\nLocal Courts Act 1926\nPawnbrokers Act 1888\nPlaces of Public Entertainment Act 1913\nThe Savings Bank of South Australia Act 1929\nSwine Compensation Act 1936\nPrincipal Act and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n1965\n60\nDecimal Currency Act 1965\n4.2.1966\n14.2.1966: s 2(2)\n1966\n1\nDecimal Currency Act Amendment Act 1966\n10.2.1966\n4.2.1966: s 3(2)\n1967\n15\nWeights and Measures Act 1967\n6.4.1967\n22.6.1967 (Gazette 22.6.1967 p1850)\n1973\n77\nStatute Law Revision Act 1973\n6.12.1973\n6.12.1973\nProvisions amended since 3 February 1976\n\t•\tLegislative history prior to 3 February 1976 appears in marginal notes and footnotes included in the consolidation of this Act contained in Volume 3 of The Public General Acts of South Australia 1837-1975 at page 434.\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\ns 6\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\nSch\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating South Australia's transition to decimal currency in 1966. The amendments listed in the legislative history are minor technical updates or statute law revision acts that removed spent provisions (sections 2, 6 and the Schedule), rather than expansions of substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 9 substantive sections (excluding short title and interpretation)","Minimal defined terms (4 key definitions: Commonwealth Currency Act, new currency, old currency, statutory instrument)","Straightforward conversion mechanism referencing external Commonwealth legislation for exchange rates","Simple conditional logic limited to carve-outs for specific Acts (Industrial Code 1920, Prices Act 1948, Agent-General Act 1901)","No nested exceptions or deeply layered cross-references","Single-purpose legislation with clear temporal boundary (changeover date of 14 February 1966)"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a South Australian law from 1965 that helped Australia switch from pounds, shillings and pence to dollars and cents. It made sure that all existing South Australian laws, government documents, contracts and records that mentioned the old money would automatically be read as referring to the new decimal currency instead. The law set out conversion rules (for example, converting references to pounds into dollars) and gave the Governor power to fix any problems or doubts that came up during the changeover. It also let officials update old forms and documents to show the new currency amounts."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's core purpose—convert old‑currency references into decimal equivalents and provide amendment and proclamation powers—remains. Subsequent legislative revision removed certain sections and the Schedule (s2, s6 and Sch omitted under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002), narrowing or housekeeping the text but leaving the conversion mechanics and executive amendment/proclamation powers in force."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference dependence on the Commonwealth Currency Act for conversion rates and pence‑equivalents (ss3, 4(1), 4(4), 7).","Broad executive discretion to amend statutory instruments by regulation, bypassing usual amendment, appeal or disallowance mechanisms (s8(1)–(2)).","Wide proclamation power to resolve doubts and to amend the Act's Schedule (s9(1)–(2)), creating delegated lawmaking and potential uncertainty over exact changes.","Specific exclusions and saving clauses for particular instruments and Acts, requiring careful identification of scope (s3(1), s4(5)).","Administrative powers for document custodians to substitute new‑currency references (s5(2)) and prescribed rounding rules for conversions (s4(6)), creating operational compliance tasks.","Transitional application rules tied to a specific date for transactions and dealings (s7), requiring temporal analysis of effects."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act converts references to pre‑decimal “old currency” into decimal “new currency” across South Australian law, so amounts, percentages and forms are read or filled as dollar-and-cent equivalents using the conversion rates in the Commonwealth Currency Act (ss3–5,7).\n\nIt gives the Governor power to amend statutory instruments and make proclamations to resolve conversion doubts (ss8–9) and lets custodians update records administratively (s5(2)). Payers and administrators must apply the conversions; administrative and compliance tasks shift to agencies and custodians."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/sa-decimal-currency-act-1965","history":"/api/acts/sa-decimal-currency-act-1965/history","analysis":"/api/acts/sa-decimal-currency-act-1965/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/sa-decimal-currency-act-1965/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/sa-decimal-currency-act-1965/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/sa-decimal-currency-act-1965/documents"}}