{"id":"C2004A00047","name":"Sewerage Agreements Act 1973","slug":"sewerage-agreements-act-1973","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"204 of 1973","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2698,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00047-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-29","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Sewerage Agreements Act 1973.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Approval of execution of agreements","content":"#### 3 Approval of execution of agreements\n\n  The execution, on behalf of the Government of Australia, of agreements between that Government and the Government of each of the States substantially in accordance with the form set out in the Schedule is approved.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payments to States to be made out of Consolidated Revenue Fund or Loan Fund","content":"#### 4 Payments to States to be made out of Consolidated Revenue Fund or Loan Fund\n\n  The payments and advances by the Government of Australia to the Government of a State provided for in an agreement referred to in section 3 may be made, by way of financial assistance to that State, on the terms and conditions contained in that agreement, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority to borrow","content":"#### 5 Authority to borrow\n\n  The Treasurer may, in accordance with the provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911-1966 or in accordance with the provisions of an Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, borrow moneys not exceeding in the aggregate $30,000,000.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of moneys borrowed","content":"#### 6 Application of moneys borrowed\n\n  Moneys borrowed under section 5 shall be issued and applied only for the expenses of borrowing and for the purpose of making payments and advances to the States in accordance with this Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation","content":"#### 8 Appropriation\n\n  The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to have remained entirely within its original narrow scope — authorising and funding specific sewerage agreements between the Commonwealth and the States in the early 1970s. There is no indication of amendment, expansion, or mission creep beyond its founding purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act with only a handful of operative sections","Narrow and specific purpose — sewerage funding agreements only","Fixed borrowing cap of $30 million leaves little interpretive uncertainty","Standard appropriation and borrowing mechanics familiar in Commonwealth legislation","No ongoing regulatory scheme, penalties, or administrative machinery","Agreements follow a prescribed template in the Schedule, reducing ambiguity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Sewerage Agreements Act 1973 authorises the Commonwealth to enter standard-form financial agreements with the States to fund sewerage infrastructure and permits the Treasurer to borrow up to $30 million (and use Consolidated Revenue) to pay that assistance. It chiefly affected State governments and, indirectly, Australians benefiting from improved sewer systems; today it is largely of historical interest as a bounded instance of tied federal funding for state infrastructure."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text confines itself to approving Commonwealth–State sewerage agreements, providing financial assistance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, authorising borrowing up to $30,000,000 to meet those payments, limiting use of borrowed funds to those purposes, and appropriating the Fund as necessary (ss3–6,8). There is no text within the instrument indicating a change from that stated scope."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose statute with few provisions (ss3–6,8).","Cross-references to external borrowing statutes (Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911–1966; Acts authorising Treasury Bills) create reliance on other regimes (s5).","\"Substantially in accordance\" language for the form of agreements introduces interpretive judgment about conformity (s3).","Treasure r discretion to borrow and apply funds within stated limits (s5–6) concentrates decision-making power in one office.","References a Schedule (not reproduced here) creating dependence on an external instrument for operative detail (s3)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act approves the Commonwealth entering into specified sewerage agreements with each State and authorises payments to those States as financial assistance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (s3–4). It permits the Treasurer to borrow up to $30,000,000 to fund those payments (s5–6) and appropriates the Consolidated Revenue Fund as required (s8). The law places funding responsibility with the Commonwealth and the Treasurer, enabling State-level sewerage projects that may affect contractors and local service provision."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: authorising specific sewerage funding agreements between the Commonwealth and States. The scope has not expanded beyond this narrow 1973 infrastructure funding mandate."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 operative sections (section 7 appears to be missing from the provided text)","No defined terms section","Minimal cross-referencing (only references to the Schedule, the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911-1966, and Treasury Bills legislation)","Straightforward conditional logic - simple approval and appropriation mechanism","Single purpose legislation with clear, linear structure","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"This law allows the Australian Government to sign deals with each State government about sewerage infrastructure. It gives the green light for the Federal Government to provide money to help States build or improve sewerage systems. The law also lets the Government borrow up to $30 million (a lot of money in 1973) to fund these payments, and ensures the money comes from the government's main bank account (the Consolidated Revenue Fund). Essentially, it's a 1970s federal-state funding arrangement for public sanitation works."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/sewerage-agreements-act-1973","history":"/api/acts/sewerage-agreements-act-1973/history","analysis":"/api/acts/sewerage-agreements-act-1973/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/sewerage-agreements-act-1973/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/sewerage-agreements-act-1973/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/sewerage-agreements-act-1973/documents"}}