{"id":"C1945A00021","name":"Special Annuity Act 1945","slug":"special-annuity-act-1945","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"21 of 1945","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":14329,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1945A00021-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-31","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Special Annuity Act 1945","content":"SPECIAL ANNUITY.\n\nNo. 21 of 1945.\n\nAn Act to provide for the payment of an Annuity to the Widow of the late the Right Honourable John Curtin.\n\n\\[Assented to 16th August, 1945.\\]\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 Special Annuity Act 1945.\n\nCommencement.\n\n2. This Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the sixth day of July, One thousand nine hundred and forty-five.\n\n  \n\nAnnuity to the widow of the late the Right Honourable John Curtin.\n\n3.—(1.) There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, to the widow of the late the Right Honourable John Curtin, an annuity at the rate of Five hundred pounds per annum.\n\n(2.) The annuity provided by this section shall cease to be payable in the event of the remarriage of the annuitant.\n\nAnnuity payable monthly.\n\n4. The annuity payable under this Act shall be paid in monthly instalments.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":1363},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains exactly as originally intended: a targeted, personal benefit for the widow of a specific deceased Prime Minister. It has not expanded beyond this narrow, one-off purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 short sections total","No defined terms or interpretation section","Single straightforward appropriation from Consolidated Revenue Fund","Only one conditional provision (remarriage terminates payments)","No cross-references to other Acts or complex legal mechanisms"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a special lifetime pension (called an **annuity**) for the widow of John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia during World War II and died in office in 1945.\n\n**Key details:**\n- **Who gets paid:** The widow of the late Prime Minister John Curtin\n- **How much:** £500 per year, paid in monthly instalments\n- **Where the money comes from:** The Consolidated Revenue Fund (general government revenue, essentially taxpayer money)\n- **The catch:** If she remarries, the payments stop immediately\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was a one-off act of recognition for a Prime Minister who died while serving the country. Rather than giving his family a lump sum, Parliament voted to provide his widow with ongoing financial support—similar to a military service pension, but created specifically for this family through a private Act of Parliament."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/special-annuity-act-1945","history":"/api/acts/special-annuity-act-1945/history","analysis":"/api/acts/special-annuity-act-1945/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/special-annuity-act-1945/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/special-annuity-act-1945/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/special-annuity-act-1945/documents"}}