{"id":"C1908A00015","name":"Surplus Revenue Act 1908","slug":"surplus-revenue-act-1908","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"15 of 1908","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":114,"registerId":"C2004C00639","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"1998-01-01","status":"InForce","reasons":[{"affect":"Amend","markdown":"s 3, sch 2 (item 1246) of the [Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 1997](/C2004A05249)","dateChanged":null,"amendedByTitle":null,"affectedByTitle":{"name":"Audit (Transitional and Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 1997","year":1997,"number":152,"titleId":"C2004A05249","provisions":"s 3, sch 2 (item 1246)","seriesType":"Act","optionalSeriesNumber":null}}],"registeredAt":"2013-07-29T09:31:07.303Z"},"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 Surplus Revenue Act 1908.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"##### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act shall commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Expiry of the provisions of section 93 of the Constitution","content":"##### 3 Expiry of the provisions of section 93 of the Constitution\n\n  The provision made by section ninety‑three of the Constitution in relation to the crediting of revenue, the debiting of expenditure, and the payment of balances to the several States, shall continue until the commencement of this Act and no longer.","sortOrder":2}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation remained exactly as intended — a clean, surgical termination of a constitutional transitional provision. It did not grow beyond its original purpose of ending the section 93 revenue distribution system."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 sections total","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation","Simple conditional logic (continuation 'until commencement... and no longer')","Single purpose legislation with no exceptions or nested provisions","Approximately 100 words of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a very short, historical piece of legislation that did one specific thing: it ended a particular financial arrangement between the Australian federal government and the states that had been set up when the Constitution first came into effect.\n\n**What it did:**\n- **Section 93 of the Constitution** originally required that all money collected by the federal government (customs and excise duties) be credited to a special account, with expenses paid out, and any leftover money (\"surplus revenue\") distributed to the states.\n- This Act **terminated that system** — it said the arrangement would continue only until this Act started, and then stop.\n\n**Why it mattered:**\n- This was part of the transition from the temporary financial arrangements of Federation to the permanent system. The Constitution's section 93 was always meant to be temporary — it was a bridge until the federal government could establish its own permanent revenue base and the states could adjust to losing their customs revenue.\n- By 1908, the federal government had introduced its own land tax and other revenue measures, making the old surplus distribution system unnecessary.\n\n**Who it affected:**\n- Primarily the **six Australian states**, which stopped receiving automatic distributions of federal surplus revenue.\n- The **federal government**, which gained full control over its own revenue without having to distribute leftovers to the states."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act changes the scope of application of section 93 of the Constitution by providing that the provision in section 93 \"shall continue until the commencement of this Act and no longer\" (section 3). In effect, upon proclamation commencement (section 2) the constitutional rules about crediting revenue, debiting expenditure, and payment of balances to the States cease to operate. The Act does not itself set out any replacement mechanism or post‑commencement arrangements for those fiscal matters."},"complexity_factors":["Very brief text (three short provisions) limits internal complexity.","Relies on cross‑reference to an external constitutional provision (section 93), requiring consultation of that source to understand substantive effects.","Commencement by proclamation (section 2) inserts executive timing discretion, creating transitional complexity despite textual simplicity.","The Act removes an existing legal rule but does not specify replacement arrangements, producing potential implementation and administrative complexity outside the statute.","Legal significance may be high even though the statutory text is short, because it alters constitutional operation rather than providing detailed procedural rules."],"plain_english_summary":"The Act provides for commencement by proclamation and, on that day, ends the continued operation of constitutional section 93 — the rules on crediting revenue, debiting expenditure and paying balances to the States. It does not set out replacement rules, paying agencies, or procedures, so executives and administrators (and the States) must rely on subsequent legislation or arrangements to fill the resulting legal and operational gaps."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/surplus-revenue-act-1908","history":"/api/acts/surplus-revenue-act-1908/history","analysis":"/api/acts/surplus-revenue-act-1908/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/surplus-revenue-act-1908/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/surplus-revenue-act-1908/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/surplus-revenue-act-1908/documents"}}