{"id":"nsw:act-1920-017","name":"Treasury Bills and Debentures (Signatures) Act 1920","slug":"treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"17 of 1920","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":111941,"registerId":"nsw-act-1920-017-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act","content":"#### 1 Name of Act\n\n1 Name of Act\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Treasury Bills and Debentures (Signatures) Act 1920](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1920-017).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Method of signing Treasury bills and debentures","content":"#### 2 Method of signing Treasury bills and debentures\n\n2 Method of signing Treasury bills and debentures\n\n> Treasury bills and debentures issued on and after the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and twenty, by the Colonial Treasurer, with the authority of the Governor, shall bear thereon the signatures of such persons as the Governor may authorise and direct. Such signatures may be made in the handwriting of such persons, or may be made by engraving, lithography, or any mechanical process approved by the Governor.","sortOrder":1}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original narrow purpose: authorising mechanical signatures on Treasury bills and debentures. It has not expanded beyond this specific administrative procedure."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 sections total","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation","Simple, unconditional operative provision","Single straightforward policy change (allowing mechanical signatures)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets the rules for how Australian government Treasury bills and debentures (basically, government IOUs or debt certificates) must be signed.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Starting from 1 December 1920, any Treasury bills or debentures issued by the Colonial Treasurer (the government official in charge of money matters) need proper signatures to be valid.\n- The Governor (representing the Crown/government) decides who is allowed to sign these documents.\n- Signatures don't have to be handwritten — they can be printed using engraving, lithography (a printing method), or any other mechanical process the Governor approves.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Government officials issuing debt instruments\n- Banks, investors, and anyone buying or holding Australian government debt\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law made it easier and faster for the government to issue debt by allowing printed signatures instead of requiring every document to be hand-signed. This was practical for handling large volumes of government bonds and bills."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope, as expressed in the text provided, is limited and specific: it governs the method of signing Treasury bills and debentures issued on or after 1 December 1920 and vests authority in the Governor to authorise signatories and approve mechanical reproduction methods. There is no indication in the statutory text that this scope has been altered from the Act's original terms. (s 2)"},"complexity_factors":["Very short text addressing a single procedural topic (signing methods).","Clear allocation of roles to the Colonial Treasurer (issuer) and the Governor (approvals and authorisations). (s 2)","Broad, open-ended discretion granted to the Governor to approve persons and mechanical processes, without procedural detail. (s 2)","Dated commencement clause tied to instruments issued on or after 1 December 1920, which is a fixed temporal scope. (s 2)","No definitions or procedural safeguards in the text for how approvals are given or recorded, introducing minor implementation ambiguity. (s 2)"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act requires Treasury bills and debentures issued after 1 December 1920 to bear signatures authorised by the Governor, which may be handwritten or reproduced by engraving, lithography or other approved mechanical processes. It affects the Colonial Treasurer (issuer), authorised signatories and any printers or suppliers used, and matters because it centralises signature approval in the Governor and permits mechanised production, shifting operational costs and discretion to the issuing authority."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on available information, the Act appears to have remained entirely unchanged since its enactment in December 1920, with no amendments recorded. Its scope has not evolved — it continues to address the same narrow administrative function of authenticating signatures on Treasury Bills and Debentures that it did over a century ago."},"complexity_factors":["The actual operative provisions of the Act were not included in the provided content, preventing full analysis","The subject matter — signing requirements for government financial instruments — is inherently narrow and technical but not broadly complex","The Act has never been amended, suggesting it is simple and self-contained in scope","Historical context (1920 drafting style) may use archaic legal language that requires interpretation","The intersection of financial instruments law and administrative/procedural law adds a minor layer of complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"## Treasury Bills and Debentures (Signatures) Act 1920\n\n**What is this law?**\nThis is a very old NSW law from 1920 that deals with how government financial documents — specifically **Treasury Bills** (short-term government borrowing instruments) and **Debentures** (longer-term government debt certificates) — need to be signed or authenticated.\n\n**Who does it affect?**\nPrimarily NSW government officials and treasury administrators responsible for issuing government debt instruments. It has essentially no direct impact on ordinary members of the public today.\n\n**Why does it matter?**\nUnfortunately, the actual text of the legislation (its operative provisions — the parts that say what the law actually *does*) has not been provided in the content above. What has been provided is only the website navigation and metadata from the NSW legislation website. Without the substantive sections, it is impossible to fully describe exactly what signing requirements or processes the Act establishes.\n\n**Key observations:**\n- This Act has remained **completely unchanged since 8 December 1920** — over 100 years with zero amendments\n- It is still technically **in force** under NSW law\n- It relates to the formal signing/authorisation processes for government borrowing documents, which in 1920 would have been physical paper instruments requiring handwritten signatures\n- Laws like this were historically important to ensure that government debt documents were legally valid and couldn't be forged or issued without proper authority\n\n**Bottom line:** This is a narrow, technical, century-old piece of administrative machinery for NSW government finance. Unless you work in NSW Treasury issuing government debt, this law is unlikely to affect you in any practical way."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920","history":"/api/acts/treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920/history","analysis":"/api/acts/treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/treasury-bills-and-debentures-signatures-act-1920/documents"}}