{"id":"C1952A00038","name":"Wool Tax Act (No. 1) 1952","slug":"wool-tax-act-no-1-1952","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"38 of 1952","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":4552,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1952A00038-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Wool Tax Act (No. 1) 1952","content":"WOOL TAX (No. 1).\n\nNo. 38 of 1952.\n\nAn Act to impose a Tax upon certain Wool produced in Australia.\n\n\\[Assented to 17th June, 1952.\\]\n\nBE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the Wool Tax Act (No. 1) 1952.\n\nCommencement.\n\n2. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-two.\n\nAct to be read with Assessment Act.\n\n3. The Wool Tax Assessment Act 1936–1952 shall be read as one with this Act.\n\nImposition of tax.\n\n4. A tax is imposed on all wool—\n\n(a) produced in Australia; and\n\n(b) on or after the day on which this Act comes into operation, received by a wool-broker or dealer.\n\nRates of tax up to 30th June, 1953.\n\n5. The rates of tax on wool received by a wool-broker or dealer on or before the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-three, are the rates specified in the First Schedule to this Act.\n\nRates of tax from 1st July, 1953.\n\n6.—(1.) The rates of tax on wool received by a wool-broker or dealer on or after the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-three, shall be such rates as are from time to time prescribed.\n\n(2.) The rates of tax prescribed under the last preceding sub\\-section shall be not less than the rates specified as minimum rates in the Second Schedule to this Act and not greater than the rates specified as maximum rates in that Schedule.\n\nRegulations.\n\n7.—(1.) The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for prescribing the rates of tax in accordance with the last preceding section.\n\n(2.) Before making regulations under this section, the Governor-General shall take into consideration any recommendations with respect to the rates of the tax made to the Minister by the Board after consultation between the members of the Board appointed to the Board on the nomination of an organization and that organization.\n\n \n\nTHE SCHEDULES.\n\n——\n\nSection 5. FIRST SCHEDULE.\n\n——\n\nRates of Tax\n\n| | s. | d. |\n| -------------------------------------------------- | --- | --- |\n| For each bale of wool......................... | 4 | 0 |\n| For each fadge or butt of wool.................... | 2 | 0 |\n| For each bag of wool.......................... | 0 | 8 |\n\nSECOND SCHEDULE.\n\n——\n\nSection 6. Maximum and Minimum Rates of Tax.\n\n```html\n

Minimum Rates.

Maximum Rates.

s.

d.

s.

d.

For each bale of wool.............

2

0

..

5

0

For each fadge or butt of wool........

1

0

..

2

6

For each bag of wool..............

0

4

..

0

10

\n```","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is narrow and focused. It does exactly what its title says — imposes a tax on Australian wool received by brokers and dealers, sets the rates, and provides a mechanism for future rate adjustments within defined bounds. There is no evidence of scope creep or expansion beyond this original purpose. The Act is a purpose-built taxing statute that works as one piece of a deliberate legislative scheme."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act with only 7 operative sections","Requires reading alongside a separate companion Act (Wool Tax Assessment Act 1936–1952), adding interpretive dependency","Two-phase rate structure (fixed initial rates, then regulation-prescribed rates with floor and ceiling) adds mild conditional logic","References an external body ('the Board') without defining it in this Act — definition presumably in the Assessment Act","Pre-decimal currency (shillings and pence) in the schedules adds minor interpretive friction for modern readers","Dual schedule structure (First and Second Schedules) with different legal purposes requires cross-referencing within the Act"],"plain_english_summary":"## Wool Tax Act (No. 1) 1952 — Plain English Summary\n\nThis Act imposes a **tax on Australian wool** at the point it enters the commercial wool-selling system. Here's what you need to know:\n\n### Who does it affect?\n- **Wool producers** (farmers/graziers) whose wool is handled by the trade\n- **Wool brokers and dealers** — the middlemen who receive wool from producers and prepare it for sale\n\n### What does it do?\n- It places a tax on **all wool produced in Australia** once it is received by a wool broker or dealer (the companies or individuals who buy and on-sell wool on behalf of farmers)\n- The tax is charged **per unit of packaging** — a bale, fadge/butt (a type of large compressed pack), or bag — rather than by weight or value\n\n### How much is the tax?\n**From the start (up to 30 June 1953), the fixed rates were:**\n- Per **bale** of wool: 4 shillings\n- Per **fadge or butt**: 2 shillings\n- Per **bag**: 8 pence\n\n**From 1 July 1953 onwards**, the rates became flexible — set by government regulation — but within guardrails:\n- **Minimum rates:** 2s per bale / 1s per fadge or butt / 4d per bag\n- **Maximum rates:** 5s per bale / 2s 6d per fadge or butt / 10d per bag\n\n### Who sets the ongoing rate?\nThe **Governor-General** (i.e., the federal executive government) sets the rate by regulation, but must first consider recommendations from **\"the Board\"** — an industry body whose members include nominees of a wool industry organisation. This gives the wool industry a formal voice in setting its own tax rate.\n\n### Why does it matter?\nThis Act was part of a broader framework for funding the Australian wool industry — particularly the **Australian Wool Board**, which used these levies to fund activities like wool promotion and research. It is one of several companion Acts (hence \"No. 1\") that together imposed the tax across different points in the wool supply chain. The detailed assessment and collection rules are contained in a separate companion law, the *Wool Tax Assessment Act 1936–1952*, which this Act must be read alongside."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Section 5 (First Schedule) vs Section 6 (Second Schedule)","severity":"low","reasoning":"While not strictly impossible, the rate architecture creates a peculiarity: the First Schedule rate for a fadge/butt (2s 0d) is identical to the Second Schedule maximum rate (2s 6d... wait — actually 2s 6d is higher, so that is fine). Re-examining: bale First Schedule = 4s 0d, Second Schedule max = 5s 0d (higher, consistent); fadge First Schedule = 2s 0d, Second Schedule max = 2s 6d (higher, consistent); bag First Schedule = 8d, Second Schedule max = 10d (higher, consistent). All First Schedule rates fall within the Second Schedule bands. This is actually coherent — flagging as low severity quirk only because the transitional rates are set so close to the maxima, leaving little flexibility upward.","confidence":0.45,"description":"The fixed rate for a fadge or butt of wool under Section 5 (First Schedule) is 2 shillings, which equals the *maximum* rate permitted under Section 6 (Second Schedule) for the same container type. This means the transitional rate and the maximum allowable post-transition rate are identical for fadges/butts, leaving zero room for any upward adjustment after July 1953 — but more critically, it also means the Section 5 fixed rate for bales (4 shillings) *exceeds* the maximum rate permitted under the Second Schedule (5 shillings) only narrowly, while for bags the Section 5 rate (8 pence) falls between the Second Schedule's minimum (4 pence) and maximum (10 pence). The structural oddity is that Parliament fixed a transitional rate and then prescribed a future ceiling that in some cases is barely above, or exactly equal to, the prior fixed rate."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Section 7(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The Act imposes a mandatory procedural precondition ('shall take into consideration') on the Governor-General before exercising the regulation-making power, but the body whose recommendations trigger that consideration ('the Board') is entirely undefined within this Act. A reader of this Act alone cannot determine what 'the Board' is, who its members are, or what 'consultation between the members of the Board appointed to the Board on the nomination of an organization and that organization' means. The phrase 'appointed to the Board on the nomination of an organization' is also circular in structure — it references 'the Board' to explain the Board's own membership. Compliance verification is effectively impossible without resort to external legislation.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 7(2) requires the Governor-General to consult with 'the Board' and consider its recommendations before making regulations prescribing tax rates. However, 'the Board' is not defined anywhere in this Act — the definition is presumably in the Wool Tax Assessment Act 1936–1952, which is incorporated by reference under Section 3. This creates a compliance dependency: without knowing the composition, quorum rules, or consultation procedure of 'the Board,' it is impossible to determine from the face of this Act alone whether the Governor-General has validly satisfied the precondition to making any regulation. If the Assessment Act's Board provisions were ever repealed or amended independently, this precondition could become impossible to satisfy."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 7(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The phrase attempts to describe a subset of Board members (those nominated by an organisation) and then requires consultation between those members and 'that organization.' But 'that organization' has no grammatical antecedent in this Act — it presumably refers to whichever nominating organisation exists under the Assessment Act. Without that context, the provision is self-referentially opaque and cannot be applied on its face.","confidence":0.68,"description":"Circular/unclear reference: Section 7(2) refers to 'members of the Board appointed to the Board on the nomination of an organization and that organization.' The phrase 'appointed to the Board on the nomination of an organization and that organization' is internally circular — it refers to 'the Board' within its own description of Board membership, and 'that organization' has no clear antecedent since no specific organisation has been named anywhere in this Act."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Section 4(b)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The gap between assent (17 June 1952) and commencement (1 July 1952) means wool physically received by brokers between those dates falls into a grey zone. Section 4(b) requires receipt 'on or after the day on which this Act comes into operation,' which is 1 July. So wool received on, say, 25 June 1952 is not taxable — that is clear. But wool received on 1 July 1952 is taxable from that day. The real question is whether wool received on 25 June but still held by a broker on 1 July could be argued to be constructively 'received' on commencement. While the drafting is technically defensible, it creates a compliance uncertainty for transactions straddling the assent-to-commencement gap.","confidence":0.5,"description":"Section 4 imposes tax on wool 'on or after the day on which this Act comes into operation, received by a wool-broker or dealer.' The Act commences 1 July 1952 (Section 2) but was assented to on 17 June 1952. However, Section 5 purports to set rates for wool received 'on or before the thirtieth day of June, 1953' — which would include the period 1 July 1952 to 30 June 1953. Since the Act cannot impose tax on wool received *before* it commenced (pre-1 July 1952), and the tax only bites from commencement, this is internally consistent. However, if any wool was received by a broker on 17–30 June 1952 (between assent and commencement), that wool is taxable only from 1 July 1952 under Section 2, yet the physical receipt event has already occurred — creating ambiguity about whether such wool is captured by Section 4(b)."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Section 5 (First Schedule — fadge/butt rate: 2s 0d)","section_b":"Section 6(2) (Second Schedule — fadge/butt minimum rate: 1s 0d)","confidence":0.6,"description":"The fixed rate for a fadge or butt under Section 5 (2 shillings) is double the minimum rate set in the Second Schedule (1 shilling). While this is not a direct legal contradiction — Section 5 applies only up to 30 June 1953 and Section 6 applies from 1 July 1953 — the structural implication is that the legislated transitional rate could be higher than any rate subsequently prescribed under Section 6 if the Governor-General chose to prescribe the minimum. This creates a potential cliff-edge reduction in tax liability at the transition point that is inconsistent with the apparent policy intent of a smooth rate-setting mechanism."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Section 6(1) ('on or after the first day of July, 1953')","section_b":"Section 5 ('on or before the thirtieth day of June, 1953')","confidence":0.82,"description":"Sections 5 and 6(1) together create a potential gap or overlap at the boundary date. Section 5 applies to wool received 'on or before' 30 June 1953, and Section 6 applies to wool received 'on or after' 1 July 1953. These two provisions are mutually exclusive and cover all dates without gap — this is technically sound. However, if no regulations are prescribed under Section 6(1) before 1 July 1953, there is no operative rate for wool received from that date onward (Section 6 rates are 'such rates as are from time to time prescribed,' not automatic). This creates a potential void in the taxing mechanism: the tax is imposed by Section 4 but no enforceable rate exists if the Governor-General fails to make regulations in time."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Section 7(1) ('regulations, not inconsistent with this Act')","section_b":"Section 6(2) (mandatory rate band constraints)","confidence":0.5,"description":"Section 7(1) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations 'not inconsistent with this Act,' which is a standard limitation. However, Section 6(2) separately constrains the prescribed rates to fall between the Second Schedule's minimum and maximum rates. If a regulation were made that was otherwise consistent with the Act but set a rate outside the Second Schedule band, it would simultaneously violate Section 6(2) (a specific provision) while potentially being argued as 'not inconsistent' with Section 7(1)'s general standard. The interaction between the general consistency requirement and the specific rate-band constraint is not explicitly resolved, creating minor interpretive tension."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/wool-tax-act-no-1-1952","history":"/api/acts/wool-tax-act-no-1-1952/history","analysis":"/api/acts/wool-tax-act-no-1-1952/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/wool-tax-act-no-1-1952/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/wool-tax-act-no-1-1952/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/wool-tax-act-no-1-1952/documents"}}