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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
The Appropriation (Unemployment Relief) Act 1936 is a Depression-era Commonwealth law that unlocked government money to help put unemployed Australians back to work. It authorised the federal government to draw £451,500 (roughly equivalent to tens of millions of dollars today) from the national treasury — called the Consolidated Revenue Fund (the main pool of Commonwealth money) — and distribute it to the six Australian States as financial grants.
The money was split across two industries and paid out over two financial years (1936–37 and 1937–38):
Each State received a specific, fixed amount — you can see the breakdown in the two Schedules (tables) attached to the Act.
The grants came with strings attached:
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Direct links to the current provisions in Appropriation (Unemployment Relief) Act 1936.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
This law is a snapshot of how the Australian government responded to the Great Depression's lingering unemployment crisis. Rather than giving money directly to individuals, the federal government funnelled funds through the States to prop up struggling industries — particularly those in regional and rural areas — as a form of job creation through industry support. It reflects the constitutional reality that the Commonwealth raises tax revenue but the States often deliver services, requiring these kinds of formal financial assistance arrangements.