Commonwealth act

Loan Act 1934

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

17 of 1934

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

1/10 complexity

What this law does: This Act gives the federal government permission to borrow £1,050,000 (just over one million pounds) to expand Australia's telephone network.

Key details:

The Treasurer can raise this money by selling government bonds (under the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act) or issuing short-term Treasury Bills.
£1,000,000 is specifically earmarked for the Postmaster-General's Department to build telephone exchanges, trunk lines, and related buildings and sites.
The remaining £50,000 covers the administrative costs of arranging the loan itself.

Why it matters: In 1934, this funded critical national infrastructure—expanding telephone services during a period of economic recovery. It operates as a "special appropriation," meaning Parliament is pre-approving both the debt and the specific spending rather than funding it through regular annual budgets.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Loan Act 1934.

Loan Act 1934

LOAN.

No. 17 of 1934.

An Act to authorize the Raising and Expending of a certain Sum of Money.

[Assented to 4th August, 1934.]

BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Loan Act 1934.

Authority to borrow £1,050,000.

The Treasurer may, from time to time, under the provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911–1933, or under the provisions of any Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, borrow moneys not exceeding in the whole the amount of One million and fifty thousand pounds.

Purpose for which money may be borrowed.

The amount borrowed shall be issued and applied only for the expenses of borrowing and for the purposes of appropriations made or to be made by law.

Issue and application of £1,000,000.

There may be issued and applied out of the proceeds of any Loan raised under the authority of any Loan Act, including this Act, the sum of One million pounds for the purposes set forth in the Schedule to this Act.

THE SCHEDULE.

—	Appropriated by this Act.
THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT.	£
Under Control of the Postmaster-General’s Department and the Department of the Interior.
Telephone exchange services; trunk line services; buildings and sites.......	1,000,000

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Loan Act 1934