Commonwealth act

Loan Act 1943

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

3 of 1943

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

1/10 complexity

What it does: This Act gives the Australian Government legal authority to borrow up to £100 million (one hundred million pounds) to help fund Australia's involvement in World War II.

How the money is raised: The Treasurer can borrow the funds through two methods:

Government bonds (referred to as "inscribed stock" under the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act), or
Treasury Bills (short-term government IOUs)

What the money can be used for:

Paying the administrative costs of arranging the loans themselves, and
War purposes — essentially any expenses related to the war effort (military operations, equipment, personnel, etc.)

Why it matters: During WWII, the government needed vast sums of money beyond regular tax revenue to pay for the war. This law authorized a massive loan (roughly equivalent to several billion dollars in today's terms) allowing the government to finance military operations immediately while deferring the tax burden.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Loan Act 1943.

Loan Act 1943

LOAN.

No. 3 of 1943.

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

[Assented to 1st March. 1943.]

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 1943.

Commencement.

This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Authority to borrow £100,000,000.

The Treasurer may, from time to time, borrow, under the provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911-1940, or under the provisions of any Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, moneys not exceeding in the whole the amount of One hundred million pounds.

Purposes for which money may be expended.

The amount borrowed may 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 £100,000,000.

There may be issued and applied out of the proceeds of any loan raised under the authority of this Act, or of any other Act, the sum of One hundred million pounds for war purposes.

Source text

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

1 Loan Act 1943