Loan Act (No. 1) 1925

Loan Act (No. 1) 1925 — Plain English Summary

This is a Commonwealth borrowing authorisation law from 1925. In plain terms, it gives the Federal Treasurer the legal green light to borrow money on behalf of Australia and spend it on two specific government projects.

What does it actually do?

• Authorises borrowing of up to £2,150,000 (roughly two million one hundred and fifty thousand pounds) — a very large sum for 1925.
• The money must be raised either through Commonwealth Inscribed Stock (a type of government bond — essentially IOUs sold to investors that pay interest and are repaid later) or through Treasury Bills (short-term government borrowing instruments).
• The money can only be spent on the costs of borrowing itself (fees, administration, etc.) and on purposes approved by law — so the Treasurer can't just spend it however they like.

Who gets the money?

The Act sets aside £2,086,000 for two specific purposes listed in a Schedule:

• 🏗️ £86,000 — Works, services, and land acquisition in the Federal Capital Territory (what is now the ACT — Canberra was still being built at this time), overseen by the Home and Territories Department, the Department of Works and Railways, and the Health Department. Any money collected (receipts) from the Federal Capital Territory had to be credited back against this amount.