This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
Jurisdiction
Commonwealth
Act Number
2 of 1954
Collection
act
Plain English Summary
3/10 complexity
What this Act does, in plain terms
This short law creates and empowers a particular Royal Commission. (See long title and s1.)
It comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. (s2.)
The Act authorises the Governor‑General to issue, in the Queen's name, Letters Patent appointing a person to be Commissioner to inquire into and report on particular subjects. Those subjects are explicitly: (a) acts of espionage in Australia; (b) other acts in Australia prejudicial to Australia’s security or defence; and (c) matters related to either of those two categories. (s3(1)(a)–(c).)
The appointed Commissioner is given "all the powers, rights and privileges" that are specified in the Royal Commissions Act 1902–1933, and those provisions are to be treated as if they were written into this Act and applied to the Commissioner. (s3(2).)
Who decides, who acts, and who pays
Who decides: the Governor‑General chooses the person to be Commissioner and the subjects to be investigated by issuing Letters Patent. (s3(1).)
Who acts: the named Commissioner carries out the inquiry and prepares the report. (s3(1).)
Who pays: the Act does not specify any funding or cost‑bearing arrangements. The statute is silent on appropriation or expense allocation.
How it works mechanically
Appointment mechanism: a formal instrument (Letters Patent in the Queen's name) appoints a Commissioner and sets the topics to be investigated. (s3(1).)
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Scope of inquiry: limited only by the three subject descriptions in s3(1) — espionage, other acts prejudicial to security/defence, and related subjects.
Powers and procedure: the Commissioner inherits the powers, rights and privileges listed in the Royal Commissions Act 1902–1933; the detailed legal tools the Commissioner may use therefore come from that earlier Act and are not restated here. (s3(2).)
Why the Act exists (official statement) and how that maps to costs and incentives
Official purpose-claim: the Act is "to provide for the appointment of a certain Royal Commission, and for purposes connected therewith." That claim is implemented by empowering appointment and by importing the powers of an earlier Royal Commissions statute. (Long title; s1; s3.)
Costs and incentives (source‑grounded):
Concentrated decision power is placed with the Governor‑General: the executive determines who is investigated and who is appointed. This creates strong control over scope and personnel because the Act vests appointment and specification of subjects in that office. (s3(1).)
The actual legal powers available to the Commissioner — including any powers to require evidence, compel witnesses, or protect information — are not defined in this Act but are supplied by the Royal Commissions Act 1902–1933 by reference. The practical compliance burden on individuals or organisations summoned to give evidence therefore depends on the content of that earlier Act. (s3(2).)
The Act does not allocate funding or set administrative procedures; those operational and budgetary choices are to be resolved elsewhere in practice. The absence of financial detail means implementation requires additional executive or parliamentary action to supply resources.
Trade-offs, implementation risk and likely effects on private actors (tied to the text)
Breadth of subject matter: the terms "acts of espionage" and "other acts prejudicial to the security or defence of Australia" are broad descriptions. When the Governor‑General specifies a subject within those categories, businesses, individuals or public agencies operating in areas touched by the inquiry may face investigation or demands for information because the Commissioner exercises the imported powers. (s3(1)(a)–(c); s3(2).)
Dependency on another statute: because the Commissioner’s procedural powers come from the Royal Commissions Act 1902–1933 (s3(2)), legal questions about procedure, privilege, compulsion and protection will turn on how that earlier Act is read and applied to this appointment. That creates legal interdependence that may require interpretation or litigation if contested.
Administrative discretion and timing: the Act gives the executive the tools to set an inquiry’s scope and timing by issuing Letters Patent, but leaves detailed design and resource allocation outside the text. This concentrates discretion over practical design in the appointing authority and in the bodies that must support the Commission.
Immediate practical effect
The statute is a narrow enabling instrument: it creates a specific Royal Commission into the described security/espionage topics and imports existing Royal Commission powers for that Commissioner. It does not itself set procedural rules, funding, or detailed obligations; those flow from the referenced 1902–1933 Act and from subsequent administrative arrangements. (s3(1)–(2).)