Commonwealth act

Special Annuity Act 1945

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

21 of 1945

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

1/10 complexity

What this law does:

This Act creates a special lifetime pension (called an annuity) for the widow of John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia during World War II and died in office in 1945.

Key details:

Who gets paid: The widow of the late Prime Minister John Curtin
How much: £500 per year, paid in monthly instalments
Where the money comes from: The Consolidated Revenue Fund (general government revenue, essentially taxpayer money)
The catch: If she remarries, the payments stop immediately

Why it matters: This was a one-off act of recognition for a Prime Minister who died while serving the country. Rather than giving his family a lump sum, Parliament voted to provide his widow with ongoing financial support—similar to a military service pension, but created specifically for this family through a private Act of Parliament.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Special Annuity Act 1945.

Special Annuity Act 1945

SPECIAL ANNUITY.

No. 21 of 1945.

An Act to provide for the payment of an Annuity to the Widow of the late the Right Honourable John Curtin.

[Assented to 16th August, 1945.]

Preamble.

BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, for the purpose of appropriating the grant originated in the House of Representatives, as follows:—

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Special Annuity Act 1945.

Commencement.

This Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the sixth day of July, One thousand nine hundred and forty-five.

Annuity to the widow of the late the Right Honourable John Curtin.

3.—(1.) There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, to the widow of the late the Right Honourable John Curtin, an annuity at the rate of Five hundred pounds per annum.

(2.) The annuity provided by this section shall cease to be payable in the event of the remarriage of the annuitant.

Annuity payable monthly.

The annuity payable under this Act shall be paid in monthly instalments.

Source text

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

1 Special Annuity Act 1945