This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
Jurisdiction
Commonwealth
Act Number
1 of 1925
Collection
act
Plain English Summary
4/10 complexity
What This Legislation Does
This is a Supply Act — a short-term government spending approval law passed by the Commonwealth Parliament. In plain terms, it is Parliament giving the Treasurer the legal green light to spend public money while the government waits for a full-year budget to be passed.
The Big Picture
The Act authorises the release of £4,459,235 (about four and a half million pounds) from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (the main account where the Commonwealth's tax and fee income is held) to keep the government running for the financial year ending 30 June 1926. No money can be spent under this Act after that date.
Who Does It Affect?
Every arm of the federal government at the time, including:
Parliament itself (£11,486) — for the Senate, House of Representatives, the Parliamentary Library, and support staff
The Prime Minister's Department (£46,705) — including the Audit Office, the Public Service Board, the Governor-General's Office, the High Commissioner's Office in London, the Australian Commissioner in the USA, and immigration operations
The Treasury (£104,590) — covering the Tax Office, Invalid and Old-Age Pensions, Maternity Allowance, and the Government Printer
The Attorney-General's Department (£19,890) — including the High Court, the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, and Patents & Trade Marks
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Home and Territories (£83,740) — covering elections, the census, meteorology, the Northern Territory, Papua, and Norfolk Island
Defence (£746,830) — the single largest departmental allocation, covering the Royal Australian Navy (ships, colleges, reserves), the Army (permanent forces, universal training, ordnance), and the Royal Australian Air Force (including civil aviation)
Trade and Customs (£151,042) — including lighthouses, navigation officers in every state, and the Commonwealth Laboratory
Works and Railways (£137,047) — including transcontinental railways (Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta, and the Darwin–Katherine River line), public buildings, and the Governor-General's residences
The Postmaster-General's Department (£1,597,715) — by far the largest single allocation, covering postal staff and mail delivery across all states, the Northern Territory, and wireless coastal stations
Health (£20,360) — including venereal disease control subsidies, tropical medicine research, and hookworm eradication
Miscellaneous Services (£3,030) — small grants including the Commonwealth Literary Fund and New Hebrides services
War Services (£186,800) — ongoing costs of WWI, including soldier repatriation, the War Museum, care of soldiers' graves overseas and in Australia, war memorials, and the War Service Homes Commission
The Special Line Items
Beyond departmental spending, the Act also authorises:
£350,000 for Refunds of Revenue (paying back money over-collected in taxes or duties)
£1,000,000 as an Advance to the Treasurer — a flexible reserve that allows the Treasurer to cover urgent or unforeseen government expenses during the year
Why It Matters
Supply Acts like this one are a cornerstone of parliamentary democracy. Under the Constitution, the government cannot spend public money unless Parliament has authorised it. When a full annual budget (called an Appropriation Act) has not yet been passed — or when the government needs bridging funds — a Supply Act bridges the gap. Without it, the government would literally run out of legal authority to pay wages, run services, or fund the military.
This particular Act is a historical snapshot of Australia in 1925: a young nation still managing the heavy financial aftermath of World War I, building railways to open up the interior, running a postal network that dwarfed every other department, and beginning to invest in civil aviation.