Supply Act (No. 2) 1925-26

What This Law Does

The Supply Act (No. 2) 1925-26 is a temporary government spending law. Think of it as an emergency credit card for the federal government — it authorises the Commonwealth to keep paying its bills while waiting for the full annual budget to be passed.

In plain terms:

This Act does one job: it allows the Australian federal government to withdraw £3,322,820 (just over three million, three hundred thousand pounds — remember, this was 1925 money, worth many times that in today's dollars) from the main government bank account (called the Consolidated Revenue Fund) to keep the wheels of government turning.

Who does it affect?

Virtually every arm of the Commonwealth government in 1925, including:

• Parliament itself — staff pay and operating costs
• Defence — the largest slice (£757,775), covering the Army, Navy, and the then-new Royal Australian Air Force, including civil aviation development
• The Post Office (Postmaster-General's Department) — by far the biggest operational budget at £1,588,890, covering postal workers, mail delivery, and wireless (radio) services across all states
• Commonwealth Railways — running the transcontinental and Northern Territory lines
• Social services — Invalid and Old-age Pensions, Maternity Allowances