Commonwealth act

War Loan Act (No. 1) 1915

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

21 of 1915

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

2/10 complexity

This Act authorises the Australian Government to borrow £20 million (roughly $2 billion in today's money) to help pay for World War I.

What it does:

Gives the Treasurer power to borrow: The Treasurer can raise the money by selling government bonds (under the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act) or issuing short-term Treasury Bills.
Caps the amount: The total borrowing cannot exceed £20 million.
Restricts spending: The funds can only be used for two things: (1) paying the costs of arranging the loan itself, and (2) funding "War purposes" — meaning military expenses for WWI.

Why it matters: During WWI, the government needed massive amounts of money to fund troops, equipment, and supplies. This Act allowed the Commonwealth to go into debt to pay for the war, essentially asking Australians and investors to lend money to the government that would be repaid later.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in War Loan Act (No. 1) 1915.

War Loan Act (No. 1) 1915

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WAR LOAN (No. 1).

No. 21 of 1915.

An Act to authorize the Raising and Expending of the sum of Twenty million pounds for War purposes.

[Assented to 23rd July, 1915.]

BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as the War Loan Act (No. 1) 1915.

Treasurer may borrow £20,000,000.

2. The Treasurer may from time to time, under the. provisions of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911-1915 or under the provisions of any Act authorizing the issue of Treasury Bills, borrow moneys not exceeding in the whole the amount of Twenty million pounds.

Purpose for which money may be expended.

3. The amount borrowed shall be issued and applied only for the expenses of borrowing and for War purposes.

Source text

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