Financial Agreements (Commonwealth Liability) Act 1932

This Act may be cited as the Financial Agreements (Commonwealth Liability) Act 1932.

This Act shall be deemed to have commenced on the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-one.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

Bondholder means an owner of any:

Inscribed Stock, including Local Inscribed Stock and Government Inscribed Stock;

Instalment Stock;

Registered Stock;

Funded Stock;

Stock payable to bearer;

Bonds, including registered bonds;

Debentures, including registered debentures and instalment debentures;

Treasury Bills not repayable within twelve months from the date of issue; or

Fixed deposit receipts or special deposit receipts for moneys borrowed for other than temporary purposes;

issued or created by a State or by or on behalf of a Colony the predecessor of the State in respect of borrowed moneys, but does not include the Commonwealth.

The Financial Agreements means one or more or all of the Agreements contained in the Schedules to the Financial Agreement Validation Act 1929, the Debt Conversion Agreement Act 1931 and the Debt Conversion Agreement Act (No. 2) 1931.

The Commonwealth will pay to bondholders from time to time interest payable on the Public Debts taken over by the Commonwealth from the States in pursuance of clause 1 of Part III of the Agreement contained in the Schedule to the Financial Agreement Validation Act 1929, other than debts due by the States to the Commonwealth, and, upon the maturity of any securities issued in respect of any such Public Debts, will pay to bondholders the principal moneys secured by those securities.

Any such bondholder may bring a suit against the Commonwealth in the Supreme Court of a State or Territory for payment of interest due to him at any time on any portion of any such Public Debts of a State, and, upon the maturity of any securities issued in respect of any such public debts, for payment of the principal moneys secured by those securities.

The Consolidated Revenue Fund is hereby appropriated accordingly for the purpose of payments of principal moneys and interest for which in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this section the Commonwealth is liable.

In addition to and without prejudice to any other remedy or relief, the Commonwealth shall be entitled to recover from a State, by suit in the High Court, any moneys (due and payable and unpaid by the State by virtue of the Financial Agreements or this Act) for which the Commonwealth has become liable by virtue of the Financial Agreements or this Act, or which the Commonwealth has paid in pursuance of those Agreements or this Act.

The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and in particular:

for conferring on the Treasurer and officers of the Commonwealth, powers of requiring returns and production of documents; and

for prescribing penalties, not exceeding in any case Two hundred dollars or imprisonment for six months, for any contravention of the regulations.