Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1947

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DEFENCE (TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS).

No. 78 of 1947.

An Act to amend the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946 and for other purposes.

[Assented to 11th December, 1947.]

Preamble.

WHEREAS the state of war referred to in the preamble to the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946 still exists:

And whereas the gradual and orderly return to conditions of peace so referred to is not yet completed:

And whereas the continued operation of certain of the Regulations declared by that Act to be in force until midnight on the thirty-first day of December, One thousand nine hundred and forty-seven will not, after that date, be necessary for the purposes specified in the preamble to that Act:

And whereas it is necessary, for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth, to provide that certain of those Regulations shall continue to operate during the time of transition referred to in that preamble or shall remain in force for the carrying on or completion, during that time of transition, of certain of the arrangements, activities, actions and proceedings so referred to:

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

Short title and citation.

1.—(1.) This Act may be cited as the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1947.

(2.) The Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

(3.) The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946–1947.

Commencement.

2.—(1.) Sections one, two and three of this Act shall come into operation on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2.) The remaining sections of this Act shall come into operation on the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.

Operation of certain Regulations.

3. Section six of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (1.) the word “forty-seven” and inserting in its stead the word “forty-eight”.

Discontinuance of certain Regulations.

4.—(1.) The First Schedule to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from the first column the titles of the Regulations the titles of which are specified in the First Schedule to this Act; and

(b) by omitting from the second and third columns the provisions relating to those Regulations.

(2.) Any contract or agreement—

(a) to which the Commonwealth, a Minister or an authority of the Commonwealth is a party;

(b) which was subsisting immediately prior to the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and forty-eight; and

shall, subject to the next succeeding sub-section, continue in full force and effect.

(3.) Where an authority of the Commonwealth is a party to any such contract or agreement and that authority has ceased to exist, the Commonwealth shall be deemed to be substituted for that authority as a party to the contract or agreement.

(4.) Where, immediately prior to the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and forty-eight—

(a) an authority of the Commonwealth constituted under any Regulations the title of which is specified in the First Schedule to this Act was a party to an action or other

proceeding and that authority has ceased to exist, the Commonwealth shall be substituted for that authority as a party to that action or proceeding; and

(b) property or assets were, under any such Regulations, vested in an authority of the Commonwealth and that authority has ceased to exist, that property or those assets shall, by force of this Act, be vested in the Commonwealth.

(5.) The provisions of section eight of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901–1947 shall apply in relation to—

(a) the Regulations the titles of which are specified in the First Schedule to this Act;

(b) the orders, rules and by-laws which were in force or subsisting immediately prior to the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and forty-eight and were, by virtue of subsection (1.) of section eight of the Principal Act, so in force or subsisting as if made under any of those Regulations; and

(c) the orders, rules and by-laws which were in force or subsisting immediately prior to the commencement of this section and were made under any of those Regulations as in force by virtue of the Principal Act,

as if those Regulations, orders, rules and by-laws were repealed on the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and forty-eight and as if each of those Regulations, orders, rules and by-laws were an Act.

Amendment of continued Regulations.

5. The Regulations the titles of which are specified in the first column of the Second Schedule to this Act, being the Regulations having those respective titles as in force under the Principal Act immediately prior to the commencement of this section, are amended as respectively specified in the third column of that Schedule.

Amendments of Land Tax Assessment Act.

6.—(1.) Section twenty of the Land Tax Assessment Act 1910–1946, as amended by the Salaries (Statutory Offices) Adjustment Act 1947, is amended by omitting from sub-section (6.) the word “forty-seven” and inserting in its stead the word “forty-eight”.

(2.) Section forty-four k of the Land Tax Assessment Act 1910–1946, as amended by the Salaries (Statutory Offices) Adjustment Act 1947, is amended by omitting from sub-section (5.) the word “forty-seven” and inserting in its stead the word “forty-eight”.

(3.) Section twelve of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (6.).

(4.) The Second Schedule to the Salaries (Statutory Offices) Adjustment Act 1947 is amended by omitting the words—

“Land Tax Assessment Act 1910–1946

Land Tax Assessment Act 1910–1947”.

(5.) The Land Tax Assessment Act 1910–1946, as amended by the Salaries (Statutory Offices) Adjustment Act 1947 and by this section, may be cited as the Land Tax Assessment Act 1910–1947.

7.—(1.) After section nineteen b of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901–1941 the following section is inserted:—

References in agreements to a Department, Minister, officer or body.

“19c. Where an agreement is or has been entered into, either before or after the commencement of this section, by or on behalf of the Commonwealth and, after the date of the agreement, the functions of a Department of State of the Commonwealth in relation to the administration of matters to which the agreement relates (in this section referred to as ‘the former Department’) are or have been allotted to another Department (in this section referred to as ‘the new Department’)—

(a) any reference in the agreement to the Minister administering the former Department shall be read as a reference to the Minister administering the new Department or to a member of the Executive Council acting for the time being for him and on his behalf;

(b) any reference in the agreement to the former Department shall be read as a reference to the new Department; and

(i) any other officer or body for the time being exercising the powers or performing the functions of the first-mentioned officer or body; or

(ii) such other officer or body as the last-mentioned Minister, by order, specifies.”.

(2.) After section thirty-four of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901–1941 the following section is inserted:—

Exercise of certain powers and functions by a delegate.

“34a. Where, under any Act, the exercise of a power or function by a person is dependent upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of that person in relation to a matter and that power or function has been delegated in pursuance of that Act, that power or function may be exercised by the delegate upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of the delegate in relation to that matter.”.

(3.) The Acts Interpretation Act 1901–1941, as amended by this section, may be cited as the Acts Interpretation Act 1901–1947.

Exemption from jury service.

8.—(1.) Section forty-three of the Defence Act 1903–1945 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—

“(2.) Members of the Citizen Forces who have been called up for and are engaged on war service with the Naval, Military or Air Forces shall be exempt from serving as jurors.”.

(2.) The Defence Act 1903–1945, as amended by this section, may be cited as the Defence Act 1903–1947.

Repeal of National Registration Act.

9. The National Registration Act 1939 is repealed.

THE SCHEDULES.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

Section 4.

Regulations Discontinued.

National Security (Agricultural Production) Regulations.

National Security (Aliens Control) Regulations.

National Security (Board of Business Administration) Regulations.

National Security (Change of Name) Regulations.

National Security (Claims against the Commonwealth in relation to Visiting Forces) Regulations.

National Security (Enemy Property) Regulations.

National Security (Patriotic Funds) Regulations.

National Security (Superphosphate Industry) Regulations.

National Security (Wine Industry) Regulations.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Section 5.

First Column.	Second Column.	Third Column.
Regulations.	Department by which administered.	Amendments.
National Security (Agricultural Aids) Regulations	Commerce and Agriculture	Omit regulation 4, insert— Definition. “4. In these Regulations, ‘agricultural aid’ means nicotine sulphate.” Omit regulation 8 Regulation 10— Omit from sub-regulation (1.) “agricultural aids”, insert “any agricultural aid”
National Security (Australian Barley Board) Regulations	Commerce and Agriculture	After regulation 28 add— “29. These Regulations Limitation shall not apply to barley, of operation oats or grain sorghum harvested after the thirtieth day of September, 1948.”
National Security (General) Regulations	Administered by Departments appropriate to subject-matter of individual regulations	Omit regulations 69a, 87 and 88
National Security (Potatoes) Regulations	Commerce and Agriculture	After regulation 20 add— “21. These Regulations Limitation shall not apply to potatoes of operation harvested after the thirtieth day of November, 1948.”
National Security (Supplementary) Regulations	Administered by Departments appropriate to subject-matter of individual regulations	Omit regulations 4, 11, 14, 16, 38, 47, 49, 57, 65. 90, 96, 105, 120 and 134
National Security (Wheat Acquisition) Regulations	Commerce and Agriculture	After regulation 30 add— “31. These Regulations Limitation shall not apply to wheat of operation harvested after the thirtieth day of September, 1948.”
National Security (Wheat Industry Stabilization) Regulations	Commerce and Agriculture	Regulation 11— Omit sub-regulation (4.) After regulation 13 add— “14. These Regulations Limitation shall not apply to wheat of operation sown after the thirty-first day of August, 1948.”

Overview

The Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1947 was enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament to amend the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946, facilitating a gradual and orderly transition from wartime conditions to peacetime. The Act was introduced to address the ongoing state of war and the need to continue certain wartime regulations past the original termination date of 31 December 1947. This legislation aims to ensure the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth by providing for the continued operation of certain regulations and the discontinuance of others, while also addressing the transition of contracts, agreements, and assets from dissolved authorities to the Commonwealth. The Act includes provisions for the amendment of continued regulations, adjustments to the Land Tax Assessment Act, and the insertion of new sections into the Acts Interpretation Act, among other measures. The Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1947 includes specific provisions to exempt members of the Citizen Forces engaged in war service from jury duty, an amendment to the Defence Act 1903–1945, and the repeal of the National Registration Act 1939. The Act also details the continuation and amendment of certain national security regulations, with the aim of maintaining necessary wartime measures until the transition to peacetime is complete. Through these measures, the Act seeks to manage the complexities of transitioning from a wartime footing to a peacetime economy and governance structure.

Scope and Application

The Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1947 applies to various aspects of Australian Commonwealth law, focusing on the transitional phase following the end of World War II. It primarily affects entities and individuals involved in activities and agreements regulated by certain wartime Defence Regulations that were previously in force under the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946. The Act extends to the entire Commonwealth of Australia, impacting all states and territories. It aims to manage the gradual transition to peacetime conditions by either discontinuing certain wartime regulations or allowing their continued operation to facilitate the completion of ongoing activities. Exemptions include specific Defence Regulations that are discontinued, as outlined in the First Schedule, and amendments to other acts such as the National Registration Act 1939, which is repealed by this Act. The Act also modifies certain Defence Regulations to align with post-war requirements, as specified in the Second Schedule. This legislation ensures that certain wartime measures are phased out or adjusted while maintaining the integrity of existing contracts and proceedings involving the Commonwealth or its authorities.

Key Provisions

The Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1947 primarily amends the Defence (Transitional Provisions) Act 1946 and introduces various changes to ensure a smooth transition from wartime regulations to peacetime conditions (s.1). The Act is divided into sections that address the operation, discontinuance, and amendment of specific regulations and legislative provisions. For instance, section three extends the operation of certain regulations until 31 December 1948 instead of 31 December 1947 (s.3). Section four details the discontinuance of specific regulations listed in the First Schedule, ensuring that existing contracts and proceedings remain valid and that property and assets previously vested in now-defunct Commonwealth authorities are transferred to the Commonwealth (s.4). Additionally, section five outlines amendments to certain regulations as specified in the Second Schedule (s.5). The Act imposes various obligations on parties and entities governed by the transitional provisions. For example, it mandates that contracts or agreements involving the Commonwealth, a Minister, or a Commonwealth authority, which were in effect before 1 January 1948, and entered into under discontinued regulations, shall continue in full force and effect (s.4(2)). Furthermore, the Act stipulates that where a Commonwealth authority that was a party to a contract or proceeding has ceased to exist, the Commonwealth will be substituted for that authority (s.4(3)-(4)). It also ensures that references to former departments, ministers, officers, or bodies in agreements are appropriately updated to reflect any changes in administrative functions (s.7). Breaches of the provisions in this Act may lead to various consequences. For example, failure to comply with the amended operation periods for certain regulations may result in the invalidity of actions taken under those regulations after the specified dates. Additionally, any contract or agreement not adhering to the continuity provisions may be deemed unenforceable. While the Act does not explicitly outline specific penalties for breaches, non-compliance could potentially lead to legal disputes or the need for further legislative measures to address the issues. The Act’s focus is on ensuring a structured and legally sound transition from wartime to peacetime conditions, rather than on imposing punitive measures for breaches.

Area of Law: National Security Law
Instrument: Act
Concepts: Transitional Provisions; Repeal & Amendment; Delegated & Subordinate Legislation; Offence Provisions

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

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