War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916 (Amendment)

Legislation au C1916L00169 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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STATUTORY RULES.

1916 No. 169.

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REGULATIONS UNDER THE WAR PRECAUTIONS ACT 1914-1916.

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the War Precautions Act 1914-1916 to come into operation forthwith.

Dated this twenty-eighth day of July, One thousand nine hundred and sixteen

R. M. FERGUSON,

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

ALBERT GARDINER,

for Minister of State for Defence.

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War Precautions (Land transfer) Regulations 1916.

(Statutory Rules 1916, No. 35.)

1. Regulation 2 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-regulation:—

“(2) Notwithstanding anything continued in this Regulation, any enemy subject who is or was—

(a) a subject of the Sultan of Turkey, and a Christian, and either an Armenian or a Syrian, or

(b) the wife of any such subject,

shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to be a naturalized person of enemy origin.”

2. After Regulation 2 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Reputations the following Regulation is inserted:—

Enemy subjects whose parents were naturalized in a State deemed naturalized persons.

“2a. For the purposes of these Regulations any person who is a subject of a country with which the United Kingdom is at war but whose father was, prior to the commencement of the Naturalization Act 1903, naturalized in a State of the Commonwealth, or in a Colony which has become a State, shall be deemed to be a naturalized person of enemy origin.

3. After Regulation 3 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations, the following Regulation is inserted:—

Lease of land to enemy subject for forbidden.

“3a. From and after the date of this Regulation no contract or agreement for—

(a) a lease of land to any enemy subject for a term of more than twenty-five years, or

(b) the assignment to any enemy subject of a lease of land of which a period of more than twenty-five years is unexpired,

shall be entered into.”

4. Regulation 4 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations is amended by omitting the word “subject” and inserting the word “person” in its stead.

 

C.9937—Price 3d.

5. After Regulation 4 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations the following Regulations are inserted:—

Lease of land to naturalised person of enemy origin forbidden without Minister’s content.

“4a. From and after the date of this Regulation no contract or agreement for—

(a) a lease of land to any naturalized person of enemy origin for a term of more than twenty-five years, or

(b) the assignment to any naturalized person of enemy origin of a lease of land of which a period of more than twenty-five years is unexpired,

shall be entered into unless the consent in writing of the Attorney-General has first been obtained.

Attorney-General may declare districts.

“4b. the Attorney-General may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare any district to be a district to which the next succeeding Regulation applies.

Transfer or lease of land to persons of enemy origin in proclaimed directed forbidden without Minister consent.

“4c. In any district declared by the Attorney-General to be a district to which this Regulation applies, no contract or agreement—

(a) for the sale of any land to a person whose father or whose father’s father is or was an enemy subject, or

(b) providing far the acquisition in any contingency by any such person of a freehold title to land, or

(c) for a lease of land to any such person for a term of more than twenty-five years, or

(d) for the assignment to any such person of a lease of land of which a period of more than twenty-five years is unexpired,

shall, after the date of this Regulation, be entered into unless the consent in writing of the Attorney-General has first been obtained.

Renewal of lease deemed to be part of original lease.

“4d. Where any contract or agreement for the lease of land contains provision enabling the lease to be renewed for any period upon the expiration of the original term of the lease the period for which the lease may be so renewed shall for the purposes of those Regulations be regarded as part of the term of the lease.”

6. Regulation 5 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations is omitted, and the following Regulation is inserted in its stead:—

Contracts in contravention of Regulations void.

“5. Any contract or agreement entered into in contravention of Regulation 3, 3a, 4, 4a, or 4c shall be void and of no effect."

7. Regulation 7 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations is amended—

(a) by adding, after the words “Regulation 4”, the wards “4a or 4c”, and

(b) by omitting the words “the naturalized person” and inserting in their stead the words “the person making the application.”

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Printed and published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by Albert J. Mullett, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.

Overview

The War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916 were enacted to address the immediate concerns arising from World War I by controlling the transfer of land to enemy subjects and those of enemy origin. These regulations were made under the War Precautions Act 1914-1916 by the Governor-General in Council, effectively empowering the federal government to impose restrictions that would otherwise be impermissible in peacetime. The primary policy objective behind these regulations was to prevent enemy subjects or those of enemy origin from acquiring long-term interests in Australian land, thus mitigating potential risks to national security and maintaining control over critical resources during wartime. The regulations aimed to restrict leases and sales of land to enemy subjects and their descendants, thereby ensuring that land remained in the hands of those loyal to the Allied cause.

Scope and Application

The War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916 apply to any enemy subject who is or was a subject of the Sultan of Turkey, and a Christian, and either an Armenian or a Syrian, or the wife of any such subject, and any person who is a subject of a country with which the United Kingdom is at war but whose father was, prior to the commencement of the Naturalization Act 1903, naturalized in a State of the Commonwealth, or in a Colony which has become a State. These Regulations also apply to contracts and agreements for the lease of land to any such enemy subject or naturalized person of enemy origin for a term of more than twenty-five years, or the assignment to any such person of a lease of land of which a period of more than twenty-five years is unexpired. The Regulations extend to the entire Commonwealth of Australia and are applicable to any district that the Attorney-General may declare to be a district to which the Regulations apply. The Regulations do not apply to any lease of land to any naturalized person of enemy origin for a term of more than twenty-five years or the assignment to any such person of a lease of land of which a period of more than twenty-five years is unexpired if the consent in writing of the Attorney-General has first been obtained. The Regulations are enforceable through subordinate instruments and any contract or agreement entered into in contravention of these Regulations shall be void and of no effect.

Key Provisions

The War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916, under the War Precautions Act 1914-1916, primarily focus on restricting land transfers to individuals of enemy origin during the war period. Regulation 2(2) now includes certain enemy subjects, specifically those who are Christian Armenians or Syrians, or their wives, as naturalized persons of enemy origin (Reg. 2). Additionally, Regulation 2a introduces a new category of naturalized persons of enemy origin: those whose fathers were naturalized prior to the commencement of the Naturalization Act 1903 (Reg. 2a). Furthermore, Regulation 3a prohibits any lease of land to an enemy subject for a term exceeding twenty-five years, or the assignment of such a lease to an enemy subject where more than twenty-five years remain (Reg. 3a). These regulations impose stringent obligations on parties and entities involved in land transactions. They must ensure that any lease or transfer of land to a person deemed an enemy subject or a naturalized person of enemy origin is in strict compliance with the regulations. Specifically, they cannot enter into any lease agreement for more than twenty-five years without the requisite consent from the Attorney-General (Reg. 4a). Additionally, in districts declared by the Attorney-General, any sale, acquisition, or lease of land to a person with a lineage of enemy subjects is also prohibited unless the Attorney-General’s written consent is obtained (Reg. 4c). The regulations also clarify that renewals of leases are considered part of the original lease term (Reg. 4d). Violation of these regulations has significant legal consequences. Any contract or agreement that contravenes Regulations 3, 3a, 4, 4a, or 4c is declared void and of no effect (Reg. 5). This means that not only are the agreements null and void, but they also carry potential legal repercussions for the parties involved. The severity of these penalties is not explicitly detailed in the document, but the voidness of the contracts indicates that they are not merely administrative infractions but substantive legal breaches.

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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.