Section 51(xii) of the Australian Constitution
Encyclopedia
Section 51 is a subsection of Section 51 of the Constitution of Australia that gives the Commonwealth Parliament the right to legislate with respect to “currency, coinage, and legal tender.”
Generally, powers in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia can also be legislated on by the states, although Commonwealth law will prevail in cases of inconsistency. However, the currency power must be read in conjunction with other parts of the Constitution of Australia. Section 115 of the Constitution establishes “a state shall not coin money, nor make anything but gold or silver coin a legal tender in the payment of debts”. This section effectively makes the concurrent power in section 51(xii) exclusive to the Commonwealth.
Despite this, coins of the Australian pound
were not introduced until 1910. From 1901 to 1910 the states could not issue tender and the Commonwealth had not issued tender, so private currency was used as the common medium of exchange whilst the British pound sterling was the national unit of account.
Generally, powers in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia can also be legislated on by the states, although Commonwealth law will prevail in cases of inconsistency. However, the currency power must be read in conjunction with other parts of the Constitution of Australia. Section 115 of the Constitution establishes “a state shall not coin money, nor make anything but gold or silver coin a legal tender in the payment of debts”. This section effectively makes the concurrent power in section 51(xii) exclusive to the Commonwealth.
Despite this, coins of the Australian pound
Coins of the Australian pound
Federation in 1901 gave the Commonwealth a constitutional power to issue coins and removed this power from the States. However, British coins continued in use until 1910, when Australian silver coins were introduced. These included florins, shillings, sixpences and threepences. They had a...
were not introduced until 1910. From 1901 to 1910 the states could not issue tender and the Commonwealth had not issued tender, so private currency was used as the common medium of exchange whilst the British pound sterling was the national unit of account.
See also
- Australian Bank Notes Tax Act 1910Australian Bank Notes Tax Act 1910The Bank Notes Tax Act of 1910 effectively ended the era of private currency in Australia.It is a federal law that imposes on all bank issued currency a tax of ten per cent...