War Precautions Act 1914 - Provisions

Provisions

Under the War Precautions Act, the federal Government could make laws about anything that affected the war effort. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the range of federal regulations. During peacetime, the federal Government's powers under the Constitution were limited to specified subject matters; other matters were within the power of the Australian States. During wartime, the scope of the federal Government's power under the constitution to make laws with respect to the naval and military defence of the Commonwealth expanded to meet the exigencies of wartime. This expansion allowed the federal Government to overcome limits on its other powers and provided constitutional support for the War Precautions Act.

The federal Government also began to exercise powers that it had possessed prior to the war but had chosen not to exercise. For example, it began to levy income tax, which had previously only been levied by the Australian States.

Furthermore, many of the powers available to the federal Government under the Act were exercisable under Regulation. This means that they did not need to be passed by Parliament in order to became law. Any document prepared by the relevant Minister and signed by the Governor-General became law. Many War Precautions Regulations were made in this way.

Some of the activities carried out under the authority of the War Precautions Act include:

• cancellation of commercial contracts with firms in enemy countries;
• levying of an income tax;
• price fixing;
• interning of "enemy aliens"; and
• censorship of publications and letters.