VPRS 10197 Case Files

Full description

The records in this series are case files of the Farmers' Debts Adjustment Board relating to the Farmers Protection Act 1940 (No. 4737) and its successor, the Farmers Protection Act 1941 (No. 4877). The case files document the process of farmers applications for debt protection under the two Acts. This series consists of two interfiled sequences of records, one created under the 1940 Act and the other created under the 1941 Act. A different process occurred under each of the two Acts, therefore different records were produced and different recordkeeping systems were used to manage the records.

In 1940 there were no current provisions for debt protection for farmers. The Farmers Debts Adjustment Act 1935 (No. 4326) was still in operation, however all applications under that Act had to be submitted by 24 December 1937. Similar to the Farmers Debts Adjustment Act, both Farmers Protection Acts included provisions for the development of plans of debt adjustment, and for debt protection through the issuing of protection or stay orders. Both Farmers Protection Acts generally applied to debts incurred prior to the commencement of the 1940 Act on 9 September 1940.

It seems likely that case files were created by the Board when a farmer applied for a Temporary Protection Order under the 1940 Act, or a Limited Stay Order under the 1941 Act. It is likely that the Board maintained a register of applications for protection and that the register was used to allocate the File Numbers. Under Section 23 of the 1941 Act the Board was required to maintain a register of Stay Orders, however as at December 2001 the PROV does not hold this register nor any other control records for these case files. Note that the File Number is not the same as the Protection or Stay Order Number.

For both the 1940 and the 1941 Acts, the case files contain the farmer's application for protection, correspondence and forms relating to the process. On the front cover of the file is recorded the applicant's name, property details, and the file number. In some files a Stay Order number (see VPRS 10192) has been marked on documents and on the file cover. In the 1940 files some documents are marked with the Notice of Intention number (see VPRS 10198). It may be that cross-references to other related records were recorded in a register of applications. As at December 2001 PROV does not hold all records used in this system, so it is not possible to describe the process fully.

Documents on the case files indicate that everything issued by the Board was registered in some way. For example, a Temporary Protection Order was allocated an order number, the form notifying the extension of that Order was allocated an extension number, and the cancellation notice was allocated a cancellation number. Each of these processes must have had some form of register, but as at December 2001 these records are not held by PROV. Within the Board's correspondence files there are some records relating to the administration of the 1941 Act (see VPRS 10191).

Cases considered by the Board were recorded in minutes of Board meetings (see VPRS 10195). Applications under the 1940 Act were indexed in the Minute Books of the Board (see VPRS 10195, units 2 and 3). Orders issued under both the 1940 and the 1941 Farmers Protection Acts were published in the Government Gazette, giving the order number, the farmer's name and address, and the creditor's name and address.

Process of the Farmers Protection Act 1940 (No. 4737)

The Farmers Protection Act 1940 (No. 4737) was proclaimed on 9 September 1940. Under Section 5 of the 1940 Act, creditors were required to give farmers 21 days notice of their intention to take action to recover any debt. Creditors were also required to supply a copy of the notice to the Farmers' Debts Adjustment Board. When a Notice of Intention was received by the Board, an entry was made in the Register of Creditors' Notices of Intention (see VPRS 10198). In that Register there is a reference to creditor's and farmer's cards. It is likely that such cards were used as an index to names of creditors and farmers, and would have provided some access to the case files.

Within 10 days of receipt of a creditor's Notice of Intention, a farmer could apply to the Board for a Temporary Protection Order (valid for three months) under Section 7 of the Act. After a farmer's application was lodged the Board had seven days to issue or refuse the order. During the operation of the Temporary Protection Order, the Board was to endeavour to negotiate with the creditor and the farmer to secure an adjustment of the debt [S9]. If the negotiation failed, the Board was able to issue a Conditional Protection Order (valid for twelve months), taking into account any benefits available to the farmer under the Farmers Relief Acts [S10]. During the operation of a protection order the farmer was protected from any action execution process or proceeding in respect of the debt for which the order was issued [S11].

In advance of the 1941 Act coming into force, farmers with protection orders in place under the 1940 Act were advised that they would need to re-apply under the new Act (see 1940 file no. 503). It appears that when a farmer did re-apply under the 1941 Act, the contents of the 1940 file were transferred to the new 1941 file, and the new 1941 file number was written on the cover of the 1940 file.

Process of the Farmers Protection Act 1941 (No. 4877)

A new Farmers Protection Act was passed in late 1941 because of the continuing rural crisis as well as problems in the management of the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act many creditors had been lodging Notices of Intention on the chance that their debtors were farmers. This resulted in nearly 18500 Notices of Intention being lodged with the Board (over 1000 per month), while only 510 applications were lodged by farmers. Amongst other things, the new Act removed the requirement for creditors to lodge Notices of Intention, extended the maximum period of protection, and increased protection for creditors. The 1941 Act repealed the 1940 Act, and was effective from 4 February 1942.

The 1941 Act protected farmers through the issuing of Limited or General Stay Orders, which prevented action being taken against a farmer in relation to any debt covered by the stay order. Generally the protection applied only to 'old' debts (those incurred before 9 September 1940), and only in special circumstances could farmers be protected from 'new' debts (post 9 September 1940). Under Section 5, a farmer could apply for a Limited Stay Order in relation to any 'old' debt, and on receipt of an application the Board could immediately issue the order. Once a Limited Stay Order was issued, the Board was to endeavour to secure an agreement between the farmer and the creditor in relation to adjustment of the debt.

Where a farmer with a Limited Stay Order had more than one creditor, the Board was able to issue a General Stay Order in relation to all old debts, or to all old debts as well as new debts incurred before the date of application [S9]. Before issuing a General Stay Order in relation to new debts, the Board was required to call a meeting of creditors by publishing notice in the Gazette [S10]. In issuing any General Stay Order, the Board was required to take into consideration the interests of the farmer, the views and interests of creditors, and whether the farmer had a reasonable prospect of success. The issue of a General Stay Order cancelled the Limited Stay Order. After the issue of a General Stay Order the Board was to continue to seek an agreement between the farmer and creditors, and was able to control the income of the farmer during the operation of the order. If at any time agreement was reached between the farmer and creditors, the General Stay Order was cancelled.

Many documents within the 1941 case files are marked with a fraction-style number: the top number is the application number and the bottom number is the file number. It seems that the case files were created and numbered when the first application was received from a farmer. If a farmer applied more than once, the original file was used for subsequent applications. For example in 1941 File No. 1 there are two different applications for Limited Stay Orders, marked 1/1 and 359/1. Note that on some documents the fraction-style number has been reversed, probably in error.

Initially farmers had until March 1943 to apply for a Limited Stay Order which could remain in effect until March 1945 [S6]. Later amendments to the Act extended these dates. In 1946 the final amendment (Act No. 5163) extended the application date to March 1948 and the effectiveness date for both Limited and General Stay Orders was extended to March 1949.