Commonwealth Bank Act 1911

15 July 1912

Section 51 of the Australian Constitution gives the Australian Parliament the power to make laws about banking and currency. The Commonwealth Bank Act 1911 created Australia’s first national bank, which was also the first Australian bank to have both a savings and trading business. With deposits guaranteed by the Australian Government, the Commonwealth Bank grew rapidly.

During the First World War the Commonwealth Bank organised government loans and provided banking services to servicemen. Starting in the Great Depression the bank gradually took on central banking activities such as setting interest rates, a role which was formalised in law in 1975.

The Commonwealth Bank was given responsibility to produce currency notes in 1924, a role it undertook until 1960 when the Reserve Bank of Australia was established as Australia’s central bank.

The Commonwealth Bank was fully privatised in 1996.