VPRS 10198 Register of Creditors' Notices Of Intention

The Farmers Protection Act 1940 (No. 4737) was introduced to provide debt protection to farmers. The provisions of the Act generally applied to debts incurred prior to the commencement of the Act on 9 September 1940. It was repealed on 4 February 1942 by the Farmers Protection Act 1941 (No. 4877). 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. This series is the Register of these Notices of Intention received by the Board.When a Notice of Intention was received by the Board, an entry was made in the Register of Creditors' Notices of Intention. The Register records:Notice of Intention numberCreditor name and addressFarmer name and addressDate of noticeDate received by BoardAmount of claimNature of debt and whether before or after 9 September 1940Nature of actionDate acknowledged (recorded prior to April 1941)Date entered on creditor's card and on farmer's card (recorded prior to April 1941)Within 10 days of receipt of a creditor's Notice of Intention, a farmer could apply to the Farmers' Debts Adjustment Board for a temporary protection order (valid for three months) under Section 7 of the Act. 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].If a farmer lodged an application for protection with the Farmers' Debts Adjustment Board, it is likely that a case file was then created (see VPRS 10197). It is likely that the Board maintained a register of applications for protection orders. The creditor's card and farmer's card referred to in the Register of Creditors' Notices of Intention were likely to have been used as an index to names of creditors and farmers, providing some access to the case files. However as at December 2001 the PROV does not hold all records relating to the administration of the Farmers Protection Act 1940 and therefore it is not possible to describe the process fully.The Board received nearly 18500 Notices of Intention, but only 510 case files were created. It seems that this Register was created to control the many notices received from creditors, but that it was not intended as a way of accessing the case files. When a farmer lodged an application for protection with the Board, it is likely that the Notice would have been moved to the new case file. If the farmer had previously applied for protection it is likely that the Notice would be filed on the existing file. Of the notices themselves, the only copies currently held by the PROV are those contained within the case files.The case files (VPRS 10197) contain the farmer's application, correspondence and forms relating to the process. Documents within the case files refer to the Notice of Intention number, but within the Register of Creditors' Notices of Intention there are very few cross-references to the case files. It may be that a cross-reference to the Notice of Intention number was recorded in a register of applications and on the creditors and farmers cards.