{"id":"advance-bank-merger-with-stgeorge-bank-act-1998","name":"Advance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998","slug":"advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29923,"registerId":"wa-advance-bank-merger-with-stgeorge-bank-act-1998-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Advance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nAdvance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998\n\nWestern Australia\n\nAdvance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 3\n\n2. Commencement 3\n\n3. Interpretation 3\n\n4. Act binds the Crown 5\n\n5. Extra-territorial application 5\n\nPart 2 — Provisions relating to merger\n\n6. Translated instruments 6\n\n7. Places of business 6\n\n8. Legal proceedings and evidence 6\n\n9. Business names 6\n\n10. Relationships with customers and depositors 7\n\n11. Construction of references 7\n\nPart 3 — Miscellaneous\n\n14. Certificates evidencing operation of Act, etc. 8\n\n15. Registered land 8\n\n16. Amendment of land records 9\n\n17. Other property 9\n\n18. Certificates as evidence 9\n\n19. Act to have overriding effect 10\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 11\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nAdvance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998\n\nAn Act to provide for matters relating to the merger of Advance Bank Australia Limited with St.George Bank Limited and for connected purposes.\n\nReasons for enactment\n\n1. Before the succession day Advance Bank Australia Limited (ACN 002 953 335) was a company incorporated in New South Wales and was a company within the meaning of the Corporations Law and was a company limited by shares.\n\n2. St.George Bank Limited (ACN 055 513 070) is a company incorporated in New South Wales and is a company within the meaning of the Corporations Law and is a company limited by shares.\n\n3. Before the succession day ABAL and SGB each carried on the business of banking throughout Australia.\n\n4. By letter received on 18 December 1996, the Treasurer of Australia consented pursuant to section 63 of the *Banking Act 1959* of the Commonwealth to the amalgamation of the banking business of ABAL with that of SGB.\n\n5. On 29 January 1997 SGB became the beneficial owner of the whole of the ordinary issued share capital of ABAL.\n\n6. Under the conditions imposed on the authority of ABAL to carry on banking business in Australia, ABAL was required to surrender that authority.\n\n7. Accordingly, it was necessary and expedient to transfer the banking business of ABAL to SGB which occurred by way of the principle of succession in law pursuant to the NSW Regulation.\n\n8. Under the NSW Regulation on the succession day —\n\n(a) SGB became the successor in law of ABAL and for all purposes a continuation of and the same legal entity as ABAL;\n\n(b) ABAL was liquidated and dissolved;\n\n(c) all assets of ABAL, wherever located, vested in, or became otherwise available for the use of, SGB without the need for any conveyance, transfer, assignment or assurance and without the need for any prior notice or further act; and\n\n(d) all liabilities of ABAL, wherever located, became liabilities of SGB without the need for any prior notice or further act.\n\n9. It is expedient to enact legislation to make provision for matters relating to the merger.\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Advance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998.*\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\n(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act comes into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n(2) Parts 2 and 3 are to be taken to have come into operation on the succession day.\n\n[(3) deleted]\n\n[Section 2 amended: No. 32 of 2014 s. 5(2) and (3).]\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  ABAL  means Advance Bank Australia Limited (ACN 002 953 335);\n\n  asset  means property, or a right, of any kind, and includes —\n\n(a) any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future, vested or contingent, tangible or intangible) in real or personal property of any kind;\n\n(b) any chose in action;\n\n(c) any right, interest or claim of any kind, including rights, interests or claims in or in relation to property (whether arising under an instrument or otherwise, and whether liquidated or unliquidated, certain or contingent, accrued or accruing); and\n\n(d) any asset within the meaning of Part IIIA of the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1936* of the Commonwealth;\n\n  chief executive officer, in relation to SGB, means the officer having the day to day management of the affairs of that bank and includes an officer acting from time to time in that capacity;\n\n  instrument  includes a document and an oral agreement;\n\n  liability  includes a duty or obligation of any kind (whether arising under an instrument or otherwise, and whether actual, contingent or prospective);\n\n  merger  means the succession in law of SGB to ABAL under the NSW Regulation;\n\n  NSW Regulation  means the *Bank Mergers (Advance Bank) Regulation 1998* of New South Wales as amended from time to time;\n\n  register  includes a book of registry and an index of registration;\n\n  SGB  means St.George Bank Limited (ACN 055 513 070);\n\n  succession day  means 1 April 1998 (being the day on which the NSW Regulation came into operation);\n\n  translated asset, in relation to SGB, means an asset that becomes, under the NSW Regulation, an asset of SGB;\n\n  translated instrument  means an instrument subsisting immediately before the succession day —\n\n(a) to which ABAL is a party;\n\n(b) that was given to, by, or in favour of, ABAL;\n\n(c) that refers to ABAL; or\n\n(d) under which money is, or may become, payable, or other property is, or may become, liable to be transferred, to or by ABAL;\n\n  translated liability, in relation to SGB, means a liability that becomes, under the NSW Regulation, a liability of SGB;\n\n  Treasurer  means the Treasurer of the State.\n\n(2) Where reference is made in this Act to anything done for a purpose connected with, or arising out of, the operation or effect of this Act, that reference is to be taken to include any transaction entered into, or any instrument made, executed, lodged or given, for that purpose.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 32 of 2014 s. 5(4).]\n\n##### 4. Act binds the Crown\n\nThis Act binds the Crown in right of the State and, so far as the legislative power of the State permits, in all its other capacities.\n\n##### 5. Extra-territorial application\n\n(1) This Act applies both within and outside the State.\n\n(2) This Act applies outside the State to the full extent of the extra-territorial legislative power of the State.\n\n## Part 2 — Provisions relating to merger\n\n##### 6. Translated instruments\n\nOn and after the succession day, each translated instrument continues to have effect, according to its tenor, as if a reference in the instrument to ABAL were a reference to SGB.\n\n##### 7. Places of business\n\nOn and after the succession day, a place that, immediately before that day, was a place of business for ABAL is to be taken to be a place of business for SGB.\n\n##### 8. Legal proceedings and evidence\n\n(1) Where, immediately before the succession day, proceedings (including arbitration proceedings) to which ABAL was a party were pending or existing in any court or tribunal, SGB is, on that day, substituted for ABAL as a party to the proceedings and has the same rights in the proceedings as ABAL had.\n\n(2) Where, before the succession day, documentary or other evidence would have been admissible for or against the interests of ABAL, that evidence is admissible for or against the interests of SGB.\n\n##### 9. Business names\n\n(1) On and after the succession day SGB may carry on business in the State under any of the following names —\n\n(a) “Advance Bank Australia”;\n\n(b) “Bank of South Australia”;\n\n(c) “BankSA”;\n\n(d) any other business name registered by SGB under the *Business Names Act 1962*.\n\n[(2)-(5) deleted]\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 32 of 2014 s. 5(5) and (6).]\n\n##### 10. Relationships with customers and depositors\n\n(1) The relationship between ABAL and a customer or depositor of that bank is, on and after the succession day, between SGB and that customer or depositor, and gives rise to the same rights and duties (including rights of set-off) as would have existed before that day if that relationship had always been between SGB and the customer and depositor.\n\n(2) Any instruction, order, direction, mandate or authority given to ABAL by a customer or depositor of that bank and subsisting on or given after the succession day is, unless and until revoked or cancelled, to be taken to have been given to SGB.\n\n(3) Any information held immediately before the succession day by ABAL relating to a customer or depositor of that bank is available to and may be used by SGB.\n\n##### 11. Construction of references\n\nIf any written law (other than this Act) or any document, whenever made or executed, or any register established or kept under any Act contains a reference express or implied to ABAL, the reference is, on and after the succession day, to be read and construed as a reference to SGB, unless the context otherwise requires.\n\n## Part 3 — Miscellaneous\n\n[**12, 13.** Deleted: No. 32 of 2014 s. 5(7).]\n\n##### 14. Certificates evidencing operation of Act, etc.\n\n(1) The chief executive officer of SGB may, by certificate signed by that person, certify any matter in relation to the operation or effect of this Act and, in particular, may certify that —\n\n(a) a specified matter or thing relevant to SGB is an aspect of the operation or effect of this Act;\n\n(b) a specified thing was done for a purpose connected with, or arising out of, the operation or effect of this Act in relation to SGB;\n\n(c) a specified asset of ABAL has become a translated asset of SGB; or\n\n(d) a specified liability of ABAL has become a translated liability of SGB.\n\n(2) The chief executive officer of SGB may certify that specified assets or liabilities are, or are not, assets or liabilities that vested in ABAL under the *Bank of South Australia (Merger with Advance Bank) Act 1996*.\n\n(3) Nothing done by or under this Act or under the NSW Regulation affects the character that records made by ABAL or a bank from which ABAL acquired the records may have as banking records for the purposes of the law of evidence.\n\n##### 15. Registered land\n\nWhere any land registered under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* of which ABAL is, or is to be taken to be, the registered proprietor has become a translated asset of SGB, then despite anything to the contrary in a written law or other law, SGB is to be taken to be the registered proprietor of the land for the purposes of that Act and the land may be dealt with accordingly.\n\n##### 16. Amendment of land records\n\nOn being requested to do so and following —\n\n(a) delivery of any relevant Crown Grant or duplicate certificate of title or other relevant instrument; and\n\n(b) payment of any relevant fee under a written law,\n\nthe Registrar of Titles or Registrar of Deeds and Transfers, as the case requires, is to make any entry in, or any endorsement or notation on, the title, land register or other record in respect of land that is necessary because of the merger.\n\n##### 17. Other property\n\nIf property (other than property to which section 15 or 16 applies) has become a translated asset of SGB and a person or authority has, under a written law, responsibility for keeping a register in respect of property of that kind, then —\n\n(a) any requirement of that written law relating to the transfer of such property from one person to another is to be taken to have been complied with if there is lodged with that person or authority a certificate signed by the chief executive officer stating that the property has become a translated asset of SGB; and\n\n(b) that person or authority, on being requested to do so and on delivery of any relevant instrument, is to make any amendments to that register which are necessary to make it accurately reflect the fact that the property has become a translated asset of SGB.\n\n##### 18. Certificates as evidence\n\n(1) A certificate under section 14 is, for all purposes and in all courts, tribunals and proceedings, conclusive evidence of the matters certified except so far as the contrary is established.\n\n(2) A document purporting to be a certificate under section 14 is, unless the contrary is established, to be taken to be such a certificate and to have been properly given.\n\n[Section 18 amended: No. 32 of 2014 s. 5(8).]\n\n##### 19. Act to have overriding effect\n\n(1) This Act has effect despite anything in any contract, deed, undertaking, agreement or other instrument.\n\n(2) Nothing done by or under this Act or under the NSW Regulation —\n\n(a) places SGB, ABAL or another person in breach of contract or confidence or otherwise makes any of them guilty of a civil wrong;\n\n(b) places SGB, ABAL or another person in breach of —\n\n(i) any written law or other law; or\n\n(ii) any contractual provision prohibiting, restricting or regulating the assignment or transfer of any asset or liability or the disclosure of any information;\n\nor\n\n(c) releases any surety, wholly or partly, from all or any of the surety’s obligations.\n\n(3) Without limiting subsection (1), where, but for this subsection, the advice or consent of a person would be necessary in a particular respect, the advice is to be taken to have been obtained or the consent is to be taken to have been given, as the case requires.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Advance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act* 1998 and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Advance Bank (Merger with St. George Bank) Act 1998* | 20 of 1998 | 30 June 1998 | Pt. 1 (other than s. 2(2) and (3)) and s. 12: 30 Jun 1998 (see s. 2(1));<br>s. 2(2) operative on certificate being given under s. 12: 2 Oct 1998 (see s. 2(3));<br>Pt. 2-3 (other than s. 12) to be taken to have come into operation 1 Apr 1998 on certificate being given under s. 12 (see s. 2(2)) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals) Act 2014* s. 5 | 32 of 2014 | 3 Dec 2014 | 4 Dec 2014 (see s. 2(b)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nABAL 3(1)\n\nasset 3(1)\n\nchief executive officer 3(1)\n\ninstrument 3(1)\n\nliability 3(1)\n\nmerger 3(1)\n\nNSW Regulation 3(1)\n\nregister 3(1)\n\nSGB 3(1)\n\nsuccession day 3(1)\n\ntranslated asset 3(1)\n\ntranslated instrument 3(1)\n\ntranslated liability 3(1)\n\nTreasurer 3(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient information to assess whether the scope changed from original intent, as the legislative text is unavailable. Merger facilitation Acts of this type are generally narrow and purpose-specific, with little scope for amendment or expansion beyond the original transaction."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the page is defunct, making any complexity assessment speculative","Merger facilitation Acts of this era typically involve moderately technical financial and corporate law concepts","Such Acts often include transitional provisions that can be complex in practice but are narrow in scope","The law is historical (1998) and largely spent — its effects have long since taken place"],"plain_english_summary":"## Advance Bank (Merger with St.George Bank) Act 1998\n\n**The page for this Western Australian law is no longer available online.**\n\nBased on the title alone, this Act was a Western Australian law passed in 1998 that dealt with the **merger between Advance Bank and St.George Bank** — two major Australian banking institutions. Laws like this typically:\n\n- **Transfer assets, liabilities, and contracts** from one bank to the other without needing individual customer consent\n- **Protect customers** by ensuring their accounts, loans, and banking arrangements automatically carry over to the new entity\n- **Handle employees**, ensuring their entitlements are preserved during the transition\n- **Resolve legal technicalities** that would otherwise complicate a large corporate merger\n\n**Who does it affect?** Anyone who banked with Advance Bank in 1998 — their accounts, mortgages, and other financial products would have been transferred to St.George Bank under this law.\n\n> ⚠️ **Note:** The actual text of this legislation could not be retrieved — the page is no longer available on the Western Australian legislation website. This summary is based solely on the Act's title and general knowledge of merger legislation. The specific provisions, rights, and obligations created by this Act **cannot be confirmed** from the available information."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains narrowly tailored to give Western Australian legal effect to the NSW succession that made St.George Bank the legal successor to Advance Bank. Amendments recorded (statutes repeals and deletions of now-obsolete subsections) are procedural or housekeeping; they do not broaden the Act’s original purpose. The core scope — automatic transfer of ABAL’s assets, liabilities, contracts, customer relationships and the administrative steps to update registers — is unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute: 19 operative sections with focused scope (merger-related transfers and administrative effects)","Approximately 15 defined terms in the interpretation section (s.3) that drive key legal effects","Cross-reference to an external New South Wales regulation (the NSW Regulation) which supplies the fundamental succession mechanism","Certificates by SGB’s chief executive officer treated as conclusive evidence (s.14, s.18) — shifts evidentiary burden","Overriding effect over contracts and instruments (s.19(1)) combined with a non-breach protection clause (s.19(2)) — conditional legal interaction to interpret","Procedural interplay with multiple registries (Transfer of Land Act and other registers) requiring administrative steps and fee payments (s.15–s.17)","Extra-territorial application to the full extent of State legislative power (s.5) — extension beyond purely local acts"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act gives legal effect in Western Australia to a New South Wales regulation making St.George Bank the successor to Advance Bank Australia Limited, automatically transferring ABAL’s banking business, assets, liabilities, contracts, customer relationships and business names to St.George from the succession day. Registries must update titles/records on request and St.George’s CEO may issue conclusive certificates about the transfer.\n\nThis removes the need for fresh assignments or consents, shifts evidentiary burdens to challengers, and alters who may access and use former ABAL customer information."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating the specific 1998 merger between Advance Bank and St.George Bank. It has not expanded beyond this single corporate transaction. The 2014 amendments (Statutes (Repeals) Act) actually reduced the scope by deleting spent provisions (sections 12-13 and parts of sections 2 and 9), rather than expanding it."},"complexity_factors":["12 defined terms in section 3(1), including nested definitions (e.g., 'translated asset' depends on 'asset' and 'NSW Regulation')","Retroactive commencement: Parts 2 and 3 deemed to have commenced on 1 April 1998 (succession day) despite Royal Assent on 30 June 1998","Cross-reference dependency: The entire Act operates by reference to the NSW Regulation (Bank Mergers (Advance Bank) Regulation 1998), meaning the WA Act cannot be understood without reading the NSW instrument","Overriding effect provision (section 19) creates broad statutory immunity from contractual restrictions, requiring careful parsing of exceptions","Deleted provisions (sections 12, 13, and subsections of section 9) indicate legislative pruning through amendment, leaving gaps in numbering that can confuse navigation"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law smooths out the legal bumps when two banks merged. In 1998, St.George Bank took over Advance Bank Australia (which used to be called BankSA). Because banking crosses state borders, Western Australia needed its own law to make sure everything transferred cleanly under WA law.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Transfers contracts automatically**: Any contract Advance Bank had (loans, deposits, leases) now applies to St.George as if St.George had signed it originally.\n- **Keeps court cases going**: If Advance Bank was suing or being sued when the merger happened, St.George steps into the case automatically.\n- **Fixes land titles**: When Advance Bank owned property in WA, the land titles office can update records to show St.George as the owner without needing the usual paperwork.\n- **Protects the merger**: The law overrides any contract clauses that might try to block the transfer (like \"no assignment\" clauses in loan agreements).\n- **Lets St.George use old names**: St.George can keep using \"Advance Bank Australia\" or \"BankSA\" as business names so customers aren't confused.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Customers of Advance Bank (their accounts and loans continued unchanged)\n- Anyone who had a contract with Advance Bank\n- Land registries and government offices that needed to update records\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, every single contract, property title, and court case involving Advance Bank would have needed individual legal transfers—an administrative nightmare. This law made the merger seamless under Western Australian law."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998","history":"/api/acts/advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998/history","analysis":"/api/acts/advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/advance-bank-merger-with-st-george-bank-act-1998/documents"}}