{"id":"anglican-church-australia-act-1985","name":"Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985","slug":"anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":28688,"registerId":"vic-anglican-church-australia-act-1985-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985**\n\n**No. 10194 of 1985**\n\nVersion as at  \n28 February 2023\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Section Page*\n\n1 Short title 2\n\n2 Commencement 2\n\n3 Insertion of new section 13A in the Church of England Act 1854 2\n\n4 Insertion of new section 4A in the Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884 3\n\n5 Amendment of section 12 in the Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884 4\n\n6 Insertion of new section 12A in the Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884 4\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 8\n\n1 General information 8\n\n2 Table of Amendments 10\n\n3 Explanatory details 11\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985**\n\n**No. 10194 of 1985**\n\nVersion as at  \n28 February 2023\n\nAn Act to amend the **Church of England Act 1854** and the Act No. 797 of the Parliament of Victoria and for other purposes.\n\n**WHEREAS by the Church of England Act 1854 provision is made for the election of lay representatives of parishes as members of a Synod of a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia in Victoria.**\n\n**And whereas it is agreed by all dioceses that the provisions of the Church of England Act 1854 be altered to permit the lay membership of Synod to be widened by the admission of persons nominated, appointed or *ex officio*:**\n\n**And whereas by the Act No. 797 of the Parliament of Victoria provision is made for the establishment by dioceses of corporate bodies to hold as trustees property of the diocese:**\n\n**And whereas it is agreed by all dioceses that the powers of those corporate bodies should be widened to enable them to invest in common funds and mortgage, charge or otherwise encumber trust property:**\n\n**And whereas the names of the corporate bodies established by some dioceses include the words \"Church of England\":**\n\n**And whereas the name of the Church was changed under and in accordance with the Anglican Church of Australia Constitution (Amendment) Act 1977:**\n\n**And whereas it is agreed by all dioceses that it is desirable to enable the name of a corporate body of a diocese to be changed by omitting the words \"Church of England\" and by including the words \"Anglican Church of Australia\":**\n\n**And whereas it is expedient for the Legislature to make provision for those matters.**\n\n**Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):**\n\n\t1 Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the **Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985**.\n\n\t2 Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n\t3 Insertion of new section 13A in the Church of England Act 1854\n\n18 Vict. No. 45 as amended by No. 1947 and affected by Nos 45, 157, 454, 797, 1821, 1947, 6628 and 8984.\n\nAfter section 13 of the **Church of England Act 1854** there shall be inserted the following section:\n\nLay membership of Synod.\n\n\"13A. On and after the commencement of the **Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985**, the power of a Synod to alter the constitution of that or any future Synod with respect to lay membership includes the power to provide for the election, nomination or appointment of lay members, whether or not as representatives of parishes, and for lay members *ex officio*.\".\n\n\t4 Insertion of new section 4A in the Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884\n\nNo. 797 as affected by Nos 1947, 6626 and 8984.\n\nAfter section 4 of the Act No. 797 of the Parliament of Victoria there shall be inserted the following section:\n\nChange of name of Diocesan Trusts Corporation.\n\n\"4A. (1) The Church Synod in a diocese may from time to time by a resolution made with the concurrence of a majority both of the clergy and the laity, the votes of the clergy and those of the laity being separately taken, and the resolution receiving the assent of the Bishop, change the name of the corporate body of trustees to a name specified in the resolution.\n\n(2) The Bishop of the diocese shall as soon as possible after the passing of a resolution under sub-section (1) cause a copy of the resolution duly certified under his hand to be delivered to the Registrar-General who shall retain the copy and register the resolution.\n\n(3) After the registration of the resolution, the Registrar-General shall notify the change of name in the *Government Gazette* and upon that notification, the change of name takes effect.\n\n(4) A change of name under this section does not operate—\n\n(a) to create a new legal entity;\n\n(b) to prejudice or affect the identity of the body corporate constituted by the corporate body of trustees or its continuity as a body corporate;\n\n(c) to affect the property, or the rights and obligations, of the corporate body of trustees; or\n\n(d) to render defective any legal proceedings by or against the corporate body of trustees—\n\nand any legal proceedings that could have been continued or commenced by or against the corporate body of trustees by its former name may be continued or commenced by or against its new name.\".\n\n\t5 Amendment of section 12 in the Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884\n\nNo. 797.\n\nIn section 12 of the Act No. 797 of the Parliament of Victoria for the words \"and dealt with\" (where first and secondly occurring) there shall be substituted the words \"dealt with, mortgaged, charged or otherwise encumbered\".\n\n\t6 Insertion of new section 12A in the Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884\n\nNo. 797.\n\nAfter section 12 of the Act No. 797 of the Parliament of Victoria there shall be inserted the following section:\n\nCommon Funds.\n\n'12A. (1) In this section—\n\n**\"Common Fund\"** means a Common Fund authorized in accordance with this section to be established and kept in the books of a trusts corporation.\n\n**\"Trusts Corporation\"** in relation to a diocese means the corporate body of trustees constituted within the diocese under this Act.\n\n(2) Where the Synod of a diocese by resolution has so authorized, the trusts corporation of that diocese may, subject to the directions (if any) of the Synod, in its discretion, invest any moneys in its hands whether or not they are subject to any express trust—\n\n(a) on the separate account of any trust or person; or\n\n(b) (if the moneys are not directed by the terms of the trust to be invested in some other specified manner and investment in a Common Fund is not specifically prohibited by the terms of the trust governing these moneys) as part of a Common Fund established and kept in the books of the trusts corporation.\n\n(3) A trusts corporation of a diocese may invest moneys forming part of a Common Fund in any manner in which trust moneys may be invested by a trustee under any Act or in any manner authorized by the Synod of the diocese.\n\n(4) Investments made from moneys forming part of a Common Fund of a trusts corporation of a diocese shall not be made on account of or belong to any particular trust or person but the trusts corporation shall cause to be kept in the books of the trusts corporation accounts from which may be determined at any time the current amount at credit in a Common Fund kept by it on account of each trust or person.\n\n(5) The trusts corporation of a diocese may in its discretion make advances of moneys forming part of a Common Fund for any purpose of or relating to the diocese.\n\n(6) An advance of moneys under sub-section (5) shall be deemed to be an investment of moneys forming part of the Common Fund and shall bear interest at a rate fixed by the trusts corporation and the amount advanced and the interest thereon shall be a charge on the assets of the diocese.\n\n(7) A trusts corporation of a diocese may sell investments belonging to a Common Fund and may withdraw any of the moneys belonging to a Common Fund for any purpose of or relating to the exercise and discharge of its powers and duties under this or any other Act or under any trust or under any direction of the Synod of the diocese.\n\n(8) A trusts corporation of a diocese may in its discretion at any time withdraw from a Common Fund any amount at credit in the Common Fund on the account of any trust or person and may invest that amount on a separate account of that trust or person.\n\n(9) Amounts withdrawn from a Common Fund under sub-section (8) shall as from the date of withdrawal cease to have any claim for interest or otherwise from the Common Fund.\n\n(10) Any profits or losses upon realisation of any investment in a Common Fund shall be credited or debited (as the case requires) to the Common Fund and be received or borne proportionately by the several amounts in the Common Fund on account of each trust or person at the time of the realisation.\n\n(11) As on the first day of each month a trusts corporation of a diocese shall, in respect of each Common Fund kept by it, determine the value of the investments in the Common Fund as on that day and, in respect of securities listed on a Stock Exchange, the quotations published by the Stock Exchange shall be *prima facie* evidence of value and if there are no such quotations on that day the valuation of the chairman or secretary of the relevant Stock Exchange shall be *prima facie* evidence of the value.\n\n(12) Additions to, or withdrawals from, a Common Fund shall during any month be effected on the basis of the valuation under sub-section (11) made as on the first day of that month.\n\n(13) The trusts corporation of a diocese shall pay or allocate the income arising from a Common Fund proportionately to or among the trusts or persons entitled to the income of the Common Fund in proportion to the several amounts in the Common Fund on account of each trust or person and the period for which they formed part of the Common Fund.'.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\n*Minister's second reading speech—*\n\n*Legislative Council: 17 July 1985*\n\n*Legislative Assembly: 18 September 1985*\n\nThe long title for the Bill for this Act was–—\n\nAn Act to amend the **Church of England Act 1854** and the **Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884** of the Parliament of Victoria and for other purposes.\n\nThe **Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985** was assented to on 8 October 1985 and came into operation on 8 October 1985: section 2.\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided section or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subsections or subclauses, the original section or clause becomes subsection or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original section or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any heading inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; sections; clauses; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms. See section 36(1A)(2A).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Act. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 forms part of that Act. Any punctuation inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. See section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in an Act form part of that Act, whether inserted in the Act before, on or after 1 January 2001. Provision numbers include section numbers, subsection numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of an Act is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of an Act.  \nSee section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the **Anglican Church of Australia Act 1985** by Acts and subordinate instruments.\n\n3 Explanatory details\n\nNo entries at date of publication.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act implements the changes set out in its preamble: widening lay membership options, permitting corporate‑name changes, broadening trustee powers to encumber and invest trust property, and authorising Common Funds. It does not expand beyond those stated purposes in the text provided."},"complexity_factors":["Amendments insert multiple new provisions across two historic Acts, creating cross‑references and layering on older statutory frameworks (s13A, s4A, s12A).","Decision rules require separate majorities of clergy and laity plus episcopal assent for name changes (s4A(1)), adding procedural complexity.","Trusts corporations gain broad discretionary powers to pool, invest and advance funds, with resulting accounting, charging and liability consequences (s12A(2),(5),(6)).","Property powers expanded to permit mortgages, charges or other encumbrances, affecting secured interests and trust property management (amendment to s12).","Operational detail on monthly valuation, stock exchange quotations as prima facie evidence, and allocation timing creates ongoing administrative and valuation obligations (s12A(11),(12),(13)).","Registrar‑General notification and registration steps introduce administrative compliance triggers and public notice obligations (s4A(2),(3)).","Interactions with existing express trusts and any prohibitions within trust instruments require conflict analysis to determine permitted uses of Common Funds (s12A(2))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act amends two older Anglican-related Victorian statutes so diocesan Synods and trust corporations can broaden lay membership rules (allowing election, nomination, appointment or ex officio membership) (s13A), change a diocesan trust's corporate name with Synod/Bishop approval and Registrar‑General registration (s4A), expand trustee powers to mortgage or otherwise encumber trust property (s12), and create and manage pooled “Common Funds” with valuation, allocation and advance rules (s12A). It shifts key choices to Synods, bishops and trusts, creates recordkeeping and valuation duties (s4A(2),(3); s12A(11))."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purposes: modernising Synod membership rules, enabling corporate name changes to reflect the 1977 national rebranding, and expanding trustee investment and property powers. The detailed Common Fund provisions in section 12A, while technically elaborate, directly serve the stated objective of enabling pooled investment — they do not represent scope creep into unrelated areas."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused amending statute with only 6 operative sections","Heavy reliance on external context — amends two 19th-century Acts (Church of England Act 1854 and Anglican Trusts Corporations Act 1884) without reproducing their full text","Section 12A contains 13 subsections with detailed financial mechanics including valuation methods, proportional profit/loss distribution, and interest calculations","Conditional logic in section 12A(2)(b) requiring three cumulative conditions for Common Fund investment (not directed to other specified manner, not prohibited by trust terms, and Synod authorization)","Specific procedural requirements for name changes (separate clergy/laity votes, Bishop's assent, registration, Gazette notification)","Preservation of legal continuity clauses in section 4A(4) with four specific non-operation effects"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act updates how the Victorian Anglican Church governs and manages assets. It lets diocesan Synods include lay members who are appointed or ex officio (not only parish-elected), allows diocesan trustee corporations to adopt the national \"Anglican Church of Australia\" name without creating new legal entities, and gives trustees power to pool trust funds for investment and to borrow or encumber trust property.\n\nWhy it matters: it modernises governance, aligns dioceses with the national identity, and provides flexible financial tools for running church operations."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985","history":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985/history","analysis":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-act-1985/documents"}}