{"id":"anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914","name":"Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914","slug":"anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29999,"registerId":"wa-anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nAnglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914\n\nWestern Australia\n\nAnglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Validation of grants of land to Church 1\n\n3. Trustees may sell, mortgage or lease lands 1\n\n4. Protection of purchasers and others 2\n\n5. Approval of Governor in certain cases 2\n\n6. Previous sales etc. of land validated 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\n  \n\n- Crest **Reprinted under the *Reprints Act 1984* as**\n- **at 12 June 2015**\n\n\nWestern Australia\n\nAnglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914\n\nAn Act to validate grants of land made for the benefit of the Church of England, and to authorise and validate the disposal by sale or otherwise of lands granted by the Crown to or for the said Church 2.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914* 1.\n\n[Section 1 amended: No. 121 of 1976 s. 7.]\n\n##### 2. Validation of grants of land to Church\n\nAll grants of land heretofore made or purporting to be made of lands of the Crown to or for the benefit of the Branch of the Church of England in Western Australia 3, or to any person or body in trust or for the purposes of such church, whether such grants were expressed or intended to be made for church sites or for ecclesiastical purposes or otherwise howsoever, are hereby validated and confirmed.\n\n##### 3. Trustees may sell, mortgage or lease lands\n\nSubject to any Statute of the Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia so far as it is in the State 4 and to this Act, The Perth Diocesan Trustees 5 —\n\n(i) may sell any lands granted by the Crown and held in trust for the said Church or for any of the purposes thereof, and transfer or otherwise assure the same to a purchaser freed and absolutely discharged from any trusts to which the said lands may be subject;\n\n(ii) may mortgage such lands to secure moneys lawfully borrowed, and for the purposes of such security assure such lands to the mortgagee and his assigns freed and discharged from any such trusts as aforesaid;\n\n(iii) may, notwithstanding any such trusts, lease any such lands for any term with or without right of renewal and either by way of building lease or otherwise and subject to such covenants, conditions, and agreements as they may think fit.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 4 of 1960 s. 5; No. 121 of 1976 s. 7.]\n\n##### 4. Protection of purchasers and others\n\nNo purchaser, mortgagee, or lessee of any such lands shall be bound or concerned to inquire whether any power of sale, mortgage, or lease was duly and regularly made or exercised, or in anywise to see to the application of any purchase, mortgage, or other moneys or to inquire into the necessity, regularity, or propriety of any such sale, mortgage, or lease, or be affected by notice that the same is or are irregular, unnecessary, or improper, subject, however, to the provisions of the next following section.\n\n##### 5. Approval of Governor in certain cases\n\n(1) No assurance on sale or mortgage or lease for a term exceeding 21 years of lands granted by the Crown without pecuniary consideration therefor shall be valid unless approved by the Governor and countersigned by him as approved.\n\n(2) In the case of a subdivision of any such lands for the purpose of sale, it shall be sufficient compliance with this section if such approval be endorsed on the plan of such subdivision deposited or to be deposited with the Western Australian Land Information Authority established by the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 5.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 34 of 1918 s. 9; No. 81 of 1996 s. 153(2); No. 60 of 2006 s. 124; No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n##### 6. Previous sales etc. of land validated\n\nAll sales, mortgages, leases, and assurances of any such lands as aforesaid heretofore made or intended to be made in good faith by the said Trustees are hereby validated and confirmed.\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This reprint is a compilation as at 12 June 2015 of the *Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Church of England Lands Act 1914*6 | 10 of 1915 (5 Geo. V No. 37) | 18 Feb 1915 | 18 Feb 1915 |\n| *Church of England Diocesan Trustees and Lands Act 1918* s. 9 and 11 | 34 of 1918 (9 Geo. V No. 24) | 24 Dec 1918 | 24 Dec 1918 |\n| *Church of England in Australia Constitution Act 1960* s. 5 | 4 of 1960 (9 Eliz. II No. 4) | 6 Oct 1960 | 1 Jan 1962 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 24 Nov 1961 p. 3223) |\n| *Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976* s. 7 | 121 of 1976 | 1 Dec 1976 | 24 Aug 1981 (see s. 2(2) and *Gazette* 30 Jan 1981 p. 441) |\n| **Reprint of the *Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914* as at 8 Jan 1988**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Transfer of Land Amendment Act 1996* s. 153(2) | 81 of 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| **Reprint of the *Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914* as at 3 May 2002**   (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Land Information Authority Act 2006* s. 124 | 60 of 2006 | 16 Nov 2006 | 1 Jan 2007 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 8 Dec 2006 p. 5369) |\n| *Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010* s. 51 | 19 of 2010 | 28 Jun 2010 | 11 Sep 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Sep 2010 p. 4341) |\n| **Reprint 3: The *Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914* as at 12 Jun 2015** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n\n\n2 Under the *Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976* s. 7, a reference in a law of the State to “Church of England” or “Church of England in Western Australia” is to be construed as a reference to the “Anglican Church of Australia”, and that construction shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be and be deemed to be a direct amendment to that law. The reference in this provision has not been changed due to its context.\n\n3 Under the *Church of England in Australia Constitution Act 1960* s. 5 (now known as the *Anglican Church of Australia Constitution Act 1960*), a reference to “the Branch of the Church of England in Western Australia” is to be read and construed as if it were a reference to the “Church of England in Australia so far as it is in the State”. Also see note 2. The reference in this provision has not been changed due to its context.\n\n4 Formerly referred to the “Branch of the Church of England in Western Australia”. Also see notes 2 and 3. The reference was changed under the *Reprints Act 1984* s. 7(3)(h).\n\n5 Formerly referred to “The Diocesan Trustees of the Church of England in Western Australia”, the name of which was changed to “The Perth Diocesan Trustees” by the *Church of England Diocesan Trustees and Lands Act 1918* s. 11 (now known as the *Anglican Church of Australia Diocesan Trustees and Lands Act 1918*). The reference was changed under the *Reprints Act 1984* s. 7(3)(h).\n\n6 Now known as the *Anglican Church of Australia Lands Act 1914*; short title changed (see note under s. 1).\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's core scope remains the same: validate past Crown grants to the Church and authorize trustees to deal with those lands (ss.2–3, 6). Subsequent amendments mainly updated institutional names, added procedural requirements (Governor approval and plan endorsement) and aligned references with later statutes, without expanding the class of beneficiaries or substantially altering the fundamental powers granted to trustees."},"complexity_factors":["Validation of historic grants and transactions (ss.2, 6) creates retrospective legal effect that must be reconciled with existing titles.","Broad trustee discretion to sell, mortgage and lease trust land, including power to discharge trusts on transfer (s.3).","Protections for purchasers and financiers that limit their duty to investigate the trustees' exercise of power (s.4).","Governor approval requirement for assurances of gratuitously granted land exceeding 21 years creates an administrative gate (s.5(1)).","Procedure allowing approval to be endorsed on deposited subdivision plans interacts with the Land Information Authority regime (s.5(2); amendments).","Cross-references and name changes across later Acts and notes (Statute of the Synod, Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976, Land Information Authority Act 2006) complicate interpretation of who and what is covered (notes and amendments)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act retroactively confirms Crown land grants made for the benefit of the Church (now the Anglican Church of Australia in WA) and authorises the Perth Diocesan Trustees to sell, mortgage or lease trust land, freeing purchasers, mortgagees and lessees from having to investigate underlying trust questions. It matters because it clears title doubts and lets trustees raise money or dispose of property. The Governor must approve any sale, mortgage or lease over 21 years of land originally granted without payment; trustees decide transactions, private buyers pay purchase or loan money and are protected from inquiry duties."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original 1914 purpose: validating Crown grants to the Anglican Church and authorising the Church to deal with that land. While the name has changed (Church of England → Anglican Church of Australia) and procedural details updated (e.g., reference to Land Information Authority in 2006), the core scope has not expanded beyond land validation and management powers for the specific church body."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 operative sections covering discrete topics (validation, powers, protection, approval, retrospective validation)","Minimal defined terms (only institutional names like 'Perth Diocesan Trustees' which are explained in notes rather than an interpretation section)","Simple conditional logic: Governor approval required only for (a) land granted without payment, AND (b) leases over 21 years/sales/mortgages","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing between sections","Straightforward validation mechanism using 'hereby validated and confirmed' formula","Amendments are primarily name changes (Church of England → Anglican Church of Australia) rather than substantive complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law from 1914 fixes a historical problem and gives the Anglican Church special powers to manage land.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Validates old land grants**: Before this Act, there was uncertainty about whether land the Crown (government) had given to the Church of England was legally proper. This law says those grants are valid, even if there were technical problems with how they were made.\n- **Lets the Church sell, mortgage or lease land**: Normally, land held \"in trust\" (held by someone for a specific purpose, like a church) can't easily be sold because it must be kept for that purpose. This law gives the Perth Diocesan Trustees (the Church's property managers) power to sell, mortgage, or lease church land, and the buyer gets the land free of any church restrictions.\n- **Protects buyers**: People who buy church land don't have to check if the Church followed all its internal rules. They're protected as long as the Governor has approved the deal (for sales, mortgages, or leases over 21 years).\n- **Requires Governor approval for big deals**: For land originally given by the Crown for free, any sale, mortgage, or lease longer than 21 years needs the Governor's personal approval.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The Anglican Church of Australia (formerly Church of England) in Western Australia\n- The Perth Diocesan Trustees who manage church property\n- Anyone buying, leasing, or lending money secured against church land\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a classic example of \"religious corporation\" legislation from the early 20th century. It solved two problems: historical uncertainty about land titles, and the legal inability of religious trusts to deal with property flexibly. Without this law, the Church would be stuck with land it couldn't sell to fund ministry, and buyers would worry about hidden legal defects in titles."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be meaningfully assessed as the legislative text is unavailable. No comparison between original and current intent is possible from the information provided."},"complexity_factors":["Legislation text is entirely unavailable — analysis based on title only","Acts dealing with religious body landholding can involve trust law concepts","1914 vintage legislation may use archaic legal language if text were available","Intersection of property law and ecclesiastical (church) governance can add complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"Likely a 1914 Western Australian law setting how the Anglican Church may hold, manage and transfer land in WA. It would affect the WA Anglican diocese, its trustees and administrators, and anyone buying, leasing or otherwise dealing with church land — important for property rights and transactions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914","history":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914/history","analysis":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/anglican-church-of-australia-lands-act-1914/documents"}}