{"id":"ayers-house-act-2024","name":"Ayers House Act 2024","slug":"ayers-house-act-2024","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":31607,"registerId":"sa-ayers-house-act-2024-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Ayers House Act 2024","content":"South Australia\nAyers House Act 2024\nAn Act to grant ongoing rights in relation to Ayers House to the National Trust of South Australia, to make related amendments to the National Trust of South Australia Act 1955, and for other purposes.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tObjects\n5\tAyers House vested in Minister\n6\tCare, control and management vested in National Trust\n7\tLiability\n8\tExemption from council rates\n9\tRegulations\nSchedule 1—Related amendments and transitional provisions\nPart 1—Amendment of National Trust of South Australia Act 1955\n1\tAmendment of section 5—Objects of Trust\nPart 2—Transitional provisions\n2\tNo change in use of land\n3\tAssignment of leases and licences to National Trust\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Ayers House Act 2024.\n2—Commencement\nThis Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.\n3—Interpretation\nIn this Act—\nAyers House means the area of land comprised and described in Certificate of Title Volume 5927 Folio 883 and includes all buildings and structures on that land;\nNational Trust means the National Trust of South Australia as defined in the National Trust of South Australia Act 1955.\n4—Objects\nThe objects of this Act are—\n\t(a)\tto enable and guarantee the ongoing use of Ayers House by the National Trust (including its use for commercial operations to generate revenue for the National Trust); and\n\t(b)\tto transfer responsibility and liability for Ayers House to the National Trust; and\n\t(c)\tto provide for the ongoing care and management of Ayers House; and\n\t(d)\tto provide for continued rights of public access to Ayers House.\n5—Ayers House vested in Minister\n\t(1)\tAyers House is vested in the Minister in an estate in fee simple.\n\t(2)\tNo right or interest in Ayers House may be granted by the Minister unless—\n\t(a)\tthe National Trust consents to the granting of the right or interest; or\n\t(b)\tthe Minister is satisfied, after consulting with the National Trust, that—\n\t(i)\tthe granting of the right or interest is not inconsistent with the objects of this Act; and\n\t(ii)\tthe National Trust are unreasonably withholding consent to the granting of the right or interest.\n\t(3)\tNothing in subsection (2) affects any vesting of land pursuant to a proclamation under the Administrative Arrangements Act 1994.\n\t(4)\tIf the Minister grants any right or interest in Ayers House, the Minister must provide the Registrar‑General with an instrument certifying that the requirements of subsection (2) have been satisfied before the Registrar‑General makes an entry in the Register Book in relation to the right or interest.\n\t(5)\tDespite this section, for the purposes of the Heritage Places Act 1993 the National Trust is to be taken to be the owner of Ayers House.\n6—Care, control and management vested in National Trust\n\t(1)\tOn the commencement of this section the care, control and management of Ayers House vests in the National Trust subject to the rights of public access and any other requirements set out in notices under subsection (3).\n\t(2)\tSubject to any requirements set out in notices under subsection (3), the National Trust may grant a lease or licence in respect of Ayers House as if they were the owner of Ayers House. \n\t(3)\tThe Minister—\n\t(a)\tmust, by notice in the Gazette, specify rights of public access to Ayers House that must be provided by the National Trust; and\n\t(b)\tmay, with the agreement of the National Trust, by notice in the Gazette specify requirements applying to the National Trust's care, control and management of Ayers House.\n\t(4)\tRequirements under this section may make provision in relation to any of the following:\n\t(a)\tstandards of care and maintenance of Ayers House;\n\t(b)\tthe grant of leases, licences or any other rights in respect of Ayers House;\n\t(c)\tany other matter agreed by the Minister and the National Trust.\n\t(5)\tA notice under this section may be amended or revoked by the Minister by further notice in the Gazette (provided that any amendment to or revocation of a notice under subsection (3)(b) may only be done with the agreement of the National Trust).\n7—Liability\n\t(1)\tDespite any other Act or law, on and after the commencement of section 6—\n\t(a)\tthe Crown is not and will not be liable for any claims arising in respect of Ayers House or any use of Ayers House; and\n\t(b)\tthe National Trust is liable for all claims in respect of Ayers House, or any use of Ayers House, as if they were the owner of Ayers House.\n\t(2)\tAny liability that the Crown would have had but for the operation of subsection (1)(a), that is not a liability of the National Trust pursuant to subsection (1)(b), is extinguished by force of this section.\n\t(3)\tA liability of the National Trust arising under subsection (1)(b) is in addition to any other liability the National Trust has in relation to Ayers House.\n\t(4)\tIn this section—\nclaim includes any claim, demand, action, cause of action, proceedings, judgment, order, relief, remedy, right, entitlement, damage, loss, compensation, reimbursement, cost, expense or liability;\nCrown includes a Minister, instrumentality or agency of the Crown.\n8—Exemption from council rates\nNo council rates are payable under the Local Government Act 1999 in respect of Ayers House or any lease, licence, right or interest granted in respect of Ayers House.\n9—Regulations\nThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.\nSchedule 1—Related amendments and transitional provisions\nPart 1—Amendment of National Trust of South Australia Act 1955\n1—Amendment of section 5—Objects of Trust\n\t(1)\tSection 5(1)—after paragraph (d) insert:\n\t(e)\tthe protection and heritage conservation of Ayers House (in accordance with any requirements under the Ayers House Act 2024).\n\t(2)\tSection 5—after subsection (1) insert:\n\t(2)\tIn this section, Ayers House has the same meaning as in the Ayers House Act 2024.\nPart 2—Transitional provisions\n2—No change in use of land\n\t(1)\tThe resumption of use of Ayers House by the National Trust after the commencement of this Act and the carrying out of prescribed activities by the National Trust at Ayers House are taken not to constitute changes in the use of the land for the purposes of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016.\n\t(2)\tIn this clause—\nprescribed activities means any activities of a kind that have previously been undertaken by the National Trust at Ayers House.\n3—Assignment of leases and licences to National Trust\nOn the commencement of this clause, any lease or licence with respect to Ayers House is assigned to the National Trust (as if the National Trust had granted the lease or licence).\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal Act\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2024\n11\nAyers House Act 2024 \n18.4.2024\n1.7.2024 (Gazette 13.6.2024 p1429)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Compared with a narrow instrument that might simply have authorised the National Trust to occupy or manage Ayers House, this Act expands scope in several substantive ways: it (1) vests legal title in the Minister while conferring near-owner management powers on the Trust (ss5–6); (2) transfers and expressly imposes liability on the Trust and extinguishes certain Crown liabilities (s7); (3) exempts the site from council rates (s8); (4) adds a statutory object for the Trust to conserve Ayers House (Schedule Part 1); and (5) assigns existing leases and protects resumed activities from being treated as a change of use for planning purposes (Schedule Part 2). Those provisions move the instrument beyond a simple management or custodial arrangement into a package that reallocates ownership consequences, liabilities, fiscal treatment and planning status."},"complexity_factors":["Small number of defined terms in interpretation (2: Ayers House; National Trust).","Multiple cross-references to other Acts (Heritage Places Act 1993; Administrative Arrangements Act 1994; Local Government Act 1999; Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016; National Trust of South Australia Act 1955).","Conditional approval process for granting rights (Minister must obtain Trust consent or be satisfied Trust is unreasonably withholding — s5(2)).","Ministerial/Gazette notice regime sets public access and management requirements, with amendment/revocation rules and consent requirement for some changes (s6(3)–(5)).","Liability transfer plus an extinguishment clause removing certain Crown liabilities (s7(1)–(2)) — a legally consequential provision that reduces clarity for past claims.","Transitional provisions assigning existing leases/licenses to the Trust and a planning‑use non‑change rule (Schedule Part 2).","Administrative step requiring Registrar‑General certification before registration of rights (s5(4))."],"plain_english_summary":"The Act vests Ayers House’s legal title in the State Minister while giving the National Trust of South Australia statutory care, control and management — including authority to run commercial activities, grant leases/licenses “as if” owner, and assume liability for the site. The Minister retains a role in approving new rights and must publish public‑access and management conditions by Gazette. The Act also exempts the property from council rates and assigns existing agreements to the Trust, affecting the Trust, the Crown, councils, tenants and the public."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: transferring operational control of a specific heritage property (Ayers House) to the National Trust while preserving public access and heritage values. The amendments to the National Trust of South Australia Act 1955 are minimal (adding one object and one definition) and directly consequential to the main purpose. No scope creep detected."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute (9 sections plus brief schedule)","Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('Ayers House' and 'National Trust')","Straightforward conditional logic in section 5(2) (consent requirements with override clause)","Single cross-reference to National Trust of South Australia Act 1955 for entity definition","Minimal nesting of exceptions — only one 'despite' clause and one 'subject to' layer in section 6","Clear structural separation between ownership (Minister), control (National Trust), and liability (National Trust)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act transfers the day-to-day running of **Ayers House** — a historic property in Adelaide — from the South Australian Government to the **National Trust of South Australia**, while keeping legal ownership with the Minister.\n\n**Key points:**\n\n- **Ownership stays with the Minister**, but the National Trust gets **care, control and management** — meaning they run the place, maintain it, and can lease it out to tenants as if they owned it.\n- **The National Trust can use Ayers House commercially** (cafes, events, tours) to raise money for its operations.\n- **Public access is protected** — the Minister must set out in writing what public access rights must continue.\n- **Liability shifts completely** — if someone gets injured or sues, the National Trust (not the government) is on the hook, as if they were the owner.\n- **No council rates** are payable on the property.\n- **Existing leases automatically transfer** to the National Trust.\n- **Heritage protection** is baked in — the National Trust's core purpose now explicitly includes conserving Ayers House.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The National Trust of South Australia (they gain control and responsibility)\n- Visitors to Ayers House (guaranteed ongoing access)\n- Any tenants or commercial operators at the site (their leases now run through the Trust)\n- The South Australian Government (washes its hands of liability and operational costs)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a **long-term institutional handover**. Rather than the government managing a heritage property directly, it empowers a not-for-profit conservation body to run it sustainably — including making money from it — while ensuring the public can still visit and the building is protected."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is not possible — the legislation content was not retrievable. No comparison between original intent and final form can be made."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was available for analysis — only a website error page was provided","Cannot assess complexity without substantive content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe actual text of the *Ayers House Act 2024* (South Australia) could not be retrieved. The link provided returned a **'Page Not Found'** error from the South Australian legislation website, meaning the full content of this law was not accessible for analysis.\n\n**What we can infer from the title:**\nAyers House is a significant **heritage-listed mansion** in North Adelaide, built in the 1840s and formerly home to Sir Henry Ayers (seven-time Premier of South Australia). It is managed as a function centre and museum. Legislation bearing this name would likely relate to the **governance, preservation, management, or ownership** of this heritage property — potentially affecting:\n- The body or trust responsible for managing Ayers House\n- Heritage protection obligations\n- Public access or commercial use of the building\n- Funding arrangements\n\n**What this means for you:** Without the actual text, it is not possible to confirm how this law affects individuals, organisations, or the general public. If you need this information, visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) directly or contact the Office of Parliamentary Counsel at OPCWeb@sa.gov.au."},"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/ayers-house-act-2024","history":"/api/acts/ayers-house-act-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ayers-house-act-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ayers-house-act-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ayers-house-act-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ayers-house-act-2024/documents"}}