{"id":"baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941","name":"Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941","slug":"baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30037,"registerId":"wa-baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nBaptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941\n\nWestern Australia\n\nBaptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Power to sell, lease, and mortgage lands 1\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 3\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nBaptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941\n\nAn Act to enable Baptist Union of Western Australia (Incorporated) to sell, lease or mortgage its lands.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941* 1.\n\n##### 2. Power to sell, lease, and mortgage lands\n\n(1) It shall be lawful for Baptist Union of Western Australia (Incorporated) (hereinafter called the  Union), subject to its rules and regulations in force for the time being and from time to time —\n\n(a) to sell any land granted or demised by the Crown or otherwise acquired and held in trust for the Union or for any of the purposes thereof, and to transfer or otherwise assure the same to a purchaser freed and absolutely discharged from any trusts to which the said land may be subject; and\n\n(b) to mortgage any such land to secure moneys borrowed for the purpose of paying and discharging debts heretofore incurred and which are secured by existing mortgages of land of the Union, or to secure moneys which may hereafter be lawfully borrowed, and for the purpose of such security to assure such land to the mortgagee and his assigns freed and discharged from any such trusts as aforesaid; and\n\n(c) notwithstanding any such trusts to lease any such land 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 the Union may think fit.\n\n(2) No purchaser, mortgagee, or lessee of any such land 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 irregular, unnecessary, or improper.\n\n(3) Despite subsection (1), no transfer or mortgage, and no lease for a term exceeding 21 years, of land granted by the Crown to or for the use or benefit of the Union without pecuniary consideration shall be valid unless countersigned as approved by the Governor.\n\n[Section 2 amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941* 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| *Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941* | | 3 of 1941 (5 Geo. VI No. 3) | | 25 Sep 1941 | | 25 Sep 1941 | |\n| **Reprint of the *Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941* as at 5 Oct 2001** | | | | | | | |\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 2: The *Baptist Union of Western Australia Lands Act 1941* as at 6 Feb 2015** (includes amendments listed above) | | | | | | | |\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\nUnion 2(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The compilation records only a 2010 standardisation/formatting amendment (No. 19 of 2010 s.51). The Act’s core scope—permitting the Union to sell, lease or mortgage its lands, protecting third parties from inquiry, and requiring gubernatorial countersignature for specified Crown grants—remains as presented in the text."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single‑topic statute with one operative section (low textual volume).","Powers to discharge trusts on transfer or mortgage interact with trust law and title rules (s.2(1)(a),(b)).","Non‑inquiry protection for purchasers/mortgagees/lessees shifts due‑diligence burdens and raises questions of good faith and title reliance (s.2(2)).","Governor countersignature requirement for certain Crown grants and long leases (>21 years) adds an external approval step and administrative discretion (s.2(3)).","Amendment history shows a 2010 formatting amendment (No. 19 of 2010 s.51) but no extensive legislative history in the compilation, limiting interpretive complexity from multiple substantive amendments."],"plain_english_summary":"This short Act authorises the Baptist Union of Western Australia (Incorporated) to sell, lease or mortgage land it holds and to transfer title free of prior trusts, subject to the Union’s own rules (s.2(1)). It protects purchasers, mortgagees and lessees from needing to investigate the Union’s authority or the application of sale or loan proceeds (s.2(2)). Transfers or mortgages, and leases over 21 years, of Crown‑granted land given without payment must be countersigned by the Governor (s.2(3)). Who pays: the Union’s borrowers or purchasers; who decides: the Union (and the Governor in specified Crown cases); behaviour change: enables commercial dealing in trust land while limiting counterparties’ inquiry duties."},"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"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed — the legislative text was not accessible. No determination can be made about whether the Act's scope changed from its original intent without reviewing the actual content and any subsequent amendments."},"complexity_factors":["Content is entirely unavailable — no legislative text could be analysed","Acts of this vintage (1941) often use archaic legal language and drafting conventions that can be harder to interpret","Religious body lands Acts from this era typically involve property law concepts (such as trusts, incorporations, and conveyancing) that have some technical complexity","Any amendments made since 1941 cannot be assessed, which may hide additional complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"Likely a 1941 Western Australian Act enabling the Baptist Union of Western Australia to hold, manage and transact land—granting the religious body statutory authority over property it and its member churches use. It matters to the Union, its congregations and anyone buying, selling or otherwise dealing with property tied to the organisation, but the original text should be checked for exact powers."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose. The only amendment in 2010 (Standardisation of Formatting Act) was purely technical — updating formatting and citation conventions without altering substantive powers. The Act still only applies to the Baptist Union of Western Australia and only addresses the specific land dealings described in 1941."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute — only 2 operative sections","Minimal defined terms — only 1 defined term ('Union')","No cross-references to other Acts (except compilation table referencing amendment Act)","Simple conditional logic — one exception in subsection (3) requiring Governor's approval for Crown grants without consideration","Straightforward purpose — single-issue private Act addressing specific conveyancing problem for one entity","No nested exceptions or complex provisos","Language is archaic but structurally simple (1941 drafting style)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is a short, specific law from 1941 that gives the Baptist Union of Western Australia (a religious organisation) special powers to deal with land it owns.\n\nNormally, when land is held \"in trust\" (meaning it's legally owned for a specific religious or charitable purpose), there are strict rules about selling or borrowing against it. This Act cuts through those restrictions.\n\n**Specifically, it allows the Baptist Union to:**\n\n*   **Sell** land it owns, even if that land was originally granted by the government or held for specific religious purposes\n*   **Mortgage** land to borrow money — either to pay off existing debts or for new borrowing\n*   **Lease** land for long periods (including building leases)\n\n**Key protections for buyers and lenders:**\n\n*   Anyone buying, lending against, or leasing this land doesn't have to check if the Baptist Union followed its internal rules properly\n*   They also don't have to worry about whether the money is being used correctly\n*   This protects innocent third parties from legal complications if the Union mismanages things internally\n\n**One important limit:**\n\nIf the government originally gave the land to the Baptist Union for free (\"without pecuniary consideration\"), any sale, mortgage, or lease longer than 21 years needs the Governor's approval (countersignature).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nPrimarily the Baptist Union of Western Australia and anyone doing property deals with them. It matters because without this law, the Union would face legal barriers when trying to sell or borrow against property held for religious purposes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941","history":"/api/acts/baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941/history","analysis":"/api/acts/baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/baptist-union-of-western-australia-lands-act-1941/documents"}}