{"id":"benefit-associations-act-1958","name":"Benefit Associations Act 1958","slug":"benefit-associations-act-1958","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":31641,"registerId":"sa-benefit-associations-act-1958-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Benefit Associations Act 1958","content":"South Australia\nBenefit Associations Act 1958\nAn Act for the regulation of associations engaged in the business of providing certain benefits in consideration of contributions paid to such associations, and for purposes incidental thereto.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tExclusions from Act\n4\tInterpretation\n5\tRestriction on certain business\n5A\tInvestment of contributions\n6\tDuty to furnish returns\n7\tInvestigations by Minister\n8\tProvisional recommendations where society has a deficiency\n9\tProvisional recommendations where society has a surplus\n10\tProcedure when provisional recommendation\n11\tPower to comply with recommendations\n12\tCompliance with recommendations\n13\tPenalty on certain false statements\n14\tRestriction on method of soliciting contributions\n14A\tDelegation by Minister\n15\tRegulations\n16\tOffences\n17\tSummary procedure\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Benefit Associations Act 1958.\n3—Exclusions from Act\n\t(1)\tThis Act shall not apply to—\n\t(a)\tany friendly society;\n\t(b)\tany organisation registered as a medical benefits organisation or a hospital benefits organisation under the Commonwealth Act entitled the National Health Act 1953, as amended (or any corresponding subsequent enactment) or the regulations thereunder;\n\t(c)\tany person or body corporate which is registered under the Commonwealth Act entitled the Life Insurance Act 1945, as amended, or any corresponding subsequent enactment;\n\t(d)\tany association of employees registered as an organisation under the Commonwealth Act entitled the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, as amended, or any corresponding subsequent enactment, or any association of employees that is a registered association within the meaning of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1972, as amended;\n\t(e)\tany approved insurer under Part 4 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959, as amended;\n\t(f)\tany association declared by proclamation to be exempt from this Act.\n\t(2)\tA person, society, organisation, association or other body such as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section shall not be a benefit association within the meaning of this Act.\n4—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn this Act unless the context otherwise requires—\nactuary means a Fellow or Accredited Member of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia;\nassociation means person or body of persons (corporate or unincorporate);\nbenefit association means association carrying on any benefit business in the State, either with or without other business;\nbenefit business means the business of making and carrying out contracts under which an association, in consideration of the payment of contributions, undertakes to make payments to or on behalf of or for the benefit of contributors or others in respect of all or any of the following, namely,\n\t(a)\taccommodation, maintenance, and nursing service in hospitals;\n\t(b)\tmedical, surgical, physiotherapeutic, and other therapeutic treatment;\n\t(c)\tthe provision of drugs, medicines, bandages, and other aids to the treatment of disease;\n\t(d)\tdental treatment and services;\n\t(e)\tfunerals, burials, and cremation;\ndirector includes the chairman and any member of the governing body of an association.\n\t(2)\tFor purposes of this Act an association shall be deemed to carry on benefit business within the State if it provides or undertakes to provide any of the benefits or services mentioned in the definition of benefit business for persons resident in the State, or accepts or collects contributions for any such benefits or services from contributors or members resident in the State.\n5—Restriction on certain business\n\t(1)\tAn association shall not carry on medical benefit business or hospital benefit business unless—\n\t(a)\tit is carrying on that business at the time of the passing of this Act; or\n\t(b)\tit is registered as a medical benefits organisation or a hospital benefits organisation under the Commonwealth Act entitled the National Health Act 1953, as amended (or any corresponding subsequent enactment) or the regulations thereunder.\n\t(2)\tIn this section—\nhospital benefit business means the business of making and carrying out contracts under which an association in consideration of the payment of contributions undertakes to make payments to contributors or others in respect of any hospital treatment in relation to which benefit is payable under the laws of the Commonwealth;\nmedical benefit business means the business of making and carrying out contracts under which an association in consideration of the payment of contributions undertakes to make payments to contributors or others in respect of any medical services in relation to which benefit is payable under the laws of the Commonwealth.\n\t(3)\tThe Minister may at his discretion grant an exemption from this section to any association which has made a deposit with the Treasurer of the Commonwealth under the Insurance Act 1932, as amended (or any corresponding subsequent enactment) of the Commonwealth.\n5A—Investment of contributions\n\t(1)\tContributions accepted or collected by a benefit association must—\n\t(a)\tbe held in a fund under the control of a trustee approved by the Minister; or\n\t(b)\tbe invested otherwise as approved by the Minister.\n\t(2)\tA fund established under subsection (1)(a) must be invested in accordance with the Trustee Act 1936 and the value of the fund must be maintained at a level at least equal to the liabilities of the fund certified annually by an actuary.\n6—Duty to furnish returns\n\t(1)\tEvery benefit association shall within three months after the end of each financial year deliver to the Minister a return setting out its income, expenditure, assets and liabilities.\n\t(2)\tEvery benefit association shall when so requested by the Minister by a written notice give the Minister within the time specified in the notice any information specified in the notice as to its income, expenditure, assets, liabilities or financial position generally.\n7—Investigations by Minister\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may investigate or cause to be investigated the income, expenditure, assets, liabilities, transactions and management of a benefit association, or any other matter arising in the course of the business of any such association.\n\t(2)\tFor the purpose of any such investigation the Minister may appoint persons to assist him or act on his behalf. Any person so appointed is in this section called an authorised person.\n\t(3)\tFor the purpose of any investigation being made or about to be made under this Act, the Minister or an authorised person may request a benefit association or a director or officer of a benefit association to supply him, within a time specified by him, with any information relating to the business or transactions of the association. An association or person shall comply with any such request.\n\t(4)\tAn authorised person may—\n\t(a)\tenter any building or place where the books of account or other records of a benefit association are or are suspected to be; and\n\t(b)\texamine any such books or records; and\n\t(c)\tmake copies of any matters recorded in any such books or records.\n\t(5)\tA benefit association shall when requested by the Minister or an authorised person to do so forthwith produce its books of account and records or any of them for examination by the Minister or authorised person.\n\t(6)\tAny person having the possession or control of any books of account or records of a benefit association shall when requested by the Minister or an authorised person forthwith produce those books of account or records for examination by the Minister or authorised person.\n\t(7)\tA person shall not hinder the Minister or an authorised person in doing any act which he is authorised by this section to do.\n8—Provisional recommendations where society has a deficiency\nIf the Minister after considering a report of an investigation carried out by an actuary appointed by the Minister for the purpose is satisfied that the assets of a benefit association are insufficient to meet its liabilities he may make a provisional recommendation relating to all or any of the following matters:\n\t(a)\tthe increase, variation or adjustment of contributions payable to the association by existing or future members or any of them;\n\t(b)\tthe reduction, variation or adjustment of benefits payable by the association to existing or future members or any of them;\n\t(c)\tthe limitation or reduction of management expenses including commissions and allowances payable by the association;\n\t(d)\tany matters incidental to any of those mentioned in the preceding paragraphs of this section.\n9—Provisional recommendations where society has a surplus\nIf the Minister after considering a report of an investigation carried out by an actuary appointed by the Minister for the purpose is satisfied that the assets of a benefit association are in excess of those required to meet the liabilities of the association he may make a provisional recommendation relating to all or any of the following matters:\n\t(a)\tthe reduction, variation or adjustment of contributions payable by existing or future members or any of them;\n\t(b)\tthe use, disposal or distribution of any surplus or profits;\n\t(c)\tthe increase, variation, or adjustment of benefits provided for existing or future members or any of them;\n\t(d)\tthe limitation or reduction of management expenses including commissions and allowances payable by the association;\n\t(e)\tany matters incidental to any of those mentioned in the preceding paragraphs of this section.\n10—Procedure when provisional recommendation\n\t(1)\tThe Minister shall deliver a copy of each provisional recommendation to the benefit association to which it applies.\n\t(2)\tAt any time within eight weeks after the delivery of a provisional recommendation or within an extended period allowed by the Minister the association may make representations to the Minister for the purpose of showing cause why the provisional recommendation should not be confirmed or should be varied or added to.\n\t(3)\tIf any such representations are made the Minister after considering and inquiring into them may confirm the provisional recommendation either with or without variations or additions, or may cancel it.\n\t(4)\tIf no such representations are made within eight weeks after the delivery of a provisional recommendation the Minister may forthwith upon the expiry of that period confirm the provisional recommendation.\n11—Power to comply with recommendations\n\t(1)\tNotwithstanding any Act, law or contract, a benefit association shall have power to make any rules or alterations of rules necessary to carry out any recommendation made by the Minister under this Act.\n\t(2)\tIn this section—\nrules includes rules, regulations, by-laws, and other like provisions regulating contributions, benefits, management and other matters relating to a benefit association.\n12—Compliance with recommendations\n\t(1)\tEvery recommendation shall state the time within which anything thereby recommended to be done shall be completed.\n\t(2)\tIf a benefit association to which a recommendation applies does not comply with such recommendation within the time stated therein the Minister may prepare a report on the financial position of the association and direct the association to send a copy of it to each member and contributor within a time specified by the Minister.\n\t(3)\tAn association which receives such a direction shall comply with it.\n\t(4)\tIf a benefit association to which a recommendation applies does not comply with such recommendation within the time stated therein, the association shall not after the time so stated—\n\t(a)\tinvite any person to become a member of the association; or\n\t(b)\tadmit any person to membership of the association; or\n\t(c)\tsolicit or accept contributions from any person purporting to have become a member after the time so stated.\n13—Penalty on certain false statements\nA benefit association, or a director or employee of a benefit association shall not—\n\t(a)\tfalsely state that the association is registered or licensed or approved under an Act or regulation (whether of the State or the Commonwealth); or\n\t(b)\tdeliver or exhibit any document in which it is falsely stated that the association is registered or licensed or approved under an Act or regulation (whether of the State or the Commonwealth).\n14—Restriction on method of soliciting contributions\n\t(1)\tA benefit association or a director or employee of a benefit association shall not deliver to any person or publish in any way any written matter soliciting contributions to such association or advertising the benefits to be obtained from the association except in a form approved by the Minister.\n\t(2)\tBefore approving the form of such matter the Minister shall be satisfied that it accurately and clearly sets forth the benefits to be obtained by such contributions, and that the matter contains no words which could be calculated to mislead the public as to the benefits to be obtained.\n14A—Delegation by Minister\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may, by instrument in writing, delegate any of the powers, duties or functions of the Minister under this Act to the person for the time being assigned to any specified position in the public service of the State.\n\t(2)\tA delegation under this section may be given subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the instrument of delegation.\n\t(3)\tA delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the Minister from acting personally in any matter.\n15—Regulations\nThe Governor may make regulations prescribing—\n\t(a)\tforms to be used under this Act;\n\t(b)\tany matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the due administration and enforcement of this Act, or for carrying out the objects of this Act; and\n\t(c)\tprescribing penalties recoverable summarily and not exceeding one hundred dollars for breach of any regulation.\n16—Offences\nAn association or person who fails to comply with any requirement of this Act, or does anything prohibited by this Act shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars.\n17—Summary procedure\nProceedings for offences against this Act shall be heard and determined summarily.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tPlease note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.\n\t•\tEarlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.\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 and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n1958\n44\nBenefit Associations Act 1958\n27.11.1958\n1.5.1959 (Gazette 26.3.1959 p647)\n1974\n84\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 1974\n21.11.1974\n21.11.1974\n1992\n69\nStatutes Amendment (Public Actuary) Act 1992\n19.11.1992\n10.12.1992 (Gazette 10.12.1992 p1752)\n1999\n33\nFinancial Sector Reform (South Australia) Act 1999\n17.6.1999\nSch (item 7)—1.7.1999 being the date specified under s 3(16) of the Financial Sector Reform (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1999 of the Commonwealth as the transfer date for the purposes of that Act: s 2(2)\nProvisions amended since 3 February 1976\n\t•\tLegislative history prior to 3 February 1976 appears in marginal notes and footnotes included in the consolidation of this Act contained in Volume 1 of The Public General Acts of South Australia 1837-1975 at page 496.\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\ns 3\n\n\ns 3(1)\namended by 33/1999 Sch (item 7)\n1.7.1999\ns 4\n\n\ns 4(1)\n\n\nactuary\ninserted by 69/1992 s 4(a)\n10.12.1992\nPublic Actuary\ndeleted by 69/1992 s 4(b)\n10.12.1992\ns 5A\ninserted by 69/1992 s 5\n10.12.1992\ns 6\n\n\ns 6(1)\namended by 69/1992 s 6(a)—(c)\n10.12.1992\ns 6(2)\namended by 69/1992 s 6(d)\n10.12.1992\ns 7\n\n\ns 7(1)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(a)\n10.12.1992\ns 7(2)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(b)\n10.12.1992\ns 7(3)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(c)\n10.12.1992\ns 7(4)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(d)\n10.12.1992\ns 7(5)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(e)\n10.12.1992\ns 7(6)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(f)\n10.12.1992\ns 7(7)\namended by 69/1992 s 7(g)\n10.12.1992\ns 8\namended by 69/1992 s 8\n10.12.1992\ns 9\namended by 69/1992 s 9\n10.12.1992\ns 10\n\n\ns 10(1)\namended by 69/1992 s 10(a)\n10.12.1992\ns 10(2)\namended by 69/1992 s 10(b)\n10.12.1992\ns 10(3)\namended by 69/1992 s 10(c)\n10.12.1992\ns 10(4)\namended by 69/1992 s 10(d)\n10.12.1992\ns 11\n\n\ns 11(1)\namended by 69/1992 s 11\n10.12.1992\ns 12\n\n\ns 12(2)\namended by 69/1992 s 12\n10.12.1992\ns 14\n\n\ns 14(1)\namended by 69/1992 s 13(a)\n10.12.1992\ns 14(2)\namended by 69/1992 s 13(b)\n10.12.1992\ns 14A\ninserted by 69/1992 s 14\n10.12.1992\nHistorical versions\nReprint No 1—10.12.1992\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. Amendments (notably in 1992 and 1999) expanded financial and supervisory scope by adding actuarial certification and investment/trustee requirements (s 5A; insertion of 'actuary' in s 4), strengthening reporting and ministerial powers (s 6–12), and adding delegation (s 14A). Exclusions were updated to reflect Commonwealth registration regimes (s 3). These changes broaden regulatory oversight and the State Minister’s control over associations’ finances and communications."},"complexity_factors":["Interaction with Commonwealth registration and exclusions (s 3, s 5) creating cross‑jurisdictional scope","Ministerial investigatory and intervention powers with procedural steps (s 7–12)","Financial controls: trustee/approved fund and investment rules plus actuarial certification (s 5A, s 4 definition of actuary)","Reporting and information‑production duties with short timeframes (s 6, s 7(3), s 12)","Regulation of communications and approval of solicitation material (s 14)","Delegable ministerial powers (s 14A) introducing administrative discretion","Criminal penalties and summary procedure for non‑compliance (s 13, s 16–17)","Amendments over time changing duties and definitions (1992, 1999) increase interpretive complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act regulates organisations that accept contributions in return for medical, hospital, dental, funeral and related benefits. It requires contributions to be held in an approved fund or invested with the Minister’s approval, mandates annual returns and actuarial certification, and gives the Minister power to investigate and order adjustments to contributions, benefits or expenses. Contributors provide the funds; associations bear the compliance costs; the Minister (or a delegate) decides interventions and approves solicitation material. The law changes how associations manage funds, report finances and carry out membership and solicitation activity."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was provided. The submission contains only a website error page from the SA legislation portal, not the text of the Benefit Associations Act 1958."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the source page returned a 404 error","Analysis is impossible without the actual text of the Act","The complexity score of 1 reflects the absence of content to assess, not the simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Content Unavailable\n\nThe legislation you've submitted — the **Benefit Associations Act 1958 (SA)** — could not be analysed because the source URL returned a **'Page Not Found' error** from the South Australian legislation website.\n\nThis appears to have occurred because the link or bookmark used to access this Act was created **before 24 March 2026** and is no longer compatible with the updated SA legislation website.\n\n### What we know from the title alone:\nA 'Benefit Association' typically refers to a **mutual aid or friendly society** — a group where members pool contributions to support each other financially during hardship (e.g., illness, death, unemployment). An Act from **1958** governing such associations is likely to be quite dated and may have been repealed, replaced, or significantly amended since then.\n\n### What you should do:\n- Visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) directly and search for the **Benefit Associations Act 1958**\n- Check whether the Act is still in force or has been repealed\n- Contact the SA Office of Parliamentary Counsel at **OPCWeb@sa.gov.au** if you encounter errors"},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears to have maintained its original scope since 1958. The amendments shown in the legislative history are primarily technical updates (Statute Law Revision Act 1974, replacement of 'Public Actuary' with 'actuary' definition in 1992, and updates to cross-references in 1999). Section 5A was inserted in 1992 to add specific investment requirements, but this represents a tightening of existing financial controls rather than scope expansion. The core purpose — regulating non-exempt benefit associations providing health and funeral benefits — remains unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Moderate cross-referencing to Commonwealth legislation (National Health Act 1953, Life Insurance Act 1945, Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, Insurance Act 1932, Motor Vehicles Act 1959)","Multiple defined terms in section 4 (actuary, association, benefit association, benefit business, director) with some nested definitions","Conditional logic in section 5 restricting medical/hospital benefit business with grandfathering clause (existing operators exempt) plus discretionary Minister exemption","Dual-track procedural mechanism in sections 8-12 for handling financial deficiencies vs surpluses, with specific timeframes for representations (8 weeks)","Delegated legislative power in section 15 allowing regulations for enforcement","Section numbering gaps (no section 2) indicating historical amendments/restructuring","Approximately 16 operative sections plus interpretation section — relatively compact but with some procedural density in investigation and recommendation powers"],"plain_english_summary":"This South Australian law regulates **benefit associations** — organisations that collect money from members (called **contributions**) in exchange for promising to pay for things like hospital stays, medical treatment, dental work, drugs, or funerals.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Benefit associations** operating in South Australia that aren't already covered by other laws (like friendly societies, registered health insurers, life insurance companies, or unions — these are all excluded)\n- **The Minister** (a government official) who oversees these associations\n- **Members and contributors** who pay into these schemes\n\n**What the law does:**\n- **Bans new entrants** from offering medical or hospital benefits unless they were already doing so before 1958 or are registered under Commonwealth health laws\n- **Protects people's money** by requiring contributions to be held in approved trust funds or investments, with an actuary (a financial risk expert) checking that there's enough money to cover promised benefits\n- **Requires financial reporting** — associations must submit annual returns showing income, spending, assets and debts\n- **Gives the Minister strong powers** to:\n  - Investigate associations and examine their books\n  - Force changes if an association is in financial trouble (increase fees, cut benefits, reduce management costs)\n  - Decide what to do with surpluses if an association has too much money\n  - Approve all advertising and fundraising materials to prevent misleading claims\n- **Blocks non-compliant associations** from taking new members or contributions if they ignore the Minister's directions\n- **Prevents false claims** about being government-approved or registered\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law protects consumers who pay into these schemes from losing their money if the organisation becomes insolvent. It ensures associations remain financially sound and can't mislead people about what benefits they'll receive. It's essentially consumer protection for pre-paid health and funeral benefit schemes that fall outside national health insurance or other regulated sectors."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/benefit-associations-act-1958","history":"/api/acts/benefit-associations-act-1958/history","analysis":"/api/acts/benefit-associations-act-1958/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/benefit-associations-act-1958/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/benefit-associations-act-1958/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/benefit-associations-act-1958/documents"}}