{"id":"church-of-england-lands-act-1914","name":"Church of England Lands Act 1914","slug":"church-of-england-lands-act-1914","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30150,"registerId":"wa-church-of-england-lands-act-1914-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Church of England 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":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: validating Crown grants to the Anglican Church and enabling the Church to deal with that land. While the names have been updated (Church of England → Anglican Church of Australia), the substantive scope has not expanded beyond land granted to or held for the benefit of this specific religious institution."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 operative sections covering a single, narrow subject matter","Minimal defined terms (only institutional names like 'Perth Diocesan Trustees' and 'Governor')","No nested conditional logic or exceptions to exceptions","Straightforward validation and empowerment provisions with only one substantive procedural requirement (Governor's approval for certain transactions)","Cross-references limited to external statutes (Synod statutes) and one internal forward reference (section 5)","Amendments over time have been limited to name changes reflecting the Church's rebranding from 'Church of England' to 'Anglican Church of Australia'"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law deals with land that was originally granted by the government (the Crown) to the Anglican Church (formerly called the Church of England).\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Validates old land grants**: Confirms that any land given by the government to the Anglican Church in the past is legally valid, even if there were technical problems with how the grants were made.\n- **Lets the Church sell or lease land**: Gives the Perth Diocesan Trustees (the Church's property managers) the power to sell, mortgage, or lease Church land, even if the original grant said the land had to be used only for church purposes.\n- **Protects buyers**: People who buy or lease land from the Church don't have to check if the Church followed all its internal rules properly—they're protected as long as they acted in good faith.\n- **Requires government approval for some deals**: If the Church wants to sell or mortgage land that was originally given for free by the government, or lease it for more than 21 years, the Governor of Western Australia must approve it.\n- **Fixes past mistakes**: Validates any sales or leases the Church made in the past, as long as they were done honestly.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The Anglican Church of Australia (Western Australia diocese)\n- People buying, leasing, or lending money secured against Church land\n- The Western Australian government (which keeps some oversight through the Governor's approval power)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, the Church might be stuck with land it couldn't sell because of old restrictions in the original grants. It also gives certainty to people dealing with the Church—they know their property rights are secure even if the Church made procedural mistakes."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative text was retrievable. The submission contains only a broken-link error page from the Western Australian Parliament's legislation website."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was provided — only a webpage error message","Unable to assess any legal provisions, definitions, obligations, or rights","Complexity score reflects the absence of analysable material, not the underlying Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content could be retrieved.**\n\nThe page for the *Church of England Lands Act 1914* (Western Australia) is no longer accessible at the expected web address. The content of the Act was not returned — only an error message explaining that the page has been removed or relocated due to system upgrades on the Western Australian legislation website.\n\n**What this means for you:** No analysis of the actual law can be provided based on this submission. To find the current text of this Act, try:\n- Visiting the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) directly and searching for the Act by name\n- Contacting the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk as suggested on the error page"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"No substantive change to the Act’s core scope: it continues to validate historical Crown grants and authorise trustee dealings in those lands (ss 2–3, 6). Amendments and reprints update institutional names (notes 2–3, 5) and procedural detail for approval of subdivisions (s 5(2)), but do not expand or curtail the Act’s principal effects."},"complexity_factors":["Broad validation language for past Crown grants (s 2) — wide scope of grants ‘howsoever’ described increases interpretive breadth.","Trustee powers and trust discharge on transfer (s 3(i)) — transfers are to be made ‘freed and absolutely discharged from any trusts’, affecting beneficiaries’ rights.","Subjection to church Synod statutes (s 3) — trustee powers are limited by any Statute of the Synod applicable in the State, creating a layer of internal ecclesiastical law to check.","Protections for purchasers, mortgagees and lessees (s 4) — third parties are relieved from inquiry obligations, shifting risk allocation in property transactions.","Governor approval requirement for certain dispositions (s 5(1)) and alternative compliance for subdivisions by approval endorsed on deposited plans (s 5(2)) — introduces administrative approval and interaction with land registration practice.","Validation of prior good‑faith disposals (s 6) — retroactive confirmation of earlier transactions can affect title history and remedies.","Multiple historical amendments and name substitutions (notes & compilation table) — references to ‘Church of England’ → ‘Anglican Church of Australia’ and trustee name changes complicate textual tracing of original intent and continuity."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act validates past Crown land grants made for the benefit of the Church and gives the Perth Diocesan Trustees power to sell, mortgage or lease those church lands, freeing purchasers and mortgagees from existing trust encumbrances. It protects third parties who buy or take security in good faith, requires the Governor’s approval for certain disposals of lands originally granted without payment, and confirms earlier good‑faith sales and charges."},"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/church-of-england-lands-act-1914","history":"/api/acts/church-of-england-lands-act-1914/history","analysis":"/api/acts/church-of-england-lands-act-1914/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/church-of-england-lands-act-1914/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/church-of-england-lands-act-1914/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/church-of-england-lands-act-1914/documents"}}