{"id":"tas:act-1980-101","name":"Church of England (Rectory of St. James The Apostle) Act 1980","slug":"church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"101 of 1980","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110076,"registerId":"tas-act-1980-101-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Church of England (Rectory of St. James the Apostle) Act 1980](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1980-101) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 2 Interpretation\n\n> In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires –\n> \n> > ***Parish*** means the Parish of St. James the Apostle, New Town, in Tasmania;\n> \n> > ***property*** means the property situated at New Town in Tasmania and known as \"Hildern\";\n> \n> > ***rectory*** means the rectory building on the property;\n> \n> > ***remainder of the property*** means such portion or portions of the property as for the time being remain unsold;\n> \n> > ***testatrix*** means Catherine Agnes Watt deceased;\n> \n> > ***Trustees*** means the Trustees of the Property of the Church of England in Australia in Tasmania, being the persons who are, in the preamble to this Act, referred to as the Trustees.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power to sell","content":"### 3 Power to sell\n\n> > (1)  The Trustees may, with the consent of the Rector and Churchwardens for the time being of the Parish, sell, by public auction or private treaty –\n> > \n> > > > (a) the remainder of the property, including the rectory itself and either as one property or by lots; and\n> > > \n> > > > (b) any new rectory purchased or erected pursuant to [section 5](#GS5@EN) .\n> \n> > (2)  The Trustees may, in addition to all other powers vested in them by law in that behalf, exercise all the powers conferred upon trustees for sale by the [Trustee Act 1898](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1898-034) .","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power to lease","content":"### 4 Power to lease\n\n> The Trustees may, with the consent of the Rector and Churchwardens for the time being of the Parish, lease all or any part of the remainder of the property, with power in such a lease to grant an option of purchase and otherwise to grant such a lease upon such terms and conditions in all respects as they think fit.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation of proceeds of sale","content":"### 5 Appropriation of proceeds of sale\n\n> The Trustees shall apply the net proceeds of the sale of the remainder of the property –\n> \n> > > (a) in purchasing a suitable freehold residence as a new rectory for the priest for the time being attached to the Church of the Parish or in purchasing freehold land and erecting thereon such a residence;\n> > \n> > > (b) in defraying the cost of re-modelling, improving, and repairing such a residence as may be found necessary, expedient, or desirable from time to time; and\n> > \n> > > (c) subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, in investing the balance of those net proceeds of sale in the manner prescribed by [section 13 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-9999-999#GS13@EN) [Church of England Constitution Act 1973](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-9999-999) and in paying and applying the net annual income arising from the investment or investments –\n> > > \n> > > > > (i) firstly, in keeping in repair and replacing the furniture bequeathed by the testatrix and held by the Trustees upon the trusts contained in her will;\n> > > > \n> > > > > (ii) secondly, in augmentation of the income received by the Trustees from the sum of $1 000 set aside by the direction of the testatrix for the purposes declared in her will; and\n> > > > \n> > > > > (iii) thirdly, for such other purposes ancillary and complementary to the purposes referred to in [subparagraphs (i)](#GS5@Hpc@Hqi@EN) and [(ii)](#GS5@Hpc@Hqii@EN) as the Trustees may, in their discretion, consider expedient or necessary to give effect to the desire of the testatrix to provide a furnished house for the use and occupation of the priest in charge of that Church free of expense as far as may be.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power of Trustees to sell surplus furniture","content":"### 6 Power of Trustees to sell surplus furniture\n\n> > (1)  Notwithstanding anything contained in [section 5](#GS5@EN) [(c)](#GS5@Hpc@EN) , upon the purchase or erection of a new rectory, the Trustees may, with the consent of the Rector and Churchwardens for the time being of the Parish, sell, by public auction or private treaty, such items of the furniture bequeathed by the testatrix and held by them as are, in the opinion of the Trustees, surplus to the requirements of the priest in charge of the Church of the Parish.\n> \n> > (2)  The provisions of [section 5](#GS5@EN) apply to the application of the net proceeds of a sale under [subsection (1)](#GS6@Gs1@EN) as they apply to the net proceeds of the sale of the remainder of the property.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Powers in Act in addition to the powers vested in the Trustees by the will of Catherine Agnes Watt","content":"### 7 Powers in Act in addition to the powers vested in the Trustees by the will of Catherine Agnes Watt\n\n> Nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to derogate from or affect the powers conferred upon the Trustees by the will of the testatrix, but the powers and authorities conferred by this Act are in addition to the powers vested in the Trustees by that will.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act expands the Trustees' powers beyond those conferred by the testatrix's will by expressly authorising sale or lease of the property (including the rectory), purchase or erection of a replacement rectory, sale of surplus bequeathed furniture, and specified investment and application of net proceeds; it expressly states these statutory powers are in addition to the will's powers (s3–s7)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, local subject-matter limited to one property and parish (Interpretation, s2)","Consent requirement to act imposes a procedural constraint and local control (s3(1), s4, s6(1))","Discretionary allocation and investment of proceeds with ordered priorities creates multi-step fiduciary duties (s5)","Cross-references to external laws for trustee powers and investment rules (Trustee Act 1898; Church of England Constitution Act 1973, s5(c))","Powers to sell by lots, lease with purchase options, and remodel/erect buildings introduce transactional and project‑management complexity (s3(1)(a), s4, s5(a)-(b))","Statutory augmentation of existing testamentary trusts requires coordination between will-derived powers and new statutory authorities (s7)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets the Church Trustees in Tasmania sell or lease the property called \"Hildern\" (including the rectory) and use the net proceeds to buy or build a new freehold rectory, maintain or replace bequeathed furniture, and invest any remaining funds to produce income. Trustees must obtain the parish Rector’s and Churchwardens’ consent, may sell surplus furniture, and the statute supplements (does not replace) the powers in the testatrix’s will."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a private Act with tightly constrained scope from inception. It addresses one specific property ('Hildern'), one specific parish (St. James the Apostle, New Town), and one specific testatrix (Catherine Agnes Watt). The legislation has not expanded beyond its original purpose; it remains precisely targeted at enabling the Trustees to modernise the management of this particular bequest while maintaining fidelity to the testatrix's core intent of providing furnished housing for the parish priest."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 defined terms in the interpretation section","No cross-references to other Acts beyond two straightforward citations (Trustee Act 1898 and Church of England Constitution Act 1973)","Simple sequential structure (7 sections) with no nested numbering beyond single-level subsections","Clear conditional logic requiring only consent from Rector and Churchwardens for major decisions","Single purpose legislation with no exceptions to exceptions or complex temporal provisions","Straightforward appropriation formula in section 5 with clear priority order (firstly, secondly, thirdly)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act gives special legal powers to church trustees in Tasmania to sell and manage a specific property called \"Hildern\" in New Town, Tasmania. The property was left to the Church of England by a woman named Catherine Agnes Watt (the \"testatrix\") in her will.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **The Trustees** – the people legally responsible for managing church property in Tasmania\n- **The Parish of St. James the Apostle** – the local church community in New Town\n- **The Rector and Churchwardens** – the priest and lay leaders who must give permission for sales or leases\n- **The priest in charge** – who gets to live in the rectory (the priest's house)\n\n**What powers it grants:**\n\n- **Selling property** – The Trustees can sell the remaining land and the rectory building, either together or in pieces, but only with permission from the Rector and Churchwardens\n- **Leasing property** – They can rent out parts of the property, including giving tenants an option to buy later\n- **Buying a new rectory** – Money from sales must first be used to buy or build a new house for the priest\n- **Managing furniture** – They can sell any of Catherine Watt's furniture that isn't needed, with the money going toward maintaining the rest of the furniture and supporting the priest's housing\n- **Investing leftover money** – Any remaining funds get invested, with income used to maintain furniture, supplement a $1,000 fund from Watt's will, and cover other housing-related expenses\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is a **private Act** – legislation written for one specific situation rather than general rules. It solves a practical problem: Catherine Watt left property to the church in 1916, but by 1980 the old rectory may have been unsuitable. Rather than being stuck with outdated property restrictions from her will, the church needed Parliament to grant flexible powers to modernise the arrangement while still respecting Watt's original wishes. The Act lets the church upgrade the priest's housing while preserving the core purpose of her gift."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"There is no indication of scope change. The Act appears to have remained focused on its original narrow purpose — dealing with a specific Church of England rectory property in Tasmania — since its enactment in 1980, with no substantive amendments apparent from the metadata provided."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely narrow and specific subject matter — limited to a single church property","Insufficient legislative text provided to assess detailed provisions or conditions","Likely a short, single-purpose act with minimal operative clauses","Intersects with church property law and trust law, which can add background complexity even if the Act itself is simple"],"plain_english_summary":"This short Tasmanian Act deals solely with the rectory of the St. James the Apostle parish of the Church of England, authorising a property dealing (sale, transfer, mortgage or similar) that ordinary church or trust rules would otherwise prevent. It affects the parish and those managing its property; for the general public it is a narrow, single-purpose law with little practical impact today."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980","history":"/api/acts/church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980/history","analysis":"/api/acts/church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/church-of-england-rectory-of-st-james-the-apostle-act-1980/documents"}}