{"id":"constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984","name":"Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984","slug":"constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":174007,"registerId":"vic-constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984**\n\n**No. 10125 of 1984**\n\nVersion as at  \n8 August 2012\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Section Page*\n\n1 Short title 1\n\n2 Commencement 1\n\n3 Interpretation 1\n\n4 Filling of certain vacancies in Ballarat, Boronia, Monash and Western provinces 2\n\n5 Certain provisions not to apply to certain vacancies 3\n\n═══════════════\n\nENDNOTES 4\n\n1. General Information 4\n\n2. Table of Amendments 5\n\n3. Explanatory Details 6\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984**\n\n**No. 10125 of 1984**\n\nVersion as at  \n8 August 2012\n\nAn Act to provide for the filling of places of members of the Legislative Council for the provinces named Ballarat, Boronia, Monash or Western whose seats fall vacant in certain circumstances and for other purposes.\n\n**BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):**\n\n\t1 Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the **Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984**.\n\n\t2 Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on 1 January 1985.\n\n\t3 Interpretation\n\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n***Assembly*** means Legislative Assembly of Victoria;\n\n***Council*** means Legislative Council of Victoria.\n\n(2) In this Act—\n\n(a) a reference to an old province is a reference to an electoral province of the Council named Ballarat, Boronia, Monash or Western, the name and boundaries of which were declared by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette on 30 July 1975; and\n\n(b) a reference to a new province is a reference to an electoral province of the Council named Ballarat, Boronia, Monash or Western, the name and boundaries of which were published in the Government Gazette on 13 April 1984.\n\n(3) For the purposes of this Act a new province corresponds to an old province if it bears the same name as the old province.\n\ns. 4\n\n\t4 Filling of certain vacancies in Ballarat, Boronia, Monash and Western provinces\n\nWhere a member of the Council who holds a seat at the commencement of this Act for an old province and whose entitlement to hold the seat expires on 14 July 1985 resigns the seat for the purpose of seeking election for the Assembly at a simultaneous election of the Council and the Assembly held before that date, the member elected at that election for the new province that corresponds to that old province and whose entitlement to the seat for that new province commences on 15 July 1985—\n\n(a) shall be deemed to have been elected at an election to fill the place of the first-mentioned member for the old province and to be entitled to hold the seat for the old province during the unexpired portion of the period for which the first-mentioned member was elected; and\n\n(b) shall, for the purposes of section 6 of the **Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act 1968**, be entitled to payment under that section from and including the day appointed for taking the poll at that election.\n\n\t5 Certain provisions not to apply to certain vacancies\n\ns. 5\n\nWhere a vacancy in the place of a member of the Council for an old province named Ballarat, Boronia, Monash or Western occurs before 14 July 1985 by reason of the resignation of the member for the purpose of seeking election for the Assembly before that date, being a member whose entitlement to hold the seat expires on that date—\n\n(a) section 149(3) of **The Constitution Act Amendment Act 1958**; and\n\n(b) section 16(2) of the **Electoral Commission Act 1982**—\n\ndo not apply in respect of that vacancy.\n\n ═══════════════\n\nENDNOTES\n\nEndnotes\n\n1. General Information\n\n\nThe **Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984** was assented to on 7 November 1984 and came into operation on 1 January 1985: section 2.\n\n1. Table of Amendments\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nThere are no amendments made to the **Constitution (Council Vacancies) Act 1984** by Acts and subordinate instruments.\n\n1. Explanatory Details\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nNo entries at date of publication.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient text was provided to assess whether the scope of the Act changed from its original intent. The document contains only version history metadata and no substantive legislative provisions."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient legislative text provided — only metadata and version history were included, preventing full analysis","Constitutional amendment legislation typically involves interaction with multiple other Acts","Parliamentary vacancy procedures can involve nuanced eligibility and nomination rules","As a 1984 Act, it may reference superseded procedural frameworks"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act sets out how vacancies in Victoria’s Legislative Council are filled, specifying the procedures and eligibility for replacing a member when a seat becomes vacant. It affects Council members, the political parties holding those seats, and voters whose representation depends on timely replacements. The law matters because it preserves continuous representation and the functioning of the upper house when members die, resign, or are disqualified."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"No. The Act is a narrowly confined transitional measure that prescribes how specific vacancies are to be filled and suspends certain statutory rules for resignations occurring before 14 July 1985 in the four named provinces. The text limits effect to those precise conditions and dates and the endnotes record no subsequent amendments."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow temporal scope: applies only to vacancies arising before 14 July 1985.","Limited territorial scope: only four named provinces (Ballarat, Boronia, Monash, Western).","Conditional trigger: applies only where the member resigns specifically to seek election to the Assembly at a simultaneous election.","Deeming mechanism: treats the new‑province winner as filling the old‑province vacancy for the unexpired term (s4), which alters normal vacancy mechanics.","Cross‑references and interaction with other statutes: ties to Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act 1968 (s6) and disapplies provisions of the Constitution Act Amendment Act 1958 (s149(3)) and the Electoral Commission Act 1982 (s16(2)) (s5).","Definitions/translation step: distinguishes 'old' and 'new' provinces and requires mapping between them (s3), adding an interpretive step."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a narrow transitional rule for four Legislative Council provinces (Ballarat, Boronia, Monash and Western). If a Council member whose term ended 14 July 1985 resigns to contest the Legislative Assembly at a simultaneous election before that date, the person elected for the correspondingly‑named new province is treated as having filled the old vacancy and is entitled to salary/superannuation benefits from polling day. The Act also disapplies two statutory vacancy rules for such resignations and operates only for the precise conditions and dates stated."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose. It was always intended as a transitional fix for the 1985 Victorian state election following electoral boundary changes. The Act has not expanded beyond its original narrow purpose of managing the handover of seats in four specific provinces during a specific six-month period in 1985."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 operative sections (1-5), with sections 1-3 being standard machinery provisions (short title, commencement, interpretation)","Just 2 defined terms in the interpretation section (Assembly, Council)","Two additional defined concepts (old province, new province) with specific Gazette date references","Single conditional scenario addressed: resignation before 14 July 1985 for purpose of seeking Assembly election","Only 2 cross-references to other Acts (Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act 1968 and Constitution Act Amendment Act 1958)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Highly specific temporal and geographical scope (four named provinces, specific dates in 1984-1985)","Legislation is essentially spent (transitional provision for 1985 election now historical)"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short, technical law from Victoria that fixed a specific problem with state elections in 1985.\n\n**What it does:**\nIn 1984, Victoria redrew the boundaries for four electoral provinces (Ballarat, Boronia, Monash, and Western) in the Legislative Council (the upper house of the Victorian Parliament). Normally, when boundaries change, sitting members keep their seats until their terms expire. However, this created a timing problem: some members' terms were ending on 14 July 1985, but elections were being held earlier in 1985.\n\nThis Act allowed a smooth handover. If a sitting member from an \"old province\" resigned early to run for the Legislative Assembly (the lower house) at the 1985 election, the person elected to replace them in the \"new province\" would:\n- **Immediately fill the old seat** for the remaining months until July 1985 (rather than leaving it empty)\n- **Get paid from election day** rather than waiting until July\n\n**Who it affects:**\nOnly four specific provinces in the Victorian Legislative Council, and only for a brief period in 1985. It was a transitional fix for a boundary redrawing.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, there would have been gaps in representation or confusion about who was entitled to sit in Parliament during the transition period. It ensured continuous representation and proper pay for incoming members during a one-off electoral boundary change."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984","history":"/api/acts/constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984/history","analysis":"/api/acts/constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/constitution-council-vacancies-act-1984/documents"}}