{"id":"forestry-pulp-and-paper-companys-afforestation-contracts-act-1949","name":"Forestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act 1949","slug":"forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176442,"registerId":"vic-forestry-pulp-and-paper-companys-afforestation-contracts-act-1949-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Forestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act 1949","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's\nAfforestation Contracts Act 1949\nAct No. 5373/1949\nVersion as at 1 November 1999\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Short title 2\n2. Definitions 3\n3. Application of Act 3\n4. Vesting of real and personal property in the company 4\n5. Issue of stock 4\n6. Stock as set out in Schedule 1 5\n7. Stock as set out in Schedule 2 5\n8. Stock register 6\n9. Stock in name of deceased purchaser 6\n10. Certificate to be evidence 7\n11. Two or more holders 7\n12. Right to transfer stock 7\n13. Registration of transfer 7\n14. Registered holder or joint holders 7\n15. Defaced or lost certificate 8\n16. Receipt by joint holders 8\n17. Payment of dividends 8\n18. Notice of dividend 8\n19. Unclaimed dividends 9\n20. Obligation of Company to cultivate and maintain plantations,\nand harvest mill and market timber 9\n21. Distribution of profits 10\n22. Accounts to be kept 10\n23. Annual profit and loss account 10\n24. Account to be sent to stockholders and filed 11\n25. Conversion by the Company of lands held by stockholders\ninto cash and distribution of proceeds 11\n26. Cancellation of stock certificates 12\n27. Audit of accounts 12\n28. Service of notices 12\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsSection Page\nii\n29. Determination of questions relating to trust created by this\nAct by Supreme Court 12\n30. Stockholder's director to be appointed pending final\ndistribution among stockholders by Company 13\n__________________\nSCHEDULES 15\nSCHEDULE 1 15\nSCHEDULE 2 16\nSCHEDULE 3 17\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 18\n1. General Information 18\n2. Table of Amendments 19\n3. Explanatory Details 20\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's\nAfforestation Contracts Act 1949\nAct No. 5373/1949\nVersion as at 1 November 1999\nAn Act to make provision for Facilitating the Realization of\ncertain Forestry Lands and Plantations and the Produce thereof\nand for matters incidental thereto, and for other purposes.\nPreamble\nWHEREAS the Forestry Pulp and Paper Company\nof Australia Limited incorporated in Victoria and\nhaving its registered office at No. 440 Little\nCollins-street, Melbourne (hereinafter referred to\nas \"the Company\") acquired certain land in the\ndistrict of Dartmoor and situated partly in Victoria\nand partly in South Australia and certain land at\nPittwater and South Bruny Island in Tasmania and\ncertain other land at Flinders in Victoria for the\npurpose of making and maintaining plantations of\ntrees thereon intended to be used for commercial\npurposes:\nAND WHEREAS the company and its\npredecessors in title have from time to time entered\ninto contracts for the sale of subdivisional\nallotments of the said lands to various persons in\nVictoria and elsewhere whereby the respective\nvendors agreed with the respective purchasers to\nestablish plantations of trees thereon and tend and\ncultivate the same and eventually to harvest such\ntrees and realize the same for commercial purposes\nand distribute the net proceeds of such realization\nbetween the respective vendors and the respective\npurchasers in certain proportions set forth in the\nrespective contracts and to transfer under certain\nconditions therein set forth the allotments therein\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n2\ndescribed to the respective purchasers in fee\nsimple:\nAND WHEREAS large areas of the said lands\nhave from time to time been improved and planted\nwith trees pursuant to the said contracts and the\ncompany has erected mills with plant and\nmachinery for the treatment and disposal of the\nproduce of the plantations and has moneys\navailable for distribution pursuant to the said\ncontracts:\nAND WHEREAS the company has acquired by\nassignment all such contracts as were made by its\npredecessor in title and has assumed all the\nobligations of the vendors thereunder:\nAND WHEREAS in some cases the whole of the\npurchase money has been paid by the respective\npurchasers and in other cases part only of the\npurchase money has been paid:\nAND WHEREAS it has become impracticable to\ncarry out the said contracts according to the terms\nand conditions thereof and it is expedient that\nprovision should be made for the modification\nthereof as hereinafter provided:\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the King's Most\nExcellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the\nLegislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria\nin this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of\nthe same as follows (that is to say):\n1. Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Forestry Pulp and\nPaper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949.\ns. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n3\n2. Definitions\nIn this Act unless inconsistent with the context or\nsubject-matter—\n\"Company\" means the Forestry Pulp and Paper\nCompany of Australia Limited;\n\"afforestation contract\" means any existing\nagreement for sale of land made by the\ncompany or its predecessors in title with any\nperson at any time prior to the\ncommencement of this Act whereby the\ncompany or its predecessors agreed to plant\ntend and cultivate trees or plants on the land\nincluded in the agreement and in due course\nto harvest and realize the same for\ncommercial purposes and divide the\nproceeds between the Company and the\npurchaser in the proportions stated in such\nagreement and to transfer to the purchaser\nthe fee simple in the said land;\n\"purchaser\" means a purchaser under an\nafforestation contract, and \"purchase\nmoney\" means the purchase money payable\nby the purchaser under an afforestation\ncontract;\n\"stock\" means a certificate entitling the\nregistered holder thereof to a share in the real\nand personal property held by the Company\nin trust for purchasers under afforestation\ncontracts, and \"stockholder\" means a\nregistered holder of stock.\n3. Application of Act\nThis Act shall apply to all afforestation contracts\nmade by the Company and its predecessors in title\nprior to the commencement of this Act.\ns. 2\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n4\n4. Vesting of real and personal property in the\ncompany\nImmediately upon the commencement of this Act\nand notwithstanding any provision in any\nafforestation contract or in the memorandum or\narticles of association of the Company to the\ncontrary the following real and personal property\nshall be held by the Company in trust for all\npurchasers in manner hereinafter provided—\n(a) all land at any time prior to the\ncommencement of this Act acquired by the\nCompany for afforestation purposes and\nwhether included in any afforestation\ncontract or not except—\n(i) any parcel of land at any time prior to\nthe commencement of this Act\ntransferred or conveyed in fee simple\nby the Company to any purchaser or by\nhis direction;\n(ii) any parcel of land not included in any\nafforestation contract on which\nbuildings or mills are now or hereafter\nerected;\n(b) all moneys and securities for money held by\nthe Company in trust for purchasers at the\ndate of the commencement of this Act; and\n(c) all trees timber and the produce of the trees\nand timber grown upon any land acquired by\nthe Company for afforestation purposes prior\nto the commencement of this Act.\n5. Issue of stock\n(1) The Company shall issue to every purchaser stock\nof the Company equal in amount to the amount of\npurchase money agreed to be paid by the\npurchaser under his contract together with an\nadditional sum equal to a percentage of seven and\ns. 4\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n5\none-half per centum per annum calculated at\nsimple interest on such purchase money from the\nthirty-first day of December in the year in which\nthe contract was made until the thirty-first day of\nDecember, One thousand nine hundred and forty-\none, and the same shall be accepted by the\npurchaser in full satisfaction and discharge of all\nhis right title and interest under his contract\nwithout prejudice to any right which the Company\nmay have under the terms of any such contract to\nenter upon the land comprised therein for the\npurpose of performing its obligations to the\npurchaser as provided in this Act.\n(2) The Company shall not issue stock in respect of\nfractions of a pound but shall issue to every\npurchaser stock for an amount equal to the amount\nascertained as aforesaid to the nearest pound.\n6. Stock as set out in Schedule 1\nTo every purchaser who has prior to the\ncommencement of this Act paid the whole of his\npurchase money the Company shall issue stock in\nthe form set out in the First Schedule to this Act.\n7. Stock as set out in Schedule 2\nTo every purchaser who is indebted to the\nCompany at the date of the commencement of this\nAct in respect of any portion of his purchase\nmoney the Company shall issue stock in the form\nset out in the Second Schedule to this Act, and the\nCompany shall have a first and paramount lien\nupon such stock for all unpaid purchase money\n(without interest) whether the period for payment\nhas actually arrived or not and no equitable\ninterest in any such stock shall be created except\nupon the footing and condition that section\nfourteen hereof is to have full effect and such lien\nshall extend to all dividends from time to time\ndeclared in respect of such stock. Save as\ns. 6\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n6\naforesaid no such purchaser shall be under any\nliability to the Company in respect of any unpaid\npurchase money but any such purchaser shall have\nthe option at any time of paying to the Company\nsuch unpaid purchase money or any part thereof.\nUpon payment or satisfaction of the whole of the\nunpaid purchase money and upon delivery up of\nsuch stock to be cancelled the Company shall\nissue to the purchaser stock in the form set out in\nthe First Schedule to this Act.\n8. Stock register\nThe Company shall from time to time cause the\nnames and last known addresses of stockholders\nwith the amount of stock to which they are\nrespectively entitled to be entered in a register to\nbe kept for the purpose at the registered office of\nthe Company and called \"Register of\nStockholders\" and such register shall be accessible\nat all reasonable times to the several holders of\nstock. The surnames or corporate names of the\nstockholders shall be entered therein in\nalphabetical order.\n9. Stock in name of deceased purchaser\nIf any purchaser (not being a joint purchaser with\nany other) be dead at the date of the issue of stock\nhis name may be entered in the register for such\nstock as it would have been if he had been then\nalive and his executors or administrators may\nupon application to the Company become\nregistered as the holders of such stock as such\nexecutors or administrators.\ns. 8\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n7\n10. Certificate to be evidence\nA certificate shall be admitted in all courts as\nprimâ facie evidence of the title of such\nstockholder his executors administrators or\nassigns to the amount of stock therein specified\nsubject to the conditions appearing thereon.\n11. Two or more holders\nA certificate of stock registered in the names of\ntwo or more persons shall be delivered to the\nperson first named in the register.\n12. Right to transfer stock\nThe several holders of stock may transfer their\nrespective interests therein by an instrument of\ntransfer in the form set forth in the Third Schedule\nto this Act or as near thereto as circumstances will\nadmit.\n13. Registration of transfer\nThe said instrument of transfer (when duly\nexecuted) shall together with the certificate be\ndelivered to the secretary of the Company to be\nkept by him and the secretary shall enter a\nmemorial thereof in a register to be called\n\"Register of Transfers\" and shall endorse such\nentry on the instrument of transfer and shall on\ndemand deliver a new certificate to the purchaser\nand until such transfer has been so delivered to the\nsecretary the purchaser of the stock shall not be\nentitled to receive any dividend declared in\nrespect of the stock.\n14. Registered holder or joint holders\nSave as in this Act otherwise provided the\nCompany shall be entitled to treat the registered\nholder of any stock as the absolute owner thereof\nand in case of the death of any one or more joint\nregistered holders the Company will recognize\ns. 10\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n8\nonly the survivor or survivors as the absolute\nowner or owners thereof and accordingly shall not\nexcept as ordered by a court of competent\njurisdiction be bound to recognize any equitable\nor other claim to or interest in such stock on the\npart of any other person.\n15. Defaced or lost certificate\nIf any certificate be worn out or defaced then upon\nproduction thereof to the directors they may order\nthe same to be cancelled and may issue a new\ncertificate in lieu thereof; and if the directors are\nsatisfied that any certificate has been lost or\ndestroyed then on such indemnity as the directors\ndeem adequate being given a new certificate in\nlieu thereof shall be given to the party entitled to\nsuch lost or destroyed certificate.\n16. Receipt by joint holders\nAny one of several persons who are registered as\nthe joint holders of any stock may give effectual\nreceipts for all dividends and payments on account\nof dividends in respect of such stock.\n17. Payment of dividends\nUnless otherwise directed any dividend may be\npaid by cheque or warrant sent through the post to\nthe registered address of the member or person\nentitled or in the case of joint holders to the\nregistered address of that one whose name stands\nfirst on the register in respect of the joint holders;\nand every cheque or warrant so sent shall be made\npayable to the order of the person to whom it is\nsent.\n18. Notice of dividend\nNotice of the declaration of any dividend shall be\ngiven to the holders of registered stock in manner\nhereinafter provided.\ns. 15\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n9\n19. Unclaimed dividends\nAll dividends unclaimed for one year after having\nbeen declared may be invested or otherwise made\nuse of by the directors for the benefit of all\nregistered stockholders until claimed and all\ndividends unclaimed for six years after having\nbeen declared may be forfeited by the directors for\nthe benefit of the other registered holders of stock.\n20. Obligation of Company to cultivate and maintain\nplantations, and harvest mill and market timber\n(1) The Company at its own expense shall tend\ncultivate and maintain under properly qualified\nsupervision all the plantations now or hereafter\nstanding or growing upon the lands acquired by it\nfor afforestation purposes and take all such\nmeasures and precautions as shall be reasonably\nnecessary or expedient for the protection and\nsafety and cultivation of the plantations. The\nCompany shall pay all municipal or shire rates\nand charges and any land tax payable with respect\nto such lands.\n(2) The Company shall in due course harvest and mill\nthe timber grown on such lands and market and\nrealize the same at such time or times and in such\nmanner as the Company in its discretion thinks\nproper and may in its discretion either erect at its\nown expense any buildings mills plant and\nappliances reasonably required for the purpose or\narrange by contract or otherwise for any\nharvesting milling and marketing to be done upon\nsuch terms and conditions as it thinks fit.\ns. 19\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n10\n21. Distribution of profits\nThe Company shall be entitled to retain for its\nown use twenty per centum of the net profits made\nfrom the marketing and realization of the said\ntimber. \"Net profits\" shall mean the total amount\nrealized after deducting all costs and expenses of\nharvesting milling pulping and marketing the\nproduce but not including any allowance to the\nCompany in respect of buildings mills plant and\nappliances erected by it. Save as aforesaid the net\nprofits made from the marketing and realization of\nthe said timber shall be divisible by way of\ndividend from time to time among all the\nstockholders in proportion to the amount of stock\nheld by them respectively.\n22. Accounts to be kept\nThe Company shall cause true accounts to be kept\nof the sums of money expended by the Company\nin the harvesting milling pulping and marketing of\nthe produce of the said lands and in the realization\nof the same and of all moneys received from such\nrealization and the matters in respect of which\nsuch expenditure and receipt take place and of all\nsales of the said lands and the produce therefrom\nmade by the Company. The books of account shall\nbe kept at the registered office of the Company or\nat such other place or places as the directors of the\nCompany think fit.\n23. Annual profit and loss account\nOnce at least in every year the Company shall\ncause to be prepared a profit and loss account of\nthe matters aforesaid made up to a date not more\nthan six months before the preparation of the same\nfrom the date up to which the last preceding\naccount was made up and in the case of the first\naccount from the date of the passing of this Act.\nSuch account shall disclose the amount available\ns. 21\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n11\nfor dividend among the stockholders. Every such\naccount shall be signed by two directors and\ncountersigned by the secretary. The Company\nshall from time to time pay to stockholders such\ndividends as the profits disclosed by the profit and\nloss account justifies.\n24. Account to be sent to stockholders and filed\nA printed copy of every profit and loss account\nshall be sent to each of the registered holders of\nstock in the manner in which notices are\nhereinafter directed to be served; and a printed\ncopy shall be filed in the office of the Registrar-\nGeneral within twenty-one days after its\npreparation.\n25. Conversion by the Company of lands held by\nstockholders into cash and distribution of proceeds\n(1) The Company may from time to time sell and\nconvert into money the lands held by the\nCompany in trust for stockholders pursuant to this\nAct and shall so sell and convert the same when\nall timber or the produce of timber grown upon\nthe same shall have been harvested milled and\nmarketed as aforesaid.\n(2) The net proceeds of any such land so sold by the\nCompany shall be divisible from time to time\namong all the stockholders in proportion to the\namount of stock held by them respectively and the\nCompany shall pay to each stockholder his due\nproportion thereof.\n(3) When all the property so held by the Company in\ntrust for stockholders has been realized and\nconverted into money the Company shall make a\nfinal distribution of any money held by it in trust\nfor stockholders among the stockholders in\nproportion to the amount of stock held by them\nrespectively.\ns. 24\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n12\n26. Cancellation of stock certificates\nBefore making any such final distribution the\nCompany may require all or any of the stock\ncertificates to be given up to be cancelled and the\nsame shall be given up accordingly.\n27. Audit of accounts\nOnce at least in every year the accounts aforesaid\nshall be examined and the correctness of the profit\nand loss account aforesaid ascertained and\ncertified by a duly qualified auditor to be\nappointed by the Company.\n28. Service of notices\nA notice may be served by the Company upon any\nregistered holder of stock either personally or by\nsending it through the post in a prepaid letter\nenvelope or wrapper addressed to such member at\nhis registered place of address and with respect to\nany stock to which persons are jointly entitled\nnotice to whichever of such persons is named first\nin the register shall be sufficient notice to all the\nholders of such stock.\n29. Determination of questions relating to trust created\nby this Act by Supreme Court\nThe Company, any trustee substituted for it, the\nstockholder's director or any stockholder may at\nany time and from time to time apply to the\nSupreme Court or a Judge thereof for the\ndetermination of any question which may arise in\nrelation to the trust created by this Act and the\nSupreme Court or a Judge thereof may make all\nsuch orders and give all such directions and confer\nsuch powers upon the Company or any trustee\nsubstituted for it as the Court or a Judge thereof\nmay deem necessary or expedient for the purpose\nof carrying out such trust or protecting the rights\nand interests of stockholders. The powers hereby\ns. 26\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n13\nconferred upon the Court or a Judge thereof shall\nbe in addition to and not in substitution for any\npower vested in it or him under the Trustee Act\n1928 or otherwise. The power to appoint a new\ntrustee or trustees in substitution for the Company\nshall be exerciseable only by the Supreme Court\nor a Judge thereof.\n30. Stockholder's director to be appointed pending final\ndistribution among stockholders by Company\n(1) Until the whole of the property so held by the\nCompany in trust for stockholders has been\nrealized and converted into money and the\nproceeds thereof distributed among the\nstockholders a stockholder or other person\nselected and appointed by the Governor in\nCouncil shall be a director of the Company in\naddition to the directors appointed by the\nCompany and shall be called \"the stockholder's\ndirector\".\n(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of the\nmemorandum and articles of association of the\nCompany any person so appointed shall subject to\nthis section hold office as the stockholder's\ndirector until requested to retire by the Governor\nin Council.\n(3) The stockholder's director shall not be required to\nhold any shares in the Company as a qualification\nto be such director.\n(4) The stockholder's director shall be paid by the\nCompany the same remuneration as is payable by\nit to the other directors of the Company (other\nthan the managing director).\n(5) The stockholder's director may at any time by\nnotice in writing to the Company resign his office.\ns. 30\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n14\n(6) As and whenever the person appointed as the\nstockholder's director vacates such office whether\nupon request as aforesaid or by death retirement\nor otherwise the Company shall notify the\nGovernor in Council accordingly and the\nGovernor in Council may appoint another person\nas stockholder's director in his place.\n__________________\ns. 30\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n15\nSCHEDULES\nFIRST SCHEDULE\nTHE FORESTRY PULP AND PAPER COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA\nLIMITED.\nNo.\nThis is to certify that A.B. of is the\nregistered holder of the sum of £ stock (fully paid) of the\nabove-named Company subject to the provisions of the Forestry Pulp and\nPaper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act 1949.\nGiven under the Common Seal of the Company this day\nof 194 .\nThe Common Seal of the Company was\nhereunto affixed in the presence of\n\n\n\n..............................................................\n..............................................................\n\n\n\nDirectors.\n.............................................................. Secretary.\n(Seal of the\nCompany.)\nNOTE—No transfer of the stock comprised in this certificate will be\nregistered until this certificate is delivered up at the Company's office.\n_______________\nSections 6, 7.\nSch. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n16\nSECOND SCHEDULE\nTHE FORESTRY PULP AND PAPER COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA\nLIMITED.\nNo.\nThis is to certify that A.B. of is the\nregistered holder of the sum of £ stock of the above-named\nCompany subject to the provisions of the Forestry Pulp and Paper\nCompany's Afforestation Contracts Act 1949 upon which the sum of £\nis at the date hereof due and owing to the Company.\nDividends payable in respect of such stock may be applied by the Company\npro tanto in satisfaction of the balance of the sum due and owing.\nGiven under the Common Seal of the Company this day\nof 194 .\nThe Common Seal of the Company was\nhereunto affixed in the presence of\n\n\n\n..............................................................\n..............................................................\n\n\n\nDirectors.\n.............................................................. Secretary.\n(Seal of the\nCompany.)\nNOTE.—No transfer of the stock comprised in this certificate will be\nregistered until this certificate is delivered up at the Company's office.\n_______________\nSection 7.\nSch. 2\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n17\nTHIRD SCHEDULE\nTHE FORESTRY PULP AND PAPER COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA\nLIMITED.\nI of\nbeing the registered holder of £ Stock numbered of\nthe Forestry Pulp and Paper Company of Australia Limited in consideration\nof pounds paid to me by\nof hereinafter called \"the transferee\" do\nhereby transfer to the transferee the said stock to hold unto the transferee his\nexecutors administrators and assigns subject to the several conditions on\nwhich I held the same immediately before the execution hereof; and I the\ntransferee do hereby agree to take the said stock subject to the conditions\naforesaid.\nAs witness our hands the day of\nTransferor.\nWitness\nTransferee.\nWitness\n═══════════════\nSection 12.\nSch. 3\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n18\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nThe Forestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949 was assented to on 7 June 1949 and came into operation on 7 June\n1949.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n19\n2. Table of Amendments\nThere are no amendments made to the Forestry Pulp and Paper\nCompany's Afforestation Contracts Act 1949 by Acts and subordinate\ninstruments.\nEndnote\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5373/1949\nForestry Pulp and Paper Company's Afforestation Contracts Act\n1949\n20\n3. Explanatory Details\nNo entries at date of publication.\nEndnote","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This version does not appear to have altered the Act's original scope. The endnotes state there are no amendments recorded; the Act implements a single, self-contained scheme converting pre‑existing afforestation contracts into stock held in trust, with provisions for management, accounting, distribution and dispute resolution. No later expansions or new subject matter are present in this text."},"complexity_factors":["Length: 30 substantive sections plus 3 Schedules (certificate and transfer forms)","Defined terms: several key definitions in s.2 (Company, afforestation contract, purchaser, purchase money, stock, stockholder)","Relatively self-contained mechanics: registers, certificates, transfers, dividends and accounting all prescribed in the Act rather than by cross‑reference","Specific temporal formula for interest calculation (simple interest to 31 Dec 1941) in s.5 — a fixed historical date creates a one‑off calculation requirement","A lien regime on stock for unpaid purchase money (s.7) and interaction with dividends (creates priority and conditionality)","Judicial and external actor involvement: Supreme Court powers (s.29) and Governor in Council appointment of a stockholder's director (s.30) introduce external discretionary decision points","Some cross-reference to other law (Trustee Act 1928 mentioned in s.29) but limited overall."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanics first)\n\n- Converts the company's existing \"afforestation contracts\" into a trust structure: on the Act starting, the Forestry Pulp and Paper Company of Australia Ltd (\"the Company\") holds specific land, trees, mills/plant, money and related assets \"in trust\" for the purchasers under those prior contracts (s.4).  \n\n- Issues \"stock\" (a certificate representing a share) to each purchaser that equals the purchaser's contract purchase money plus a fixed simple interest calculation up to 31 December 1941 (s.5). Fully paid purchasers get one form of stock (First Schedule, s.6); purchasers who still owe money get a stock certificate that bears a first charge (lien) in favour of the Company for unpaid purchase money (s.7).  \n\n- Gives the Company the job of tending and protecting the plantations, paying rates and land tax, harvesting, milling and marketing the timber, and either building mills itself or contracting those activities out (s.20). The Company decides when and how to harvest and market (s.20(2)).  \n\n- Splits the net proceeds from timber sales: the Company keeps 20% of net profits and the remaining net profits are payable as dividends to stockholders pro rata according to their stock (s.21). \"Net profits\" are defined as receipts less harvesting/milling/pulping/marketing costs but exclude an allowance to the Company for the capital cost of buildings, mills and plant (s.21).  \n\n- Requires annual accounts and a profit and loss account showing amounts available for dividend, signed by two directors and the secretary; copies must be sent to stockholders and a printed copy filed with the Registrar‑General (ss.22–24). Accounts are audited at least once a year (s.27).  \n\n- Allows the Company to sell land once timber has been harvested and to distribute net sale proceeds to stockholders proportionally; when all trust property has been converted to money and distributed the Company can require stock certificates to be given up and cancelled (ss.25–26).  \n\n- Provides routine company-administration rules for stock: registers, transfers, lost certificates, dividend notices, unclaimed dividends (including investment/forfeiture rules after one and six years) (ss.8–19, Schs.1–3).  \n\n- Gives the Supreme Court power to resolve questions about the trust, to make orders and, if needed, to substitute a new trustee for the Company (s.29).  \n\n- Requires that, until final distribution, an additional director (the \"stockholder's director\") be appointed by the Governor in Council to represent stockholder interests on the Company's board; that director is paid the same fee as other non‑managing directors and holds office until the Governor in Council requests retirement (s.30).\n\n\nWho this affects\n\n- Purchasers under any afforestation contract entered into by the Company or its predecessors before this Act (defined as \"purchaser\") — they become \"stockholders\" holding stock certificates entitling them to a share of the trust assets or proceeds (s.2, s.5).  \n- The Company — it becomes the trustee of the specified property and retains operational control over cultivation, harvesting, milling and sale (s.4, s.20).  \n- The State (Governor in Council) and the Supreme Court — the Governor appoints the stockholder's director (s.30) and the Supreme Court can make trust and trustee orders (s.29).  \n- Persons with unpaid purchase money — their stock is issued subject to the Company's first and paramount lien for unpaid sums (s.7).\n\n\nWhy it matters (stated purpose and its practical implications)\n\n- Stated purpose: to facilitate realisation of forestry lands, plantations and their produce where original contracts have proved impracticable to perform as originally drafted (preamble). The Act implements that by converting contractual rights into shares in a trust of physical assets and proceeds and by centralising management in the Company (s.4, s.5, s.20–21).  \n\n- Practical implications and trade‑offs:  \n  - Purchasers lose the immediate contractual path to freehold transfer in exchange for a financial interest (stock) in the pooled assets and proceeds; this reduces individual control over timing and method of harvesting and sale because the Company decides those things (s.5, s.20, s.25).  \n  - The Company bears the day‑to‑day costs of cultivation, rates, and harvesting (s.20), but it also keeps a fixed 20% of net profits (s.21) — a concentrated benefit to the Company paid out of the common pool.  \n  - Purchasers who still owe money have limited rights in their stock until the debt is paid because the Company’s lien applies to stock and to dividends (s.7).  \n  - Financial transparency and oversight are required: annual profit & loss accounts, audits and filing are mandated, and the Supreme Court may intervene in trust disputes (ss.22–24, 27, 29).  \n  - State involvement is direct: the Governor in Council appoints a director to the Company to represent stockholders while the trust assets remain (s.30). That is a structural check but the stockholder's director is a state appointee, not elected by purchasers.\n\n\nCosts, incentives and implementation risks (mechanisms, not judgement)\n\n- Who pays: the Company pays cultivation, rates and harvesting costs (s.20). Stockholders collectively bear the economic consequences of timing and market prices because dividends and final distributions depend on net proceeds after those costs (ss.21, 25).  \n- Incentives: the Company has incentive to manage and time harvesting to maximise returns (s.20(2)), but it also receives a fixed 20% share of net profits which privileges the Company relative to stockholders (s.21).  \n- Compliance and administration burdens: mandatory registers, transfer mechanics, annual accounts, audit, and Registrar‑General filing create recordkeeping and reporting obligations for the Company (ss.8, 12–14, 22–24, 27).  \n- Dispute resolution and trustee replacement: stockholders and the Company can go to the Supreme Court for directions or a new trustee appointment (s.29), which imposes judicial‑process risk and potential costs.  \n- Concentrated benefit / diffuse cost mechanism: the text expressly authorises the Company to retain 20% of net profits (s.21) and to exercise business discretion over harvest and marketing (s.20(2)), while stockholders receive pro rata dividends and final proceeds — a clear, source‑supported allocation of returns.  \n\n\nKey sections to look at quickly: s.4 (vesting and trust), s.5–7 (stock issuance and lien), s.20–21 (management and profit split), ss.22–27 (accounts, audit, distribution), s.29 (court powers), s.30 (stockholder's director)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: converting individual afforestation contracts into a collective trust structure for the Forestry Pulp and Paper Company. The scope has not expanded beyond facilitating the realization of forestry lands and plantations for the specific group of pre-1949 purchasers. No subsequent amendments have broadened the application to other companies or forestry schemes."},"complexity_factors":["Straightforward trust structure with clear beneficiary classes (fully paid vs. indebted purchasers)","Only 4 defined terms in section 2 ('Company', 'afforestation contract', 'purchaser', 'stock')","Minimal cross-referencing — most sections operate independently","Simple arithmetic calculations required (7.5% simple interest, 80/20 profit split)","Two-tier stock system (Schedule 1 vs. Schedule 2) creates conditional logic but it's clearly bifurcated","No amendments since 1949 — statute remains in original form without layering of subsequent changes","Standard corporate mechanics (transfer registers, dividends, lost certificates) using familiar 1940s company law concepts","Single purpose legislation — no broad regulatory scheme or delegated powers"],"plain_english_summary":"This 1949 Victorian law was created to fix a mess involving a forestry company and thousands of small investors who bought land for tree plantations.\n\n**What went wrong:**\nThe Forestry Pulp and Paper Company sold small plots of land across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania to ordinary people (\"purchasers\") with a promise: the company would plant trees, look after them, harvest the timber when mature, sell it, and split the profits with the landowner. But by 1949, it became \"impracticable\" to run thousands of individual contracts. The company couldn't manage all these tiny plots separately.\n\n**What this law does:**\nInstead of owning specific plots of land, purchasers get converted into **stockholders** (like shareholders). The law:\n\n- **Cancels the old land contracts** and replaces them with stock certificates\n- **Puts all the land and timber into one big trust pool** held by the company for all investors collectively\n- **Issues stock** worth the original purchase price plus 7.5% simple interest calculated from the contract date up to 31 December 1941\n- **Creates two types of stock:**\n  - *Schedule 1 stock:* For people who paid in full (fully paid up)\n  - *Schedule 2 stock:* For people who still owed money (the company keeps a lien — a legal claim — on this stock until debts are paid)\n\n**How investors get paid:**\n- The company must maintain the plantations, harvest the timber, and sell it\n- Net profits (after costs) are split: **80% to stockholders** (as dividends), **20% kept by the company**\n- Eventually, when all timber is harvested, the land itself is sold and the proceeds distributed\n- Once everything is sold and distributed, the scheme winds up\n\n**Protections for investors:**\n- A government-appointed \"stockholder's director\" sits on the company board to look out for investors' interests until the final payout\n- Annual audited accounts must be sent to all stockholders\n- The Supreme Court can resolve disputes about the trust\n- Stock can be bought and sold (transferred) like company shares\n\n**Who it affects:**\nAnyone who bought land from the Forestry Pulp and Paper Company or its predecessors before 1949 — mostly small investors who thought they were buying timberland but ended up as passive investors in a managed forestry trust instead."},"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":"Based on available information, the Act appears to remain as originally made with no significant amendments. Its scope has always been narrow — confined to afforestation contracts with a specific named company — and there is no indication that scope has broadened or narrowed since enactment."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely narrow and specific subject matter — applies to a single named company and its contracts","Very limited legislative text is available for analysis, making full assessment difficult","Age of the Act (1949) may mean references to entities or legal frameworks no longer in existence","Intersection of contract law and public/government law adds a small layer of complexity","Determining current practical legal effect requires tracing whether the company and contracts still exist"],"plain_english_summary":"This 1949 Victorian Act authorised specific contracts between the government and a named forestry company to plant and manage forests for pulp and paper. It’s a narrow, one‑off statute tied to a particular post‑war commercial project.\n\nToday it’s essentially a historical artefact: technically may still exist on the books, but it affects almost nobody unless you are directly involved with the company or those specific contracts."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949","history":"/api/acts/forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949/history","analysis":"/api/acts/forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/forestry-pulp-and-paper-company-s-afforestation-contracts-act-1949/documents"}}