{"id":"freemasons-property-act-1956","name":"Freemasons' Property Act 1956","slug":"freemasons-property-act-1956","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30644,"registerId":"wa-freemasons-property-act-1956-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Freemasons' Property Act 1956","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nFreemasons’ Property Act 1956\n\nWestern Australia\n\nFreemasons’ Property Act 1956\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Terms used 1\n\n3. Adoption of this Act by Lodges 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 5\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nFreemasons’ Property Act 1956\n\nAn Act to enable the trustees of certain respective bodies of Freemasons to acquire, hold, dispose of, and deal with, property on behalf of the respective bodies.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Freemasons’ Property Act 1956* 1.\n\n##### 2. Terms used\n\nIn this Act unless the context requires otherwise —\n\n  Constituent Lodge means a Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons, constituted, whether before or after the coming into operation of this Act, under the authority of, and owing allegiance to, Grand Lodge;\n\n  Grand Lodge means the body known as The Grand Lodge of Western Australia of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons;\n\n  Lodge means Grand Lodge, or, as the case requires, a Constituent Lodge;\n\n  personal property means property other than real property;\n\n  property means real and personal property of any kind;\n\n  real property means land and estates in land;\n\n  registration authority means an authority authorised by law to record transactions affecting, or relating to, property;\n\n  Trustee means a person appointed to, and occupying at any material time, the office of Trustee of a Lodge, in accordance with the constitution of the Lodge.\n\n##### 3. Adoption of this Act by Lodges\n\n(1) Where a Lodge passes, in accordance with the constitution of the Lodge, a resolution adopting this Act —\n\n(a) the Trustees of the Lodge are, by force of the passing of the resolution, and without the necessity of any other instrument or formality of incorporation, constituted a body corporate —\n\n(i) by such corporate name as is specified in the resolution; and\n\n(ii) with perpetual succession; and\n\n(iii) with a common seal in such form, and to be kept in such custody, as is specified in the resolution; and\n\n(iv) with power, in the corporate name, to acquire, hold, dispose of, and otherwise deal with the property, and any estate or interest in the property, of the Lodge, whether by transfer, conveyance, lease, letting, license, mortgage, assignment, bailment, pledge, bill of sale, or otherwise howsoever, and to sue and be sued, settle or compromise claims and disputes, and enter into submissions to arbitration, in respect of the property; and\n\n(v) with power to authenticate on behalf of the body corporate any document by the affixing of the common seal to the document, and by the attestation by at least 2 of the Trustees that it was so affixed in their presence;\n\nand\n\n(b) property acquired by or on behalf of the Lodge, whether before or after the coming into operation of this Act, and however acquired, whether by purchase, exchange, gift, devise, bequest, or otherwise, is by force of the passing of the resolution adopting this Act, and without the necessity of any transfer, conveyance, or assignment, or other formality, vested in the body corporate, upon such trusts, and for such purposes, and subject to such conditions, as are, from time to time created, prescribed, or imposed, under the constitution of the Lodge, but the vesting so effected does not affect any trust, encumbrance, or other interest, to which the property so vested is subject.\n\n(2) Where a body corporate constituted by a resolution so passed by a Lodge, makes application to a registration authority to record any vesting effected pursuant to subsection (1) —\n\n(a) if the application purports to be authenticated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1)(a)(v), and is in such form and accompanied by such evidence as the registration authority, having regard to any duty imposed upon him by law, approves and is hereby authorised to approve; and\n\n(b) if the fees prescribed by law are paid to the registration authority; and\n\n(c) if the registration authority is authorised by law to do so;\n\nthe registration authority shall record the vesting in accordance with the authorisation conferred upon him by law, but the express reference in this subsection to the specific power in particular to record the vesting, does not by implication exclude or prejudice the exercise by a registration authority of any power in general conferred by law to record any other transaction affecting, or relating to property of a Lodge.\n\n(3) A certificate purporting to be signed respectively by the persons for the time being purporting to occupy, or to act in, the respective offices of Master and Secretary of a Lodge, and stating —\n\n(a) that the Lodge has passed, in accordance with the constitution of the Lodge a resolution adopting this Act; and\n\n(b) the name of the body corporate referred to in subsection (1)(a)(i); and\n\n(c) that a document referred to and identified in the certificate has been authenticated by the body corporate in the manner referred to in subsection (1)(a)(v); and\n\n(d) that the respective signatures on the certificate are those of the respective persons occupying, or acting in, the respective offices of Master, and Secretary, of the Lodge;\n\nis prima facie evidence of any of the matters so stated, and may be accepted and acted upon as such by any person or authority exercising any power, jurisdiction, or function, according to law.\n\n(4) A person proposing a transaction with a body corporate so constituted by a resolution so passed by a Lodge, is not required to ascertain if the transaction proposed would, if carried into effect, constitute a breach of trust, or as to the application of any consideration passing to the body corporate in connection with the transaction.\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This reprint is a compilation as at 15 January 2016 of the *Freemasons’ Property Act 1956*. The following table contains information about that Act. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Freemasons’ Property Act 1956* | 53 of 1956   (5 Eliz. II No. 53) | 27 Dec 1956 | 27 Dec 1956 |\n| **Reprint of the *Freemasons’ Property Act 1956* as at 25 Feb 2000** | | | |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Freemasons’ Property Act 1956* as at 15 Jan 2016** | | | |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nConstituent Lodge 2\n\nGrand Lodge 2\n\nLodge 2\n\npersonal property 2\n\nproperty 2\n\nreal property 2\n\nregistration authority 2\n\nTrustee 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed — the full legislative text was not retrievable. No analysis of amendments or scope drift is possible from the available content."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient legislative text available to conduct a meaningful complexity assessment","Based on title alone, property-holding Acts for organisations are typically narrow and technical but not broadly complex","1956 vintage legislation may use archaic drafting conventions that add minor complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Freemasons' Property Act 1956 (WA) is a Western Australian law (text currently unavailable) that—by its title—governs how Freemason lodges may hold, manage and transfer property in WA. It primarily affects lodge members and officers responsible for owning, administering or disposing of buildings, land and related assets, clarifying collective ownership and administrative arrangements."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: enabling Freemasons' lodges to hold property as corporate bodies. The 2016 reprint shows no expansion beyond the 1956 scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections (Short title, Terms used, Adoption by Lodges)","8 defined terms, all straightforward (e.g., 'real property' = land, 'personal property' = everything else)","Single mechanism (resolution adoption) with clear procedural steps","No cross-references to other Acts or complex conditional logic","Subsection (1)(a) contains a nested list but follows logical sequence (name, succession, seal, powers, authentication)","No exceptions to exceptions or intricate deeming provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law lets Freemasons' lodges in Western Australia hold property as a legal entity.\n\n**What it does:**\nNormally, unincorporated groups (like clubs or societies) can't own property in their own name — they need trustees to hold it for them. This Act solves that problem for Freemasons' lodges by allowing them to become a 'body corporate' (a legal entity, like a company) simply by passing a resolution.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Grand Lodge of Western Australia** — the governing body of Freemasons in the state\n- **Constituent Lodges** — individual local Freemasons' lodges that belong to the Grand Lodge\n- **Trustees** — the officers appointed to manage lodge property\n\n**How it works:**\n- A lodge passes a resolution to adopt this Act\n- Immediately, the trustees become a body corporate with a legal name, a common seal (official stamp), and the power to buy, sell, lease, mortgage, or otherwise deal with property\n- Any property the lodge already owns automatically transfers to this new legal entity without needing paperwork\n- The corporate body can sue and be sued, enter contracts, and settle disputes\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, every time property changed hands or trustees changed, lodges would need complicated legal documents. This simplifies property ownership for Freemasons, letting them manage halls, temples, and investments more easily while keeping their traditional governance structure."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The supplied text is the Act as enacted and reprinted; it establishes the limited scope described (corporatisation by lodge resolution, automatic vesting, registration procedure, evidentiary certificate, and protection for bona fide third parties). The compilation and reprint notes show no amendments in the provided material that expand or narrow the Act’s original scope."},"complexity_factors":["Automatic vesting of property on passage of a lodge resolution (s 3(1)(b)) reduces transactional formality but requires clarity about what property is covered.","Creation of a body corporate by resolution with specified corporate name, seal and powers (s 3(1)(a)) is simple in principle but depends on each Lodge’s constitution for internal rules.","Registration depends on approval of evidence and payment of fees and requires the registration authority to be lawfully empowered to record the vesting (s 3(2)(a)–(c)), introducing administrative discretion.","Prima facie evidentiary weight given to a certificate signed by the Master and Secretary (s 3(3)) lowers proof burdens for third parties but raises reliance risk on internal officers’ signatures.","Protection for persons transacting with the body corporate who need not inquire into potential breaches of trust (s 3(4)) shifts risk away from third parties and onto lodge beneficiaries/trustees.","Definitions (s 2) frame scope (e.g. Trustee, Lodge, property), so interpretation depends on those terms and the Lodge constitution.","Vesting does not override existing trusts, encumbrances or interests (s 3(1)(b) proviso), creating layered property rights that may require reconciliation."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act allows the trustees of a Freemasons’ Lodge to become a corporate body when the Lodge passes a resolution under its constitution, so the trustees can acquire, hold, dispose of and deal with lodge property in the corporate name. It automatically vests property in that body corporate, permits registration of the vesting, and protects third parties who transact with the body from having to investigate breaches of trust. The Lodge decides by resolution; trustees exercise the corporate powers; registration requires prescribed evidence and fees."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/freemasons-property-act-1956","history":"/api/acts/freemasons-property-act-1956/history","analysis":"/api/acts/freemasons-property-act-1956/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/freemasons-property-act-1956/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/freemasons-property-act-1956/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/freemasons-property-act-1956/documents"}}