{"id":"nsw:act-1902-070","name":"Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act 1902","slug":"grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"70 of 1902","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":112107,"registerId":"nsw-act-1902-070-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act","content":"#### 1 Name of Act\n\n1 Name of Act\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act 1902](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1902-070).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Repeal","content":"#### 2 Repeal\n\n2 Repeal\n\n> The [Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act of 1862](/view/pdf/asmade/act-1862-29a) is hereby repealed.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Grants for public worship prohibited","content":"#### 3 Grants for public worship prohibited\n\n3 Grants for public worship prohibited\n\n> No stipend or allowance whatever shall be paid out of public moneys to any minister of religion:\n> \n> Provided that:\n> \n> > (a) every minister of religion who at the passing of this Act is in receipt of any yearly stipend or allowance paid out of any public fund or moneys shall, so long as he or she officiates as such minister under lawful authority in New South Wales, continue to receive such stipend or allowance,\n> \n> > (b) nothing herein shall prejudice the claim of any minister of religion to receive a stipend as chaplain of a gaol or other penal establishment.","sortOrder":2}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on available information, the Act appears to have maintained its original narrow scope since 1902. The version current from 15 June 1995 suggests only minor administrative or housekeeping amendments have occurred over its life, with no indication that the core prohibition has been expanded or contracted from its original intent to stop government funding of religious worship."},"complexity_factors":["The Act has a single, narrow and clear purpose evident from its title — prohibiting government grants for public worship","It is an extremely old and brief piece of legislation with minimal moving parts","The full operative text was not provided, preventing assessment of any nuanced exceptions or definitions","There may be some conceptual complexity in determining what constitutes 'public worship' versus other religious activities, but this is unlikely to be extensive given the era of drafting","Limited interaction with other legislation is expected given its narrow scope"],"plain_english_summary":"## Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act 1902 (NSW)\n\n**What this law does:**\nThis is a very old NSW law — over 120 years old — that, based on its title, **prohibits the government from making grants (financial payments or land allocations) for the purpose of public worship**. In other words, it stops the New South Wales government from directly funding religious organisations or churches for worship activities using public money.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law reflects a fundamental principle of the separation of church and state — the idea that taxpayer money should not be used to support or favour religious worship. It was part of a broader move in the early colonial and post-Federation era to disentangle government finances from religious institutions, which had previously received direct state support.\n\n**Who does it affect?**\n- **Religious organisations and churches** — they cannot receive direct government grants specifically for public worship purposes\n- **Government bodies** — they are prohibited from making such grants\n- **Taxpayers generally** — they are protected from their money being used to fund religious worship\n\n**Important caveat:**\nUnfortunately, the actual text of the Act's operative provisions (the sections that spell out exactly what is prohibited and any exceptions) was not included in the provided document — only the metadata and status information was available. The full detail of the law's reach, any exceptions, and precise definitions cannot be confirmed without the full text.\n\n**Current status:** Still technically in force as of the version current since 15 June 1995, though it is a very brief, narrow piece of legislation from the early Federation period."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act replaces prior law by repealing the Grants for Public Worship Act of 1862 (s.2) and institutes a clear prohibition on paying stipends or allowances to ministers of religion from public funds, subject only to a grandfathering provision for existing public recipients (s.3(a)) and an explicit exception for penal‑institution chaplains (s.3(b)). Mechanically, this changes who may receive public payments: it prevents new public stipend arrangements for ministers generally while preserving specified existing payments and chaplain stipends."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single substantive prohibition with two explicit exceptions (low textual complexity) (s.3).","No statutory definitions for key terms such as \"minister of religion\", \"lawful authority\", or precise scope of \"stipend or allowance\", creating interpretive ambiguity and administrative discretion (s.3).","Transitional/grandfathering rule requires administrative identification of existing recipients and monitoring of their continuing eligibility (s.3(a)).","Preservation of chaplain stipends creates a specific carve‑out that requires agencies to distinguish between ordinary ministers and penal‑institution chaplains (s.3(b)).","Repeal of an earlier Act (s.2) means comparison with prior law may be needed for historical cases or ongoing obligations, adding minor legal-historical complexity (s.2)."],"plain_english_summary":"What the law changes (mechanically)\n\n- The Act repeals an earlier law from 1862 (s.2).  \n- It forbids the payment of any stipend or allowance out of public money to a minister of religion (s.3).  \n- Two exceptions are carved out in the same section: (a) any minister already receiving a yearly stipend or allowance from public funds at the time the Act is passed continues to receive that payment while they continue to officiate under lawful authority in New South Wales (s.3(a)); and (b) the Act does not affect a minister’s claim to a stipend as a gaol (prison) or other penal establishment chaplain (s.3(b)).\n\nWho this affects and who pays\n\n- Government/public authorities: after the Act takes effect they must not pay stipends or allowances from public funds to ministers of religion generally (s.3).  \n- Ministers of religion: newly appointed or newly funded ministers cannot receive public stipends; ministers already receiving public stipends at the time of passage are allowed to keep them while they continue officiating under lawful authority in NSW (s.3(a)).  \n- Chaplains in gaols or penal establishments: may still be paid a stipend out of public funds (s.3(b)).\n\nWhy it matters (stated purpose and practical effects)\n\n- Stated effect: the statute removes public funding for the ordinary stipends or allowances of ministers of religion (s.3). The repeal of the 1862 Act (s.2) is a mechanical step to replace prior law on the same subject.  \n\n- Practical consequence: public entities that previously made such payments must stop doing so for new recipients and must manage the transition for existing recipients who are grandfathered (s.3(a)). Chaplaincy payments are preserved (s.3(b)).\n\nIncentives, trade-offs and costs (mechanics, not judgments)\n\n- Who bears the cost: after the prohibition, future stipends for ministers must be borne by non‑public sources (private congregations, donors, religious organisations), except for chaplains who remain eligible for public payment (s.3(b)). Ministers already receiving public stipends continue to be paid from public funds while they meet the condition in s.3(a).  \n\n- Opportunity cost: public funds formerly used for stipends may be available for other public uses; those are alternative uses decided by public budget-makers (s.3).  \n\n- Effects on contracts and procurement: the ban restricts the government’s ability to enter into new payment arrangements with ministers of religion for their ordinary ministerial roles (s.3). Contracts for chaplains of penal institutions are not affected (s.3(b)).\n\nImplementation risks, discretion and compliance burdens\n\n- Definitions and administrative discretion: the Act does not define ‘‘minister of religion’’, ‘‘lawful authority’’, or the precise scope of ‘‘stipend or allowance’’. That absence creates a need for administrative interpretation and potential discretion by agencies tasked with compliance (s.3).  \n\n- Transition management: public payers must identify which ministers qualify for the grandfathering in s.3(a) and stop payments to others; that identification process is an implementation task and compliance burden for payroll and finance units (s.3(a), s.3).  \n\n- Enforcement and contestable claims: because s.3(b) preserves claims for chaplains of gaols and penal establishments, agencies will need procedures to assess and pay legitimate chaplain claims while avoiding improper payments to other ministers (s.3(b)).\n\nEffects on private choice, markets and speech (analytic lens)\n\n- Private funding reliance: by cutting off new public stipends, the law shifts financial responsibility for ordinary ministerial services onto private actors (congregations, donors, religious organisations), which may alter choices about hiring, pay levels, or the mix of paid versus volunteer ministry (s.3).  \n\n- Competition and service provision: the restriction narrows the set of actors the public sector can directly fund for religious ministry; however, the Act leaves public funding for penal chaplaincy intact, preserving government-funded religious services in that specific public setting (s.3(b)).  \n\n- Speech and religious exercise: the statute controls the flow of public money but does not on its face regulate what ministers may preach or believe. It does, however, affect the financial support available from the public purse for ministerial activity (s.3). \n\nConcrete mechanics to watch (implementation checklist)\n\n- Identify all ministers currently receiving public stipends at the date of passage to apply the s.3(a) grandfathering.  \n- Cease new public stipend payments to ministers other than penal chaplains (s.3, s.3(b)).  \n- Establish administrative guidance on the definitions of ‘‘minister of religion’’, ‘‘lawful authority’’ and the boundaries of ‘‘stipend or allowance’’ to reduce discretionary uncertainty (s.3)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: prohibiting state funding of religious worship while preserving specific existing entitlements. The 1902 version appears to be a straightforward re-enactment/update of the 1862 Act it replaces, with identical scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 3 operative sections","No defined terms section","Minimal cross-referencing (only mentions the repealed 1862 Act)","Simple conditional logic: general prohibition with two straightforward exceptions in a single proviso","No nested definitions or sub-delegations of legislative power"],"plain_english_summary":"This law bans the government from paying salaries or allowances to religious ministers using public money. However, it includes two important exceptions:\n\n- **Grandfathering clause**: Any minister already receiving government pay when this law passed can keep receiving it for as long as they continue working as a minister in New South Wales.\n- **Prison chaplains**: Ministers working as chaplains in jails or other prisons can still be paid from public funds.\n\nThe law also repeals (cancels) an earlier 1862 law with the same name, replacing it with this updated version.\n\n**Why it matters**: This reflects the principle of **separation of church and state** — the idea that government shouldn't fund religious activities. The exceptions show practical compromises: not stripping existing entitlements from current ministers, and recognizing that prisons need chaplains for rehabilitation and welfare purposes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902","history":"/api/acts/grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902/history","analysis":"/api/acts/grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/grants-for-public-worship-prohibition-act-1902/documents"}}