{"id":"law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962","name":"Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962","slug":"law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30748,"registerId":"wa-law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLaw Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLaw Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Statute of Frauds 1677 s. 4 applies in amended form 1\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 2\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nLaw Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962\n\nAn Act relating to the Statute of Frauds 1677 2.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962* 1.\n\n##### 2. Statute of Frauds 1677 s. 4 applies in amended form\n\nThe provisions of section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 2, continue in force in this State in relation to any promise or agreement, whether made before or after the coming into operation of this Act, as if the following passages were deleted from that section, namely —\n\n(a) “whereby to charge any executor or administrator upon any special promise to answer damages out of his own estate; or”; and\n\n(b) “or to charge any person upon any agreement made upon consideration of marriage”; and\n\n(c) “or upon any agreement that is not to be performed within the space of one year from the making thereof”.\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962.* The following table also contains information about that Act and any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962* | 16 of 1962 (11 Eliz II No. 16) | 1 Oct 1962 | 1 Oct 1962 |\n| **Reprint of the *Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962* as at 12 Jul 2002** | | | |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962* as at 6 Nov 2015** | | | |\n\n\n2 Statute of Frauds 1677 (UK) (29 Charles II, chapter 3). The short title “The Statute of Frauds” was given to the UK Act by the *Short Titles Act 1892* (UK).\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope change cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available for review. The complexity score reflects the absence of content rather than the Act's actual complexity, which may be significantly higher."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source page returned a 404-style error, making substantive analysis impossible","Assessment is based solely on the Act's title and general historical knowledge of Statute of Frauds reform legislation","The underlying legal concept (Statute of Frauds) is itself moderately complex, involving contract formality requirements with historical common law roots","Without the actual provisions, interaction with other WA legislation cannot be assessed"],"plain_english_summary":"## Law Reform (Statute of Frauds) Act 1962 (WA)\n\n**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe actual text of this Western Australian legislation could not be retrieved — the source page is no longer available on the WA legislation website.\n\n**What we can tell you from the title alone:**\n\nThis Act relates to reforming the *Statute of Frauds* — a centuries-old legal principle (originating in England in 1677) that requires certain types of contracts and agreements to be **in writing** to be legally enforceable. These typically include:\n- Contracts for the sale of land or property\n- Guarantees (where one person promises to pay another's debt)\n- Certain other significant agreements\n\nA 'Law Reform' Act in this context likely **modified, repealed, or updated** how those old writing requirements apply in Western Australia — potentially making some oral (spoken) agreements easier to enforce, or clarifying which contracts still need to be in writing.\n\n**Who might be affected:** Property buyers and sellers, people acting as guarantors on loans, and anyone entering significant contracts in Western Australia.\n\n**⚠️ Important:** Because the full text is unavailable, this summary is based on the Act's title and historical context only. Do not rely on this for legal decisions — consult the [Parliamentary Counsel's Office](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) directly or seek legal advice."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act narrows the writing/formality requirement contained in section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 as applied in Western Australia by deleting three specified phrases (s2). Concretely, that removes three categories from the s4 written-contract rule (executor/administrator promises; agreements on consideration of marriage; agreements not performable within one year) and thus expands enforceability of oral promises in those categories; the provision applies to promises made before or after commencement (s2)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference to historic UK statute (Statute of Frauds 1677 s4) requires reading, not just the short Act (s2).","Amendment operates by textual deletion rather than standalone restatement, increasing interpretive work to see the new scope (s2).","Retroactive wording — applies to promises made before or after commencement — raises evidence and limitation-period issues.","Narrow subject-matter but wide practical impact on enforceability, shifting disputes from formal-document review to factual proof of oral terms.","Potential interactions with other local statutes and common law rules on guarantees, marriage settlements and long-term contracts that are not addressed in the short text."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act amends how section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 operates in Western Australia (s2). It removes three phrases so that promises by executors or administrators, agreements made in consideration of marriage, and agreements not performable within one year are no longer caught by that statute’s statutory writing rule. Affected parties (executors, marrying parties, long-term contracting parties) may now enforce some oral promises; the practical effect is a higher evidentiary burden on parties and a greater risk of disputes and litigation."},"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: reforming the writing requirements of the Statute of Frauds 1677. It has not expanded beyond this narrow law reform objective since its enactment in 1962."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute (only 2 sections, approximately 150 words of substantive law)","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation (except the historical reference to the UK Statute of Frauds 1677)","Simple, single-purpose amendment structure (three deletions from an existing text)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or administrative machinery","Operates by reference to an external historical statute rather than restating the law in full"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act modernises a very old English law (from 1677!) that applies in Western Australia. The original *Statute of Frauds* required certain types of promises and agreements to be written down and signed to be legally enforceable. This was meant to prevent fraud—stopping people from falsely claiming someone promised them something.\n\n**What changes it makes:**\n\nThe 1962 Act keeps the old law in force but **removes three specific requirements** that certain agreements be in writing:\n\n*   **Executor promises** — Previously, if an executor (the person managing a deceased person's estate) promised to pay debts from their own pocket, that had to be in writing. Now it doesn't.\n*   **Marriage agreements** — Previously, agreements made \"in consideration of marriage\" (basically, pre-nuptial style arrangements or promises made to induce someone to marry) had to be written. Now they don't.\n*   **Agreements taking more than a year** — Previously, any contract that couldn't be completed within one year had to be in writing. Now oral agreements are fine, no matter how long they take to perform.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nAnyone making contracts in Western Australia—particularly people dealing with estates, marriage-related financial arrangements, or long-term contracts.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nIt makes it easier to form binding agreements by reducing unnecessary paperwork requirements. The law recognises that requiring written evidence for these specific situations was overly burdensome and didn't actually prevent fraud effectively. However, **one important writing requirement remains**: contracts for the sale of land or interests in land still need to be in writing (this wasn't removed)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962","history":"/api/acts/law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962/history","analysis":"/api/acts/law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/law-reform-statute-of-frauds-act-1962/documents"}}