{"id":"old-colonists-association-act-1947","name":"Old Colonists' Association Act 1947","slug":"old-colonists-association-act-1947","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":175129,"registerId":"vic-old-colonists-association-act-1947-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Old Colonists' Association Act 1947","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\nAct No. 5214/1947\nVersion incorporating amendments as at 8 August 2000\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Short title construction and citation 2\n2. Modification of application of future donations etc. 2\n3. Consequential repeal of Act 3\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 4\n1. General Information 4\n2. Table of Amendments 5\n3. Explanatory Details 6\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\nAct No. 5214/1947\nVersion incorporating amendments as at 8 August 2000\nAn Act relating to the Funds of the Old Colonists' Association of\nVictoria.\nPreamble\nWHEREAS by section one of an Act passed in the\nforty-sixth year of the reign of Her late Majesty\nQueen Victoria intituled \"An Act to establish and\nregulate a Permanent Fund in connexion with the\nOld Colonists' Association of Victoria\"1 as\nmodified by the Old Colonists' Association Act\n1938 there was established by law and rendered\nindefeasible and vested in the trustees for the time\nbeing of the Old Colonists' Association of Victoria\n(hereinafter called \"the Association\") a permanent\nfund consisting inter alia initially of the whole, and\nfrom the thirty-first day of October One thousand\nnine hundred and thirty-eight three-quarters, of all\ndonations and bequests not otherwise specially\ndirected by the donors thereof to be applied:\nAND WHEREAS by section two of the first-\nmentioned Act2 it is provided that except for the\ninterest arising therefrom such permanent fund\nmay not be appropriated in payment of any of the\nobjects of the Association as set forth in the\npreamble to the said Act:\nAND WHEREAS the interest arising from such\npermanent fund and such other moneys (not being\npart of such permanent fund) as are available for\ncarrying out the objects of the Association are now\ninsufficient for that purpose:\nAND WHEREAS in order to make an increased\namount available for the carrying out of the objects\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5214/1947\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\n2\nof the Association it is expedient to vary the\nmanner in which future donations bequests and\nlegacies shall be applied by providing that all of\nsuch future donations bequests and legacies as are\nnot directed to be specially applied by the donors\nthereof together with the whole amount of\ndonations entitling persons to be life governors and\nof subscriptions paid to the Association by\ngovernors may be applied towards the carrying out\nof the objects of the Association hereinbefore\nmentioned:\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 construction and citation\nThis Act may be cited as the Old Colonists'\nAssociation Act 1947 and shall be read and\nconstrued as one with the Act passed in the forty-\nsixth year of the reign of Her late Majesty Queen\nVictoria intituled \"An Act to establish and\nregulate a Permanent Fund in connexion with the\nOld Colonists' Association of Victoria\"3\n(hereinafter referred to as the Principal Act) which\nAct and this Act may be cited together as the Old\nColonists' Association Acts.\n2. Modification of application of future donations etc.\n(1) Notwithstanding anything in the Principal Act or\nin any other Act or enactment or in any trust the\nfollowing sums, namely—\n(a) all donations bequests and legacies received\nafter the commencement of this Act and not\ndirected by the donors thereof to be specially\napplied;\ns. 1\nS. 2(1)\namended by\nNo. 5901\ns. 3(4).\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5214/1947\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\n3\n(b) all donations made after the commencement\nof this Act entitling persons to be life\ngovernors; and\n(c) all subscriptions paid after the\ncommencement of this Act to the\nAssociation by governors—\nmay be applied to the carrying out of the objects\nof the Association.\n(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting\nthe amount of the permanent fund of the\nAssociation as existing immediately before the\ncommencement of this Act.\n3. Consequential repeal of Act\nThe Old Colonists' Association Act 1938 is\nhereby repealed.\n═══════════════\ns. 3\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5214/1947\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\n4\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nThe Old Colonists' Association Act 1947 was assented to on 24 June 1947\nand came into operation on 24 June 1947.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5214/1947\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\n5\n2. Table of Amendments\nThis Version incorporates amendments made to the Old Colonists'\nAssociation Act 1947 by Acts and subordinate instruments.\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1955, No. 5901/1955\nAssent Date: 29.11.55\nCommencement Date: 29.11.55\nCurrent State: All of Act in operation\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 5214/1947\nOld Colonists' Association Act 1947\n6\n3. Explanatory Details\n1 Preamble: Old Colonists' Association Act 1882, No. 730/1882.\n2 Preamble: See note 1.\n3 S. 1: See note 1.\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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: modifying the application of donations to the Old Colonists' Association. The 1955 amendment was technical only, and the Act has not expanded beyond its narrow charitable funding remit."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections (plus preamble)","Single amendment in 1955 (minor technical change to section 2(1))","No defined terms section — terms interpreted by context or reference to earlier 1882 Act","Simple conditional logic: applies only to donations received after commencement date","Clear carve-out protecting existing permanent fund (section 2(2))","Heavy reliance on historical context (1882 Act, 1938 Act) but explicitly incorporates them by reference rather than repeating content"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis 1947 Victorian law changes how a charitable organisation called the **Old Colonists' Association of Victoria** can use money donated to it.\n\n**Background:**\n- Back in 1882, the Association set up a **\"permanent fund\"** — a pot of money that could never be spent, only the interest from it could be used.\n- By 1947, the interest and other available money weren't enough to run the Association's charitable activities (which involved helping elderly colonists/pioneers).\n\n**What changed:**\n- **Before 1947:** Three-quarters of all donations and bequests (money left in wills) had to go into the permanent fund and couldn't be touched — only the interest could be spent.\n- **After 1947:** New donations, bequests, and legacies can now be **spent directly** on the Association's charitable work, provided the donor hasn't specifically directed otherwise.\n\n**Key points:**\n- This only applies to **new** donations received after the Act started (24 June 1947)\n- The existing permanent fund stays locked away — this law doesn't touch money already in that fund\n- Life governor donations and governor subscriptions can also now be spent\n- The 1938 Act that previously modified the rules is repealed (cancelled)\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The Old Colonists' Association of Victoria and its trustees\n- Anyone donating to or leaving money to the Association\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThe Association was running short of usable cash. This law gave them access to more of their incoming donations to actually help people, rather than being forced to lock most of it away forever."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the Act appears to remain consistent with its original purpose of providing legal incorporation and governance for the Old Colonists' Association. There is no evidence of scope creep or significant amendment from its original intent as a narrow, charitable incorporation statute."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely narrow and specific scope affecting a very small population","Historical/archival in nature with limited modern application","Insufficient legislative text provided to assess internal complexity","Likely a short, straightforward incorporation-style Act typical of mid-20th century Victorian legislation","No apparent interaction with complex regulatory frameworks"],"plain_english_summary":"The Old Colonists' Association Act 1947 formally incorporates the Old Colonists' Association of Victoria, giving it legal personality to hold property, enter contracts and be governed under a statutory framework. It establishes how the organisation and its assets are managed to support early settlers, their descendants and eligible elderly members.\n\nThis is a niche, historical statute affecting the Association’s members, trustees and administrators rather than the general public."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Act alters the prior scope by allowing future undirected donations, life‑governor donations and governors' subscriptions (received after commencement) to be applied to the Association's objects instead of being added to the permanent fund (s.2(1)). It expressly preserves the permanent fund's amount as it existed immediately before commencement (s.2(2)) and repeals the 1938 Act (s.3), thereby broadening immediately spendable resources while leaving the incumbent permanent fund intact."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference to the Principal Act (s.1) — definitions and trust structure are located in that earlier statute, requiring combined reading.","Condition that only donations \"not directed by the donors\" are releasable (s.2(1)(a)) — requires factual inquiry into donor intent and record-keeping.","Inclusion of life-governor donations and governors' subscriptions (s.2(1)(b)-(c)) — expands categories of receivable funds whose treatment changes.","Preservation of the pre-existing permanent fund amount (s.2(2)) — creates an accounting constraint and potential administrative bookkeeping complexity.","Repeal of the 1938 Act (s.3) — legal history must be checked to understand prior arrangements and transitional consequences.","Overall brevity: the substantive change is narrow and mechanical, so legal complexity arises mainly from interactions with existing trust terms and donor directions rather than from intricate operative rules."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act changes how future payments to the Old Colonists' Association of Victoria are treated: donations, bequests and legacies received after commencement that are not specifically directed by donors, together with donations conferring life‑governor status and subscriptions paid by governors, may be applied to the Association’s objects (i.e. spent) rather than automatically added to the permanent fund. It preserves the permanent fund's pre‑existing amount. Donors supply the money; the Association and its trustees administer and apply it, increasing immediately available resources but reducing automatic additions to the fund."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/old-colonists-association-act-1947","history":"/api/acts/old-colonists-association-act-1947/history","analysis":"/api/acts/old-colonists-association-act-1947/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/old-colonists-association-act-1947/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/old-colonists-association-act-1947/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/old-colonists-association-act-1947/documents"}}