{"id":"perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944","name":"Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944","slug":"perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106027,"registerId":"wa-perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nPerth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944\n\nWestern Australia\n\nPerth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Terms used 3\n\n3. Capitalisation or payment of surplus income 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nPerth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944\n\nAn Act relating to a certain trust fund vested in The Perth Diocesan Trustees and to the disposition of the income derived therefrom.\n\nPreamble 2, 3\n\nWhereas Samuel Evans Burges of Perth in the State of Western Australia, Esquire, died on 25 May 1885, having made and duly executed his last will and testament and a codicil thereto dated respectively 3 October 1883, and 14 July 1884; and probate of the said will and the said codicil was duly granted by the Supreme Court of Western Australia to the executors therein named; and whereas by his said will the said Samuel Evans Burges charged all his real property at York devised to his son Richard Goldsmith Burges with the payment by the said Richard Goldsmith Burges, his heirs and assigns, to the Standing Committee of the Synod of the West Australian Branch of the Church of England for or towards the support of the Church of England clergyman from time to time stationed at York in the said State, of an annual sum of £10 during the life of the said Richard Goldsmith Burges and after the decease of the said Richard Goldsmith Burges with the payment to such Committee for the like purpose, of an annual sum of £20 for ever; and whereas the said Richard Goldsmith Burges died on 25 September 1905 and by an Order of His Honour, Mr. Justice McMillan, made 19 April 1910, pursuant to the provisions of the *Redemption of Annuities Act 1909*, it was ordered (*inter alia*) that the cash surrender value of the perpetual charge of the annual sum of £20 aforesaid as created by the abovementioned will of the late Samuel Evans Burges, deceased, over the lands therein charged be fixed at £500 and that on payment of such sum to the Diocesan Trustees of the Church of England in Western Australia within the time fixed in the said Order the said perpetual charge should be discharged and the said lands should thereupon be freed and discharged from the said perpetual charge; and whereas by the said Order it was further ordered that the said Diocesan Trustees should invest the said sum of £500 in the securities mentioned in the said Order and that the income accruing therefrom to the extent of £20 per annum should be applied for the benefit of the Church of England clergyman for the time being stationed at York and that any surplus income over £20 per annum be capitalised with power for the Trustees from time to time to draw thereon to make good any deficiency; and whereas the said sum of £500 was duly paid as directed by the said Order and the said sum of £20 per annum has been regularly paid and the surplus income capitalised, with the result that the annual income from the capital sum is in excess of the amount required to pay the said sum of £20 per annum; and whereas by Act 52 Victoria No. 2 4 it was enacted that all land and other property vested in the Standing Committee of the Synod of the Western Australian Branch of the Church of England should be vested in the corporation to be known as “The Diocesan Trustees of the Church of England in Western Australia for the time being” and by the *Church of England Diocesan Trustees and Lands Act 1918* 5, it was enacted that the name and style of the corporation constituted by the said Act, 52 Victoria No. 2 4, should thenceforth be “The Perth Diocesan Trustees” and whereas the said The Perth Diocesan Trustees is desirous that it be empowered at its discretion to capitalise the surplus income arising from the said capital sum or to pay such surplus income to the Church of England clergyman for the time being stationed at York:\n\nBe it therefore enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: —\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944* 1.\n\n[Section 1 amended: No. 74 of 2003 s. 145.]\n\n##### 2. Terms used\n\nIn this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —\n\n  Special Fund means the capital sum with accretions thereof vested in The Perth Diocesan Trustees for or towards the support of the Anglican Church of Australia clergyman from time to time stationed at York pursuant to the provision in that behalf created by the will of Samuel Evans Burges, deceased, mentioned in the Preamble.\n\n  Trustees means The Perth Diocesan Trustees.\n\n[Section 2 amended: No. 121 of 1976 s. 7.]\n\n##### 3. Capitalisation or payment of surplus income\n\nThe surplus income arising from the special fund remaining in the hands of the Trustees in any year after payment to the Anglican Church of Australia clergyman for the time being stationed at York of the sum of £20 may, at the discretion of the Trustees, be capitalised or paid to the Anglican Church of Australia clergyman for the time being stationed at York.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 121 of 1976 s. 7.]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This reprint is a compilation as at 7 August 2015 of the *Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *The Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944* 6 | 25 of 1944 (8 and 9 Geo. VI No. 25) | 23 Dec 1944 | 23 Dec 1944 |\n| *Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976* s. 7 | 121 of 1976 | 1 Dec 1976 | 24 Aug 1981 (see s. 2(2) and *Gazette* 30 Jan 1981 p. 441) |\n| **Reprint of *The Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944* as at 3 May 2002** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2003* s. 145 | 74 of 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 (see s. 2) |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944* as at 7 Aug 2015** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n\n\n2 The name of the “Church of England” was changed to “Anglican Church of Australia” by the  A*nglican Church of Australia Act 1976* s. 7. References in the Preamble to “Church of England” have not been changed due to the context*.*\n\n3 References in this Act to the old currency are of historical interest only and so have not been amended under the *Decimal Currency Act 1965.*\n\n4 Now known as the *Anglican Church of Australia (Diocesan Trustees) Act 1888*.\n\n5 Now known as the *Anglican Church of Australia (Diocesan Trustees and Lands) Act 1918*.\n\n6 Now known as the *Perth Diocesan Trustees (Special Fund) Act 1944*; short title changed (see note under s. 1).\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\nSpecial Fund 2\n\nTrustees 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The modern reprints and amendments updated terminology (e.g. Church of England → Anglican Church of Australia), the short title, and left historical currency references in place. They did not expand the subject matter or add new classes of beneficiaries or regulatory obligations. The core operative rule — trustees may capitalise or pay surplus income to the York clergyman (section 3) — remains the same as the original purpose described in the Preamble."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act: 3 operative sections plus a descriptive preamble","Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section (Special Fund; Trustees)","Single substantive provision giving a single discretionary choice (section 3)","Minor cross‑references in Preamble to historical Acts and an earlier court Order, but no layered conditional logic","Amendments limited to name/citation changes and historical notes (see compilation table and notes)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanically)**\n\n- The Act identifies a specific capital sum and its accretions that are held by The Perth Diocesan Trustees (the Trustees) to provide support for the Anglican (formerly \"Church of England\") clergyman stationed at York (this capital sum and its accretions are called the \"Special Fund\") (see Preamble and section 2).\n- Each year the Trustee must ensure the clergyman at York receives £20 (historical currency reference) from the income of that Special Fund; any income left over after paying that £20 is a \"surplus income\" (Preamble and section 3).\n- The Act gives the Trustees a legal discretion each year to either:\n  - capitalise the surplus income (i.e. add the surplus to the capital of the Special Fund), or\n  - pay the surplus income to the clergyman then stationed at York (section 3).\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Directly affected: The Perth Diocesan Trustees, who hold and manage the Special Fund (defined in section 2), and the Anglican Church of Australia clergyman stationed at York who is the beneficiary.\n- Indirectly affected: no wider class of persons or businesses is regulated or charged by this Act; the Act deals with the internal management of an existing trust fund.\n\n**Why it matters (claimed purpose and practical effect)**\n\n- The Preamble explains the background: the Special Fund originated from a perpetual charge on land created by a will (Samuel Evans Burges), was redeemed for a capital sum, and invested so that a guaranteed annual payment of £20 could be made to the York clergyman; the capital has produced income in excess of the £20, and the Trustees wish an explicit statutory discretion to either capitalise that surplus or pay it out each year (Preamble).\n- Mechanically, the law changes nothing about who owns the fund or who must receive the £20; instead it clarifies and authorises a management choice for the Trustees about what to do with surplus income (section 3).\n\n**Costs, incentives and trade-offs (practical consequences and who decides/pay/behave)**\n\n- Who decides: The Trustees exercise the choice each year whether to capitalise surplus income or pay it out (section 3). There is no ministerial or court approval required by this Act for that choice.\n- Who pays: No new tax or levy is created. The relevant payments come from the income generated by the already‑vested Special Fund; the clergyman at York may receive additional payments only when the Trustees elect to pay surplus income rather than to capitalise it.\n- Behavioural effect on Trustees: The statutory discretion creates a choice between increasing capital (capitalisation) and increasing short‑term distributions (payment). Capitalisation increases future income potential; payment increases the current beneficiary's receipts. This creates a predictable trade‑off between intertemporal benefit for the York benefice and immediate income to the incumbent.\n- Burden and compliance: Administrative burden is minimal — the Trustees need to determine surplus income each year and record a decision to capitalise or pay. There is no new reporting requirement in the Act itself.\n- Effects on private enterprise, competition and contract freedom: None apparent. The Act governs an internal trust management decision; it does not constrain market actors, regulate prices, or alter private contractual rights outside the trust.\n- Concentration of benefit and opportunity costs: The benefit (any paid surplus) would go to a single beneficiary (the clergyman at York). Capitalising surplus benefits future incumbents and the longevity of the fund rather than the current incumbent. Those are ordinary, explicit trade‑offs in trustee decision‑making.\n\n**Implementation risks and limits**\n\n- The Act is narrowly prescriptive: it authorises discretion but does not set policy rules (for example, it does not require how often or under what financial conditions the Trustees should choose one option over the other). That leaves practical decisions to the Trustees' fiduciary duties and investment/financial practice.\n- The currency and historical figures in the Preamble and section 3 (the £20 annual figure) are of historical interest and have been left as such in the reprint notes; the Act does not itself modernise amounts or create a mechanism to change the nominal figure.\n\n(References: Preamble; section 2 (definitions); section 3 (capitalisation or payment of surplus income).)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: managing the surplus income from Samuel Evans Burges' 1883 bequest for the York clergy. The 1976 amendment merely updated terminology to reflect the church's name change from 'Church of England' to 'Anglican Church of Australia' without altering the substantive scope or operation of the fund."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections (short title, definitions, and the substantive provision)","Only 2 defined terms ('Special Fund' and 'Trustees')","Single conditional provision with a binary choice (capitalise OR pay)","Extensive preamble provides historical context but is narrative rather than operative law","No cross-references to other legislation except in preamble and notes","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a very short Western Australian law from 1944 that deals with a specific charitable trust fund set up by a will from 1883.\n\n**What it does:**\nIn 1883, Samuel Evans Burges left money in his will to support the Anglican clergyman at York, Western Australia. Originally, this was set up as a perpetual charge (an ongoing payment obligation) on land at York. In 1910, a court converted this into a lump sum of £500 invested to produce income. The court ordered that £20 per year go to the clergyman, with any extra income (surplus) added back to the capital (capitalised).\n\nBy 1944, the invested money was generating more than £20 per year. This Act gives the Perth Diocesan Trustees (the church body managing the fund) a choice: they can either continue adding the surplus to the capital, **or** they can pay the extra money to the current clergyman at York.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The Perth Diocesan Trustees (the Anglican church body in Perth)\n- The Anglican clergy serving at York, Western Australia\n\n**Why it matters:**\nIt provides flexibility for managing a 140-year-old charitable gift. Rather than being forced to reinvest surplus income, the trustees can now choose to give the extra money to the current priest, adapting the original 1883 gift to modern circumstances while preserving the core purpose of supporting the York ministry.\n\n**Key updates:**\nThe Act has been updated twice: in 1976 to reflect the church changing its name from \"Church of England\" to \"Anglican Church of Australia,\" and in 2003 for minor formatting changes."},"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"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether the scope of this legislation changed from its original intent, as the full text of the Act is not accessible from the provided source."},"complexity_factors":["The actual legislative text is unavailable — the source page has been removed from the WA legislation website","No content can be meaningfully analysed or scored for complexity","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the law itself"],"plain_english_summary":"Likely enacted to establish or regulate a \"special fund\" for the Perth Anglican Diocesan Trustees, this 1944 Western Australian Act appears to govern how a particular pool of diocesan money is held or used.  \n\nIt would primarily affect the diocesan trustees and the Perth Anglican community—clergy, parishes and beneficiaries—because it shapes financial stewardship and property-related administration within the diocese."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944","history":"/api/acts/perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944/history","analysis":"/api/acts/perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/perth-diocesan-trustees-special-fund-act-1944/documents"}}