{"id":"presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924","name":"Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924","slug":"presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106219,"registerId":"wa-presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nPresbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924\n\nWestern Australia\n\nPresbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n4. Present Commissioners to act until Commissioners appointed under this Act 1\n\n5. Vesting of property 1\n\n6. Power to appoint secretary, etc. 2\n\n8. Reports 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 3\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nPresbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924\n\nAn Act to amend the *Presbyterian Church Act 1908*.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924* 1*,* and shall be read as one with the *Presbyterian Church Act 1908*, hereinafter referred to as the principal Act.\n\n[**2, 3.** Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]\n\n##### 4. Present Commissioners to act until Commissioners appointed under this Act\n\nUntil the said 8 persons 2 shall be elected as aforesaid, the persons now constituting “ The Commissioners of the Presbyterian Church in Western Australia” or their successors shall continue to constitute such body, with power to do, execute, and perform all acts, deeds, and things authorised by the principal Act.\n\n##### 5. Vesting of property\n\nAll lands, tenements, hereditaments, and personal property at present belonging to or vested in the Commissioners, as constituted under the principal Act, and the full benefit of, and all rights, benefits, powers, and privileges to which such Commissioners may be entitled under any deeds, writings, or instruments, shall be and the same are hereby vested in the Commissioners as constituted under this Act; subject to all rights, trusts, and equities affecting the same, and subject also to the provisions of this Act; and the Commissioners hereby constituted shall be bound by, and be liable as a body corporate under, all such deeds, writings, and instruments, in place of and in substitution for the Commissioners under the principal Act.\n\n##### 6. Power to appoint secretary, etc.\n\nThe Commissioners may in their discretion, from time to time, appoint for such period and on such terms as they may think fit, and may remunerate any person or persons as secretary, clerk, or officer to carry out or assist in carrying our the work or duties of the Commissioners, with power to dismiss any person or persons so appointed.\n\n[**7.** Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]\n\n##### 8. Reports\n\nThe Commissioners shall furnish to the General Assembly, on or before such date in each year as the General Assembly may from time to time direct, a written report, to be signed by the Moderator as convener, of all the operations and transactions of the Commissioners under the principal Act and its amendments during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of furnishing such report.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924*. The following table contains information about that Act and any previous reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924* | 6 of 1924 | 5 Nov 1924 | 5 Nov 1924 |\n| **Reprint of the *Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924* as at 25 Oct 2002** | | | |\n\n\n2 The references to the “said 8 persons” is to 8 persons referred to in sections 2 and 3 of this Act which respectively amended section 4 of, and inserted section 4a into, the *Presbyterian Church Act 1908*. Reference should therefore be made to those sections in the 1908 Act.\n\n3 Other relevant Acts:\n\n *Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1901*\n\n *Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1919*\n\n *Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1970.*\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available. The provided URL returned a broken page error from the Western Australian Parliamentary Counsel's Office website, making any analysis of original versus actual scope impossible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was provided — only a website error page","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the actual content","Score of 1 reflects the absence of analysable material, not the likely complexity of the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"## Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924 (WA)\n\n**The content of this legislation is not available for analysis.**\n\nThe URL provided does not contain the actual text of the *Presbyterian Church Act Amendment Act 1924* (Western Australia). Instead, it returns a website error page indicating the link is broken or the page has been moved as part of a system upgrade.\n\n**What we can reasonably infer from the title alone:**\n- This is a **Western Australian state law** from **1924**\n- It amended an earlier *Presbyterian Church Act*, likely dealing with the legal status, property, governance, or administrative powers of the Presbyterian Church in Western Australia\n- Laws of this type typically affect **church members, church trustees, and property holders** connected to the denomination\n\n**To find the actual text**, visit the Western Australian Legislation website (legislation.wa.gov.au) and search directly for the Act title."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: amending the governance and property management provisions of the 1908 Presbyterian Church Act. The amendments are procedural (continuity of commissioners, property transfer, staffing, reporting) and do not expand beyond the ecclesiastical administrative scope intended in 1924."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (8 sections, with 3 omitted)","Minimal defined terms (only refers back to 'principal Act' - the 1908 Act)","Straightforward procedural amendments without nested conditions","Simple property vesting clause using standard legal language ('lands, tenements, hereditaments')","No cross-references to other legislation except the parent Act","Linear structure with no exceptions to exceptions"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short Western Australian law from 1924 that tweaks how the Presbyterian Church manages its property and governance.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Keeps things running smoothly**: The existing church commissioners (the people who manage church property and affairs) stay in their jobs until new ones are elected under updated rules.\n- **Transfers property**: All land, buildings, and assets owned by the old commissioners automatically transfer to the new commissioners, with all the same legal obligations attached.\n- **Lets them hire staff**: The commissioners can now appoint and pay a secretary or other officers to help with their work, and fire them if needed.\n- **Requires annual reports**: The commissioners must report yearly to the church's General Assembly (the main decision-making body) on what they've been doing.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The Presbyterian Church in Western Australia and its governing bodies\n- People who manage church property and finances\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is housekeeping legislation. It ensures there's no gap in legal authority when church leadership changes, protects church assets during the transition, and adds basic administrative tools (hiring staff, reporting requirements) that the original 1908 law apparently lacked."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This amendment stays within the original, narrow purpose of adjusting governance and property arrangements for the Commissioners under the Presbyterian Church Act 1908. It does not expand the legislative subject-matter beyond church governance, property vesting and administrative powers; instead it reorganises which corporate body holds assets, confirms liability substitution, creates an explicit staffing power, and requires annual reporting. Any substantive governance or election rules remain in the principal Act or other amending provisions referenced by the Act."},"complexity_factors":["Short, four substantive provisions (ss 4, 5, 6, 8) with straightforward wording","Cross-references to the principal Act (Presbyterian Church Act 1908) for election mechanics and governance","References to omitted sections (2, 3, 7) that require consulting reprint/compilation notes","Legal effect of vesting property and substitution of liabilities (s 5) creates transactional steps for some assets","Limited number of defined terms within this Act itself, but reliance on definitions in the principal Act"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Act does (mechanically)**\n\n- Reads together with the Presbyterian Church Act 1908 (it is an amendment to that principal Act) (s 1).\n- Allows the current body called “The Commissioners of the Presbyterian Church in Western Australia” (or their successors) to keep acting with full powers until eight new Commissioners are elected under the amended rules (s 4).  The reference to the “said 8 persons” points to election provisions in other sections of the Acts (see notes).\n- Transfers (vests) all land, buildings, personal property and the benefit of any deeds, instruments or rights that belonged to the old Commissioners to the Commissioners constituted under this amendment; the new Commissioners take those assets subject to any existing rights, trusts and equities and inherit the legal liabilities and obligations under existing deeds and instruments (s 5).\n- Gives the Commissioners the power to appoint, pay and dismiss a secretary, clerk or other officers to help them carry out their duties, on terms they set (s 6).\n- Requires the Commissioners to give the General Assembly a written annual report of their operations and transactions under the principal Act and its amendments; the report must be signed by the Moderator as convener and supplied on the date the General Assembly directs (s 8).\n\n**Why the change is expressed to be made (stated purpose)**\n\n- The Act is presented as an amendment to the Presbyterian Church Act 1908 to reorganise the Commissioners named in that Act and to make clear how property, duties and reporting should be handled during and after that change.\n\n**Who it affects and who decides**\n\n- Affects the Commissioners of the Presbyterian Church in Western Australia (the corporate body that holds church property and carries out related functions) and, indirectly, any persons or bodies who deal with church property or contracts, and the General Assembly (which receives reports).\n- Decisions about day-to-day administration — appointing staff, their pay and dismissal — are left to the Commissioners (s 6). The General Assembly sets when the annual report is to be furnished (s 8). Elections for the new eight Commissioners are governed by the principal Act and other amending provisions referenced elsewhere (see notes).\n\n**Who pays / who bears costs**\n\n- Any staff remuneration and administrative expenses will be met from the Commissioners’ funds (s 6). There is no new public or government funding in the Act — costs fall on the church body that holds the assets.\n- Legal and administrative costs of transferring or confirming titles, updating deeds, and producing the required annual report are borne by the Commissioners and ultimately by the church entity that funds them (s 5, s 8).\n\n**Practical effects, incentives and trade-offs**\n\n- Continuity vs transition risk: the Act keeps the existing Commissioners operating with full powers until the specified eight new Commissioners are in place (s 4). That avoids a governance gap but also permits the incumbents to continue exercising authority if elections are delayed.\n- Centralisation of title and liability: all property and the benefit of existing instruments are explicitly transferred to the new corporate Commissioners (s 5). That clarifies who owns assets and who is liable, reducing transactional uncertainty for third parties. At the same time, it transfers legal liabilities attached to existing deeds to the new Commissioners.\n- Administrative discretion and accountability: the Commissioners get wide discretion to hire and dismiss staff and to set terms of payment (s 6). Accountability is provided by the annual written report to the General Assembly (s 8). The administrative burden is modest (one annual report) but the Commissioners have substantial operational discretion.\n- Trusts and third-party rights preserved: property vests subject to any existing trusts, equities or rights (s 5), so the Act does not extinguish private trusts or third-party interests; it substitutes the new Commissioners as the responsible corporate party.\n\n**Implementation and legal-readiness risks**\n\n- Cross-reference ambiguity: the phrase “said 8 persons” refers to election provisions in other parts of the amending measures and the principal Act (see notes). To understand election mechanics and timing you must read those provisions in the 1908 Act and the omitted sections of this Act. That adds a small interpretive step for implementers and advisers (s 4 and notes).\n- Transfer mechanics: although the Act vests property in the new Commissioners, practical steps (title transfers, registrations, updating contracts) may still be required on particular holdings, and those transactional costs fall on the Commissioners (s 5).\n\n**Effects on outside parties and market actors**\n\n- Minimal effect on general markets: the Act concerns internal church governance and property holding rather than commercial regulation. However, counterparties (e.g., lessees, creditors) dealing with church property should note the change in the legal party holding assets and responsibilities (s 5).\n\n**Compliance burden and oversight**\n\n- Small recurring compliance: one written annual report to the General Assembly (s 8).\n- Ongoing discretion for Commissioners to create staff roles and set terms (s 6), which may increase operating costs depending on their choices.\n\n**Key sections to read for practical operation**\n\n- Section 1 (reads this Act with the principal Act), Section 4 (continuation of current Commissioners), Section 5 (vesting of property and substitution of legal obligations), Section 6 (power to appoint and remunerate staff), Section 8 (annual report).\n\nOverall, the Act mechanically restructures the Commissioners named in the 1908 Act, confirms the transfer of property and legal obligations to the newly constituted Commissioners, gives them employment powers, and imposes an annual reporting duty to the General Assembly. The main implementation tasks are electoral steps (to appoint the eight Commissioners under the broader legislative scheme), formalizing asset records where necessary, and meeting the modest ongoing reporting and staffing decisions required by the Act."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924","history":"/api/acts/presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924/history","analysis":"/api/acts/presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/presbyterian-church-act-amendment-act-1924/documents"}}