{"id":"roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955","name":"Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955","slug":"roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":109928,"registerId":"wa-roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nRoman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955\n\nWestern Australia\n\nRoman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Term used: property 1\n\n3. Certain property vested in Bishop of Bunbury 1\n\n4. Bishop of Bunbury to be a corporation sole 2\n\n5. Power to sell, mortgage and lease lands 2\n\n6. Land titles, registration and fees 3\n\n7. Power to appoint attorneys 4\n\n8. Vicar Capitular to act from death of Bishop until successor appointed 4\n\nFirst Schedule — Land vested in Bishop of Bunbury\n\nSecond Schedule — Acts overridden by section 5\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 8\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nRoman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955\n\nAn Act to vest in the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Bunbury and his successors in office the property belonging to or held in trust for or on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church within the Diocese of Bunbury, to make provision for the Bishop to deal with that property, and for other incidental purposes.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955*1.\n\n##### 2. Term used: property\n\nIn this Act,\n\n  property means property of every kind whatsoever including legal and equitable, real and personal property, and choses in action.\n\n##### 3. Certain property vested in Bishop of Bunbury\n\nThe lands comprised in the instruments of title set out in the First Schedule and which are vested in the Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, and all other property belonging to the Roman Catholic Church or held by any person in trust for or on behalf of that Church and situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bunbury, shall from the coming into operation of this Act, and without the execution of any formal deed of assurance or transfer, vest absolutely and indefeasibly in the Roman Catholic Bishop for the time being of that Diocese and his successors in office, subject to the trusts, encumbrances and dispositions respectively affecting the same.\n\n##### 4. Bishop of Bunbury to be a corporation sole\n\nThe Roman Catholic Bishop for the time being of the Diocese of Bunbury is a corporation sole by the name of “The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury” with perpetual succession and a common seal, and by and in that name may sue and be sued and has power to purchase, hold, and take property and, subject to the provisions of section 5, to sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of any property vested in him pursuant to the provisions of section 3 or acquired after the coming into operation of this Act, and in respect of any real property whether freehold or leasehold so vested or acquired, may also exercise all the powers conferred on the Bishop for the time being administering the ecclesiastical affairs of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Australia and his successors in office, by the *Roman Catholic Church Lands Act 1895*.\n\n##### 5. Power to sell, mortgage and lease lands\n\n(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Acts mentioned in the Second Schedule, it is lawful for the Bishop of the Diocese of Bunbury in his corporate name as “The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury” subject to any express trust or condition against alienation and to the provisions of section 7 of the *Roman Catholic Church Lands Act 1895*, —\n\n(a) to sell any lands vested in him pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of this Act and transfer or otherwise assure the same to a purchaser freed and absolutely discharged from any trust or condition affecting the lands not being an express trust or condition against alienation; and\n\n(b) to mortgage the lands to secure moneys borrowed for the purpose of paying and discharging debts already incurred and secured by existing mortgages on lands belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, or to secure moneys which may be lawfully borrowed after the coming into operation of this Act and by way of security to assure to a mortgagee and his assigns the lands freed and discharged from any trust or condition affecting the lands not being an express trust or condition against alienation; and\n\n(c) to lease the lands for any term with or without right of renewal and either by way of building lease or otherwise and subject to such covenants, conditions, and agreements as the Bishop thinks fit to impose, notwithstanding any trust or condition affecting the lands not being an express trust or condition against leasing.\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Act, a trust or condition expressed to be for the use or purposes or benefit of the Roman Catholic Church in general or the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bunbury in particular or in words of like import is not an express trust or condition against alienation.\n\n(3) No purchaser, mortgagee, or lessee of any lands sold, mortgaged or leased under the provisions of this section is bound or concerned to inquire whether the power of sale, mortgage or lease was duly and regularly exercised, or to see to the application of any purchase, mortgage or other moneys, or to inquire into the necessity, regularity, or propriety of any sale, mortgage or lease, or be affected by notice that a sale, mortgage or lease is irregular, unnecessary or improper.\n\n##### 6. Land titles, registration and fees\n\nThe vesting of any land by this Act in “The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury” shall be registered and noted under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* or the *Registration of Deeds Act 1856*, as the case may require, and on the respective instrument of title to that land, free of charge.\n\n[Section 6 amended: No. 60 of 2006 s. 153.]\n\n##### 7. Power to appoint attorneys\n\nThe Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury may, from time to time, by an instrument in writing under his hand and seal, appoint one or more Priests of the Diocese of Bunbury to be his attorney or attorneys to exercise all or any of the powers conferred upon the Bishop by this Act and it shall be lawful for the attorney or attorneys so appointed, in the name and on behalf of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury, to exercise those powers accordingly, and to execute all documents required to give effect thereto.\n\n##### 8. Vicar Capitular to act from death of Bishop until successor appointed\n\nUpon the death of a Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Bunbury, the Vicar Capitular duly elected by the consultors of that Diocese shall be entitled to exercise the powers and be liable to perform the duties of the Bishop until the appointment and consecration of his successor, and it shall be lawful for the Vicar Capitular to exercise those powers and to perform those duties and to execute all documents required to give effect thereto and the documents so executed shall have the same force and effect as if they had been duly executed by The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury.\n\nFirst Schedule — Land vested in Bishop of Bunbury\n\n[s. 3]\n\n[Heading amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 4.]\n\n*Crown Leases Nos.*\n\n- 3125/1913 63/1934 670/1936\n- 6415/1913 248/1935 100/1945\n- 785/1921 933/1935 80/1951\n- 1092/1926 1182/1935 446/1954\n- 1122/1927 1185/1935 447/1954\n- 1298/1931 1224/1935 472/1955\n- 223/1936\n\n\n*Certificates of Title*\n\n| **Vol.** | **Folio.** | **Vol.** | **Folio.** | **Vol.** | **Folio.** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 3 | 150 | 657 | 71 | 1047 | 809 |\n| 4 | 242 | 728 | 5 | 1047 | 810 |\n| 14 | 387 | 736 | 199 | 1050 | 814 |\n| 26 | 245 | 749 | 43 | 1052 | 683 |\n| 34 | 45 | 769 | 42 | 1052 | 684 |\n| 34 | 48 | 794 | 109 | 1060 | 198 |\n| 35 | 120 | 501 | 148 | 1060 | 730 |\n| 95 | 87 | 501 | 149 | 1065 | 385 |\n| 95 | 89 | 501 | 150 | 1068 | 485 |\n| 102 | 158 | 684 | 162 | 1069 | 271 |\n| 119 | 89 | 822 | 55 | 1073 | 575 |\n| 145 | 28 | 828 | 70 | 1076 | 238 |\n| 215 | 5 | 851 | 153 | 1080 | 9 |\n| 221 | 183 | 856 | 140 | 1080 | 296 |\n| 221 | 185 | 860 | 174 | 1082 | 101 |\n| 221 | 186 | 860 | 175 | 1082 | 121 |\n| 221 | 187 | 860 | 176 | 1089 | 456 |\n| 230 | 37 | 921 | 9 | 1096 | 666 |\n| 240 | 188 | 954 | 105 | 1101 | 803 |\n| 306 | 14 | 974 | 83 | 1103 | 395 |\n| 344 | 177 | 980 | 40 | 1104 | 973 |\n| 351 | 179 | 1001 | 104 | 1111 | 463 |\n| 379 | 85 | 1001 | 136 | 1125 | 610 |\n| 441 | 88 | 1001 | 153 | 1128 | 450 |\n| 441 | 101 | 1004 | 560 | 1129 | 283 |\n| 470 | 95 | 1010 | 480 | 1129 | 990 |\n| 485 | 129 | 1010 | 911 | 1137 | 259 |\n| 499 | 102 | 1013 | 603 | 1143 | 377 |\n| 509 | 21 | 1014 | 181 | 1152 | 359 |\n| 509 | 116 | 1014 | 852 | 1165 | 799 |\n| 509 | 117 | 1020 | 231 | 1170 | 493 |\n| 522 | 99 | 1022 | 271 | 1170 | 721 |\n| 532 | 161 | 1025 | 63 | 1173 | 463 |\n| 572 | 60 | 1039 | 794 | 1179 | 212 |\n| 634 | 199 | 1043 | 555 | 1182 | 795 |\n| 653 | 108 | 1043 | 955 | 1188 | 326 |\n| 657 | 68 | 1047 | 294 |  |  |\n\n\n*Grants Enrolled in Registry of Deeds, Perth.*\n\n| No. 1291; No. 2857 and No. 2976. |\n| --- |\n\n\nSecond Schedule — Acts overridden by section 5\n\n[s. 5]\n\n[Heading amended: No. 19 of 2010 s. 4.]\n\n *An Ordinance for vesting Roman Catholic Church Lands in Western Australia in the Roman Catholic Bishop Administrator and his Successors* (22 Vict. No. 4.) 2\n\n *Roman Catholic Church Lands Act 1895* (59 Vict. — Private).\n\n *Roman Catholic Church Lands Amendment Act 1902* (1 and 2 Edw. VII. — Private).\n\n *Roman Catholic Church Property Act 1911* (No. 36 of 1911).\n\n *Roman Catholic Church Property Act Amendment Act 1912* (No. 32 of 1912).\n\n *Roman Catholic Church Property Acts Amendment Act 1916* (No. 4 of 1916).\n\n[Second Schedule amended: No. 74 of 2003 s. 149(3).]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This reprint is a compilation as at 10 October 2014 of the *Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table 3. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955* | 28 of 1955 (4 Eliz. II No. 28) | 15 Nov 1955 | 15 Nov 1955 |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955* as at 7 Feb 2003** | | | |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2003* s. 149(3) | 74 of 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 (see s. 2) |\n| *Land Information Authority Act 2006* s. 153 | 60 of 2006 | 16 Nov 2006 | 1 Jan 2007 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 8 Dec 2006 p. 5369) |\n| *Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010* s. 4 | 19 of 2010 | 28 Jun 2010 | 11 Sep 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Sep 2010 p. 4341) |\n| **Reprint 2: The *Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955* as at 10 Oct 2014** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n\n\n2 Now cited as the *Roman Catholic Church Lands Ordinance 1858*.\n\n3 Other relevant Acts: the *Roman Catholic Church Lands Act 1895* and the *Roman Catholic Church Lands Amendment Act 1902.*\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\nproperty 2\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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: vesting specific church property in the Bunbury Bishop and providing mechanisms for property management. The amendments shown in the compilation table are minor (formatting standardisation, updating references to modern land titles legislation, removing spent provisions). There has been no significant expansion beyond the original scope of church property management for the Bunbury Diocese."},"complexity_factors":["Only 8 substantive sections plus schedules","Single defined term ('property' in section 2)","Straightforward vesting mechanism without complex conditions","Limited cross-referencing (primarily to Roman Catholic Church Lands Act 1895 and land titles legislation)","Schedules consist mainly of land title references (crown leases, volume/folio numbers) rather than complex legal provisions","No nested exceptions or heavily conditional logic — section 5 contains simple carve-outs for 'express trusts against alienation'"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law from 1955 transfers ownership of Roman Catholic Church property in the Bunbury region from the Bishop of Perth to the Bishop of Bunbury. It creates a new legal entity called 'The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury' (a 'corporation sole' — meaning the office itself is a legal person that continues even when the individual holding the office changes). The law gives this Bishop the power to sell, mortgage, or lease church lands, overriding some older restrictions. It also allows the Bishop to appoint priests as attorneys to act on his behalf, and provides for a temporary administrator (called a 'Vicar Capitular') to manage affairs between the death of one Bishop and the appointment of the next. The First Schedule lists specific land titles being transferred, while the Second Schedule lists older laws that are partially overridden by this Act."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The core scope — vesting specified church land in the Bishop and granting him corporate and property disposal powers — remains intact. Amendments noted in the compilation (eg, s 6 amended by No. 60 of 2006 s. 153; Second Schedule amended by No. 74 of 2003 s. 149(3); formatting updates in 2010) appear to update registration references and schedules rather than alter the fundamental vesting and disposal framework (see Compilation table and amendment notes)."},"complexity_factors":["Indefeasible statutory vesting of diverse property types in the Bishop (s 3) increases legal-consequence weight and limits need for separate conveyancing.","Creation of a corporation sole with perpetual succession and broad property powers centralises decision-making (s 4).","Express override of earlier church‑land statutes to permit alienation, mortgage and leasing subject to limited exceptions (s 5; Second Schedule) requires cross‑Act reading.","Definition and treatment of ‘non‑express’ trusts (s 5(2)) changes trust‑law consequences and affects beneficiaries’ control.","Protective purchaser/mortgagee clause which removes duty to inquire and relieves purchasers as to regularity (s 5(3)) alters due‑diligence incentives.","Registration and administrative rules (free noting under Transfer of Land Act or Registration of Deeds Act) affect implementation and administrative practice (s 6).","Delegation and continuity mechanisms — power to appoint priests as attorneys (s 7) and Vicar Capitular acting on vacancy (s 8) — create agency and succession points to monitor.","Large First Schedule listing specific titles means practical operation depends on historical title data and may raise clerical complexity.","Interplay with Roman Catholic Church Lands Act 1895 (cross‑references in s 4 and s 5) requires reading multiple statutes to determine limits."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act vests specified church land and other Roman Catholic Church property in the Diocese of Bunbury in the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury and his successors; it makes the Bishop a corporation sole and authorises him to buy, hold, sell, mortgage and lease that property (subject to express anti‑alienation trusts and statutory limits). The Bishop decides disposals, may appoint priests as attorneys, purchasers and mortgagees take free of non‑express trusts and need not inquire into regularity, and land vestings are to be registered free of charge."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed — the legislative text is inaccessible due to a government website outage. Based on the title alone, there is no indication the law deviated from its apparent original purpose of managing Roman Catholic Church property in the Bunbury diocese."},"complexity_factors":["The actual legislative text is unavailable — analysis is based solely on the title and page metadata","No substantive provisions, definitions, or operative clauses can be assessed","Laws of this historical type (mid-century church property acts) are typically narrow and straightforward in scope","Complexity cannot be meaningfully rated without the full text"],"plain_english_summary":"The Roman Catholic Bunbury Church Property Act 1955 appears to be a narrow, historic Western Australian law dealing with legal ownership and management of property for the Roman Catholic presence in the Bunbury area. It would primarily affect the Diocese of Bunbury, its clergy and administrators, and anyone with an interest in church land or buildings there. Because the text is currently unavailable, its present effect, amendments, or repeal cannot be confirmed — consult the Parliamentary Counsel or WA legislation register."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955","history":"/api/acts/roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955/history","analysis":"/api/acts/roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/roman-catholic-bunbury-church-property-act-1955/documents"}}