{"id":"st-andrews-foundation-act-1997","name":"St Andrew's Foundation Act 1997","slug":"st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176205,"registerId":"vic-st-andrews-foundation-act-1997-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"St Andrew's Foundation Act 1997","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\nAct No. 85/1997\nVersion as at 23 April 1998\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Purpose 2\n2. Commencement 2\n3. Definitions 2\n4. Board may transfer property to trustees 3\n5. Vesting of trust property in trustees 3\n6. Gifts, trusts etc. 4\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 5\n1. General Information 5\n2. Table of Amendments 6\n3. Explanatory Details 7\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\nAct No. 85/1997\nVersion as at 23 April 1998\nPreamble\nSt Andrew's Presbyterian Hospital at East\nMelbourne was founded in 1934 by the\nPresbyterian Church of Victoria.\nSt Andrew's Hospital was established under the\nSt Andrew's Hospital Act 1978 as the successor\nin law of St Andrew's Presbyterian Hospital.\nThe membership of the Board of Management of\nSt Andrew's Hospital includes members nominated\nby the Uniting Church in Australia (Synod of\nVictoria) and members nominated by the\nPresbyterian Church of Victoria.\nThe Hospital was closed in 1990.\nAn endowment fund held by the Board of\nManagement consists of charitable donations and\nbequests.\nA trust deed entered into on 20 October 1997—\n(a) establishes a public charitable trust fund\nknown as The St Andrew's Foundation for the\nprovision of grants and donations towards the\nhospitals, aged care facilities and community\nservices provided by the Presbyterian Church\nof Victoria and the Uniting Church in\nAustralia (Synod of Victoria) and to certain\nother public benevolent organisations and\ninstitutions; and\n(b) appoints trustees of the Foundation.\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 85/1997\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\n2\nIt is intended that the property in the endowment\nfund be transferred to the trustees of The\nSt Andrew's Foundation to be held and applied for\ncharitable purposes.\nThe Parliament of Victoria therefore enacts as follows:\n1. Purpose\nThe purpose of this Act is to provide for the\ntransfer of certain charitable donations and\nbequests to the trustees of The St Andrew's\nFoundation.\n2. Commencement\n(1) This Act, except sections 5 and 6, comes into\noperation on the day on which this Act receives\nthe Royal Assent.\n(2) Subject to sub-section (3), sections 5 and 6 come\ninto operation on a day to be proclaimed.\n(3) If sections 5 and 6 do not come into operation\nbefore 1 June 1998, they come into operation on\nthat day.\n3. Definitions\nIn this Act—\n\"Board\" means the Board of Management of\nSt Andrew's Hospital;\n\"Foundation\" means the public charitable trust\nfund known as The St Andrew's Foundation\nestablished under the trust deed;\n\"St Andrew's Hospital\" means the body\ncorporate established by the St Andrew's\nHospital Act 1978 and includes the hospital\nformerly conducted and maintained at East\nMelbourne by that body corporate or by the\nPresbyterian Church of Victoria;\ns. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 85/1997\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\n3\n\"trust deed\" means the trust deed establishing\nThe St Andrew's Foundation executed by the\nfounders and initial trustees on 20 October\n1997 and, if amended, means that trust deed\nas so amended and in force for the time\nbeing;\n\"trustees\" means the initial trustees under the\ntrust deed or any new trustees appointed\nunder, and in accordance with, the trust deed;\n\"trust property\" means the endowment fund\nheld by the Board of Management of St\nAndrew's Hospital immediately before the\ncommencement of this section and—\n(a) a gift, disposition or trust of property\nmade or declared, or deemed to have\nbeen made or declared; or\n(b) a trust fund created—\nbefore the commencement of this section\n(whether by deed, will or otherwise) to, or in\nfavour of, or for the use of, or for carrying\nout the objects of, St Andrew's Hospital.\n4. Board may transfer property to trustees\nThe Board may transfer to the trustees the whole\nor any part of the trust property to be held and\napplied in accordance with the trust deed.\n5. Vesting of trust property in trustees\nOn the commencement of this section, any trust\nproperty not transferred to the trustees before that\ncommencement vests in the trustees to be held and\napplied in accordance with the trust deed.\ns. 4\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 85/1997\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\n4\n6. Gifts, trusts etc.\nIf—\n(a) before, on or after the commencement of this\nsection—\n(i) a gift, disposition or trust of property\nhas been or is made or declared or is\ndeemed to have been made or declared;\nor\n(ii) a trust fund has been or is created—\n(whether by deed, will or otherwise) to, or in\nfavour of, for the use of, or for the purposes\nof, St Andrew's Hospital; and\n(b) the gift, disposition or trust takes effect, or\nmay take effect, or the trust fund may be\napplied, on or after that commencement—\nthe gift, disposition, trust or trust fund does not\nfail only because of the provisions of this Act or\nbecause of the closing of the St Andrew's\nHospital, but on and after that commencement—\n(c) in the case of a gift, disposition or trust of\nproperty, takes effect as if made or declared\nto or in favour of the trustees to be held and\napplied in accordance with the trust deed;\nand\n(d) in the case of a trust fund, may be applied, as\nif created in favour of the trustees, in\naccordance with the trust deed.\n═══════════════\ns. 6\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 85/1997\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\n5\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nMinister's second reading speech—\nLegislative Assembly: 30 October 1997\nLegislative Council: 19 November 1997\nThe long title for the Bill for this Act was \"A Bill to provide for the transfer\nof certain charitable donations and bequests to the trustees of The\nSt Andrew's Foundation and for other purposes.\"\nThe St Andrew's Foundation Act 1997 was assented to on 2 December\n1997 and came into operation as follows:\nSections 1–4 on 2 December 1997: s. 2(1); sections 5 and 6 on 23 April 1998:\nGovernment Gazette 23 April 1998 p. 880.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 85/1997\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\n6\n2. Table of Amendments\nThere are no amendments made to the St Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\nby Acts and subordinate instruments.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 85/1997\nSt Andrew's Foundation Act 1997\n7\n3. Explanatory Details\nNo entries at date of publication\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act implements its stated purpose (s.1) by transferring the hospital's endowment and protecting gifts via statutory vesting and conversion rules (ss.4–6). There are no recorded amendments altering scope (Endnotes: Table of Amendments). The practical allocation of decision-making about application of the funds is left to the trustees under the trust deed (s.3)."},"complexity_factors":["Very short, focused statute limited to transfer and preservation of specific charitable property (ss.1–6).","Core legal effect driven by a small set of definitions that determine who the trustees are and what counts as trust property (s.3).","Two alternative transfer mechanisms: voluntary transfer by the Board (s.4) or automatic statutory vesting on commencement (s.5).","Non-failure rule preserves existing and future gifts/trusts so they operate as if made to the trustees (s.6).","Staged commencement for ss.5–6 introduces timing discretion and a backstop commencement date (s.2(2)–(3)).","Disposition of how funds are to be applied is delegated to the trust deed and trustees — the Act does not regulate application standards or reporting (definition of 'trust deed' and 'trustees', s.3).","No regulatory, licensing or enforcement regimes in the Act — low administrative complexity but increased reliance on private trust governance (ss.3, 4–6).","No subsequent amendments recorded, so scope and mechanics remain as enacted (Endnotes: Table of Amendments)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act moves the endowment fund and related donations held for St Andrew's Hospital into The St Andrew's Foundation. The Board may transfer the fund to the Foundation's trustees (s.4), any remaining fund vests in the trustees on commencement of s.5 (s.5), and gifts or trusts for the hospital are treated as if made to the trustees so they do not fail because the hospital closed (s.6). The trustees apply the property under the trust deed (definitions, s.3)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Impossible to assess whether the scope changed from original intent, as the document contains only administrative metadata and no substantive legislative content. The existence of a consolidated version suggests amendments have been made over time, but the nature of those amendments cannot be determined from the provided text."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient legislative text provided — only metadata and version history are present","No substantive provisions, definitions, obligations, or rights are visible in the document","Cannot assess true complexity without the operative sections of the Act","Score of 1 reflects the absence of analysable content, not necessarily the simplicity of the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"The St Andrew’s Foundation Act 1997 is a Victorian law that establishes or governs the St Andrew’s Foundation. It remains in force, has been consolidated, and dates from 1997. It primarily affects people and entities connected with the Foundation (e.g., trustees, members, beneficiaries), but the supplied materials lack the Act’s substantive text — consult the full legislation for specific rights or obligations."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating the transfer of charitable funds from a defunct hospital to a new foundation. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific transitional arrangement."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 operative sections plus preamble and endnotes","6 defined terms in a single definitions section (s. 3)","Minimal cross-referencing — only internal references to the Act itself and one external reference to the St Andrew's Hospital Act 1978","Simple conditional logic limited to s. 6 (savings provision for gifts)","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Straightforward vesting mechanism with clear trigger dates","Single purpose legislation with narrow, specific scope"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act deals with what happens to charitable donations and bequests (money or property left to charity in wills) originally intended for St Andrew's Hospital in East Melbourne after the hospital closed in 1990.\n\n**The backstory:**\n- St Andrew's Hospital was founded in 1934 by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria\n- It closed in 1990, but there was still an \"endowment fund\" sitting there — money donated by the public for charitable purposes\n- In October 1997, a trust deed created \"The St Andrew's Foundation\" — a new charitable trust to give grants to hospitals, aged care facilities, and community services run by the Presbyterian and Uniting Churches\n\n**What the Act actually does:**\n\n1. **Lets the Hospital Board transfer the old fund** (Section 4): The Board of Management can voluntarily hand over the endowment fund to the new Foundation trustees.\n\n2. **Automatically transfers anything left over** (Section 5): If the Board hasn't transferred everything by a certain date, whatever remains automatically vests in (becomes legally owned by) the Foundation trustees.\n\n3. **Saves old gifts from failing** (Section 6): If someone left money to St Andrew's Hospital in their will before the hospital closed, or creates a trust for the hospital, those gifts don't become invalid just because the hospital shut down. Instead, they automatically redirect to the Foundation trustees to be used for similar charitable purposes.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The Board of Management of the old hospital\n- The trustees of the new St Andrew's Foundation\n- Anyone who donated to or left money for St Andrew's Hospital in the past, or who does so in the future\n- The Presbyterian Church of Victoria and Uniting Church in Australia, who benefit from the Foundation's grants\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, charitable donations intended for a hospital that no longer exists could have been stuck in legal limbo or potentially lost. This ensures the money goes to similar charitable healthcare purposes as originally intended by the donors."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997","history":"/api/acts/st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997/history","analysis":"/api/acts/st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/st-andrew-s-foundation-act-1997/documents"}}