{"id":"warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898","name":"Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898","slug":"warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110996,"registerId":"wa-warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nWarrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898\n\nWestern Australia\n\nWarrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898\n\nContents\n\n1. Certificate, warrant, or order for delivery of goods may be transferred by indorsement and delivery 1\n\n2. Short title 1\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 2\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nWarrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898\n\nAn Act to enable certain warrants for goods to be transferred by indorsement and delivery.\n\n##### 1. Certificate, warrant, or order for delivery of goods may be transferred by indorsement and delivery\n\nWhere, after the commencement of this Act, any warehousekeeper’s certificate, wharfinger’s certificate, dock warrant, or other warrant or order for delivery of goods (hereinafter called the warrant) is indorsed by the person to whom the same has been issued or given, or by his agent duly authorised in that behalf, and is delivered to any person, such last‑mentioned person and any subsequent holder of the warrant in good faith shall, as against the person by whom the warrant has been issued or given, be entitled to the goods and the possession thereof to the same extent as if the contract contained in or evidenced by such warrant had been made with the person to whom the warrant is indorsed and delivered as aforesaid, or the said holder thereof, as the case may be.\n\n##### 2. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898* 1.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898*. The following table contains information about that Act and any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898* | 1898   (62 Vict. No. 3) | 9 Sep 1898 | 9 Sep 1898 |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898* as at 13 Jul 2007** | | | |\n\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\nthe warrant 1\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of enabling transfer of warehouse documents by indorsement. No expansion of scope is evident in this 2007 reprint compared to the 1898 original."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 operative sections totaling approximately 150 words","Single defined term ('the warrant') in a dedicated definitions section","No cross-references to other legislation","No conditional logic or exceptions—straightforward declaratory provision","Victorian-era drafting style with one long, dense sentence containing multiple clauses","No delegated legislation or regulatory mechanisms"],"plain_english_summary":"This short Western Australian law from 1898 makes it possible to transfer ownership of stored goods by simply signing and handing over the paperwork.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Allows warehouse certificates, dock warrants, and similar documents representing stored goods to be transferred to someone else through **indorsement** (signing on the back) and **delivery** (handing over the document).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Warehouse keepers** and **wharfingers** (people who manage warehouses and docks) who issue certificates or warrants for stored goods.\n- **Business owners** and **traders** who buy, sell, or finance goods held in storage.\n- **Banks and lenders** who take these warrants as security for loans.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nBefore this law, transferring ownership of goods sitting in a warehouse was complicated—you might need to physically move the goods or create complex legal arrangements. This Act made commerce easier by treating these documents like cash or cheques: whoever holds the properly signed warrant has legal rights to the goods, even against the original warehouse that issued it. This helped Western Australian trade, particularly for wheat, wool, and minerals that were often stored before sale.\n\n**Key protection:**\nThe law protects **subsequent holders in good faith**—meaning if you honestly buy or receive a warrant without knowing of any problems, you get full legal rights to the goods, just as if the warehouse had originally promised them directly to you."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The compiled text (including the 2007 reprint) shows the Act retains its original narrow scope: permitting transfer by indorsement and delivery of specified warrants and orders and making a good‑faith holder entitled against the issuer (s 1). No amendments or broader extensions are indicated in the supplied compilation table."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision (s 1) — minimal structural complexity.","Use of historical/technical terms (\"indorsement\", \"wharfinger\", \"dock warrant\") increases interpretive effort for modern readers.","\"Good faith\" requirement (s 1) introduces fact‑specific legal inquiry on each transfer.","Requirement that indorsement may be by a person or an \"agent duly authorised\" (s 1) creates potential evidential disputes over authority.","Legal effect converts certain warrants into transferable entitlements against the issuer, overlapping property and contract concepts and requiring legal characterisation (s 1)."],"plain_english_summary":"Mechanically, this Act lets certain delivery documents for stored or docked goods (warehousekeeper’s or wharfinger’s certificates, dock warrants, and similar orders) be transferred by indorsement (endorsement) and handing over. A person who receives such a warrant in good faith is entitled to the goods against the issuer as if the issuer’s contract had been made with that holder (s 1). It affects issuers, endorsees and their agents: the endorser or an authorised agent decides to transfer; the issuer must deliver to a good‑faith holder."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is not possible as the legislative content was unavailable. The retrieved page contains only a website error message and an Acknowledgement of Country, not the text of the Warrants for Goods Indorsement Act 1898."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the source URL returned a website error page rather than the text of the Act","No provisions, definitions, or operative clauses are available for analysis","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the actual legislative text"],"plain_english_summary":"This 1898 Western Australian Act would have governed warehouse warrants and their endorsement — the paper title to stored goods and how it could be signed over to transfer ownership. It affects merchants, warehousemen, buyers and financiers involved in trade where goods are stored and traded via documentary title.\n\nThe actual text isn’t available here; consult the WA legislation website to read the statute itself."},"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/warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898","history":"/api/acts/warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898/history","analysis":"/api/acts/warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/warrants-for-goods-indorsement-act-1898/documents"}}