{"id":"yooralla-society-victoria-act-1977","name":"Yooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977","slug":"yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173340,"registerId":"vic-yooralla-society-victoria-act-1977-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Yooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\nAct No. 8980/1977\nVersion incorporating amendments as at 21 August 2001\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Short title and commencement 2\n2. Definitions 2\n3. Appointed day 3\n4. Amalgamation of Yooralla and Victorian Society 3\n5. Gifts, trusts, wills etc. 4\n6. Yooralla Society not required to lodge returns of directors, etc.,\nunder Corporations Act 5\n7. Yooralla Society deemed to be registered 5\n8. Repealed 5\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 6\n1. General Information 6\n2. Table of Amendments 7\n3. Explanatory Details 8\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\nAct No. 8980/1977\nVersion incorporating amendments as at 21 August 2001\nAn Act to facilitate and effect the amalgamation of the Yooralla\nHospital School for Crippled Children and of the Victorian\nSociety for Crippled Children and Adults, and to establish the\nYooralla Society of Victoria, a company limited by guarantee,\nas their successor in law, to amend the Hospitals and Charities\nAct 1958 and for other purposes.\nPreamble\nWHEREAS the Yooralla Hospital School for\nCrippled Children is an incorporated institution\nwithin the meaning of the Hospitals and Charities\nAct 1958:\nAND WHEREAS the Victorian Society for\nCrippled Children and Adults is a company within\nthe meaning of the Companies Act 1961 limited\nby guarantee:\nAND WHEREAS the Yooralla Hospital School for\nCrippled Children and the Victorian Society for\nCrippled Children and Adults have severally and\njointly determined that it is in the interest of each\nof them and of disabled children and adults and of\nthe public generally that the Yooralla Hospital\nSchool and the Victorian Society amalgamate their\nrespective activities with a view to ensuring that a\ncomplete and integrated service to disabled\nchildren and adults is provided in Victoria by a\nsingle entity:\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n2\nAND WHEREAS it is expedient to effect that\namalgamation by dissolving the Yooralla Hospital\nSchool for Crippled Children and the Victorian\nSociety for Crippled Children and Adults and\ntransferring their activities to the Yooralla Society\nof Victoria, a company within the meaning of the\nCompanies Act 1961 limited by guarantee:\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen's Most\nExcellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the\nLegislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria\nin this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of\nthe same as follows (that is to say):\n1. Short title and commencement\n(1) This Act may be cited as the Yooralla Society of\nVictoria Act 1977.\n(2) This Act shall come into operation on the day on\nwhich it receives the Royal Assent.\n2. Definitions\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention\nappears—\n\"appointed day\" means the day fixed by\nproclamation under section 3;\n\"property\" includes real and personal property of\nany description whether legal or equitable\nand includes every estate or interest in\nproperty;\n\"Victorian Society\" means the Victorian Society\nfor Crippled Children and Adults, a company\nwithin the meaning of the Companies Act\n1961, limited by guarantee;\n\"will\" includes codicil and any other testamentary\ndisposition;\ns. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n3\n\"Yooralla\" means the Yooralla Hospital School\nfor Crippled Children, an incorporated\ninstitution within the meaning of the\nHospitals and Charities Act 1958;\n\"Yooralla Society\" means the Yooralla Society\nof Victoria, a company within the meaning\nof the Companies Act 1961 limited by\nguarantee.\n3. Appointed day1\nThe Governor in Council may, by Order published\nin the Government Gazette, appoint a day for the\npurposes of this Act.\n4. Amalgamation of Yooralla and Victorian Society\n(1) On the appointed day—\n(a) Yooralla shall be dissolved and the Yooralla\nSociety shall be the successor in law of\nYooralla; and\n(b) the Victorian Society shall be dissolved and\nthe Yooralla Society shall be the successor in\nlaw of the Victorian Society.\n(2) Without affecting the generality of sub-section\n(1), on the appointed day—\n(a) the property which, immediately before the\nappointed day, was vested in Yooralla shall,\nby reason of this Act, be transferred to and\nvest in the Yooralla Society;\n(b) the property which, immediately before the\nappointed day, was vested in the Victorian\nSociety shall, by reason of this Act, be\ntransferred to and vest in the Yooralla\nSociety; and\n(c) all contracts deeds bonds agreements debts\nliabilities securities duties and obligations\nand all powers authorities immunities rights\ns. 3\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n4\nand privileges of Yooralla or of the Victorian\nSociety made by or with or vested in\nexerciseable by or imposed or binding upon\nor available in Yooralla or the Victorian\nSociety immediately before the appointed\nday shall be deemed to be the contracts\ndeeds bonds agreements debts liabilities\nsecurities duties obligations powers\nauthorities immunities rights and privileges\nof the Yooralla Society and shall be\nenforceable or exerciseable by or against the\nYooralla Society as fully and effectually as\nthey would have been by or against Yooralla\nor the Victorian Society if this Act had not\nbeen enacted.\n(3) All property which immediately before the\nappointed day was vested in Yooralla or the\nVictorian Society shall, on the appointed day, vest\nin the Yooralla Society without necessity for any\nconveyance transfer or other assurance of\nproperty.\n5. Gifts, trusts, wills etc.\nOn and after the appointed day—\n(a) a donation, gift, disposition or trust of\nproperty made or declared whether by deed\nor otherwise (other than by a will) before the\nappointed day; and\n(b) a bequest, disposition or trust of property\nunder a will made before the appointed day\n(whether or not the testator died before that\nday)—\nshall have effect, unless a contrary intention is\nexpressly declared, as if—\n(c) a reference in the deed or other instrument or\ndeclaration or in the will to Yooralla were a\nreference to the Yooralla Society; and\ns. 5\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n5\n(d) a reference in the deed or other instrument or\ndeclaration or in the will to the Victorian\nSociety were a reference to the Yooralla\nSociety.\n6. Yooralla Society not required to lodge returns of\ndirectors, etc., under Corporations Act\nYooralla Society is declared to be an excluded\nmatter for the purposes of section 5F of the\nCorporations Act in relation to section 205B of\nthe Corporations Act.\nNote: This section ensures that section 205B (Notice of\nname and address of directors and secretaries to\nASIC) of the Corporations Act will not apply in\nrelation to Yooralla Society. Section 5F of the\nCorporations Act provides that if a State law declares\na matter to be an excluded matter in relation to\nspecified provisions of the Corporations legislation,\nthen those provisions will not apply in relation to that\nmatter in the State concerned.\n7. Yooralla Society deemed to be registered\nThe Yooralla Society shall be deemed to be an\ninstitution within the meaning of the Hospitals\nand Charities Act 1958 and to have been\nregistered under that Act on the appointed day.\n* * * * *\n═══════════════\nS. 6\nsubstituted by\nNo. 44/2001\ns. 3(Sch.\nitem 130).\ns. 6\nS. 8\nrepealed by\nNo. 9863\ns. 2(Sch).\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n6\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nThe Yooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977 was assented to on 3 May 1977\nand came into operation on 3 May 1977: section 1(2).\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n7\n2. Table of Amendments\nThis Version incorporates amendments made to the Yooralla Society of\nVictoria Act 1977 by Acts and subordinate instruments.\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\nStatute Law Revision (Repeals) Act 1982, No. 9863/1982\nAssent Date: 5.1.83\nCommencement Date: 5.1.83: s. 1(2)\nCurrent State: All of Act in operation\nCorporations (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001, No. 44/2001\nAssent Date: 27.6.01\nCommencement Date: S. 3(Sch. item 130) on 15.7.01: s. 2\nCurrent State: This information relates only to the provision/s\namending the Yooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 8980/1977\nYooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n8\n3. Explanatory Details\n1 S. 3: \"Appointed day\" 1 July 1977: Government Gazette 8 June 1977\npage 1575.\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, there is no evidence that the scope of this Act has changed from its original intent. It appears to remain a narrow private Act focused solely on incorporating the Yooralla Society of Victoria, consistent with its original purpose in 1977. However, the severely limited text provided makes a definitive assessment impossible."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely limited legislative text available for analysis — the document appears incomplete or is a metadata/version history page only","Private Acts of this type are typically short and straightforward, dealing only with incorporation and basic governance of a single named organisation","No complex regulatory scheme, penalties, or cross-references to other Acts are visible in the provided text","Limited version history suggests few or no amendments, meaning the law has remained largely static"],"plain_english_summary":"## Yooralla Society of Victoria Act 1977\n\nThis is a **private Act** (legislation created specifically for one organisation rather than the general public) that provides the **Yooralla Society of Victoria** with its formal legal existence and powers.\n\n**What is Yooralla?** Yooralla is a not-for-profit organisation that provides services to people with disabilities in Victoria.\n\n**What does this Act do?**\n- Gives Yooralla legal recognition as an incorporated body (meaning it can own property, sign contracts, and sue or be sued as an organisation rather than as individual people)\n- Sets out the organisation's official name, structure, and powers\n- Allows Yooralla to operate with legal certainty when delivering disability services\n\n**Who does it affect?**\n- Yooralla as an organisation and its leadership\n- People with disabilities who use Yooralla's services\n- Anyone who contracts with or donates to Yooralla\n\n**Why does it matter?** Without this Act, Yooralla would not have the legal foundation to operate as a formal organisation — it could not hold assets, employ staff under an organisational name, or enter binding agreements in the way it does today.\n\n**Note:** The available text of this legislation is extremely limited, so a full analysis of all provisions is not possible from the information provided."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's original and primary scope was to effect a statutory amalgamation and to transfer property, contracts and legal status to a single successor body (preamble; ss.3–5,7). Subsequent amendment noted in the source (Corporations (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001) substituted section 6 to declare the Yooralla Society an \"excluded matter\" under the Corporations Act in relation to the specific ASIC filing obligation (s.6 as substituted by 2001 Act). That amendment changed the Act's interaction with federal corporations disclosure requirements by removing the application of s.205B of the Corporations Act to the Yooralla Society. The endnotes also record the repeal of an earlier section (s.8) by a 1983 statute. These recorded changes modify the original instrument's scope only in its statutory interactions and disclosure consequences, not in its core function of transferring assets and liabilities to a successor entity."},"complexity_factors":["Statutory deeming and vesting of property and obligations (ss.4(2),(3)) — legal-effect provisions that replace ordinary conveyancing and novation practice","Treatment of pre-existing instruments (gifts, trusts, wills) as references to the successor body (s.5) — requires reading historical instruments against the new legal entity","Interaction with other statutes: declared exemption from a specific Corporations Act filing requirement (s.6) and deeming as an institution under the Hospitals and Charities Act 1958 (s.7)","Executive discretion to choose the appointed day (s.3) — timing not fixed in the Act itself","Relatively short text with clear operative provisions — low procedural and interpretive complexity compared with multi-part regulatory Acts"],"plain_english_summary":"What this Act does (mechanically)\n\n- Dissolves two existing organisations (the Yooralla Hospital School for Crippled Children and the Victorian Society for Crippled Children and Adults) and makes the Yooralla Society of Victoria their legal successor on a day set by the Governor in Council (see s.3 and s.4(1)).\n- Transfers all real and personal property, and vests it in the Yooralla Society automatically on the appointed day without the need for conveyances or other transfer formalities (s.4(2)(a),(b) and s.4(3)).\n- Treats all contracts, debts, liabilities, rights and obligations of the two former bodies as if they were contracts, debts, liabilities, rights and obligations of the Yooralla Society, so those instruments continue to be enforceable against or by the successor body (s.4(2)(c)).\n- Provides that pre-existing non-testamentary gifts, trusts and dispositions, and bequests under wills made before the appointed day, operate as if references to the former bodies were references to the Yooralla Society unless the instrument expressly says otherwise (s.5(c),(d)).\n- Declares that the Yooralla Society is an \"institution\" under the Hospitals and Charities Act 1958 and that it is treated as registered under that Act on the appointed day (s.7).\n- Exempts the Yooralla Society from the specific Corporations Act obligation to notify ASIC of the names and addresses of directors and secretaries (interaction described at s.6 and accompanying note; the Act declares Yooralla Society to be an \"excluded matter\" under s.5F of the Corporations Act in relation to s.205B of that Act).\n\nWhat the Act says its purpose is (and how that aligns with mechanics)\n\n- The Act's preamble states that the two organisations agreed that amalgamation into a single entity would ensure \"a complete and integrated service\" for disabled children and adults in Victoria. Mechanically, the Act gives effect to that by dissolving the two entities and transferring their assets, liabilities, contracts and legal statuses to one successor company (see preamble; ss.3–5,7).\n\nPractical effects, incentives and trade-offs (source‑grounded)\n\n- Who decides timing: the Governor in Council chooses the exact day the legal changes take effect (s.3). That gives executive discretion over implementation timing.\n- Who gains assets and control: the Yooralla Society becomes legal owner of all property and takes over contracts and statutory status previously held by the two predecessor entities (s.4(1)–(3); s.7). This consolidates ownership and operational control in a single corporate body.\n- Who bears liabilities: debts, obligations and liabilities of the predecessor bodies transfer to and become enforceable against the Yooralla Society as if they had always been its obligations (s.4(2)(c)). Creditors and counterparties will look to the successor entity for performance or enforcement.\n- Donors and testators: existing gifts, trusts and wills that mention either predecessor are read as referring to the Yooralla Society unless the instrument says otherwise (s.5). Donors do not need to re-execute most instruments for the beneficiary body to change in law, but the Act preserves any contrary intention expressly declared in the instrument (s.5).\n- Administrative and transaction costs: the Act removes the need for conveyances or other formal transfer documents to pass title (s.4(3)), which reduces conveyancing costs and paperwork. However, counterparties, land registries, banks and other administrators will still need to update records and may incur administrative work to reflect the new legal owner.\n- Disclosure and compliance burden: s.6 declares Yooralla Society an \"excluded matter\" for the Corporations Act provision requiring notice of directors and secretaries (the legislative consequence is that s.205B of the Corporations Act will not apply to the Yooralla Society). That reduces a specific public filing obligation for the Society; it changes what information must be lodged with ASIC under that provision.\n- Regulatory status: by deeming the Yooralla Society to be an \"institution\" registered under the Hospitals and Charities Act 1958 on the appointed day (s.7), the Act preserves the predecessor institution status and the regulatory consequences that flow from that status under the Hospitals and Charities regime.\n\nImplementation risks and effects on private choices (limited to source evidence)\n\n- The Act substitutes legal title and liability by operation of law rather than by bilateral novation or re-contracting (s.4(2),(3)). That reduces the need for consent or re-signing, but it means counterparties must accept the statutory transfer rather than securing contractual novation themselves.\n- The Governor in Council's power to fix the appointed day (s.3) concentrates timing discretion in the executive; the Act does not prescribe additional administrative steps for third parties beyond the statutory vesting and deeming rules.\n\nConcentrated benefits, diffuse costs and enforcement mechanics (source‑grounded)\n\n- Concentrated benefits accrue to the two predecessor organisations and to the Yooralla Society (they receive consolidated property, continuity of contracts and a retained institutional registration) (preamble; ss.4,7).\n- Diffuse administrative costs are likely to be borne by third parties who must update records and by creditors and counterparties who must accept the successor as the relevant party (s.4(2),(3); s.5). The Act itself imposes the legal transfers; it does not create a mechanism for compensating parties for their administrative costs.\n\nAmendments noted in the source\n\n- The source notes that s.6 was substituted by the Corporations (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001, and section 8 of the original Act was repealed in 1983 (Table of Amendments). Those changes alter the Act's interaction with Commonwealth corporations legislation (see endnotes)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating the 1977 amalgamation of two specific disability organisations. The only amendment (2001) updated a corporate law reference to maintain the existing exemption from director reporting requirements, which is consistent with the original intent of treating Yooralla as a special-purpose entity. No expansion of scope has occurred."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 operative sections (one repealed)","6 defined terms in a straightforward interpretation section","Single-layer conditional logic (everything triggers on 'appointed day')","No cross-references to other legislation except standard corporate and hospital law citations","Simple property transfer mechanism without nested exceptions","Legislative purpose clearly stated in preamble and long title"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act merges two Victorian disability service organisations into one. It dissolves the **Yooralla Hospital School for Crippled Children** and the **Victorian Society for Crippled Children and Adults**, and creates a single new entity called the **Yooralla Society of Victoria** to take over their work.\n\n**Key effects:**\n\n*   **Automatic transfer of everything:** On a date set by the government (\"appointed day\"), all property, money, contracts, debts, and legal obligations of the two old organisations automatically transfer to the new Yooralla Society. No paperwork like deeds or transfers is needed.\n*   **Wills and gifts still work:** If anyone left money or property to either old organisation in their will, or made a trust or gift, those now go to the new Yooralla Society instead—unless the document specifically says otherwise.\n*   **Special corporate exemption:** The new Yooralla Society doesn't have to follow one specific rule in the Corporations Act about telling the corporate regulator (ASIC) about its directors and secretaries.\n*   **Hospital registration:** The new organisation is automatically treated as a registered hospital/charity under Victorian law.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   People with disabilities in Victoria who use Yooralla services\n*   Staff, donors, and anyone who had contracts with the old organisations\n*   Anyone who left money to either organisation in their will\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law ensured continuity of care for disabled Victorians. Instead of two separate organisations potentially duplicating services or competing for funding, one integrated organisation could provide \"complete and integrated service\" (as the preamble puts it). It also protected donors' intentions and ensured legal obligations (like leases or employment contracts) continued seamlessly."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977","history":"/api/acts/yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977/history","analysis":"/api/acts/yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/yooralla-society-of-victoria-act-1977/documents"}}