FCP IVATR AERA22 v rnc

FCP IVATR AERA22 v rnc - [1942] HCA 32 - HCA 1942 case summary — Zoe

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its approval, every annual subscriber of not less than £5 5s. to the H. ©. oF A. funds of the Association becomes an ordinary member (but only for es the period of each subscription) (clause 3), and every person Who yy, onan has paid a sum of not less than £21 to the funds of the Association v. becomes a life member (clause 4). teDRe 8. The management of the Association and the control of its stonzr or property are vested in a Council consisting of a President, a Vice- 1*A™%- President (or Vice-Presidents) and not more than twelve members, two of whom retire annually by rotation but are eligible for re-elec- etion (clause 7). The Council may exercise all the powers of the Association which are not by the articles or by statute required to be exercised by the Association in general meeting (clause 30). 9. The superintendent, who is appointed and may be removed by the Council, is (under the control of the Council) the chief executive officer of the Association (clause 36). 10. The activities of the Association during the income year 1939-1940 are summarized in the reports distributed to the members and subscribers of the Association which appear over the name of its superintendent in the 58th and 59th yearly reviews of the Associa- tion and in the 58th and 59th annual reports of the Association which appear over the names of its chairman and honorary treasurer. 11. The material facts relating to such activities are as follows : - (A) The Association is wholly maintained by (or out of the income of funds obtained by) public donations, subscriptions and other voluntary contributions of the kinds specified in sub-clauses g and h of its objects. It receives no Government subsidy. Its annual income for some years has not been sufficient to meet its expenditure. (B) The work of the Association is confined to activities carried on in two buildings - one at Surry Hills and the other at Pyrmont taken over from the unincorporated association. Hach building has three floors and was specially designed for the purposes of the Association. (C) The facilities of the Association are available to any boy who, upon enrolment, is not less than eight and not more than fourteen years of age. Boys over fourteen are not accepted, but any younger boy who joins a branch may continue to attend the branch for a year or two after the maximum age for joining. Enrolment is simply a card entry of the name, age, address, school and names of parents of the boy concerned. Hach attendance is recorded and statistics are compiled. The enrolment of boys using the facilities has for some years been of an average between 800 and 900 boys a year. (D) No boy is debarred from enrolling by reason of his race or creed, the locality of his home, or the circum- stances of his parents. The boys who enrol are unprivileged and

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invariably in poor circumstances. Boys enrolled at the Surry Hills branch come from Surry Hills, Redfern, Waterloo and, in some cases Paddington ; those of the Pyrmont branch come from Pyrmont, Glebe and Ultimo. These districts comprise and contain some of the worst slum areas of Sydney. The houses mostly abut on the streets in which - being the only playgrounds - were it not for the work of the Association the boys would spend their leisure hours. (E) The Association does not canvass boys to join. Common knowledge of the facilities available at the Association's branches attracts the boys to join. The facilities are designed to provide the boys with a wholesome environment, and intelligent occupation for their leisure hours, in substitution for the demoralizing influences of the streets and, even, in some cases, of the boys' homes. (F) Most of the boys who attend are barefooted and poorly clad ; many are dirty and suffering from malnutrition. Cleanliness is inculeated and washing facilities, including soap but not towels (the boys are encouraged to bring these with them), are provided for that purpose. There is no sleeping accommodation for the boys in either of the two buildings, and no food is provided except at the Christmas treat and by means of occasional distributions of fruit. Physical defects are not treated except indirectly by way of physical training and recreation and advice. (G) The superintendent has three paid assistants - not all on full time - who supervise and control the boys and allocate them to their classes. One is a skilled instructor in physical training - an army man. The handicraft classes are taken by the assistants and a number of voluntary helpers. (H) Each branch is open from 6.30 to 9 p.m. on all week days and from 7 to 8 p.m. on Sundays. This is supplemented by certain after-school hours - for class work in metal work and carpentry and use of library - on several after- noons of each week and by special occasions. Some boys attend every day; others only occasionally. They are not coerced to attend or to take part in class work, but attendance is encouraged. The boys are allowed to take home any articles they may make in the handicraft classes. (J) First aid is administered and minor injuries treated by the staff, two of whom are qualified to do so. Antiseptics and bandages are supplied to the Association (free of charge) for these purposes. Medical and dental attention is not otherwise provided. In serious cases, however, the Association gets into touch with hospitals, dental institutions, &c., to ensure that sufferers receive adequate treatment - but not at the Associa- tion's expense or in its care. (K) Ethical training, collective and individual, is not neglected, but generally the objective rather than

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Wiiuiams J. During the year ended 30th June 1940, the appellant gave £3 3s. to the Boys' Brigade Inc. In his income-tax return, he claimed this sum as an allowable deduction under sec. 78 (1) (a) (ii) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936-1940, on the ground that it was a gift to a public benevolent institution within the meaning of that sub-section. The Commissioner having disallowed the deduc- tion the appellant appealed to the Board of Review, which dismissed the appeal. The appellant has now appealed to this Court. On this appeal coming on for hearing before me I stated a case for the opinion of the Full Court pursuant to sec. 198 of the above Act, the principal questions being whether on the facts the Board could in law have reasonably come to the conclusion that the Brigade was not a public benevolent institution within the meaning of the sub-section, and whether it necessarily followed as a matter of law that the Board should have decided that the Brigade was such an institution. The facts upon which the Board reached its conclusion are set out in pars. 4 to 11 of the case stated and need not be repeated in detail. The Brigade (which I shall call the Association to accord with the nomenclature in the case stated) was incorporated in 1927 under the Companies Act 1899 (N.S.W.) to take over and carry on as a going concern an unincorporated association of the same name which was founded in the year 1882. The Association, which is financed entirely by public donations, bequests and subscriptions, is governed by a Council consisting of a president, vice-presidents and not more than twelve members, two of whom retire annually by rotation but are eligible for re-election. On application in writing to the Council, and subject to its approval, every annual subscriber of not less than £5 5s. to the funds of the Association becomes an ordinary member (but only for the period of each sub- scription), and every person who has paid a sum of not less than £21 to the funds of the Association becomes a life member.

At a glance

Court

Decision date

Before

Source

Judgment (53 paragraphs)

Parties