Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976

The central concept is a change of name effected by s 3, but the Act treats this change as having pervasive legal effect. The appointed day is defined in s 2(3) as the day fixed by proclamation on the recommendation of the Primate. The Act commenced in two stages: s 1 and s 2 on Royal Assent (1 December 1976); the rest on the appointed day (24 August 1981). The term law of the State in s 2(3) is broad: it covers Acts, regulations, rules, local laws, and by-laws having effect under an Act, and any instrument having effect under an Act or those subordinate laws. This means the Act reaches not just primary legislation but also local government by-laws, planning instruments, and any other delegated legislation. The construction concept in s 4 is mandatory and comprehensive: on and from the appointed day, any reference to the old name in a law of the State, Church canon, ordinance, statute, rule, or instrument (including grants, deeds, wills) must be read as a reference to the new name. Section 7 adds that this construction is a direct amendment to the State law for all purposes, unless the context otherwise requires. That unless the context otherwise requires proviso is important: if a particular reference in an old law is factually tied to the Church of England as a historical entity distinct from the Anglican Church of Australia (for example, a reference to a specific ecclesiastical body that no longer exists under the new name), a court might decide that the context does not permit automatic substitution. Section 5 creates a savings concept: the name change does not prejudice or affect the continuity of any corporation, property, rights, authorities, duties, functions, or obligations. Legal proceedings already commenced or capable of being commenced before the appointed day may continue under the new name. Section 6 introduces a restricted use concept: after six months, only persons authorised by General Synod Canon may use the specified names or the description Anglican in connection with business, trade, or profession. The offence is a simple penalty provision, but s 6(2) clarifies that it does not limit any existing rights or remedies the Church may have. The Act also implicitly incorporates the concept of constructive amendment - s 7 deems the construction of references to be an actual amendment of each affected law, so that reprints and consolidations may (and typically do) update the wording without requiring individual amending Acts.

The Act directly affects the Anglican Church of Australia itself, its dioceses, parishes, and all corporations associated with it. Section 5 preserves corporate continuity, so property-holding trusts, cathedral chapters, and other church entities are not disrupted. The Act also affects any person or organisation that wishes to use the names Church of England, Church of England in Australia, or Anglican Church of Australia, or the description Anglican, for business, trade, or professional purposes in Western Australia. Section 6(1) makes such use an offence after six months from the appointed day unless authorised by a General Synod Canon. This affects commercial entities (for example, businesses named Anglican something, or using Church of England in their trading name), professional practices, and possibly non-profit organisations that are not part of the Anglican Church. The Act also affects government agencies, local councils, and any person responsible for drafting, interpreting, or applying Western Australian laws. Under s 4 and s 7, every reference to the old name in an Act, regulation, local law, or instrument is automatically read as a reference to the new name, and that reading is deemed a direct amendment. This means that the Department of the Attorney General, the Parliamentary Counsel's Office, and local government authorities must treat all existing references as if amended. Will-makers, trustees, and conveyancers dealing with pre-1981 grants, deeds, or wills that refer to the Church of England must also be aware that those references are now to the Anglican Church of Australia. The Act does not directly affect other religious denominations, but it does affect entities that might have a historical connection to the Church of England - for example, schools, hospitals, or charitable trusts that referenced the Church of England in their founding documents. Those entities are now treated as referencing the Anglican Church of Australia unless the context otherwise requires. The Act also affects the legal profession and the judiciary, who must interpret older legislation and instruments with this constructive amendment in mind.

The Act imposes only one express duty that carries a penalty: the duty under s 6(1) not to use the protected names or description without authorisation. This duty applies to a person (which includes a corporation) after six months from the appointed day. The duty is to refrain from using, or causing or permitting to be used, the names Church of England, Church of England in Australia, or Anglican Church of Australia, or the description Anglican, whether alone or with other words, in connection with any business, trade, or profession. Use is not defined, so it would carry its ordinary meaning, covering trade marks, business names, letterheads, advertising, and oral representations. Causes or permits to be used extends the duty to those who authorise or allow others to use the prohibited terms in a business context. The only way to comply is to obtain authorisation by or pursuant to a Canon of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. The Act does not set out any criteria for authorisation; that is left to the Church's internal governance. The rights created by the Act are mostly in favour of the Anglican Church of Australia. The Church has the right to have all pre-existing references to the old name in State laws, Church laws, and instruments construed as references to the new name (s 4). It also has the right to have that construction treated as a direct amendment to the law (s 7), which simplifies statutory interpretation and avoids the need for individual amending legislation. The Church and all its corporations have a right to continuity under s 5: no legal personality, property, rights, authorities, duties, functions, or obligations are prejudiced or affected by the name change. Legal proceedings can continue under the new name. Section 6(2) preserves any right or remedy the Church would have had apart from the offence provision, meaning the Church can still sue for passing off, trade mark infringement, or other common law or statutory remedies if an unauthorised person uses the protected names. The Church also has the right to grant or withhold authorisation to use the names under a General Synod Canon. For third parties, there is no right to use the protected names without authorisation. The Act does not create a right to be compensated for the forced change of name; it is a straightforward renaming imposed by Parliament. There is also no statutory right of appeal against a refusal of authorisation, as that is a matter of Canon law, not State law.

The only penalty specified in the Act is in s 6(1): a fine of $100 for the offence of unauthorised use of the protected names or description after six months from the appointed day. The penalty amount is fixed at $100 and has not been updated since 1976 (though the Reprints Act 1984 machinery does not change penalty amounts; the penalty remains $100 unless amended by another Act, which it has not been). A $100 fine is modest by contemporary standards, but the Act's enforcement significance is not primarily in the criminal penalty. Section 6(2) expressly provides that the offence provision does not operate to deprive the Anglican Church of Australia wholly or partly of any right or remedy it would have had if that subsection had not been enacted. This means the Church can still pursue civil remedies such as passing off, trade mark infringement (under the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth)), or action for misleading or deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law (Sch 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). In practice, a court might award injunctions, damages, or account of profits against an unauthorised user, making the $100 penalty a secondary deterrent. The Act does not establish any specific enforcement agency. Prosecutions would be brought by the Western Australian Police or possibly by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The offence is likely a simple offence triable summarily in the Magistrates Court. The burden of proof would be on the prosecution to prove that the accused used the name or description in connection with business, trade, or profession, and that no authorisation from a General Synod Canon existed. Authorisation is a defence, and the accused might bear an evidentiary burden to raise it. The Act does not provide for continuing penalties or daily fines, so each use is a separate offence, but the $100 amount is low. The real teeth of the Act are the preserved civil remedies and the Church's ability to rely on the constructive amendment provisions to assert its identity. Enforcement of the constructive amendments (s 4 and s 7) is automatic and does not require litigation; courts and administrative bodies are bound to apply the references as amended. If a dispute arises about whether a particular reference is covered, a party may seek declaratory relief. The Act does not create any right of private action for breach of the offence provision, but a person aggrieved could report a breach to the police.

The Act interacts with Western Australian statute law through its constructive amendment mechanism in s 7. When s 4 requires a reference to the old name to be construed as a reference to the new name, s 7 deems that construction to be a direct amendment to the law of the State for all purposes, unless the context otherwise requires. This means that every Act, regulation, local law, or instrument that previously used Church of England or Church of England in Australia is treated as if it had been formally amended. The Act therefore modifies the interpretation of hundreds of WA statutes without requiring individual amendment bills. For example, any reference to the Church of England in the Property Law Act 1969, the Trustees Act 1962, or in specific legislation relating to church property is now a reference to the Anglican Church of Australia. The Act also interacts with the Church of England in Australia Constitution Act 1960 (which is the enabling Act for the Church's constitution). Section 3 of the 1976 Act directly changes the name in that Act, and the compilation table note confirms that the 1960 Act is now known as the Anglican Church of Australia Constitution Act 1960. The 1976 Act effectively amends the short title of that earlier Act. The Act interacts with the Reprints Act 1984 (WA), under which this compilation has been produced; the reprint includes the 1976 Act as amended, but the penalty amount has not been updated. The Act also interacts with the Local Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996, which amended s 2(3) of this Act to update the definition of law of the State to include references to local laws (a terminology change under local government reform). That amendment ensures that the construction of references in local government by-laws continues to operate correctly. The Act interacts with the common law of passing off and with Commonwealth intellectual property law. Section 6(2) preserves those remedies. If an unauthorised person uses Anglican in a business name, the Church could bring a passing off action or rely on the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) if it has registered marks. The Act does not override those laws; it supplements them with a criminal offence. The Act also interacts with the law of trusts and wills. A testamentary gift to the Church of England in Australia made before the appointed day is now a gift to the Anglican Church of Australia. The Act provides certainty for executors and trustees. The unless the context otherwise requires proviso in s 7 means that if a trust deed refers to the Church of England as a body that existed at a particular date and with particular characteristics that differ from the modern Anglican Church, a court might hold that the context does not permit automatic substitution. That interpretive escape valve preserves flexibility. The Act does not interact with Commonwealth laws that refer to the Church of England; it is a State Act and only binds Western Australian law. However, Commonwealth statutes are interpreted in their own context, and the 1976 Commonwealth Anglican Church of Australia Constitution Act 1960 (which authorised the constitution) already uses the new name. The WA Act ensures consistency within the State.

The Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976 (Act No. 121 of 1976) received Royal Assent on 1 December 1976. It has been amended only once. The amendment is recorded in the compilation table: the Local Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 (No. 14 of 1996), s 4, which came into operation on 1 July 1996. That amendment modified s 2(3) of the Act. The original definition of law of the State in s 2(3) included regulations, rules, by‑laws or local laws and instruments under them. The 1996 amendment updated this to regulations, rules, local laws or by‑laws - a reordering and refinement to reflect the terminology used in the Local Government Act 1995 (WA). The substance is unchanged: local laws are a type of by-law, but the amendment standardised the language. No other amendments have been made since 1976. The Act was reprinted as at 5 May 2000, then as at 3 May 2002, then as at 6 March 2015 (the current reprint). The reprint includes the 1996 amendment and the compilation table. The Act has not been repealed or replaced, and it remains in force. There have been no amendments to the penalty amount of $100, which remains at its 1976 level. Because the penalty is not indexed, it has reduced in real value over time. The appointed day provisions in s 2 are now historical: s 1 and s 2 commenced on 1 December 1976; the rest commenced on 24 August 1981 (per Gazette 30 January 1981 p. 441). No further proclamations are needed. The Act has not been affected by any subsequent general statute law revision Acts (such as the Statute Law Revision Act series in WA), although it could be indirectly affected if another Act modifies the definition of law of the State or the offence provisions. As at March 2015, no such changes have occurred.

The source text does not name any specific cases that have interpreted the Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976. A diligent search of reported decisions in Western Australia would be needed to determine whether there has been any litigation, but the Act's terms are straightforward and the provision most likely to generate dispute is s 6(1) (unauthorised use of the protected names). There may have been unreported prosecutions under s 6(1) in the Magistrates Court, but none appears to have reached the Supreme Court of Western Australia, or at least none is cited in the source. Section 7's unless the context otherwise requires proviso could theoretically be litigated if a dispute arises over whether a particular historical reference to the Church of England should be read as referring to the Anglican Church of Australia or to some other entity (for example, the Church of England in England). However, the purpose of the Act is to ensure continuity, so courts would likely apply the general rule of construction in s 4 and 7. Section 5 (savings) could also be relevant in litigation about corporate continuity or property rights, but it is a typical no break in continuity provision that would rarely be contested. The Act's interaction with the Church of England in Australia Constitution Act 1960 (now Anglican Church of Australia Constitution Act 1960) may have been the subject of judicial comment in cases about the internal governance of the Anglican Church, but those cases would cite the 1960 Act, not the 1976 renaming Act. The Act itself has not been the subject of constitutional challenge - it is a valid State law dealing with a matter of local concern (altering the name of a religious body and updating statutory references). Because the Act is now over 40 years old and its operative provisions (the name change and constructive amendments) were effective as of 1981, most interpretative questions would have been resolved by administrative practice. Any litigation today would most likely involve s 6(1) if an unauthorised person uses Anglican in a business name. The Church would first attempt to enforce through civil remedies before relying on the criminal penalty. Without reported decisions, it is not possible to state with confidence how courts have construed the Act, but its clear language suggests minimal interpretive difficulty.

Several features of the Act may catch the unwary. First, the offence in s 6(1) prohibits the use of the description Anglican alone, without the need for other words. This is broader than merely using Anglican Church of Australia. A business that calls itself Anglican Accounting Services or Anglican Cleaning Co would be caught, unless the business is authorised by a General Synod Canon. The penalty is only $100, but s 6(2) preserves the Church's civil remedies, which could include an injunction or an action for passing off that could be much more costly. The definition of business, trade or profession is broad and would cover charitable enterprises that operate commercially, but possibly not purely religious activities of the Church itself (since the Church already has authorisation). The Act does not define use, so even a reference in a historical context (e.g., an antiques shop selling Anglican Church memorabilia) might technically be a use in connection with business, though likely an innocent one. Second, the unless the context otherwise requires proviso in s 7. This may create uncertainty if an old law refers to the Church of England in a way that is historically specific and cannot be transferred. For example, a law that refers to the Church of England in Australia as constituted under the 1960 Act is clearly now the Anglican Church of Australia. But a law that refers to the Church of England property vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners might raise questions if the Commissioners no longer exist. The proviso allows a court to depart from automatic substitution. Third, s 5(1) states that the Act does not prejudice or affect the continuity of any corporation or any property, rights, authorities, duties, functions or obligations of any corporation. This is a typical savings provision, but the phrase of any corporation could be read narrowly to protect only corporations, not unincorporated associations. However, para (b) of s 4 already covers grants, deeds, wills and other instruments, so unincorporated church bodies probably still get the benefit of the name change. Fourth, the Act does not specify a mechanism for obtaining authorisation under s 6(1). It refers to authorisation by or pursuant to a Canon of the General Synod. A person wanting to use Anglican must investigate whether such a Canon exists and what procedure it prescribes. If no Canon exists, arguably no authorisation can be granted, and any use is prohibited, which could be a trap for legacy organisations that have used the name for decades. Fifth, the Act applies only to use in connection with business, trade, or profession. Private, non-commercial use - for example, a person calling themselves Anglican in a social media handle - is not caught. But the line between personal and professional use can blur. Sixth, the appointed day (24 August 1981) is long past, so the six-month grace period has expired. Any unauthorised use of the protected names today is automatically an offence; there is no transitional protection. Finally, the constructive amendment in s 7 is deemed a direct amendment for all purposes. This could affect the interpretation of contracts and other instruments even if the parties did not intend to refer to the new name. However, s 4(e) limits the construction to instruments having effect on or after that day, so pre-1981 instruments are not automatically read with the new name unless they have ongoing effect.

Compliance with the Anglican Church of Australia Act 1976 is straightforward for most people but requires attention to two distinct aspects: (1) ensuring that any existing or proposed use of the protected names or description in business, trade, or profession is authorised, and (2) ensuring that when interpreting or drafting laws, instruments, and documents, the correct name is used. For the first aspect, a person who wishes to use Church of England, Church of England in Australia, Anglican Church of Australia, or the description Anglican in connection with any business, trade, or profession must obtain authorisation from the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. The Act does not specify how such authorisation is to be obtained; it leaves that to the Church's internal Canon law. A practitioner should advise their client to contact the General Synod office or the relevant diocese to determine whether a current Canon exists and what application process applies. It is likely that the Church has a Canon regulating the use of its name, and authorisation may be granted to affiliated schools, hospitals, aged care providers, and other ministries. Entities that are not part of the Anglican Church but have a historical connection (for example, a trust that runs a retirement village and uses Anglican in its name) should obtain a written authorisation or, if none is available, consider rebranding. Without authorisation, continuing use risks both a $100 fine and a civil suit. For new businesses, a name search should avoid any of the protected terms. For established businesses, if the name was in use before the appointed day and before the six-month grace period ended, the use may have become unlawful after 24 February 1982. Many such businesses may have continued without incident, but they should regularise their position with the Church. For the second aspect, any person drafting a will, deed, contract, or other instrument that refers to the Anglican Church should use the full current name: Anglican Church of Australia. References to the old name should be avoided unless the document is executing a pre-1981 will that is being incorporated, in which case s 4 automatically substitutes the new name. Government agencies and parliamentary counsel should ensure that all new legislation uses Anglican Church of Australia. When reprinting or consolidating older Acts, the constructive amendment under s 7 allows the reprint to substitute the new name without an amending Act. Local governments should check their local laws for references to the Church of England and update them formally or rely on the automatic construction. For compliance with s 6, the Church itself is obviously authorised, and its agencies should hold a written authorisation from the General Synod as proof. If a person is uncertain whether their use is caught by s 6(1), they should seek legal advice, but the safest course is to avoid the protected terms in any commercial context unless the business is clearly part of the Anglican Church. There is no application process under the State Act itself; compliance is entirely about obtaining the Church's permission or refraining from use.