Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi
Version No. 002
Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907
Act No. 2100/1907
Version incorporating amendments as at 24 October 2001
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
Short title 1
Definitions 2
Powers of council to pass resolution to form body corporate to
hold church property 2
Evidence of constitution of council and of resolution 3
Certified copy of resolution to be delivered to the Registrar-
General 3
Incorporation of trustees of Church property 3
Property vested in any bishop in trust to be deemed to be
vested in the bishop for the time being 4
Trustees in any diocese may transfer to body corporate 5
Bishop of diocese may consent to transfer in place of trustee
deceased absent or under disability 5
Registrar-General or Registrar of Titles to make transfers to
body corporate 6
Appointment of trustees of Church property 6
Successor in office to become trustee in place of predecessor 6
Property vested in trustees to be held in conformity with any
express trust 7
13A. Pooled investment of trust money 7
13B. Variation of trusts 7
Corporate body may make rules 10
Corporate body may lease mortgage and sell 10
New dioceses 10
Transfer of property in new dioceses 11
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ENDNOTES 12
General Information 12
Table of Amendments 13
Explanatory Details 14
Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1
Version No. 002
Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907
Act No. 2100/1907
Version incorporating amendments as at 24 October 2001
An Act to provide for the Creation of Corporate Bodies of
Trustees in which Property belonging to the Roman Catholic
Church in Victoria may be vested and for other purposes.
Preamble
WHEREAS the property of the Roman Catholic
Church in Victoria is held by many different
bodies of trustees:
AND WHEREAS owing to death and other causes
the necessity for the appointment of new trustees is
continually arising:
AND WHEREAS it is expedient that corporate
bodies of trustees should be created for the purpose
of holding managing and dealing with the property
of the said Church and that for the better
management thereof certain properties of the said
Church should be vested in such corporate bodies
and that the conveyance and transfer of such
properties should be facilitated and rendered less
expensive:
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the King's Most
Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the
Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria
in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of
the same as follows:
Short title
This Act shall be called and may for all purposes
be cited as the Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907.
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Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907
2
2. Definitions
In this Act the following terms shall if not
inconsistent with the context have the meanings
hereinafter respectively assigned to them:
"Bishop" shall mean the person from time to time
registered under the title of "Bishop" or
"Archbishop" under the provisions of
Part III of the Trusts Act 1890 or any
statutory modification thereof as head of the
Roman Catholic Church in the part of
Victoria described in the Denominational
Register and shall include the Administrator
of the affairs of the diocese during the
vacancy of the See or during the absence of
the bishop from Victoria;
"diocese" shall mean the part of Victoria from
time to time described in the Denominational
Register as the diocese of the person so
registered;
"Church" shall mean the Roman Catholic
Church;
"council" shall mean a Diocesan Council
constituted in any diocese according to the
rules practices and usages of the Roman
Catholic Church;
"resolution" shall mean a resolution of a council
passed by a majority of those members
present at a meeting.
3. Powers of council to pass resolution to form body
corporate to hold church property
A council may if it thinks fit pass a resolution
expressing its desire—
(a) that there be constituted within the diocese a
corporate body of trustees for the purpose of
holding managing and dealing with property
s. 2
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within such diocese in trust for the benefit of
the Church;
(b) that the persons nominated in the resolution
as trustees (who may be members of the
council) be the corporate body;
(c) that such trustees be incorporated under the
name specified in the resolution.
4. Evidence of constitution of council and of resolution
A certificate under the hand of a bishop that a
council was duly constituted and convened within
his diocese and that a resolution was duly passed
by such council shall be conclusive evidence that
the council was so constituted and convened and
the resolution so passed.
5. Certified copy of resolution to be delivered to the
Registrar-General
As soon as may be after the passing of any
resolution under the provisions of section three
hereof the bishop of the diocese shall cause a copy
thereof duly certified under his hand to be
delivered to the Registrar-General who shall retain
and register the same.
6. Incorporation of trustees of Church property
After the registration of any resolution passed
under the provisions of section three hereof the
Registrar-General shall notify the same in the
Government Gazette and thereupon the trustees
named in such notice and their successors to be
appointed as hereinafter provided shall be a body
corporate by the name stated in such notice and
shall have perpetual succession and a common
seal and may sue and be sued in their corporate
name and may acquire take hold manage and deal
with any property in trust for the Church within
the diocese in which such resolution shall have
been passed or for any person holding for the time
s. 4
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being any office therein and may receive any
moneys which have been or shall be given
contributed or bequeathed by any person to be
applied to any of the purposes of the Church and
may take over any securities for money held by
any person on behalf of the Church and may take
in the name of such corporate body any securities
for money belonging to the Church which shall be
lent or advanced on account thereof and shall deal
with all such property and securities so as to give
effect to the trusts to which they shall be specially
subject or when not subject to any express trust in
such manner as a council of such diocese may
from time to time by resolution direct but so as
not to interfere with the jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court in the enforcement of trusts.
7. Property vested in any bishop in trust to be deemed
to be vested in the bishop for the time being
When any property is vested or purports to be
vested in the bishop of any diocese or has prior to
the passing of this Act been granted conveyed
transfered assigned devised or bequeathed to the
bishop of any diocese in order that the same be
held by him and his successors upon trust for the
benefit of the person holding for the time being
the office of bishop of such diocese or for any of
the purposes of the Church in such diocese or for
furthering any object in connexion therewith such
property shall be held to be and from the date of
his appointment to have been vested in the bishop
for the time being of such diocese subject to the
trusts affecting the same and such property may
be conveyed transferred or assigned by such
bishop if he thinks fit to the body corporate
constituted under the provisions of this Act within
the diocese of such bishop for the purpose of
holding property in trust for the benefit of the
Church and shall thenceforth be held by such
s. 7
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body corporate subject to the trusts originally
affecting the same and on the demise of any
bishop prior to his having made any conveyance
transfer or assignment the same shall become
vested in such body corporate without any
conveyance transfer or assignment unless such
bishop shall by his last will or by any deed have
otherwise expressly directed.
8. Trustees in any diocese may transfer to body
corporate
When any persons hold any property within any
diocese in trust for or on behalf of the Church
such trustees may if they think fit consent in
writing to a transfer of the trust property to the
corporate body constituted in such diocese to hold
property in trust for the benefit of the Church, and
such transfer when registered as hereinafter
provided shall from and after the date of such
registration operate as a discharge of all such
trustees from the duties of the trust.
9. Bishop of diocese may consent to transfer in place of
trustee deceased absent or under disability
If by reason of death absence from the State of
Victoria or any other disability the consent of any
trustee to the transfer as aforesaid cannot be
obtained within six months after the constitution
of the corporation as aforesaid the bishop may by
writing under his hand consent to such transfer in
place of any such trustee and if such consent be
published in some newspaper circulating in the
place where the property to which the consent
refers is situate and if within a month from the
publication of such advertisement no proceedings
be taken therein by the person in whose name
such consent is given such consent shall upon the
expiration of such month be as effective for the
purpose of this Act as a consent given by the
s. 8
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person in whose place the consent is declared to
have been given.
10. Registrar-General or Registrar of Titles to make
transfers to body corporate
Upon obtaining any such written consent as is
mentioned in either of the last two preceding
sections and the acceptance of the corporate body
the Registrar-General or the Registrar of Titles as
the case may be shall make the proper transfer in
his Register and thereupon without further
conveyance or transfer the whole estate and
interest of the trustees shall vest in such corporate
body and the Registrar-General or the Registrar of
Titles as the case may be shall issue all necessary
certificates of registration or of title or make any
necessary recordings in the Register.
11. Appointment of trustees of Church property
When a corporate body of trustees has been
constituted in any diocese under section three of
this Act to hold property in trust for the Church
such trustees and their successors shall hold office
for such term and upon such conditions and their
successors (who may be members of such council)
shall be appointed in such manner as a council of
the diocese shall from time to time prescribe.
12. Successor in office to become trustee in place of
predecessor
When any bishop is a trustee under the provisions
of this Act the person who succeeds him as bishop
shall become trustee in his place without any
further or other appointment.
S. 10
amended by
No. 18/1989
s. 13(Sch. 2
item 73(a)).
s. 10
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13. Property vested in trustees to be held in conformity
with any express trust
All property becoming vested in any corporate
body constituted under this Act or which shall in
any manner be acquired by such corporate body
shall so far as the same is subject to any express
trust be held managed and dealt with in
conformity with such express trust, and so far as
the said property is not subject to any express trust
shall be held managed and dealt with as a council
of the diocese may from time to time by resolution
direct.
13A. Pooled investment of trust money
(1) A corporate body constituted under this Act may
from time to time invest as one fund any money
held on trust by it for different purposes, or any
part of that money.
(2) Income arising from the investment of the fund
must be distributed rateably among the several
purposes for which the money invested is held on
trust.
(3) Any loss arising from the investment of the fund
must be borne rateably among the several
purposes for which the money invested is held on
trust.
(4) Sub-section (1) is subject to any express provision
to the contrary in the terms of the relevant trust.
13B. Variation of trusts
(1) If, after the creation of the trusts to which any
property vested in or held by a corporate body
constituted under this Act is for the time being
subject, it has, in the opinion of the corporate
body, become impossible or of no community
benefit to carry out or observe those trusts, the
corporate body may by resolution declare other
s. 13
S. 13A
inserted by
No. 64/2001
s. 3.
S. 13B
inserted by
No. 64/2001
s. 3.
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trusts to which the property may be held, being
trusts for the charitable purposes of the Church.
(2) A resolution declaring other trusts causes the
replaced trusts to cease and determine and the
property that was subject to those trusts to be held
subject to the other trusts.
(3) The property must be dealt with as nearly as may
be possible for the purposes for which the
property was, immediately before the resolution,
held unless the corporate body by resolution
declares that because of circumstances arising
after the creation of the replaced trusts it is, in the
opinion of the corporate body, impossible or of no
community benefit to deal with or apply the
property or some part of it for the same or similar
purposes.
(4) If a resolution is passed under sub-section (3) in
relation to property or some part of it, the property
or part may be dealt with and applied for the
charitable purposes of the Church subject to the
trusts declared by resolution of the corporate
body.
(5) A resolution cannot be passed under sub-section
(1) or (3) in respect of any particular trust
unless—
(a) the corporate body has given written notice
of the intention to pass the resolution to the
person responsible for the trust; and
(b) no objection has been received by the
corporate body from that person within
30 days after the day on which the notice is
given.
s. 13B
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(6) Notice under sub-section (5)(a) must be given to
the person responsible for the trust—
(a) personally or by post, fax or e-mail to the
person at the person's business or residential
address; or
(b) if the corporate body does not know the
person's business or residential address or the
person's identity—by publishing the notice
in a newspaper generally circulating in
Victoria.
(7) Sub-section (5) does not apply if the corporate
body knows that the person responsible for the
trust is dead or, in the case of a body corporate, no
longer exists.
(8) This section applies to trusts created before or
after the commencement of the Roman Catholic
Trusts (Amendment) Act 2001.
(9) In sub-section (1), the reference to trusts that have
been created includes a reference to trusts
declared by a resolution passed under this section.
(10) In this section—
"personal representative" has the same meaning
as in the Administration and Probate Act
1958;
"person responsible" for a trust means—
(a) in the case of a testamentary trust—the
personal representative of the testator;
(b) in any other case—the settlor of the
trust or, if the settlor is dead, the
personal representative of the settlor.
s. 13B
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14. Corporate body may make rules
Every corporate body constituted under the
provisions of this Act may if it thinks fit from
time to time change its name or its seal and may
make such rules and regulations as may be
necessary or expedient for its own guidance and
management and for carrying out its powers and
duties hereunder, and may execute any deed and
sign any document or any instrument under the
Transfer of Land Act 1890 or any statutory
modification thereof by affixing its seal thereto in
the presence of any three of the members of such
corporate body, of whom if he is a member of
such corporate body the bishop or a member
appointed by him from time to time to act in his
stead shall be one.
15. Corporate body may lease mortgage and sell
Except in so far as it may be shown to be
expressly prohibited from so doing by the original
trusts to which such property is subject any
corporate body constituted under the provisions of
this Act may lease for any term charge mortgage
encumber give easements over alien exchange
partition or sell any property vested in it and
generally deal with the same as fully and
effectually as if it were the beneficial owner
thereof.
16. New dioceses
If at any time after the coming into operation of
this Act a new diocese shall be formed it shall be
lawful upon the registration in the Denominational
Register under the provisions of Part III of the
Trusts Act 1890 or any statutory modification
thereof of any person as head of the Church in
such new diocese for any corporate body
constituted to hold property on trust under the
provisions of this Act to consent by deed under its
s. 14
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corporate seal to a transfer of any property held by
it on trust as aforesaid to any corporate body
constituted in such new diocese under the
provisions of this Act.
17. Transfer of property in new dioceses
Upon obtaining the consent mentioned in the last
preceding section and also the acceptance of the
corporate body to which the property is to be
transferred the Registrar-General or the Registrar
of Titles as the case may be shall make the proper
transfer thereof in his Register, and thereupon
without further conveyance or transfer the whole
estate and interest in such property of the
corporate body consenting to such transfer shall
vest in the corporate body accepting such transfer
and the Registrar-General or Registrar of Titles as
the case may be shall issue all necessary
certificates of registration or of title or make any
necessary recordings in the Register.
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S. 17
amended by
No. 18/1989
s. 13(Sch. 2
item 73(b)).
s. 17
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12
ENDNOTES
General Information
The Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907 was assented to on 18 November
1907 and came into operation on 18 November 1907.
Endnotes
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Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907
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2. Table of Amendments
This Version incorporates amendments made to the Roman Catholic Trusts
Act 1907 by Acts and subordinate instruments.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Transfer of Land (Computer Register) Act 1989, No. 18/1989
Assent Date: 16.5.89
Commencement Date: 3.2.92: Government Gazette 18.12.91 p. 3488
Current State: All of Act in operation
Roman Catholic Trusts (Amendment) Act 2001, No. 64/2001
Assent Date: 23.10.01
Commencement Date: 24.10.01: s. 2
Current State: All of Act in operation
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Endnotes
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Roman Catholic Trusts Act 1907
14
3. Explanatory Details
No entries at date of publication.
Endnotes