1Short title and commencement
This Act may be cited as the Religious and Successory Trusts Act 1958, and shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette.
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This Act may be cited as the Religious and Successory Trusts Act 1958, and shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette.
The Acts mentioned in the First Schedule to the extent thereby expressed to be repealed are hereby repealed accordingly.
Except as in this Act expressly or by necessary implication provided—
all persons things and circumstances appointed or created by or under the repealed Acts or existing or continuing under any of such Acts immediately before the commencement of this Act shall under and subject to this Act continue to have the same status operation and effect as they respectively would have had if such Acts had not been so repealed;
in particular and without affecting the generality of the foregoing paragraph such repeal shall not disturb the continuity of status operation or effect of any order appointment registration application authority consent security determination appeal petition liability or right made issued passed given accrued incurred or acquired or existing or continuing by or under any of such Acts before the commencement of this Act.
No part of any moneys reserved or appropriated by any law now or hereafter in force, for purposes of religion shall be issued towards the erection of any building for public worship or minister's dwelling or towards the stipend of any minister of religion to officiate in any such building, unless the real estate in the site of such building or minister's dwelling-house and of any land and hereditaments thereunto belonging has been already duly conveyed to some person or persons in trust for the purposes or promotion of public worship; or until trustees not less than three nor more than five in number have been appointed by the Governor in Council and such real estate as aforesaid has been conveyed to the said trustees upon trust for the erection maintenance and repair of such building for public worship and minister's dwelling and for the provision and promotion of public worship in such building.
As soon as conveniently may be after the completion of any building for public worship under the provisions of this Part, pews sittings or benches in any such building amounting to not less than one-sixth part of the whole of the sittings in every such building for public worship shall be appropriated and set apart for the use of persons resorting thereto, upon which pews sittings or benches so to be appropriated no rent whatever shall at any time be charged or imposed.
In this Part unless inconsistent with the context or subject-matter—
S. 4 def. of document of title amended by No. 18/1989 s. 13(Sch. 2 item 71(a)).
document of title includes any conveyance lease mortgage folio of the Register or nominal stock certificate and any bond promissory note bill of exchange policy of assurance debenture certificate warrant or other document evidencing title to any property where any assignment transfer or indorsement or the signature of the owner to or upon any matter or thing is necessary to pass such property, but does not include any document of title the delivery whereof merely passes the property comprised therein;
property means property real or personal including choses in action;
registered head or representative of a religious denomination in Victoria or any part thereof means the person for the time being registered as such head or representative under the provisions of this Part;
Registrar means Registrar or Assistant Registrar of Titles.
And when anything is required in this Part to be done under the hand of any person if such person is a corporation aggregate such thing may be done under the common seal of such corporation.
No. 3765 s. 5.
Trusts for all or any of the following purposes may be registered under this Part in manner herein mentioned, namely, all trusts for public religious educational or charitable purposes, and all trusts which the Attorney-General may certify are proper to be registered under this Part.
No. 3765 s. 6.
Except as hereinafter mentioned every application to register any trust under this Part must be made by the same authority as is necessary for the appointment of a new trustee of such trust and the vesting of the trust property and every part thereof in such new trustee whether solely or together with any surviving or continuing trustees, and, in case of any trust for purposes connected with any religious denomination, with the consent of the registered head or representative of such denomination for the time being in Victoria or in the part of Victoria to which such trust relates, and in all other cases with the consent of the Attorney-General.
No. 3765 s. 7.
The authority or consent of any person to register any trust under this Part shall be evidenced by writing under the hand of such person and attested by a witness. Any other authority or consent shall be evidenced to the satisfaction of the registrar by statutory declaration or otherwise.
No. 3765 s. 8.
When any trustee or the heir at law executor or administrator of any trustee whose authority would be necessary for the registration of any trust under this Part cannot be found, or has been absent from Victoria for six consecutive months, or refuses or neglects for twenty-eight days after demand to give that authority, the registrar may if he thinks fit order by writing under his hand that the authority of such person be dispensed with; and every such order shall be published in the Government Gazette and thereupon such trust may be registered under this Part notwithstanding that the authority of such person has not been obtained: Provided that the registrar shall not dispense with the authority of any person who can be found and is in Victoria except after notice to such person of the application to dispense with his authority and giving him an opportunity to be heard in opposition to the same: Provided also that, if it appears to the registrar that any person with whose consent he is asked to dispense has or is likely to have any claim to any payment or indemnity of which he could lawfully demand satisfaction before parting with the trust property to a duly appointed successor, the registrar may require as a condition to dispensing with the consent of such person that security be given in such form and in such amount as the registrar may deem sufficient for the satisfaction of such claim. The demand first hereinbefore mentioned shall be in writing, and in case of trusts for purposes connected with any religious denomination shall be made by or on behalf of the registered head or representative of the denomination, and in all other cases by the other trustees or trustee or by the Attorney-General.
No. 3765 s. 9.
Every application to register any trust under this Part shall be in writing addressed to the registrar in the form in the Second Schedule signed by some one at least of the persons whose authority or consent is necessary for such registration and shall be supported by evidence showing—
what are the trusts;
what are the names and descriptions of the trustees;
how the trustees may be changed;
of what the trust property consists;
that the application is made by the authority and with the consent hereinbefore required;
that every document matter and thing relating to or affecting any of the matters aforesaid is mentioned in the application.
No. 3765 s. 10.
If the registrar is satisfied that the trust is one which may be registered under this Part and that the evidence by which the application is supported is sufficient, he shall register such trust.
No. 3765 s. 11.
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