Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977

Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977

An Act to facilitate the union of various Christian churches into a single church to be known as The Uniting Church in Australia, to provide for the constitution and functions of The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tas.), and for the vesting of certain property in that trust, and for related purposes

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART I - Preliminary

1.   Short title and commencement

(1)  This Act may be cited as the Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 .

(2)  This Act shall commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

2.   Repeals

The Acts specified in Schedule I are repealed.

3.   Interpretation

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

appointed day means the day on which this Act commences;

Assembly means the Assembly of the Church referred to in clause 15 (e) of the Basis of Union, and includes the Inaugurating Assembly;

Basis of Union means the Basis of Union set forth in Schedule II ;

Church means The Uniting Church in Australia;

Congregational Church means the Congregational Union of Australia and the Congregational Unions in each of the States of the Commonwealth, and includes the individual churches that have resolved to enter into union with the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches and any department, society, auxiliary, activity, fund, service, institution, or interest of any such individual church or union;

conveyance includes transfer;

Inaugurating Assembly means the first Assembly of the Church that is convened in accordance with the Basis of Union;

Methodist Church means the Methodist Church of Australasia, and includes any congregation, circuit, department, society, auxiliary, activity, fund, service, institution, or interest of that church, except the Conferences of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga;

Model Deed means the Wesleyan Methodist Model Deed of Tasmania 1888 made in pursuance of the Methodist Churches Acts 1888 to 1929, and includes any duly authorized alteration or modification of that deed;

Presbyterian Church means the Presbyterian Church of Australia comprising, subject to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 , the Presbyterian Church of Australia in the State of New South Wales, the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, the Presbyterian Church of Queensland, the Presbyterian Church of South Australia, the Presbyterian Church of Tasmania, and the Presbyterian Church of Western Australia;

property includes –

(a) real and personal property and any estate or interest therein; and

(b) the right to receive income;

Synod means the Synod of the Church within this State, being the Synod referred to in clause 15 (d) of the Basis of Union;

Trust means The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tas.) constituted by this Act;

trust property means property vested in, or acquired by, the Trust by or pursuant to this Act;

Uniting Church means the Congregational Church, the Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church, except –

(a) those Congregational Churches specified in Schedule IV ; and

(b) those congregations of the Presbyterian Church continuing to function after the appointed day under the Scheme of Union of the 24th day of July 1901, as amended, within the meaning of Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 .

PART II - Inauguration of the Church

4.   Authority to unite

(1)  The Uniting Churches are by virtue of this Act empowered to unite in accordance with the Basis of Union.

(2)  The union referred to in subsection (1) shall take effect on the appointed day.

5.   Name of church

The church formed by the union referred to in section 4 (1) shall be known as The Uniting Church in Australia.

6.   Inaugurating Assembly

The Inaugurating Assembly shall be deemed to have been validly convened.

7.   Adoption of Constitution

The Inaugurating Assembly may adopt a Constitution for the Church that is consistent with the Basis of Union.

8.   Amendment of Constitution

The Assembly may amend, alter, repeal, or replace the Constitution adopted from time to time by the Assembly in accordance with the appropriate provisions contained in the Constitution.

9.   Powers of Assembly in relation to determination of matters of doctrine, &c., and further unions

Notwithstanding anything in this Act or in the Basis of Union, the Assembly –

(a) may determine, declare, or interpret matters of doctrine, worship, government, and discipline in the Church; and

(b) may resolve to unite with other branches of the Christian Church.

PART III - The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tas.)

10.   Constitution of The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tas.)

(1)  There shall be a trust to be known as The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tas.).

(2)  Subject to this section, the Trust shall consist of –

(a) the person holding or acting in the office of the Moderator of the Synod;

(b) the person holding or acting in the office of the Secretary of the Synod;

(c) the person holding or acting in the office of the Property Officer of the Synod; and

(d) five other persons appointed –

(i) by the Inaugurating Assembly until the first meeting of the Synod;and

(ii) thereafter by the Synod at that meeting and at each of its subsequent meetings.

(3)  Where –

(a) there is no-one holding or acting in any of the offices referred to in paragraphs (a) , (b) , and (c) of subsection (2) ; or

(b) fewer than 3 persons hold or act in all those offices –

the Synod may appoint 6 members of the Trust instead of the number that it may, apart from this subsection, appoint under subsection (2) (d) (ii) .

(4)  A member of the Trust appointed by –

(a) the Inaugurating Assembly, holds office for the period commencing on the day of his appointment and ending at the conclusion of the first meeting of the Synod; or

(b) the Synod, holds office for the period commencing immediately after the conclusion of the meeting of the Synod at which he is elected and ending at the conclusion of the next succeeding meeting of the Synod.

(5)  On the expiration of his term of office, a person appointed as a member of the Trust is eligible for re-appointment.

(6)  The first chairman of the Trust shall be appointed by the Inaugurating Assembly from among the members of the Trust and each subsequent chairman of the Trust shall be appointed by the Synod from among those members.

11.   Powers and duties of the Trust

(1)  The Trust is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may enter into contracts, sue and be sued in its corporate name, and may take and hold any real or personal property.

(2)  The Trust shall hold trust property in trust for the Church in accordance with the provisions of this Act and subject to any other trust affecting the property.

(3)  Subject to this section the Trust –

(a) may acquire, hold, deal with, and dispose of, property of any kind; and

(b) may mortgage, charge, or otherwise encumber any of its property.

(4)  The Trust shall observe any directions, regulations, or resolutions of the Assembly as to the exercise of its powers under this section.

12.   Proceedings of the Trust

(1)  The chairman of the Trust shall preside at meetings of the Trust at which he is present.

(2)  In the absence of the chairman from a meeting of the Trust, the members present shall elect one of their number to preside at the meeting.

(3)  The person presiding at a meeting of the Trust has a deliberative vote.

(4)  All questions arising at a meeting of the Trust shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting thereon and, in the event of an equality of votes on any question, that question shall be decided in the negative.

(5)  Three members of the Trust constitute a quorum of the Trust.

(6)  Subject to this section, the Trust may regulate its own proceedings.

13.   Vacation of membership of the Trust

The office of a member of the Trust becomes vacant –

(a) on the expiration of his term of office; or

(b) if he –

(i) dies;

(ii) resigns his office by written notice to the Trust;

(iii) has applied to take, or takes, advantage of any law relating to bankruptcy, or has compounded, or entered into an arrangement, with his creditors;

(iv) is liable to be detained, or is subject to guardianship, under the Mental Health Act 1963 ;

(v) being a member by virtue of holding an office referred to in paragraph (a) , paragraph (b) , or paragraph (c) of section 10 (2) , has ceased to hold that office; or

(vi) is removed by resolution of the Synod or its Standing Committee.

14.   Casual vacancies

(1)  Where, by reason of the occurrence of casual vacancies in the membership of the Trust, the number of members is reduced to less than 5, the remaining members shall appoint persons to fill all those vacancies for the remainder of the term for which the vacating members were respectively appointed as members of the Trust.

(2)  Subject to subsection (1) , where a casual vacancy occurs in the membership of the Trust, the remaining members may appoint a person to fill that vacancy for the remainder of the term for which the vacating member was appointed as a member of the Trust.

15.   Common seal

(1)  The members for the time being of the Trust shall have custody of its common seal.

(2)  The Trust shall determine the form of its common seal and, subject to this section, all other matters relating to that seal.

(3)  The common seal of the Trust shall be affixed to an instrument only in pursuance of a resolution passed at a duly convened meeting of the Trust and an instrument to which the common seal is so affixed shall be signed by not less than two members of the Trust.

(4)  An instrument purporting to have been sealed with the common seal of the Trust and to have been signed by not less than two members of the Trust shall be deemed to have been executed in accordance with subsection (3) .

16.   Form and execution of certain contracts, &c.

(1)  A deed, instrument, or contract relating to any property or other matter that, if executed or made by an individual, would be required by law to be in writing under seal, may be made on behalf of the Trust in writing under the common seal of the Trust.

(2)  An instrument or contract relating to any property or other matter that, if made by or between individuals, would be required by law to be in writing signed by the parties to the instrument or contract may be made on behalf of the Trust in writing by a person acting under its express or implied authority.

(3)  A contract relating to any property or other matter that, if made between individuals, would be legally binding although made orally and not reduced to writing may be made on behalf of the Trust by a person acting under its express or implied authority.

(4)  A contract that is entered into, or an instrument or contract that is signed, on behalf of the Trust in relation to any trust property shall be deemed to have been entered into or signed with the express authority of the Trust, if it is entered into or signed in accordance with the resolution of the Synod for the time being in force pursuant to this Act.

17.   Execution under seal by agent, &c.

(1)  TheTrust may, in relation to a particular matter, by writing under its common seal, authorize a person to execute a deed, instrument, or contract on the Trust's behalf as its agent or attorney.

(2)  A deed signed by an agent or attorney on behalf of the Trust pursuant to an authorization under subsection (1) and sealed by him binds the Trust and has the same effect as if it were sealed by the Trust.

PART IV - Vesting of Trust Property in the Trust

18.   Vesting of certain property in the Trust

(1)  Subject to this Act –

(a) all property that, immediately before the appointed day, is vested in trustees pursuant to the Model Deed or is vested in any other person in trust for the Methodist Church (other than the property referred to in paragraph (b) ); and

(b) all the property specified in Schedule III and vested in the trustees referred to in that Schedule –

is on that day divested from those persons and is, by virtue of this subsection and without any conveyance or other assurance, vested in the Trust to the extent to which it was so vested in those persons and shall be held by the Trust in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2)  Subject to this Act, all property that, immediately before the appointed day, is vested in the Congregational Union of Tasmania or any other person in trust for the Congregational Church is, on that day, divested from that person and is, by virtue of this subsection and without any conveyance or other assurance, vested in the Trust to the extent to which it was so vested in that person and shall be held by the Trust in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(3)  Notwithstanding subsection (2) , on the appointed day, the properties specified in Schedule IV continue to be vested in the respective trustees named in that Schedule on the trusts specified in the third Schedule to the Congregational Union Incorporation Act 1887 , notwithstanding the repeal of that Act by this Act, except that the person officiating as the pastor of a church specified in Schedule IV need not be a member of the Congregational Church as required by Clause 4 of the Third Schedule to that Act .

(4)  Subject to this Act and to the rights referred to in subsection (5) , all property that, immediately before the appointed day –

(a) is vested in any person subject to the Presbyterian Church Act 1896 and the Presbyterian Church Act 1908 ; or

(b) is otherwise vested in a person in trust for the Presbyterian Church or a congregation, board or committee of management, session, presbytery, committee, council, board, or other institution, organization, or section of that church –

is, on the day fixed by proclamation for that purpose, divested from that person and is, by virtue of this subsection and without any conveyance or other assurance, vested in the Trust to the extent to which it was so vested in that person and shall be held by the Trust in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(5)  The rights for the purposes of subsection (4) are all rights created or conferred by or pursuant to section 4 of , and clause 18 of the Schedule to, the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 and any other provision of that Act.

(6)  Nothing in subsection (4) vests in the Trust any property to which the Presbyterian Church continuing to function after the appointed day is or becomes entitled.

(7)  All property that becomes vested in the Trust pursuant to subsections (1) , (2) , and (4) is freed and discharged from all the provisions and trusts of the Model Deed, the Congregational Union Incorporation Act 1887 , the Presbyterian Church Act 1896 , and the Presbyterian Church Act 1908 respectively.

(8)  Subject to this Act, all property that, immediately before the appointed day, is vested in the Methodist Presbyterian and Congregational Joint Ownership Trust, a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1962 , is, on that day, divested from that company and is, by virtue of this subsection and without any conveyance or other assurance, vested in the Trust to the extent to which it was so vested in that company and shall be held by the Trust in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(9)  Subject to this Act, all property (except property previously referred to in this section) that, immediately before the appointed day, is vested in trustees on behalf of the Methodist Church, the Congregational Church, and the Presbyterian Church or any two of those churches is, on that day, divested from those trustees and is, by virtue of this subsection and without any conveyance or other assurance, vested in the Trust to the extent to which it was so vested in those trustees and shall be held by the Trust in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(10)  [Section 18 Subsection (10) amended by No. 19 of 1980, s. 171 and Sched. 1 ]Property held under the provisions of the Land Titles Act 1980 that, pursuant to this section, vests in the Trust vests in equity only and does not vest at law until the requirements of that Act have been complied with.

(11)  [Section 18 Subsection (11) amended by No. 19 of 1980, s. 171 and Sched. 1 ]The vesting referred to in subsection (10) constitutes a vesting for the purposes of section 120 of the Land Titles Act 1980 .

(12)  Except in relation to the trusts declared by the Model Deed, the Congregational Union Incorporation Act 1887 , the Presbyterian Church Act 1896 , and the Presbyterian Church Act 1908 , the vesting of any of the property effected by this section is without prejudice to –

(a) a special trust;

(b) a resulting trust;

(c) a trust in favour of a donor;

(d) a trust in favour of a person other than the Uniting Churches or any one or more of them; and

(e) a reservation, mortgage, charge, encumbrance, loan, or lease that, immediately before the appointed day, affected the property vested.

(13)  In subsection (12) (a) , special trust means a trust other than a trust for the general purposes of the Methodist Church, the Congregational Church, or the Presbyterian Church.

(14)  It is not necessary for a lessee to make an attornment to the Trust of land vested in it by this section.

19.   Construction of certain instruments

(1)  To the extent to which any property that, by a deed, will, or other instrument taking effect on or after the appointed day –

(a) is devised, bequeathed, given, granted, released, conveyed, or appointed to the Church or to a person other than the Trust for, or for the benefit of, or in trust for, the Church for the religious, social, educational, or charitable work of the Church;

(b) is declared or directed to be held by a person other than the Trust for, or for the benefit of, or in trust for, the Church or the religious, social, educational, or charitable work of the Church;

(c) is recoverable by the Church or by a person other than the Trust for the Church; or

(d) is payable to, or receivable by, the Church or a person other than the Trust on behalf of the Church or for the religious, social, educational, or charitable work of the Church –

that instrument shall be construed and take effect as if the reference in it to the Church or, as the case may be, to that person, were a reference to the Trust.

(2)  A deed, will, or other instrument, gift, or other provision in favour of, or relating to, the Methodist Church that comes into effect on or after the appointed day shall be read and construed as if a reference in it to the Methodist Church were a reference to the Church, unless otherwise provided by the context.

(3)  Subject to subsection (4) , any deed, will, or other instrument, gift, or other provision in favour of, or relating to –

(a) the Congregational Church that comes into effect on or after the appointed day shall be read and construed as if a reference in it to the Congregational Church; or

(b) an additional congregation that has been admitted to membership of the Church after the appointed day shall, if it comes into operation after the date of that admission, be read and construed as if a reference in it to that additional congregation –

were a reference to the Church, unless otherwise provided by the context.

(4)  Where an individual Congregational Church has not resolved to enter into the union authorized by this Act and has not been admitted to membership of the Church, nothing in subsection (3) affects or prejudices any deed, will, or other instrument, gift, or other provision in favour of that individual Congregational Church by a person who is, or claims to be, a member of that Church at the time when the provision comes into effect.

(5)  Notwithstanding subsection (4) , a special trust for a particular purpose of, or relating to, the Congregational Church shall be read and construed as vesting the property concerned in the Trust for that purpose if it is, at the time of the trust coming into effect, being carried on solely by the Church.

20.   Waiver of certain conditions, &c., in certain Crown grants

(1)  No title to any land vested in the Trust by this Act shall be held bad at law or in equity by reason of a breach or non-performance, before or after the appointed day, of a condition, trust, or proviso contained in the grant of the land by the Crown.

(2)  A provision for forfeiture or reverter in respect of a breach or non-performance referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been released by the Crown as from the date of the Crown grant.

21.   Evidentiary provisions

(1)  Subject to subsection (2) , a certificate under the common seal of the Trust to the effect that the property specified in the certificate is held by it on trust for the Church is, in all circumstances and all proceedings (whether civil or criminal), prima facie evidence that the property so specified is so held.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a dispute concerning property between the Church and the Presbyterian Church continuing to function after the appointed day.

(3)  [Section 21 Subsection (3) amended by No. 19 of 1980, s. 171 and Sched. 1 ]A certificate under the common seal of the Trust to the effect that the estate or interest of a person named in the certificate in land specified therein is an estate or interest vested in the Trust by this Act is conclusive evidence of the matters so certified for the purposes of an application by the Trust to be registered under the Land Titles Act 1980 as the proprietor of that estate or interest pursuant to the vesting.

22.   Certain rights enforceable by the Trust

Where any property is vested in the Trust pursuant to this Act, the Trust –

(a) has and is subject to all the rights, powers, remedies, liabilities, and obligations in relation to that property; and

(b) may exercise and discharge in relation to that property all or any of the rights, powers, and remedies –

that the person in whom the property was previously vested or by whom it was previously held would have had and been subject to and might have exercised and discharged in relation to that property if it had not been divested from him and vested in the Trust.

PART V - General

23.   Claims for compensation on compulsory acquisition, &c.

Subject to a resolution or direction of the Assembly or of a committee appointed by it for the purpose, the Trust –

(a) may act in relation to the exchange, dedication, or compulsory acquisition of any property vested in it;

(b) may make claims for compensation in respect of such a property; and

(c) may agree to and settle any such claim, for such consideration and on and subject to any terms and conditions as appear advisable to it.

24.   Receipt for certain moneys

A receipt for moneys payable to the Trust exonerates the mortgagee, purchaser, or other person on whose behalf the moneys are so payable from any liability to see to the application of those moneys and from any liability for the loss, misapplication, or non-application of those moneys, if the receipt –

(a) is executed in accordance with this Act under the common seal of the Trust;

(b) is in writing signed by two members of the Trust; or

(c) is in writing signed by a person or persons duly authorized for the purpose by the Trust or two members of the Trust.

25.   Exoneration from inquiry

(1)  On a sale, exchange, mortgage, lease, or other dealing purporting to be entered into by the Trust –

(a) a purchaser, mortgagee, lessee, or other person dealing with the Trust; or

(b) the Recorder of Titles, Registrar of Deeds, Crown Solicitor, or any other person registering or certifying title –

is not concerned to see or inquire into the necessity for, or the propriety of, the exercise by the Trust of its powers or the mode of exercising them and is not affected by notice that the exercise of any such power is unauthorized, irregular, or improper.

(2)  This section applies to an instrument that purports to be sealed pursuant to section 15 .

26.   Service of documents

The service of a writ, statement of claim, summons, or other legal process on the Trust may be effected by serving it on the Moderator, Secretary of the Synod, or Property Officer of the Synod, or on a person appearing to be authorized by the Trust to accept service of that legal process.

27.   Trust may act as executor, &c.

(1)  The Trust –

(a) may apply for and obtain, or join in applying for and obtaining, probate of the will of a deceased person or letters of administration of his estate, if the Church has a beneficial interest, vested or contingent, in the estate of that person; or

(b) may accept appointment, and act, as trustee or co-trustee under and in pursuance of a trust in which the trust property is not vested in the Trust by or pursuant to this Act, being a trust created wholly or partly for the benefit of the Church.

(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1) (b) , the Trust may do all things necessary for the exercise or performance of its powers, authorities, duties, or functions as executor, administrator, or trustee, as the case may be.

(3)  On behalf of the Trust, a member of the Trust or a person employed by the Trust may, if authorized by the Trust for the purpose, swear an affidavit, make a declaration or statement, give security, and do any other act or thing that a charter, Act, or rule of court requires to be done by a person applying for or granted probate or letters of administration or administering a trust, as the case may be.

(4)  The Trust –

(a) may renounce executorship;

(b) may decline to act as administrator of an estate; or

(c) may retire, or decline to act, as trustee of property (not being property vested in it by or pursuant to this Act).

(5)  Any commission or other remuneration earned by the Trust as an executor, administrator, or trustee appointed pursuant to this section belongs to the Trust and shall be used and applied by it for or towards an object or purpose specified or approved by the Assembly in respect of that remuneration.

28.   Trust may hold property jointly

The Trust may hold or acquire any property alone or jointly with another person or other persons as joint tenants or tenants in common.

29.   Register of former trustees

(1)  The register of trustees known as "The Methodist Church of Australasia Register of Trustees for Tasmania" maintained under the Tasmanian Wesleyan Methodists Act 1888 (in this section referred to as "the register") remains in force for the purposes referred to in subsection (3) , notwithstanding the repeal of that Act and the Methodist Union Act 1902 by this Act.

(2)  The Trust shall make arrangements for the preservation and custody of the register.

(3)  An extract purporting to be an extract from the register in or to the effect of the form of certificate contained in Schedule V shall, without production of the register, be received and taken in a legal proceeding or in a dealing with land or for any other purpose as sufficient evidence of the several matters comprised in the extract in so far as they relate to the land specified in the certificate (being land included in the register).

30.   Regulations

(1)  The Assembly may make regulations for the control, management, and administration of, and dealings with, trust property.

(2)  A regulation under subsection (1) may be rescinded or altered by the Assembly, but such a rescission or alteration does not take effect unless it is approved in the same manner as a regulation.

(3)  A certificate signed by –

(a) the President or Secretary for the time being of the Assembly; or

(b) the Moderator or Secretary for the time being of the Synod –

that specifies in the certificate or an annexure to it the form of a regulation under subsection (1) that is in force on a day specified in the certificate is conclusive evidencethat the regulation was in force in that form on that day.

31.   Co-operative use of property

(1)  Where it has been decided in accordance with the laws of the Church to enter into a scheme of co-operation with or involving a church of another denomination or a congregation or activity of such a church, being a scheme that involves the use of property vested in the Trust, the Trust may, while the scheme of co-operation continues in force, permit that property to be used, managed, and administered in connection with that scheme in such manner and on such conditions as the Synod, or a committee appointed by it for the purpose, determines or prescribes.

(2)  The proceeds of sale or mortgage or any other dealing with any property that is the subject of a scheme of co-operation pursuant to subsection (1) and all moneys collected or held in respect of that scheme may be paid and applied in such manner as may be determined or prescribed by the Synod or a committee referred to in that subsection.

(3)  Without limiting the generality of the conditions that the Synod may determine or prescribe under subsection (1) in relation to a scheme of co-operation, those conditions may include conditions with respect to –

(a) the making of contributions of money for the acquisition, construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of assets vested in or held on behalf of a co-operating church or congregation; and

(b) the giving or taking of such security or charge as may be prescribed by the scheme over any property in respect of any contributions of money or in money's worth made or received pursuant to the scheme, and the property of the Trust involved in the scheme is, to the extent prescribed in it, hereby charged.

(4)  The Recorder of Titles, the Registrar of Deeds, or a person dealing in good faith and for value with any property vested in the Trust is not bound to inquire whether a security or charge referred to in subsection (3) exists, shall not be deemed to have notice of that security or charge, and shall not be bound by it by virtue only of this Act or the existence of a scheme of co-operation under this section, and –

(a) a conveyance, or other assurance to such a person operates as a discharge of such a security or charge, in so far as the property conveyed or assured would, but for this subsection, be subject to the security or charge; and

(b) a mortgage or charge in favour of such a person has priority over such a security or charge that affects the property mortgaged or charged in favour of that person.

32.   Saving provision

(1)  The provisions of section 31 apply to and in relation to all property at any time held by the Trust, except to the extent that any such property is held subject to an express trust expressly forbidding its use in any manner referred to in that section.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not prevent the use of property in a manner referred to in section 31 if the property was merely directed to be held on trust for the worship or purposes of the Church.

33.   Power of Synod to alter trusts

(1)  Subject to subsection (2) , in a case where, by reason of the circumstances subsequent to the creation of the trusts, including trusts declared under this section, to which any property vested in the Trust is for the time being subject, it has in the opinion of the Synod become impossible or inexpedient to carry out or observe those trusts, the Synod may, by resolution, declare that such is its opinion, and by the same or a subsequent resolution may declare other trusts for or for the use, benefit, or purpose of the Church instead of the first-mentioned trusts, and those first-mentioned trusts thereupon, by force of that resolution, cease and determine, and that property shall thereupon be held on those other trusts accordingly.

(2)  Any property in respect of which other trusts are declared under subsection (1) shall be dealt with for the same purposes as nearly as may be as the purposes for which the property was held immediately before the resolution declaring those other trusts was passed, unless the Synod, by resolution, declares that, by reason of circumstances subsequent to the creation of the first-mentioned trusts, it is, in the opinion of the Synod, impossible or inexpedient to deal with or apply that property or some part of it for the same or the like purposes, in which case that property may be dealt with and applied for the use and benefit of the Church for such other purposes as are declared by resolution of the Synod.

34.   Indemnification of certain persons

Where a member of the Trust or any other person exercises a power or performs a duty pursuant to this Act or pursuant to a resolution or direction of the Assembly, that member or other person and his executors and administrators are entitled to be indemnified out of the trust property against all expenses or liabilities incurred by that person in connection with the exercise of the power by him or the performance of the duty by him, unless they are incurred in the course of fraudulent or negligent breach of trust.

35.   Blending of trust funds

(1)  Where the Trust holds moneys on trust for different purposes or activities, the Trust may invest those moneys or any part or parts of them as one fund and distribute the income arising from that fund ratably among the several purposes or activities for which the moneys so invested are held.

(2)  A loss arising from an investment pursuant to subsection (1) shall be borne ratably.

(3)  The Trust may make advances out of any moneys referred to in subsection (1) for a purpose of, or relating to, the Church.

(4)  A sum advanced by the Trust pursuant to subsection (3) shall be deemed to be an investment of the relevant moneys and shall bear interest at a rate fixed by the Trust and the sum advanced and the interest on it shall be deemed to be a charge on the assets of the Church.

36.   Powers of investment

Unless expressly forbidden by an instrument creating a special trust, the Trust may invest any funds in its hands, whether at the time in a state of investment or not, in a form of investment authorized by the Trustee Act 1898 or by the Assembly by itself or by delegation to the Synod.

37.   Rights held by virtue of the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 not affected

Nothing in this Act deprives the Church, any of the Uniting Churches, or the Presbyterian Church continuing to function after the appointed day of any rights held by it by virtue of the operation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 .

SCHEDULE I - Acts Repealed

Section 2

SCHEDULE II - The Basis of Union

Section 3

1.   The Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia, in fellowship with the whole Church Catholic, and seeking to bear witness to that unity which is both Christ's gift and his will for the Church, hereby enter into union under the name of Uniting Church in Australia. They pray that this act may be to the glory of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They praise God for his gifts of grace to each of them in years past; they acknowledge that none of them has responded to God's love with a full obedience; they look for a continuing renewal in which God will use their common worship, witness and service to set forth the word of salvation for all mankind. To this end they declare their readiness to go forward together in sole loyalty to Christ the living Head of the Church; they remain open to constant reform under his Word; and they seek a wider unity in the power of the Holy Spirit. In this union these Churches commit their members to acknowledge one another in love and joy as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, to hear anew the commission of the Risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, and daily to seek to obey his will. In entering into this union the Churches concerned are mindful that the Church of God is committed to serve the world for which Christ died, and that she awaits with hope the day of the Lord Jesus Christ on which it will be clear that the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.

2.   The Uniting Church lives and works within the faith and unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. She recognises that she is related to other Churches in ways which give expression, however partially, to that unity in faith and mission. Recalling the Ecumenical Councils of the early centuries, she looks forward to a time when the faith will be further elucidated, and the Church's unity expressed, in similar Councils. She thankfully acknowledges that the uniting Churches were members of the World Council of Churches and other ecumenical bodies, and she will seek to maintain such membership. She remembers the special relationship which obtained between the several uniting Churches and other Churches of similar traditions, and will continue to learn from their witness and be strengthened by their fellowship. She is encouraged by the existence of United Churches in which these and other traditions have been incorporated, and wishes to learn from their experience. She believes that Christians in Australia are called to bear witness to a unity of faith and life in Christ which transcends cultural and economic, national and racial boundaries, and to this end she commits herself to seek special relationships with Churches in Asia and the Pacific. She declares her desire to enter more deeply into the faith and mission of the Church in Australia, by working together and seeking union with other Churches.

3.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that the faith and unity of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church are built upon the one Lord Jesus Christ. The Church preaches Christ the risen crucified One and confesses him as Lord to the glory of God the Father. In Jesus Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself. In love for the world, God gave his Son to take away the world's sin. Jesus of Nazareth announced the sovereign grace of God whereby the poor in spirit could receive the Father's love. He himself, in his life and death, made the response of humility, obedience and trust which God had long sought in vain. In raising him to live and reign, God confirmed and completed the witness which Jesus bore to him on earth, he reasserted his claim over the whole of his creation, he pardoned sinners, and made in Jesus a representative beginning of a new order of righteousness and love. To God in Christ men are called to respond in faith. To this end God has sent forth his Spirit that men may trust him as their Father, and acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The whole work of man's salvation is effected by the sovereign grace of God alone. The Church as the fellowship of the Holy Spirit confesses Jesus as Lord over her own life, she also confesses that he is Head over all things, the beginning of a new creation, of a new mankind. God in Christ has given to men in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. The Church's call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself. The Church lives between the time of Christ's death and resurrection and the final consummation of all things which he will bring; she is a pilgrim people, always on the way towards a promised goal; here she does not have a continuing city but seeks one to come. On the way Christ feeds her with Word and Sacraments, and she has the gift of the Spirit in order that she may not lose the way.

4.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church is able to live and endure through the changes of history only because her Lord comes, addresses, and deals with men in and through the news of his completed work. Christ who is present when he is preached among men is the Word of the God who acquits the guilty, who gives life to the dead and who brings into being what otherwise could not exist. Through human witness in word and action, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ reaches out to command men's attention and awaken their faith; he calls them into the fellowship of his sufferings, to be the disciples of a crucified Lord; in his own strange way he constitutes, rules and renews them as his Church.

5.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church has received the books of the Old and New Testaments as unique prophetic and apostolic testimony, in which she hears the Word of God and by which her faith and obedience are nourished and regulated. When the Church preaches Jesus Christ, her message is controlled by the Biblical witnesses. The Word of God on whom man's salvation depends is to be heard and known from Scripture appropriated in the worshipping and witnessing life of the Church. The Uniting Church lays upon her members the serious duty of reading the Scriptures, commits her ministers to preach from these and to administer the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as effective signs of the Gospel set forth in the Scriptures.

6.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that Christ has commanded his Church to proclaim the Gospel both in words and in the two visible acts of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. He himself acts in and through everything that the Church does in obedience to his commandment; it is he who by the gift of the Spirit confers upon menthe forgiveness, the fellowship, the new life and the freedom which the proclamation and actions promise; and it is he who awakens, purifies and advances in men the faith and hope in which alone such benefits can be accepted.

7.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that Christ incorporates men into his body by Baptism. In this way he enables them to participate in his own baptism, which was accomplished once on behalf of all in his death and burial, and which was made available to all when, risen and ascended, he poured out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Baptism into Christ's body initiates men into his life and mission in the world, so that they are united in one fellowship of love, service, suffering and joy, in one family of the Father of all in heaven and earth, and in the power of the one Spirit. The Uniting Church will baptize those who confess the Christian faith, and children who are presented for baptism and for whose instruction and nourishment in the faith the Church takes responsibility.

8.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that Christ signifies and seals his continuing presence with his people in the Lord's Supper or the Holy Communion constantly repeated in the life of the Church. In this sacrament of his broken body and outpoured blood the risen Lord frees his baptized people on their way to the final inheritance of the Kingdom. Thus the people of God, through faith and the gift and power of the Holy Spirit, have communion with their Saviour, make their sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, proclaim the Lord's death, grow together into Christ, are strengthened for their participation in the mission of Christ in the world, and rejoice in the foretaste of the Kingdom which he will bring to consummation.

9.   The Uniting Church enters into unity with the Church throughout the ages by her use of the confessions known as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. She receives these as authoritative statements of the Catholic Faith, framed in the language of their day and used by Christians in many days, to declare and to guard the right understanding of that faith. She commits her ministers and instructors to careful study of these creeds and to the discipline of interpreting their teaching in a later age. She commends to ministers and congregations their use for instruction in the faith, and their use in worship as acts of allegiance to the Holy Trinity.

10.   The Uniting Church continues to learn of the teaching of the Holy Scriptures in the obedience and freedom of faith, and in the power of the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, from the witness of reformation fathers as expressed in various ways in the Scots Confession of Faith (1560), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Westminister Confession of Faith (1647), and the Savoy Declaration (1658). In like manner she will listen to the preaching of John Wesley in his Forty-Four Sermons (1793). She will commit her ministers and instructors to study these statements, so that the congregation of Christ's people may again and again be reminded of the grace which justifies them through faith, of the centrality of the person and work of Christ the justifier, and of the need for a constant appeal to Holy Scripture.

11.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that God has never left his Church without faithful and scholarly interpreters of Scripture, or without those who have reflected deeply upon, and acted trustingly in obedience to, his living Word. In particular she enters into the inheritance of literary historical and scientific enquiry which has characterised recent centuries, and thanks God for the knowledge of his ways with men which are open to an informed faith. She lives within a world-wide fellowship of Churches in which she will learn to sharpen her understanding of the will and purpose of God by contact with contemporary thought. Within that fellowship she also stands in relation to contemporary societies in ways which will help her to understand her own nature and mission. She thanks God for the continuing witness and service of evangelist, of scholar, of prophet and of martyr. She prays that she may be ready when occasion demands to confess her Lord in fresh words and deeds.

12.   The Uniting Church recognises and accepts as her members all who are recognised as members of the Uniting Churches at the time of union. Thereafter membership is open to all who are baptized into the Holy Catholic Church in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Uniting Church will seek ways in which the baptized may have confirmed to them the promises of God, and to be led to deeper commitment to the faith and service into which they have been baptized. To this end she commits herself to undertake, with other Christians, to explore and develop the relation of baptism to confirmation and to participation in the Holy Communion.

13.   The Uniting Church affirms that every member of the Church is engaged to confess the faith of Christ crucified and to be his faithful servant. She acknowledges with thanksgiving that the one Spirit has endowed the members of his Church with a diversity of gifts, and that there is no gift without its corresponding service: all ministries have a part in the ministry of Christ. The Uniting Church, at the time of union, will recognise and accept the ministries of those who have been called to any task or responsibility in the uniting Churches. The Uniting Church will thereafter provide for the exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them, and will order her life in response to his call to enter more fully into her mission.

14.   The Uniting Church, from inception, will seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to recognise among her members men and women called of God to preach the Gospel, to lead the people in worship, to care for the flock, to share in government and to serve those in need in the world. To this end:

(a) The Uniting Church recognises and accepts as ministers of the Word all who have held such office in any of the uniting Churches, and who, being in good standing in one of those Churches at the time of union, adhere to the Basis of Union. This adherence and acceptance may take place at the time of union or at a later date. Since the Church lives by the power of the Word, she is assured that God, who has never left himself without witness to that Word, will, through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, call and set apart members of the Church to be ministers of the Word. These will preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments and exercise pastoral care so that all may be equipped for their particular ministries, thus maintaining the apostolic witness to Christ in the Church. Such members will be called Ministers and their setting apart will be known as Ordination. The Presbytery will ordain by prayer and the laying on of hands in the presence of a worshipping congregation. In this act of ordination the Church praises the ascended Christ for conferring gifts upon men. She recognises his call of the individual to be his minister; she prays for the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to equip him for that service. By the participation in the act of ordination of those already ordained, the Church bears witness to God's faithfulness and declares the hope by which she lives. In company with other Christians the Uniting Church will seek for a renewed understanding of the way in which the congregation participates in ordination and of the significance of ordination in the life of the Church.

(b) The Uniting Church recognises and accepts as elders or leaders those who at the time of union hold the office of elder, deacon or leader appointed to exercise spiritual oversight, and who, being in good standing in any of the uniting Churches at the time of union, adhere to the Basis of Union. She will seek to recognise in the congregation those endowed by the Spirit with gifts fitting them for rule and oversight. Such members will be called Elders or Leaders.

(c) The Uniting Church recognises and accepts as deaconesses those who at the time of union are deaconesses in good standing in any of the uniting Churches and who adhere to the Basis of Union. She believes that the Holy Spirit will continue to call women to share in this way in the varied services and witness of the Church, and she will make provision for this. Such members will be called Deaconesses. The Uniting Church recognises that at the time of union many seek a renewal of the diaconate in which men and women offer their time and talents, representatively and on behalf of God's people, in the service of mankind in the face of changing needs. She will so order her life that she remains open to the possibility that God may call men and women into such a renewed diaconate; in these circumstances she may decide to call them Deacons and Deaconesses, whether the service is within or beyond the life of the congregation.

(d) The Uniting Church recognises and accepts as lay preachers those who at the time of union are accredited lay preachers (local preachers) in any of the uniting Churches and who adhere to the Basis of Union. She will seek to recognise those endowed with the gift of the Spirit for this task, will provide for their training, and will gladly wait upon thatfuller understanding of the obedience of the Christian man which should flow from their ministry. Such members will be called Lay Preachers.

In the above subparagraphs the phrase "adhere to the Basis of Union" is understood as willingness to live and work within the faith and unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as that way is described in this Basis. Such adherence allows for difference of opinion in matters which do not enter into the substance of the faith. The Uniting Church recognises that the type and duration of ministries to which men and women are called vary from time to time and place to place, and that in particular she comes into being in a period of reconsideration of traditional forms of the ministry, and of renewed participation of all people of God in the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, the building up of the fellowship in mutual love, in commitment to Christ's mission, and in service of the world for which he died.

15.   The Uniting Church recognises that responsibility for government in the Church belongs to the people of God by virtue of the gifts and tasks which God has laid upon them. The Uniting Church therefore so organises her life that locally, regionally and nationally government will be entrusted to representatives, men and women, bearing the gifts and graces with which God has endowed them for the building up of his Church. The Uniting Church is governed by a series of inter-related councils, each of which has its tasks and responsibilities in relation both to the Church and the world. The Uniting Church acknowledges that Christ alone is supreme in his Church, and that he may speak to her through any of her councils. It is the task of every council to wait upon God's Word, and to obey his will in the matters allocated to its oversight. Each council will recognise the limits of its own authority and give heed to other councils of the Church, so that the whole body of believers may be united by mutual submission in the service of the Gospel. To this end the Uniting Church makes provision in her constitution for the following:

(a) The Congregation is the embodiment in one place of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, worshipping, witnessing and serving as a fellowship of the Spirit in Christ. Its members meet regularly to hear God's Word, to celebrate the sacraments to build one another up in love, to share in the wider responsibilities of the Church, and to serve the world. The congregation will recognise the need for a diversity of agencies for the better ordering of her life in such matters as education, administration and finance.

(b) The Elders' or Leaders' Meeting (the council within a congregation or group of congregations) consists of the minister and those who are called to share with him in oversight. It is responsible for building up the congregation in faith and love, sustaining its members in hope, and leading them into a fuller participation in Christ's mission in the world.

(c) The Presbytery (the district council) consists of such ministers elders/leaders and other Church members as are appointed thereto the majority of elders/leaders and Church members being appointed by Elders'/Leaders' Meetings and/or congregations, on a basis determined by the Synod. Its function is to perform all the acts of oversight necessary to the life and mission of the Church in the area for which it is responsible, except over those agencies which are directly responsible to the Synod or Assembly. It will in particular exercise oversight over the congregations within its bounds, encouraging them to strengthen one another's faith, to bear one another's burdens, and exhorting them to fulfill their high calling in Christ Jesus. It will promote those wider aspects of the work of the Church committed to it by the Synod or Assembly.

(d) The Synod (the regional council) consists of such ministers, elders/leaders and other Church members as are appointed thereto, the majority being appointed by Presbyteries, Elders'/Leaders' Meetings or congregations, on a basis determined by the Assembly. It has responsibility for the general oversight, direction and administration of the Church's worship, witness and service in the region allotted to it, with such powers and authorities as may from time to time be determined by the Assembly.

(e) The Assembly (the national council) consists of such ministers, elders/leaders and other Church members as are appointed thereto, the majority being appointed by the Presbyteries and Synods. It has determining responsibility for matters of doctrine, worship, government and discipline, including the promotion of the Church's mission, the establishment of standards of theological training and reception of ministers from other communions, and the taking of further measures towards the wider union of the Church. It makes the guiding decisions on the tasks and authority to be exercised by other councils. It is obligatory for it to seek the concurrence of other councils, and on occasion of the congregations of the Church, on matters of vital importance to the life of the Church. The first Assembly, however, will consist of members of the uniting Churches, appointed in equal numbers by them in such manner as they may determine, and is vested with such powers as may be necessary to establish the Uniting Church according to the provisions of the Basis of Union.

Until such time as councils other than the Assembly can be established, the Uniting Church recognises and accepts the various agencies for the discharge of responsibility which are in existence in the uniting Churches. She invites any such continuing bodies immediately to enter into a period of self-examination in which members are asked to consider afresh their common commitment to the Church's mission and their demonstration of her unity. She prays that God will enable them to order their lives for these purposes.

16.   The Uniting Church recognises the responsibility and freedom which belong to councils to acknowledge gifts among members for the fulfilment of particular functions. She sees in pastoral care exercised personally on behalf of the Church an expression of the fact that God always deals with men personally: he would have his fatherly care known among men; he would have individual members take upon themselves the form of a servant.

17.   The Uniting Church acknowledges that the demand of the Gospel, the response of the Church to the Gospel, and the discipline which it requires are partly expressed in the formulation by the Church of her law. The aim of such law is to confess God's will for the life of his Church; but since law is received by man and framed by him, it is always subject to revision in order that it may better serve the Gospel. The Uniting Church will keep her law under constant review so that her life may increasingly be directed to the service of God and man, and her worship to a true and faithful setting forth of, and response to, the Gospel of Christ. The law of the Church will speak of the free obedience of the children of God, and will look to the final reconciliation of mankind under God's sovereign grace.

18.   The Uniting Church affirms that she belongs to the people of God on the way to the promised end. She prays God that, through the gift of the Spirit, he will constantly correct that which is erroneous in her life, will bring her into deeper unity with other Churches, and will use her worship, witness and service to His eternal glory through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

SCHEDULE III

Section 18 (1) (b)

Lands and hereditaments held by the Trustees of Oakburn College Launceston in Tasmania on the trusts declared and contained in a deed poll or declaration of trust dated 4th May 1884 which was executed by John Gane Millard and 11 others.

SCHEDULE IV - Congregational Union of Tasmania – Properties Not Going Into The Uniting Church

Section 18 (3)

SCHEDULE V - Certificate As To Trustees Of Methodist Church Lands

Section 29

Form