Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust (Membership of Trust) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (18:25): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Bill amends the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust Act 1981.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust Act 1981 was enacted to create the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust (the Trust) as a corporation to take over and administer certain existing trusts and charitable undertakings within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.

Trust property vested in the Trust by the Act included charitable undertakings, purposes or trusts vested in the Catholic Church Endowment Society Incorporated (the corporate entity of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide), the Goodwood Orphanage, Largs Bay Orphanage and St John's Boys Home as well as property held in trust for those institutions.

The primary objects of the Trust are to take over and administer the existing trusts and charitable undertakings of those institutions as well as administer other charitable undertakings within the Archdiocese.

As well as vesting the above-mentioned properties in the Trust, the Act provides for the appointment of trustees to administer the Trust and the powers and functions of the Trust.

The Act provides, at section 7, for the following trustees to administer the Trust:

the Archbishop;

a nominee of the Archbishop;

the Provincial of the Sisters of Mercy Adelaide or her nominee;

the Provincial of the Sisters of St Joseph or her nominee;

the Provincial of the Salesians of St John Bosco or his nominee;

such other member or members as are co-opted by the Trustees with the prior approval in writing of the Archbishop.

One of these entities, the Sisters of Mercy Adelaide, the Provincial of which is entitled, ex officio, to hold office as trustee, has restructured and merged into a new entity: the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (the New Institute).

The New Institute and the Archdiocese want the New Institute to continue to participate through its Leader, ex officio, as trustee of the Trust.

There are two other ministry entities which, through their Provincials, are trustees of the Trust. One of those other entities has foreshadowed that it is also considering a similar restructure.

The Archdiocese requested that the Act be amended so as to accommodate any future restructures of any of the trustee entities, subject to the Archbishop certifying in writing that the restructured entity is the effective successor to the former entity, without the need for further amendments to the Act. This makes sense for efficiency.

The Bill amends the Act to provide that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust is to be administered by trustees that are the relevant heads of the ministry bodies that are 'designated ministries' under the Bill. 'Designated ministries' in the Bill are in turn defined to include the existing trustee ministries—the Salesians of Don Bosco, Sisters of St Joseph and the new Institute of Sisters of Mercy (to replace the existing reference to the Convent of Mercy (Adelaide) Incorporated)—as well as any ministry that the Archbishop determines to be the successor of an existing or future designated ministry, according to the principles of canon law, and declares as such.

The Bill provides that the Archbishop must cause a declaration to be published on the Archdiocese's website and in a newspaper. Therefore, it will be possible to determine who are trustees of the Trust at any relevant time.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal. There being no commencement clause, the measure will come into operation on receiving the Governor's assent.

Part 2—Amendment of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust Act 1981

3—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

This clause proposes to substitute an obsolete definition with a current definition of the Sisters of Mercy and inserts a definition of designated ministry for the purposes of new section 4A (see clause 4).

4—Insertion of section 4A

This amendment proposes to insert a new section 4A (Designated ministries). The new section declares each of the following ministries to be a designated ministry for the purposes of section 7(1):

the Salesians of St John Bosco;

the Sisters of Mercy;

the Sisters of St Joseph.

The clause makes provision for future declarations to be made by the Archbishop declaring a successor ministry to be a designated ministry in substitution for the former ministry in the event that such a ministry should cease to exist in its current form. The Archbishop may also make a further declaration declaring a successor designated ministry to a substituted designated ministry should the need arise. The clause requires the Archbishop to have regard to the principles of canon law when making, varying or substituting a declaration under this section and sets out the requirements for publishing any such declaration.

5—Amendment of section 5—Objects of Trust

This proposed amendment is consequential.

6—Amendment of section 7—Membership of Trust

This proposed amendment is consequential.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.W. Ridgway.

At 18:25 the council adjourned until Thursday 13 November 2014 at 14:15.