Funeral Funds Act 1979 (NSW)

Funeral Funds Act 1979 No 106

An Act to control and regulate contributory and pre-paid funeral funds.

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Act This Act may be cited as the Funeral Funds Act 1979.

2 Commencement (1) This section and section 1 shall commence on the date of assent to this Act. (2) Except as provided in subsection (1), this Act shall commence on such day as may be appointed by the Governor in respect thereof and as may be notified by proclamation published in the Gazette.

3 Objects The objects of this Act are— (a) to protect pre-payments made by consumers for funeral services through the registration of funeral funds, and (b) to ensure that funeral services agreed to be supplied under a pre-paid contract are supplied as agreed, and (c) to achieve accountability for money paid by a purchaser of funeral services that have an indefinite delivery date, and (d) to properly manage money paid and other valuable consideration given for funeral services in the long term to provide agreed benefits to the purchaser and the anticipated payment to the supplier of funeral services.

4 Definitions (1) In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires— actuary means— (a) a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries incorporated by Royal Charter on 29 July 1884, (b) a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland, or (c) the holder of a prescribed qualification as an actuary, who has practised as an actuary for a continuous period of not less than 5 years. authorised deposit-taking institution means an authorised deposit-taking institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth. bankers' books means— (a) books of a bank, building society or credit union, (b) cheques, orders for the payment of money, bills of exchange and promissory notes in the possession or under the control of a bank, building society or credit union, and (c) securities or documents of title to securities in the possession or under the control of a bank, building society or credit union whether by way of pledge or otherwise. company means a company within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth. contributor means a person— (a) who makes or has made periodic contributions, or on whose behalf periodic contributions are or have been made, to a person carrying on contributory funeral benefit business, and (b) who is thereby entitled to be provided with a funeral benefit on his or her death. contributory funeral benefit business means business in relation to a scheme or arrangement for the provision of funeral benefits to contributors. Department means the Department of Customer Service. funeral benefit means— (a) the supply of any funeral service, with or without the supply of goods connected with that service, or (b) the payment of money, upon the death of a person, for the purpose of meeting the whole or a part of the expenses of and incidental to the funeral of that person. funeral contribution fund means— (a) a company for the time being registered under section 14 to carry on contributory funeral benefit business, or (b) a person for the time being registered under section 16B to carry on contributory funeral benefit business. funeral fund means a funeral contribution fund or a pre-paid funeral fund. funeral service includes burial service and cremation service. GST has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth. individual means a natural person. inspector means an inspector appointed under section 8. officer, of a corporation, has the meaning given by the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth. pre-paid contract means an agreement whose purpose is or includes the payment of money (in a lump sum or by instalments) or the giving of other valuable consideration for the supply of a funeral service, with or without the supply of goods connected with that service, being an agreement made before the death of the person who is to be supplied with that service, and includes an agreement prescribed as a pre-paid contract under section 5. pre-paid funeral benefit business means the business of supplying funeral services under pre-paid contracts. pre-paid funeral fund means— (a) a person or a group of individuals that is for the time being registered under section 37 to act as trustee or trustees of trust funds under pre-paid contracts, or (b) a person for the time being registered under section 39A to act as trustee of trust funds under a pre-paid contract. rules, in relation to a company that carries on or proposes to carry on contributory funeral benefit business, means— (a) the memorandum of association of the company, (b) the articles of association (if any) of the company, and (c) any other rules of the company dealing with— (i) a matter referred to in section 13 (1), (ii) the payment of contributions, and (iii) funeral benefits. Secretary means— (a) the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Department of Customer Service, or (b) if there is no person employed as Commissioner for Fair Trading—the Secretary of the Department.