Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Health Services Act 1988 - SECT 65

Governor in Council may order amalgamation

65. Governor in Council may order amalgamation



(1) The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister made after
receiving advice from the Secretary under section 64(6) or section 64A, may by
Order published in the Government Gazette direct that two or more registered
funded agencies be amalgamated.

(2) Where an Order is made under subsection (1)-

   (a)  on a date specified in the Order-

   (i)  the incorporation of each registered funded agency to which the Order
        relates that is an incorporated body shall be cancelled; or

   (ii) each registered funded agency to which the Order relates that is an
        unincorporated body shall cease to exist-

as the case requires; and

   (b)  on that date a new registered funded agency of the kind specified in
        the Order having a board or committee of management constituted as
        specified in the Order shall come into existence by operation of the
        Order as if on that date-

   (i)  it had been incorporated under this Act; or

   (ii) a certificate of incorporation had been granted under the
        Associations Incorporation Act 1981; or

   (iii) an unincorporated body had been formed; and

   (c)  on that date, the property of each registered funded agency that is
        the subject of the Order vests in the new registered funded agency
        without the necessity for any conveyance, transfer or assignment and
        so vests subject to-

   (i)  any trust; and

   (ii) any restriction, limitation, mortgage, charge, encumbrance, lien,
        lease, covenant, contract or liability-

to which the property was subject immediately before that date; and

   (d)  on that date, all debts and liabilities, whether certain or
        contingent, of a registered funded agency that is the subject of the
        Order existing at that date become the debts and liabilities of the
        new registered funded agency; and

   (e)  on and from that date, each registered funded agency to which the
        Order relates must be taken, for the purposes of any trust in relation
        to that agency, not to have had its incorporation cancelled or to have
        ceased to exist and the new registered funded agency must be taken to
        be the same body as that agency for those purposes; and

   (f)  without limiting the effect of paragraph (e), on and from that date,
        an instrument creating a trust in relation to-

   (i)  a registered funded agency to which the Order relates; or

   (ii) a former agency of which such a registered funded agency is the
        successor agency- continues to have effect according to its tenor as
        if the trust were in relation to the new registered funded agency.

(3) An Order under subsection (1) may include such other provisions not
inconsistent with this Division as are necessary or expedient, including-

   (a)  provisions giving effect to any agreement under section 64A; and



   (b)  provisions relating to the construction of references in documents to
        any amalgamated denominational hospitals.

(4) An Order under subsection (1) must declare the new registered funded
agency to be either a public hospital or an incorporated association if the
Order relates to the amalgamation of two or more agencies all of which are
agencies of any of the following kinds-

   (a)  a public hospital;

   (b)  an incorporated association under the
        Associations Incorporation Act 1981;

   (c)  a company within the meaning of the Corporations Act that is taken to
        be registered in Victoria; or





   (d)  a denominational hospital referred to in section 64A that is a body
        corporate.



(5) In the case of a denominational hospital, an Order under subsection (1)
has effect despite anything to the contrary in any Act or subordinate
instrument.

(6) Subsection (2), as amended by section 8(1) of the Health Services (Further
Amendment) Act 1998, has effect with respect to-

   (a)  an Order made under subsection (1) before the commencement of that
        section of that Act; and

   (b)  an instrument of a kind referred to in subsection (2)(f) of this
        section-

in the same way as it would if it had been in force as so amended at the time
when the Order was made and must be taken to have always had that effect on
and from that time.

Division 9A-Aggregation of metropolitan hospitals