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SYNOD ACT 1988 (BALLARAT DIOCESE)

No. 5
SYNOD ACT 1988-2000

THE CONVENING AND HOLDING OF THE DIOCESAN SYNOD AND THE REGULATION OF THE ELECTION OF LAY REPRESENTATIVES TO THE SYNOD.

1. The Cathedral and every parish or parochial district within the Diocese shall be an electoral district within the meaning of this Act.

2. Every lay communicant member of the Church who regularly attends the services of the Church and has attained the age of eighteen years and has been enrolled upon an electoral roll of the Cathedral a parish or a parochial district in this Diocese shall for the purpose of this Act be an elector of such electoral district.

3. Every elector who has been duly nominated in the form or to the effect of the nomination paper set out in Schedule A to this Act shall be eligible for election as a lay representative of Synod of the electoral district in which he is enrolled.

4. Every electoral district shall elect two lay representatives and two supplementary lay representatives, provided that, in the case of an electoral district in which there is more than one full-time stipendiary clergyman in accordance with recommendations of the Diocesan Pastoral Committee, such electoral district shall elect an additional lay representative and an additional supplementary representative for each such additional full-time stipendiary clergyman.

5. The registration of electors shall be in the manner provided for in Section 48 of the Parochial Government Act.

6. For obtaining the general election of lay representatives the Bishop by mandate under his hand addressed to each clergyman in charge of an electoral district shall require such clergyman to invite the electors to proceed to the election of lay representatives and supplementary lay representatives thereof in the manner hereinafter provided and within a period to be specified in such mandate which period the Bishop may if he think fit extend.

7. In the event of any electoral district not being under the charge of a clergyman for any reason within the period specified within the mandate of the Bishop the Rural Dean of the Rural Deanery in which the electoral district is situated shall be deemed to be the clergyman in charge for the appointment of lay representatives and supplementary lay representatives as hereinafter provided.

8. Every such clergyman upon receipt of such a mandate shall give or cause to be given in every place of worship within such electoral district notice during the time of holding service therein specifying a period which shall not be less than fifteen nor more than thirty days from the date of notice within which nomination papers in the form or to the effect of the nomination paper set out in the second schedule hereto signed by not less than five electors may be sent to him and as soon as.conveniently may be after the receipt of a nomination paper shall cause the name of any person duly nominated with the names of his nominators to be affixed to the Notice Board of every such place of worship.

9. Every such clergyman shall give or cause to be given in every such place of worship notice specifying a day not less than seven not more than fifteen days after the last day of nomination and also the hour and a place or places for proceeding to an election and the time during which the polls shall on such day be kept open and such notice shall be posted on the notice board of such buildings.

10. On the day of election such clergyman shall either himself attend or depute some other person to attend at each of the places specified to receive and record the votes of qualified electors.

11. Such clergyman or his deputy shall verify the rights of every elector from the electoral roll before allowing the exercise of such elector’s right of voting.

12. Voting shall be by signed papers and every declaration and record of votes shall be signed by the person receiving and recording the same and in the case of deputies shall be forwarded to such clergyman who shall cause to be delivered to each person elected a certificate of his election and shall certify the same to the Bishop.

13. Such clergyman shall retain all minutes nominations subscriptions and records of votes for the election of lay representatives in sealed envelopes for a period of one calendar month after he has issued certificates of election to lay representatives and supplementary lay representatives and then shall cause such documents to be destroyed.

14. Every Synod that may be constituted shall continue as a Synod for a period of three years and no longer from the date of the first meeting of such Synod liable to dissolution in the meantime by the Bishop who shall have the right to dissolve such Synod subject to the provisions hereinafter contained.

15. A general election of lay representatives shall take place within six months after every dissolution of Synod by effluxion of time or otherwise.

16. When any parish or parochial district has been or shall be constituted after the period of six months from the dissolution of any Synod the election of lay representatives for such parish or parochial district shall proceed in pursuance of a mandate issued by the Bishop subsequent to the constitution of such parish or parochial district and such representatives shall be appointed for the remaining life of such Synod.

17. When the time for the proceeding to an election that may have been specified in the mandate issued by the Bishop for the appointment of lay representatives shall have elapsed and no appointment been made the Bishop may extend the time named for the proceeding to such appointment and any appointment within such extended time shall be as good and valid to all intents and purposes as though the said appointment had taken place within the time originally specified in such mandate.

18. Notification in writing addressed to the registered address of clergymen licensed by the Bishop members ex officio and lay representatives of electoral districts with at least fourteen days notice of the time and place appointed for any session of Synod shall be sufficient legal evidence of the convening thereof and of compliance with the provisions or requirements of this Act as to the convening of any Synod and as to the summoning of representatives.

19. Each lay representative and supplementary lay representative appointed as aforesaid shall before taking part or voting at such Synod sign and deliver to the President thereof a declaration in the form following or to like effect “I whose name is hereto subscribed do declare that I am a communicant member of the Anglican Church and that I will faithfully perform all the responsibilities of my office and do my utmost to secure due conformity with the Acts of this Synod relating thereto”.

20. Every lay representative upon receiving notice of any session of Synod and who is unable to attend for any reason may arrange for a supplementary representative of the same electoral district to attend the said session of Synod aforesaid provided that notice in writing be given to the Registrar and the supplementary representative so appointed shall only act for the whole of the said session of Synod.

21. It shall be lawful for any lay representative or supplementary lay representative to resign his seat in the Synod by writing under his hand addressed to the President and from the time when such resignation shall have been accepted by the President the seat of such member shall be vacant.

22. The seat of any lay representative who shall have been absent from the Synod for an entire session without due cause shown to the satisfaction of the Synod may be declared vacant by the resolution of the Synod at the next session.

23. Every member of Synod attending shall signify his presence when the Roll is called at the commencement of each session.

24. Any lay representative who shall cease to be a member of the Anglican Church or who shall cease to be qualified as an elector under this Act shall be deemed to have forfeited his seat and such seat may be declared vacant by a resolution of the Synod.

25. If a lay representative die or resign his seat or if his seat be forfeited and declared vacant as aforesaid in the absence of a supplementary representative to act in his stead the President shall issue his mandate for a new election to be made and every election held to fill a vacancy however occasioned shall be conducted in the manner herein provided for general elections of lay representatives.

26. At the opening of the first session of each Synod the President shall lay upon the table of the Synod a list of names not exceeding five members chosen by him as a committee to which all questions shall be referred as to the validity of any disputed election.

27. The President shall appoint the time and place of the first meeting of the said committee and the said committee shall not be competent to transact any business unless at least three members thereof shall be present

28. In addition to the lay members of Synod elected under the provision of this Act the Chancellor of the Diocese the Advocate of the Diocese the Official Principal of the Diocese the Registrar of the Diocese the Chairman of each of the Missionforce Committees and the Headmaster of the Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School shall each ex officio be a member of each Synod of the Diocese.

29. In addition to such lay members of the Synod elected as above mentioned and to such ex officio members of Synod as aforesaid the Bishop shall be and is hereby empowered to nominate and appoint from time to time such persons as he may think fit to be members of each Synod provided always that the number of persons so appointed shall not at any time exceed eight in number.

SCHEDULE A

We the undersigned do hereby nominate . . . as a fit and proper and duly qualified person who we are informed is willing to serve as a Lay Representative of the Electoral District of . . . in the Diocesan Synod and each of the undersigned hereby declares himself to be an elector within the said Electoral District.

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Signature of five or more electors . . . . . . . . . . . .
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