{"id":"tas:act-1994-84A","name":"Agvet Code of Tasmania","slug":"agvet-code-of-tasmania","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"84A of 1994","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106197,"registerId":"tas-act-1994-84A-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 1 Commencement\n\n> The provisions of the [Agvet Code of Tasmania](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1994-84A) were applied (with modifications) as a law of Tasmania on 15 March 1995.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Further information","content":"### 2 Further information\n\n> The full text of the Code is set out in the Schedule to the *Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994* of the Commonwealth (click on INFORMATION for a link to Commonwealth legislation). See the [Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Tasmania) Act 1994](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1994-084) for modifications to the Code as it applies in Tasmania.","sortOrder":1}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Agvet Code is applied in Tasmania \"with modifications\" (s1–2), so the Tasmanian application departs from the unamended Commonwealth Code. Determining the exact scope requires reading the Tasmanian Act's specified modifications alongside the Commonwealth Schedule."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporation by reference: the full Code text sits in the Commonwealth Act's Schedule rather than in the Tasmanian instrument (s2).","Modifications are recorded separately in the Tasmanian Act, requiring cross-referencing to determine operative text (s2).","Multiple-source compliance: stakeholders must read the Commonwealth Schedule, the Commonwealth Act, and the Tasmanian Act to understand obligations (s2).","Limited standalone substance: these provisions are procedural (application/commencement) rather than substantive regulatory rules (s1–2).","Potential reconciliation tasks where Tasmanian modifications diverge from the Commonwealth Code, creating interpretive risk (s1–2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument makes the Commonwealth Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code (the Agvet Code) operate as Tasmanian law from 15 March 1995, but with modifications recorded in the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Tasmania) Act 1994 (s1–2).\n\nIt affects manufacturers, suppliers and users of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in Tasmania, who must consult the Code text in the Commonwealth Act's Schedule together with the Tasmanian Act's modifications to know their legal obligations."},"summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The scope has not materially changed from its original intent. Since 1994, this instrument has consistently served as Tasmania's mechanism for adopting the national agricultural and veterinary chemicals regulatory framework. The ambulatory reference design was intentional — Tasmania deliberately chose to mirror the Commonwealth Code rather than create independent state-based regulation, and that approach remains unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Relies on a 'rolling reference' (ambulatory reference) to Commonwealth legislation — meaning the law changes automatically whenever the federal version changes, without Tasmania needing to act","The operative substance of the law is not contained in this Tasmanian instrument itself but in a separate Commonwealth Act and its Schedule, requiring readers to consult multiple pieces of legislation","Local modifications to the Commonwealth Code are not visible in this document — readers must identify what Tasmania has changed","Covers a technically complex subject matter involving chemical registration, approval pathways, labelling standards, permits, and enforcement","Sits within a cooperative national regulatory scheme (APVMA — Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority), which adds an additional layer of institutional complexity","Has been in force since 1994 with ongoing amendments, meaning the current operative law may differ substantially from the original without clear visibility in this document"],"plain_english_summary":"Tasmania adopts the Commonwealth Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code as its law, so national rules on registering, approving, labelling, permitting, enforcing and penalising agricultural and veterinary chemicals apply locally. \n\nThat affects farmers, vets, manufacturers, importers, retailers and anyone handling these products — noncompliance can be unlawful — and federal changes automatically update Tasmanian law."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This document has not expanded beyond its original purpose. It was always intended to be a brief application/commencement instrument that incorporates the Commonwealth Code by reference, and it remains exactly that."},"complexity_factors":["Document is only 2 sections long","No defined terms within this instrument itself","No operative provisions — purely informational/commencement provisions","No conditional logic or cross-references within the text (only external pointers)","Essentially a legislative 'signpost' rather than substantive law"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **short reference document** that points to the actual Agvet Code of Tasmania.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Confirms that the Agvet Code of Tasmania started operating on **15 March 1995**\n- Explains that the full rules are not actually written here — instead, they are **\"applied\" from Commonwealth law** (the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994) with some **Tasmanian-specific changes** (modifications)\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone dealing with agricultural and veterinary chemicals in Tasmania — farmers, vets, chemical manufacturers, and suppliers\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Tasmania doesn't write its own complete agvet chemical laws from scratch. Instead, it **borrows** the Commonwealth's code and tweaks it for local use. This is called an **\"applied law\"** system — a common trick in Australian federalism where states adopt national laws to keep things consistent across the country.\n\n**Where to find the actual rules:**\n- The real code lives in the **Schedule to the Commonwealth Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994**\n- The Tasmanian modifications are in the **Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Tasmania) Act 1994**"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Status Information / Notes","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The 'law of Tasmania' has no fixed content of its own. Its operative provisions are whatever the Commonwealth Schedule says at any given moment. This creates a situation where Tasmania purports to enact law whose substance is entirely controlled by another legislature, raising questions about what precisely Tasmania has enacted and whether Tasmanians can reliably identify the law governing them from Tasmanian sources.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The Agvet Code of Tasmania is not itself substantive legislation but is entirely defined by reference to a Commonwealth Schedule 'as in force from time to time', meaning the actual content of the law is perpetually ambulatory and cannot be determined from the Tasmanian instrument itself."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Currency of version / Authorisation","severity":"high","reasoning":"The currency claim ('to date', accessed 3 April 2026) is contradicted by the file modification date of 7 February 2020. If the law incorporates Commonwealth amendments 'as in force from time to time' but the file has not been updated since 2020, the published version cannot actually reflect the current law. Users relying on this document for compliance would be working from a potentially outdated text while being told it is current.","confidence":0.91,"description":"The document states the version is 'current from 15 March 1994 to date' and that the site is 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change', yet the file was last modified on 7 February 2020, despite the Commonwealth Agvet Code having been amended numerous times after that date."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Notes","severity":"high","reasoning":"If the Tasmanian version differs from the Commonwealth version by virtue of unspecified 'modifications', a person reading this document has no means of identifying those modifications. Compliance with the Tasmanian law (as modified) is therefore practically impossible without access to information not provided in or linked from this instrument.","confidence":0.78,"description":"The Code applies 'with modifications' as a law of Tasmania, but no modifications are set out or referenced anywhere in the accessible document, making it impossible for any person to determine what the actual operative law of Tasmania is as distinct from the Commonwealth Code."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information (entire section)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Wholesale duplication of the Status Information block (including Currency, Table of Amending Instruments, Notes, Links, Responsible Minister, and Authorisation) within a single document is a formatting absurdity that undermines the document's authority and reliability as an official legal source, though it does not alter the legal operation of the instrument.","confidence":0.95,"description":"The Status Information section and all its subsections are reproduced in full twice within the same document with identical content, serving no legal or informational purpose and suggesting a structural defect in the legislative publication."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Currency of version: 'Version current from 15 March 1994 to date (accessed 3 April 2026 at 13:54)'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 7 February 2020'","confidence":0.93,"description":"The document simultaneously claims to be current as at 3 April 2026 and to have last been modified on 7 February 2020. These two statements are irreconcilable: a file last touched in 2020 cannot be reliably described as reflecting the law as at 2026, particularly where the underlying Commonwealth Code is ambulatory."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Notes: 'the Code, as in force from time to time... applies... as a law of Tasmania'","section_b":"Currency of version: 'Legislation on this site is usually updated within 3 working days after a change to the legislation'","confidence":0.75,"description":"The Notes provide that Tasmanian law automatically tracks Commonwealth amendments in real time ('as in force from time to time'), but the currency statement implies updates are a discrete administrative act occurring within 3 working days. These mechanisms are contradictory: if the law changes automatically upon Commonwealth amendment, no Tasmanian administrative update is necessary or legally meaningful; if a Tasmanian update is required, the law does not automatically apply 'as in force from time to time'."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/agvet-code-of-tasmania","history":"/api/acts/agvet-code-of-tasmania/history","analysis":"/api/acts/agvet-code-of-tasmania/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/agvet-code-of-tasmania/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/agvet-code-of-tasmania/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/agvet-code-of-tasmania/documents"}}