{"id":"tas:act-1913-012","name":"Aliens Act 1913","slug":"aliens-act-1913","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"12 of 1913","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110713,"registerId":"tas-act-1913-012-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Aliens Act 1913](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1913-012) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2.","sectionType":"section","heading":null,"content":"### 2.\n\n*\\[Section 2 Repealed by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \\]*","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Capacity of aliens as to real and personal property","content":"### 3 Capacity of aliens as to real and personal property\n\n> *\\[Section 3 Amended by No. 88 of 1986, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*Real and personal property of every description may be taken, acquired, held, and disposed of by an alien in the same manner in all respects as by an Australian citizen; and a title to real and personal property of every description may be derived through, from, or in succession to an alien, in the same manner in all respects as through, from, or in succession to an Australian citizen: Provided that nothing in this Act contained shall –\n> \n> > > (a) qualify an alien to be or become the owner of a British ship or any share therein;\n> > \n> > > (b) qualify an alien for any office or franchise;\n> > \n> > > (c) entitle an alien to any right or privilege as an Australian citizen, except such rights and privileges in respect of property as are by this Act expressly given to him;\n> > \n> > > (d) affect the liability of an alien to serve on juries under the provisions of any Act for the time being in force relating to juries; or\n> > \n> > > (e) affect any estate or interest in real or personal property to which any person has or may become entitled, either mediately or immediately, in possession or expectancy, in pursuance of any disposition made before the passing of this Act, or in pursuance of any devolution by law on the death of any person dying before the passing of this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Alien not entitled to jury de medietate linguae","content":"### 4 Alien not entitled to jury de medietate linguae\n\n> *\\[Section 4 Amended by No. 88 of 1986, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*An alien shall not be entitled to be tried by a jury *de medietate linguae*, but shall be triable in the same manner as if he were an Australian citizen.","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"When enacted in 1913, state-level alien legislation had some practical relevance in the early Federation period. Over time, the scope has effectively collapsed to near-zero due to the expansion of exclusive federal power over aliens and immigration under the Australian Constitution and subsequent federal legislation such as the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Act's original intent — to regulate the status or conduct of non-citizens in Tasmania — is now entirely covered by federal law, leaving this Act with no meaningful operative scope."},"complexity_factors":["The legislation text provided is almost entirely metadata and status information — the actual substantive provisions of the Act are not reproduced here, making full analysis impossible.","Its interaction with federal constitutional law (s.51(xix) of the Constitution — the 'aliens' power) raises a layer of constitutional complexity, though this effectively renders the Act dormant rather than complex to apply.","Extremely dated language and legal concepts (e.g., 'aliens', 'British subjects') that no longer reflect modern Australian law.","Uncertainty about what operative provisions remain given over a century of federal legislative development in this area."],"plain_english_summary":"The Aliens Act 1913 (Tas.) is an old state law about “aliens” (non‑citizens) that today functions largely as a historical relic. Because the Australian Constitution gives the Commonwealth exclusive power over immigration and naturalisation, federal laws (e.g. the Migration Act 1958) and the Department of Home Affairs govern visas, residence and citizenship. The 1913 Act remains on the books with minimal amendment but is effectively dormant and unlikely to affect ordinary people."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Title/General","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 51(xix) of the Constitution grants the Commonwealth Parliament exclusive or at minimum paramount power over 'naturalization and aliens'. Any Tasmanian state law purporting to regulate aliens as such would be constitutionally invalid or rendered inoperative by inconsistent Commonwealth legislation (s109). The continued existence of this Act on the Tasmanian statute books as current law is therefore constitutionally anomalous at best and void at worst.","confidence":0.92,"description":"The Aliens Act 1913 is a Tasmanian state Act purporting to legislate with respect to 'aliens', a subject matter that falls exclusively within Commonwealth legislative power under section 51(xix) of the Australian Constitution."},{"type":"other","section":"Currency Statement","severity":"low","reasoning":"If the file was last modified in 2019 but is described as current to 2026, either no amendments have occurred (plausible but requires verification) or the currency statement is unreliable. More critically, a law dealing with 'aliens' that has not been substantively amended since at least 1997 is almost certainly superseded by Commonwealth migration and citizenship law, making its purported currency misleading.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The Act is described as 'current from 1 February 1997 to date' yet the file is stated to have been 'last modified 31 October 2019', creating a logical inconsistency about whether the version truly reflects the law as at the access date of 3 April 2026."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"General","severity":"high","reasoning":"For the Act to operate, it must define or at least implicitly rely on the concept of 'alien'. But 'alien' in Australian law is determined by Commonwealth citizenship law. A state Act adopting that definition is entirely derivative and hollow; one that attempts its own definition would conflict with Commonwealth law and be inoperative under s109. Either way, the Act cannot coherently function as independent legislation.","confidence":0.88,"description":"The Act's title refers to 'Aliens' — a legal category that, post-Australian Citizenship Act 1948 and subsequent Commonwealth legislation, is comprehensively defined and regulated at the federal level, leaving no operative space for a state definition or regulatory scheme."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Currency Statement ('current from 1 February 1997 to date')","section_b":"Authorisation ('File last modified 31 October 2019')","confidence":0.7,"description":"The legislation is simultaneously described as 'current to date' (3 April 2026) yet the underlying file has not been modified since 31 October 2019, creating a tension between claimed currency and actual document provenance."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Tasmanian Aliens Act 1913 (state legislation)","section_b":"Australian Constitution s51(xix) and Commonwealth Migration Act 1958 / Australian Citizenship Act 2007","confidence":0.91,"description":"The existence of a state Act regulating 'aliens' directly contradicts the constitutional allocation of that subject matter to the Commonwealth and the comprehensive Commonwealth legislative scheme that covers the field, rendering the state Act inoperative or void under s109 of the Constitution."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The statutory text records later modifications: Section 2 is repealed and sections 3 and 4 are noted as amended (No. 88 of 1986). The Act continues to grant aliens capacity in property law but preserves explicit limits (see proviso to s 3) and removes the special jury entitlement (s 4), so its practical scope has been adjusted rather than eradicated."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused instrument with only a few operative clauses","Proviso structure in s 3 creates conditional equality rather than blanket entitlement","Cross-references and exceptions to other legal domains (British ship ownership, public offices/franchises, jury laws, prior dispositions) require checking other statutes","Archaic or technical terms (e.g. 'de medietate linguae', 'franchise', 'disposition') can generate interpretive questions","Amendment and repeal notes (s 2 repealed; ss 3 and 4 amended) add historical layering and possible transitional issues"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act gives non‑citizens the legal capacity to acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property on the same terms as Australian citizens (see s 3), while preserving specific limits. It also removes the special jury right known as de medietate linguae for aliens (s 4). It matters to aliens, their transferees and courts because it changes who may own property and how civil rights tied to citizenship are retained or withheld."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original 1913 purpose: clarifying property rights for non-citizens and abolishing the foreign jury privilege. No significant expansion has occurred — indeed, Section 2 was repealed, reducing its scope. The amendments noted (1986) appear to be updating terminology ('Australian citizen' replacing 'British subject') rather than expanding substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short — only 4 sections, with Section 2 repealed entirely","Only one defined term implied ('alien' — never explicitly defined in the text provided)","Single operative provision (Section 3) with a straightforward 'equal treatment' rule followed by 5 simple exceptions","No cross-references to other Acts except a generic reference to jury legislation","No nested conditions or complex conditional logic","Section 4 is a simple prohibition without exceptions","Archaisms present (*de medietate linguae*, 'British ship') but legally straightforward"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis short 1913 Act deals with the property rights of \"aliens\" — an old legal term for non-citizens (people who aren't Australian citizens or British subjects, depending on the era).\n\n**The main rule:**\n- **Aliens can own property** — real estate, personal belongings, investments, etc. — in exactly the same way Australian citizens can. They can buy it, sell it, inherit it, and pass it on to others.\n\n**The exceptions (what aliens still CAN'T do):**\n- Own a British ship or any share in one\n- Hold public office or vote (\"franchise\" means voting rights)\n- Claim any other rights of Australian citizenship beyond property ownership\n- Escape jury duty — they must serve on juries like everyone else\n- The law also protects property rights that existed before 1913 — if someone inherited property under old rules, this Act doesn't disturb that.\n\n**One quirky historical rule:**\n- Section 4 abolishes an ancient English legal privilege called *jury de medietate linguae* (literally \"jury of half tongue\"). This was a medieval rule that let foreigners demand a jury half-made-up of other foreigners. This Act says: no special treatment — aliens get tried by ordinary juries just like citizens.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was a progressive law for its time. Before this, many countries restricted foreigners from owning land. Australia decided non-citizens could own property freely, with only narrow exceptions. The Act still sits on the books today, though much of its context has been overtaken by modern citizenship and corporations law."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/aliens-act-1913","history":"/api/acts/aliens-act-1913/history","analysis":"/api/acts/aliens-act-1913/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/aliens-act-1913/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/aliens-act-1913/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/aliens-act-1913/documents"}}