{"id":"tas:act-2009-066","name":"Constitution (Doubts Removal) Act 2009","slug":"constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"66 of 2009","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":39138,"registerId":"tas-act-2009-066-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","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 [Constitution (Doubts Removal) Act 2009](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2009-066) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This Act commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 3 Interpretation\n\n> In this Act –\n> \n> > ***Administrator*** means a person appointed as, or purportedly appointed as, Administrator of the State;\n> \n> > ***Deputy Administrator*** means a person appointed as, or purportedly appointed as, Deputy Administrator of the State;\n> \n> > ***Deputy Lieutenant-Governor*** means a person appointed as, or purportedly appointed as, Deputy Lieutenant-Governor of the State;\n> \n> > ***Lieutenant-Governor*** means a person appointed as, or purportedly appointed as, Lieutenant-Governor of the State;\n> \n> > ***relevant action*** means an act or omission of an administrative or legislative nature, including the exercise, or purported exercise, of prerogative powers, done or omitted, or purportedly done or omitted, at a relevant time by a Lieutenant-Governor, a Deputy Lieutenant-Governor, an Administrator or a Deputy Administrator during the administration, or purported administration, of the government of the State by that person;\n> \n> > ***relevant time*** means any time between 5.00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on 3 March 1986 and the commencement of this Act.\n> > \n> > | Note: The Australia Act 1986 of the Commonwealth came into operation at 5.00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on 3 March 1986. |","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act to bind the Crown","content":"### 4 Act to bind the Crown\n\n> This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Effect of relevant actions","content":"### 5 Effect of relevant actions\n\n> Every relevant action has, and is deemed always to have had, the same force and effect for all purposes as it would have had if it had been done, or omitted to be done, at the relevant time by a person validly holding the office of Governor at that time.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act not to give rise to liability against the State","content":"### 6 Act not to give rise to liability against the State\n\n> > (1)  The State is not liable to any action, liability, claim or demand arising from the enactment, commencement or operation of this Act.\n> \n> > (2)  Without limiting [subsection (1)](#GS6@Gs1@EN) , no proceedings lie against the State in respect of a relevant action affected by this Act, except to the extent that the proceedings would lie had the relevant action been done, or omitted to be done, at the relevant time by a person validly holding the office of Governor.\n> \n> > (3)  In this section –\n> > \n> > > ***proceedings*** includes proceedings for an order in the nature of prohibition, certiorari or mandamus or for a declaration or injunction or for any other relief;\n> > \n> > > ***the State*** includes any State authority or officer of the State, and also includes –\n> > > \n> > > > > (a) the Crown in right of the State; and\n> > > > \n> > > > > (b) the Government of the State; and\n> > > > \n> > > > > (c) a Minister of the Crown in right of the State; and\n> > > > \n> > > > > (d) a statutory corporation, or other body, representing the Crown in right of the State.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Administration of Act","content":"### 7 Administration of Act\n\n> Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under [section 4 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1990-004#GS4@EN) [Administrative Arrangements Act 1990](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1990-004)  –\n> \n> > > (a) the administration of this Act is assigned to the Premier; and\n> > \n> > > (b) the department responsible to the Premier in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Premier and Cabinet.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8.","sectionType":"section","heading":null,"content":"### 8.\n\n> See [Schedule 1](#JS1@EN) .","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"SCHEDULE 1 - Consequential Ame","sectionType":"part","heading":"SCHEDULE 1 - Consequential Amendments","content":"# SCHEDULE 1 - Consequential Ame SCHEDULE 1 - Consequential Amendments\n\n[Section 8](#GS8@EN) [Constitution Act 1934](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1934-094)","sortOrder":8}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: validating gubernatorial actions during a specific historical period (1986-2009) where constitutional doubt existed. The scope has not expanded beyond this remedial, retrospective validation function."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute (8 sections plus brief Schedule)","Only 6 defined terms in the interpretation section","Single operative provision (section 5) with straightforward retrospective validation","Minimal cross-referencing (only to Administrative Arrangements Act 1990 and Constitution Act 1934)","Simple conditional logic limited to temporal scope (1986-2009)","Standard liability shield provisions (section 6) using conventional drafting","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a Tasmanian law that fixes a potential legal problem dating back to 1986. \n\n**What it does:**\nBetween March 1986 and when this Act started, various people acted as Governor of Tasmania when they might not have been properly appointed. These included Lieutenant-Governors, Deputy Lieutenant-Governors, Administrators, and Deputy Administrators. This law says that **everything these people did is legally valid**, even if there were technical problems with their appointments.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, thousands of government decisions made over 23 years could have been challenged in court. This includes things like:\n- Laws that were signed\n- Executive decisions made\n- Appointments to government positions\n- Use of special ('prerogative') powers\n\n**Who it protects:**\n- The people who acted in these Governor roles (they can't be sued personally)\n- The Tasmanian Government (the State is protected from lawsuits)\n- Anyone who relied on decisions made by these office-holders\n\n**Key limitation:**\nThe law only validates actions that a properly appointed Governor *could* have done. It doesn't give these acting officials any extra powers they didn't have.\n\n**The backstory:**\nThe Australia Act 1986 changed how State Governors are appointed. There was uncertainty about whether acting Governors appointed under old rules were still valid after that date. This law removes that doubt retrospectively."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act confines its effect to retrospective validation of acts by the listed officeholders between 3 March 1986 and commencement (s3, s5). It does not extend validation beyond that period nor create new causes of action; instead it removes doubts about past acts and limits liability arising from that validation (s6). Administration is temporarily assigned to the Premier (s7)."},"complexity_factors":["Retrospective operation covering a defined historical period (definition of \"relevant time\") — s3 (definition)","Broad legal validation that deems specified \"relevant actions\" to have always had the same force as if taken by a Governor — s5","Wide bar on proceedings and state liability arising from the Act, with an exception only to the extent such proceedings would have lain if a Governor had acted — s6(1)–(2)","Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, as far as possible, in other capacities, affecting state authorities and officers — s4 and s6(3)","Expansive definition of \"relevant action\" (includes administrative, legislative and prerogative acts or omissions), which can produce interpretive questions about what acts fall inside the validation — s3","Initial executive responsibility is assigned to the Premier until administrative arrangements are made, creating short‑term departmental control — s7","Temporal link to the Australia Act 1986 (noted in the definition), which situates the retrospective window and may affect interactions with other constitutional instruments — s3 note","Legal effect is conceptually simple but may generate complex litigation over the outer limits of the deeming provisions and the exceptions to barred proceedings (interaction of ss5 and 6(2))"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act retrospectively treats acts or omissions done (or purportedly done) by persons appointed as Lieutenant‑Governor, Deputy Lieutenant‑Governor, Administrator or Deputy Administrator of Tasmania between 5.00 a.m. GMT on 3 March 1986 and the Act’s commencement as if they had been done by a validly appointed Governor. It binds the State, prevents new liability or proceedings arising from this validation, and assigns initial administration to the Premier. The practical effect is to leave past decisions and executive acts in place while limiting the State’s exposure to fresh legal claims."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on available information, the Act appears to serve its stated purpose of resolving constitutional uncertainties without evidence of scope expansion beyond that original intent. No amendments appear to have altered its operation since commencement in November 2009."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional subject matter inherently carries legal complexity","The specific legal doubts being removed are not visible in the provided text, making the precise scope unclear","'Doubts removal' legislation often involves retrospective legal validation, which can have subtle implications for affected parties","Interpreting what constitutional provisions were in doubt requires knowledge of Tasmanian constitutional history","Despite the above, such Acts are typically narrow and technical in operation, limiting practical complexity for most people"],"plain_english_summary":"This short Tasmanian law removes legal doubt about actions under the State Constitution by confirming that past constitutional acts and decisions were valid. It mainly affects the Tasmanian Government and Parliament and anyone whose rights or obligations depend on those constitutional actions. By resolving uncertainty, it protects against challenges and helps preserve legal and institutional stability."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009","history":"/api/acts/constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009/history","analysis":"/api/acts/constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/constitution-doubts-removal-act-2009/documents"}}