{"id":"tas:sr-1999-023","name":"Mineral Resources Development (Application of Act) Order (No. 2) 1999","slug":"mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"23 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":318964,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-1999-023-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This order may be cited as the [Mineral Resources Development (Application of Act) Order (No. 2) 1999](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/sr-9999-999) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This order takes effect on the day on which its making is notified in the *Gazette*.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act applies to certain land","content":"### 3 Act applies to certain land\n\n> The [Mineral Resources Development Act 1995](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1995-116) is declared to apply to that part of the muttonbird reserve on Hunter Island specified in [Schedule 1](#JS1@EN) to this order.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"SCHEDULE 1 - Muttonbird reserv","sectionType":"part","heading":"SCHEDULE 1 - Muttonbird reserve","content":"# SCHEDULE 1 - Muttonbird reserv SCHEDULE 1 - Muttonbird reserve\n\n[Clause 3](#GS3@EN)\n\n[Schedule 2](#JS2@EN)","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"SCHEDULE 2 - Plan","sectionType":"part","heading":"SCHEDULE 2 - Plan","content":"# SCHEDULE 2 - Plan SCHEDULE 2 - Plan\n\n[![graphic image](/image/mrhuntis.gif)](/image/mrhuntis.gif)\n\nDisplayed and numbered in accordance with the *[Rules Publication Act 1953](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1953-050)*.\n\nNotified in the *Gazette* on 31 March 1999\n\nThis order is administered in the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.","sortOrder":4}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the narrow, specific function suggested by its title: applying the Mining Act to a particular parcel of land. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this original purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 3 operative clauses plus schedules","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation beyond naming the principal Act","Simple unconditional declaration with no exceptions or conditions","Schedules contain only a map reference and graphic rather than complex tabular data"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short legal order that extends Tasmania's mining laws to a specific piece of land that was previously excluded.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Declares that the *Mineral Resources Development Act 1995* (Tasmania's main mining law) now applies to a specific part of the muttonbird reserve on Hunter Island\n- This allows mining activities to potentially occur on that land, subject to the usual permits and approvals under the Act\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone seeking to explore for or extract minerals on the specified part of Hunter Island\n- The traditional custodians and users of the muttonbird reserve (an area important for harvesting short-tailed shearwaters, known as muttonbirds)\n- Environmental groups and local communities with interests in the area\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Muttonbird reserves are culturally significant areas, particularly for Tasmanian Aboriginal people who have harvested muttonbirds for thousands of years\n- This order represents a policy decision to open up (or \"unlock\") protected reserve land for potential mineral exploration\n- It demonstrates how governments can use simple legislative instruments to change what activities are permitted on specific parcels of land without passing a whole new Act of Parliament"},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available metadata, there is no indication of amendments or scope changes since the instrument commenced on 31 March 1999. The Table of Amendments link suggests it can be checked, but the document itself shows no recorded changes. The order appears to have remained static in its original intended scope."},"complexity_factors":["Subordinate legislation that relies on understanding the parent Act (Mineral Resources Development Act) to interpret its effect","Scope-limiting or scope-extending orders can have significant practical consequences that are not obvious from the title alone","The actual operative provisions are not included in the provided text, making full analysis impossible","Interaction with land tenure systems (Crown land, freehold, etc.) may add a layer of complexity depending on the specific provisions","Has been in force since 1999 with no apparent amendments, suggesting it is narrow and stable in scope"],"plain_english_summary":"This order defines where the Mineral Resources Development Act applies in Tasmania, effectively extending or limiting the mining law’s reach over particular lands or areas. It determines whether land falls inside the statutory mining regime or is excluded.\n\nThat matters to miners, landowners, and government agencies because inclusion enables licensing and access rights while exclusion prevents standard mining claims. (Operative details aren’t included in the provided document.)"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The order extends the geographic scope of the Mineral Resources Development Act 1995 to include part of the muttonbird reserve on Hunter Island (s3; Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 plan). The change is narrow and map-defined; the instrument itself does not amend the Act’s substantive rules but subjects that land to the Act’s existing regulatory regime."},"complexity_factors":["Single substantive clause: one provision extends the Act to specified land (s3) — low textual complexity.","Cross-reference dependency: substantive effects depend on provisions of the Mineral Resources Development Act 1995, requiring users to consult that Act for detailed obligations.","Spatial definition by plan: boundary and application are defined by a graphic plan in Schedule 2, so legal effect depends on interpreting that map.","Commencement by Gazette (s2): timing is determined by publication rather than a fixed date.","Administrative clarity: the instrument names the administering department, reducing implementation uncertainty."],"plain_english_summary":"This order declares that the Mineral Resources Development Act 1995 applies to a specified part of the muttonbird reserve on Hunter Island (s3; Schedule 1 and Plan in Schedule 2). It takes effect when notice of its making appears in the Gazette (s2) and is administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources. Mechanically, the order brings that mapped land within the Act’s regulatory framework so activities on that land become subject to the Act’s requirements and any approvals or controls the Act imposes."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information / Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"While not strictly a logical flaw in the operative provisions, the combination of a 1999 commencement date, a 2017 file modification date, and a claim of currency to 2026 raises the question of whether the instrument's subject matter remains coherent with the current state of the Mineral Resources Development Act it purports to apply. An 'Application of Act' order that has not been updated since at least 2017 may silently misapply a parent Act that has itself been amended repeatedly.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The version is described as 'current from 31 March 1999 to date' despite the file last being modified on 5 July 2017, creating an implicit admission that the instrument has not been substantively amended or reviewed in over 27 years while still being held out as current law."},{"type":"other","section":"Title / Instrument structure","severity":"medium","reasoning":"An 'Application of Act' order numbered as a sequel necessarily presupposes a prior instrument carving out certain territory. Without any visible delineation of what No. 1 covers versus what No. 2 covers, there is a structural ambiguity: the same land, person, or activity could fall within both orders simultaneously, or fall within neither if a gap exists between them. This is a logical flaw because the instrument cannot coherently apply the Act to a defined set of circumstances if its relationship to its predecessor is unstated.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The instrument is titled 'Application of Act Order (No. 2) 1999', implying the existence of a preceding 'No. 1' order, yet no cross-reference, savings clause, or relationship to that earlier order is visible in the accessible text, leaving the scope of this order's application potentially undefined or overlapping."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Metadata / Table of Amending Instruments","severity":"high","reasoning":"An 'Application of Act' order that discloses no operative provisions in its accessible text cannot be complied with, applied by regulators, or scrutinised by courts. If amendments have been made (as the Table of Amending Instruments implies), those amendments apply to a body of text that is not publicly visible in this version, creating a situation where the law is nominally in force but practically inaccessible — a form of impossible compliance.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The instrument references a 'Table of Amendments' via a hyperlink, yet the substantive text provided contains no operative provisions whatsoever — only metadata and status information — making it impossible to determine what has actually been amended or whether any amendments are coherent with the original text."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency of version — 'Version current from 31 March 1999 to date'","section_b":"Authorisation — 'File last modified 5 July 2017'","confidence":0.6,"description":"The instrument claims continuous currency from 31 March 1999 to the present access date of 8 April 2026, yet the file was last modified on 5 July 2017. If the file has not been modified since 2017, it cannot accurately reflect any legislative changes to the parent Act or subordinate framework occurring between July 2017 and April 2026, contradicting the currency claim."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Table of Amending Instruments — implies amendments exist","section_b":"Substantive content — contains no operative provisions","confidence":0.68,"description":"The metadata explicitly references a Table of Amending Instruments, logically presupposing that there is a base instrument with operative text capable of being amended. However, the entirety of the accessible document consists solely of metadata and administrative status information, with no operative provisions present to be amended. The existence of a Table of Amendments directly contradicts the apparent absence of any amendable text."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999","history":"/api/acts/mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/mineral-resources-development-application-of-act-order-no-2-1999/documents"}}