{"id":"tas:sr-2005-139","name":"Proclamation under the Defamation Act 2005","slug":"proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"139 of 2005","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":317677,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2005-139-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Defamation Act 2005","content":"> Proclamation under the Defamation Act 2005\n\nI, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, by this my proclamation made under [section 2 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2005-073#GS2@EN) [Defamation Act 2005](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2005-073) fix 1 January 2006 as the day on which that Act commences.\n\n12 December 2005\n\nW. J. E. COX\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nJUDY JACKSON\n\nMinister for Justice and Industrial Relations\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 21 December 2005\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward commencement instrument performing exactly the function intended — bringing an Act into force on a specified date. No scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision fixing a commencement date","No defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation (except citation of the parent Act)","No conditional logic or exceptions","Standard ceremonial/formulaic language only"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **commencement proclamation** — a formal government notice that officially starts a law on a specific date.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Sets **1 January 2006** as the date when Tasmania's *Defamation Act 2005* comes into force (becomes legally active)\n\n**Who made it:**\n- The **Governor of Tasmania** (the Queen's representative in the state), acting on advice from the **Executive Council** (the Premier and senior ministers)\n- Signed by Governor W. J. E. Cox and Justice Minister Judy Jackson\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Laws passed by Parliament don't automatically start working. They need a formal \"start date\" — either written into the law itself or set by proclamation like this one.\n- Without this proclamation, the *Defamation Act 2005* would have remained inactive, leaving older defamation laws in place.\n- This ensures everyone knows exactly when the new defamation rules apply — important for lawsuits, media organisations, and anyone publishing material in Tasmania."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Currency of version / Status Information","severity":"low","reasoning":"While not strictly a legislative drafting flaw, the metadata references a future access date (2026) combined with a 2018 modification date and a 2005 commencement, creating an internally odd temporal narrative. This is likely a metadata artefact but could undermine confidence in the 'current version' claim if the file has not actually been modified since 2018 despite being represented as current to 2026.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The document states it was 'accessed 8 April 2026 at 2:39' but also states the 'File last modified 3 September 2018'. The access date of 8 April 2026 is in the future relative to any plausible drafting date, raising questions about temporal consistency in version currency claims."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Status Information – update promise","severity":"low","reasoning":"The operational promise of a 3-working-day update cycle is contradicted by a static file modification date of 2018 on a document claimed to be current to 2026. If taken literally, the commitment is either unfulfilled or the 'last modified' metadata is unreliable, making the currency representation potentially misleading.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The instrument states legislation is 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change to the legislation,' yet the file was last modified on 3 September 2018. If any amendments have been made to the parent Defamation Act 2005 (Tasmania) or this Proclamation since that date, the 3-working-day update commitment would appear to have been systematically breached over a period of years."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Entire document structure","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Duplicated provisions or headings in a legislative instrument raise a genuine interpretive question: if there are two identical clauses, do they each carry independent operative force, or does the duplication render the instrument internally redundant? Under Australian statutory interpretation principles (Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) and Tasmanian equivalents), surplusage is to be avoided. A document entirely composed of surplusage is interpretively problematic.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The document repeats its own headings and substantive content verbatim multiple times (e.g., 'Proclamation under the Defamation Act 2005' appears four times as a heading; 'Status Information', 'Currency of version', 'Table of Amending Instruments', 'Responsible Minister and Department', and 'Authorisation' each appear duplicated). A legislative instrument that is self-duplicating creates ambiguity as to which instance is authoritative."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency of version – 'current from 21 December 2005 to date (accessed 8 April 2026)'","section_b":"Authorisation – 'File last modified 3 September 2018'","confidence":0.62,"description":"The version is represented as current and continuously maintained to April 2026, but the underlying file has not been modified since September 2018. These two claims are in direct tension: a file that has not changed since 2018 cannot simultaneously reflect a continuously updated currency to 2026 unless no amendments have occurred, which conflicts with the reference to a 'Table of Amending Instruments' implying amendments exist."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Table of Amending Instruments – implies amendments have been made","section_b":"Authorisation – 'File last modified 3 September 2018'","confidence":0.58,"description":"The existence of a 'Table of Amending Instruments' hyperlink implies that amending instruments exist for this Proclamation. However, if the file was last modified in 2018 and the Proclamation commenced in 2005, any amendments after 2018 would not be reflected in the file, contradicting the representation that the table is current."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This proclamation only sets the commencement date under s 2 of the Defamation Act 2005. It does not change the Act's substantive scope, rights, duties or defences; it only determines when those existing legal rules take effect and records administrative publication and custody."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative effect: specifies one commencement date (1 January 2006).","Legal hook: made under section 2 of the Defamation Act 2005, but does not alter substantive law.","Formalities recorded: Governor's signature, ministerial command, Gazette notification and departmental administration.","Low discretion: no delegated powers or regulatory rules created.","Minimal compliance burden: shifts timing for when existing obligations begin but imposes no new procedural requirements."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation fixes 1 January 2006 as the date the Tasmanian Defamation Act 2005 begins to operate (made under s 2). From that date the Act’s rights, duties and remedies on defamatory publications apply to individuals, publishers and organisations in Tasmania.\n\nThe commencement decision is made by the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council; the instrument records Gazette notification and Department of Justice administration. It does not amend the Act’s substance but creates the timing for compliance and enforcement."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"A commencement proclamation has an inherently narrow and fixed purpose — to bring an Act into force on a specified date. There is no indication the scope has changed from that original intent. The Act has remained in force since 21 December 2005 with no amendments visible in this instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Document contains almost no substantive legal content — it is purely an administrative commencement notice","No operative provisions, definitions, or legal obligations are set out in the proclamation itself","The document appears to have significant formatting/rendering issues (duplicated headings, repeated text), making it harder to assess, but the underlying instrument is straightforward","No amendments or complex transitional arrangements are visible"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation formally brings Tasmania’s Defamation Act 2005 into force on 21 December 2005. It’s an administrative “switch‑on” that makes the uniform national defamation rules apply in Tasmania, affecting individuals who claim reputational harm and anyone who publishes or broadcasts material (including online) that could be read by Tasmanians."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-defamation-act-2005/documents"}}