{"id":"tas:sr-2018-005","name":"Proclamation under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017","slug":"proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"5 of 2018","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":184860,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2018-005-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017","content":"> Proclamation under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017\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-2017-045#GS2@EN) [Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2017-045) fix 9 April 2018 as the day on which that Act commences.\n\n23 January 2018\n\nC. WARNER\n\nGovernor\n\nBy Her Excellency's Command,\n\nELISE ARCHER\n\nMinister for Justice\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 January 2018","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Proclamation does exactly what a commencement proclamation is intended to do — bring the parent Act into force on a specified date. There is no evidence of scope change from its original intent."},"complexity_factors":["The document itself is purely administrative — it simply sets a commencement date for existing legislation","No substantive legal rules are created by the Proclamation itself; complexity lies in the parent Act, not this instrument","Minimal text with no operative provisions beyond activation of the parent Act","Straightforward single-jurisdiction (Tasmania) instrument with no cross-jurisdictional interaction"],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation, made by the Governor of Tasmania, brings the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017 into force from 31 January 2018. It lets people—chiefly LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians—apply to have old convictions for now‑decriminalised conduct (notably consensual same‑sex acts) permanently removed from their records. The change matters because expungement removes legal and social barriers tied to discriminatory, repealed offences and gives affected people a genuine fresh start."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Status Information / Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"If the version is current from 31 January 2018, the instrument presumably took legal effect on that date. However, the file modification date of 1 February 2018 suggests the authoritative record was not finalised until the day after it purportedly came into force. This raises a question about whether the instrument was validly in force on 31 January 2018 if the authorised file did not exist until 1 February 2018.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The proclamation states it is 'current from 31 January 2018 to date' while also stating the file was 'last modified 1 February 2018', creating a one-day discrepancy in the operative date of the instrument."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Document structure (all sections)","severity":"high","reasoning":"A Proclamation under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017 must, at minimum, identify the offences being expunged or the commencement date it is bringing into force. This document contains only duplicated metadata headers and no operative provisions whatsoever. A proclamation with no operative content cannot fulfil the legal function for which it was made, rendering it legally ineffective or void for uncertainty. Persons seeking expungement of historical offences under this proclamation have no operative provisions to rely upon.","confidence":0.9,"description":"Every heading and section title in the instrument is duplicated verbatim (e.g., 'Status Information Status Information', 'Currency of version Currency of version', 'Authorisation Authorisation'). While likely a formatting/publishing error, if this document is the legally operative version, there is no substantive content — the proclamation contains no actual proclamation."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Document as a whole","severity":"high","reasoning":"Under principles of statutory interpretation and administrative law, a proclamation must contain sufficient operative content to be given legal effect. A document consisting solely of repeated administrative metadata cannot constitute a valid exercise of the Governor's power to make a proclamation. Any purported legal consequence (expungement of a criminal record) flowing from this instrument would be legally unenforceable.","confidence":0.85,"description":"The proclamation purports to operate under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017 but contains no reference to any specific historical offence, no identification of the class of persons benefited, no operative expungement, and no commencement clause — the hallmarks of any valid proclamation."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Currency of version: 'Version current from 31 January 2018 to date'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 1 February 2018'","confidence":0.55,"description":"The instrument is stated to have been in legal force from 31 January 2018, but the authoritative file underpinning it was not finalised until 1 February 2018. These two dates cannot both be correct if the file modification date reflects when the instrument was formally authorised."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not change the substantive scope or content of the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017; it only sets the Act's commencement date and records the formal signing and notification steps."},"complexity_factors":["Single, discrete administrative action: fixes a commencement date","Cites specific statutory authority (section 2 of the Act)","No substantive amendments to primary legislation or new regulatory mechanisms","Clear formalities recorded (Governor's signature, ministerial command, Gazette notification)"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation sets 9 April 2018 as the day the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017 begins to operate in Tasmania. It was made by the Governor acting with the advice of the Executive Council, signed on 23 January 2018 and notified in the Gazette on 31 January 2018, thereby bringing the Act into legal effect from that date."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a commencement proclamation, which by definition has a single, narrow purpose: to bring an Act into force on a specified date. It has not expanded beyond this original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision: fixes one commencement date","No defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation beyond citation of the parent Act","No conditional logic or exceptions","Standard proclamation format — essentially a template document with blanks filled in"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal proclamation that sets the start date for Tasmania's Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017. The Governor of Tasmania, acting on ministerial advice, has declared that this law will come into force on **9 April 2018**.\n\n**What this means:**\n- The Expungement of Historical Offences Act allows people with historical criminal convictions for consensual homosexual acts (which were once illegal but are now legal) to apply to have those convictions removed from their record.\n- This proclamation is simply the \"starter's gun\" — the official notice that tells everyone when the law actually begins operating.\n- Before this date, the Act existed on paper but had no legal effect. After this date, people could start applying to have their records cleared.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Primarily older Tasmanians (and former Tasmanians) who were convicted under now-repealed laws that criminalised homosexual activity.\n- Their families and descendants, who may have faced stigma from these historical convictions.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- This proclamation enabled a form of restorative justice, recognising that consensual same-sex activity between adults should never have been criminalised.\n- It allowed affected individuals to move forward without the burden of a criminal record for something that is now legal and socially accepted."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-expungement-of-historical-offences-act-2017/documents"}}