{"id":"tas:sr-2008-147","name":"Proclamation under the Legal Profession Act 2007","slug":"proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"147 of 2008","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":315640,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2008-147-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Legal Profession Act 2007","content":"> Proclamation under the Legal Profession Act 2007\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-2007-024#GS2@EN) [Legal Profession Act 2007](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2007-024) fix 31 December 2008 as the day on which the provisions of that Act that have not already commenced, other than [section 661(2)](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2007-024#GS661@Gs2@EN) , commence.\n\n24 November 2008\n\nPETER G. UNDERWOOD\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nLARA GIDDINGS\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 3 December 2008\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not alter the substantive scope or content of the Legal Profession Act 2007; it only fixes the operative commencement date for the remaining uncommenced provisions (excluding section 661(2)), implementing the Act rather than changing its policy scope."},"complexity_factors":["Instrument is a simple commencement proclamation with no substantive law changes.","Explicit exception for section 661(2) introduces a narrow carve-out to the commencement date.","Made under section 2 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (authority for commencement).","Administrative formalities noted (Gazette notification, Rules Publication Act compliance).","Potential interaction with provisions already commenced requires coordination by regulators and practitioners."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation sets 31 December 2008 as the day the remaining, uncommenced provisions of the Legal Profession Act 2007 begin to operate in Tasmania, except for section 661(2). It was made by the Governor under section 2 on the advice of the Executive Council. Legal practitioners, law firms and the regulators administering the Act must be ready to comply from that date; the Department of Justice administers the proclamation and bears administrative responsibility for implementation."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"A proclamation that has been unmodified since 2008 but had its file modified in 2017 raises questions about what changed in 2017 without any corresponding amendment entry. If nothing substantive changed, the file modification is unexplained. If something did change, it is not reflected in the amendment history as presented.","confidence":0.45,"description":"The proclamation states it is 'current from 3 December 2008 to date' yet the file was last modified on 5 July 2017, creating an internal inconsistency about when the instrument was last substantively changed versus when it is presented as current."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Document structure - entire instrument","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation with no operative text cannot perform any legal function. It is impossible for any person or body to comply with, rely upon, or give effect to an instrument that contains no operative provisions. Either the document is catastrophically incomplete as reproduced, or the instrument itself is a legal nullity. Either way, the instrument as presented cannot serve its stated purpose under the Legal Profession Act 2007.","confidence":0.85,"description":"The proclamation document contains no operative provisions whatsoever. A proclamation under the Legal Profession Act 2007 must by its nature proclaim something - a commencement date, an appointed day, or similar operative effect - yet the entire text as reproduced contains only metadata, status information, and navigation elements with zero substantive legal content."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Describing a 2008 instrument as 'current to date' in 2026 without any visible operative provisions makes it impossible to assess whether the proclaimed matters remain legally operative or have been superseded. The currency claim is unverifiable and potentially misleading.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The document claims to be 'current to date' as accessed on 8 April 2026, yet the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Tas) has undergone substantial amendment and the national legal profession reform framework has significantly evolved since 2008. A proclamation frozen at 2008 being described as 'current' without any substantive content to verify that currency is a logical absurdity."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Status Information - Table of Amending Instruments","section_b":"Status Information - Authorisation / File last modified","confidence":0.4,"description":"The Table of Amending Instruments is presented as a separate clickable link implying amendments exist or may exist, yet the file is noted as last modified 5 July 2017 with no amendment to the substantive instrument apparent in the reproduced text. If the file was modified in 2017 but no amending instrument is disclosed in the body of the document, there is a contradiction between the suggestion of a complete amendment history and the unexplained 2017 file modification."}]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"A Proclamation is a narrow, purpose-specific instrument. Its sole function is to commence legislation already passed by parliament. There is no indication of scope change from its original intent — it performs exactly the administrative function for which it was designed."},"complexity_factors":["The document itself is procedurally simple — it is a commencement instrument, not a substantive law","The underlying Act (Legal Profession Act 2007) is complex, but the Proclamation merely activates it","Limited substantive content is reproduced in the provided text, reducing analytical complexity","Standard form government instrument with minimal interpretive difficulty"],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation formally brought the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Tas) into force from 3 December 2008. It activated the law that governs lawyer licensing, professional conduct, regulation and disciplinary regimes in Tasmania.\n\nIt affects practising lawyers and firms, their clients (by creating complaint and compensation processes), and law‑regulatory bodies—without this Proclamation the Act would not have had legal effect."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard commencement instrument performing exactly the function intended — specifying when a parent Act comes into force. No scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative clause with one explicit exception","No defined terms within the instrument itself","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act citation","Straightforward conditional logic: 'all uncommenced provisions except one'","Length: 4 substantive sentences"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **commencement proclamation** — essentially a formal announcement that brings a law into force.\n\n**What it does:**\n- The Governor of Tasmania (acting on ministerial advice) has declared that most remaining provisions of the *Legal Profession Act 2007* will start operating on **31 December 2008**.\n\n**What it excludes:**\n- **Section 661(2)** is singled out to *not* commence on this date — it remains dormant for now.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Lawyers, law firms, and anyone regulated by Tasmania's legal profession framework. Until this proclamation, parts of the 2007 Act were sitting on the shelf, not yet legally active.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Laws often pass Parliament in one year but don't take effect until later. This proclamation flips the switch, telling everyone: \"The new rules for lawyers start on New Year's Eve 2008.\" The exception (section 661(2)) suggests some provision — possibly about transitional arrangements or a specific regulatory power — needed more time before activation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-act-2007/documents"}}