{"id":"tas:sr-2013-115","name":"Proclamation under the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013","slug":"proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"115 of 2013","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":187685,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2013-115-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013","content":"> Proclamation under the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013\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-2013-068#GS2@EN) [Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2013-068) fix 1 January 2014 as the day on which that Act commences.\n\n16 December 2013\n\nPETER G. UNDERWOOD\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nBRIAN WIGHTMAN\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 25 December 2013\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"A proclamation has a narrow, fixed purpose — to bring legislation into force on a specified date. There is no indication of scope change from that original intent. It does exactly what a commencement proclamation is designed to do."},"complexity_factors":["Minimal substantive content — the document is procedural rather than substantive law","Requires cross-referencing the parent Act (Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013) to understand what was actually commenced","Standard proclamation format with no novel legal concepts"],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation declares that the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013 in Tasmania took effect on 25 December 2013. It operates as the formal \"go live\" for changes to how the legal profession is regulated, affecting lawyers, law firms, their clients, and legal regulators — and fixing which rules applied from that date for disputes or compliance."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"A version described as current 'from 25 December 2013 to date' implies no substantive change, yet a file modification in 2017 suggests otherwise. This is a minor metadata inconsistency but creates ambiguity about the true currency of the instrument.","confidence":0.45,"description":"The proclamation states it is 'current from 25 December 2013 to date' yet the file was 'last modified 5 July 2017', suggesting amendments or changes occurred that are not reflected in the amending instruments table or version description in a transparent manner."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Document Structure - General","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation without an operative clause specifying the date on which the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013 (or any part thereof) commences is legally meaningless. It cannot fulfil its sole legal purpose. Any person seeking to determine when the Act commenced would be unable to do so from this instrument alone, rendering it substantively void of legal effect as reproduced.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The proclamation as reproduced contains no operative provisions whatsoever. A proclamation instrument exists solely to bring legislation or provisions into force on a specified date, yet no commencement date, no appointed day, and no operative clause appear anywhere in the reproduced text."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Status Information - Update policy","severity":"low","reasoning":"The 3-working-day update commitment combined with a 2017 modification date but a 2013 version commencement date creates a logical inconsistency: either the file was modified for non-substantive reasons (undermining the reliability of modification dates as a currency indicator) or a substantive change occurred that was not captured in the version metadata.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The site states legislation is 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change' yet the file modification date of 5 July 2017 is irreconcilable with a version described as unchanged since 25 December 2013. If no change occurred, there was nothing to update; if a change did occur, the version date should reflect it."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Currency of version: 'Version current from 25 December 2013 to date'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 5 July 2017'","confidence":0.6,"description":"The version is declared current and unchanged since 25 December 2013, yet the file was last modified on 5 July 2017 — approximately 3.5 years later. These two statements cannot both be fully accurate simultaneously without an explanation of what changed in 2017."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standard commencement proclamation serving its original and sole purpose: to bring the Amendment Act into force on a specified date. The scope has not expanded beyond this procedural function."},"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 proclamation format following long-established conventions"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **commencement proclamation** — a formal government notice that brings a law into effect.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Sets **1 January 2014** as the date when the *Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013* (Tasmania) starts operating.\n\n**Who made it:**\n- The **Governor of Tasmania** (Peter G. Underwood), acting on advice from the **Executive Council** (the state's top decision-making body).\n- Signed off by the **Minister for Justice** (Brian Wightman).\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Laws passed by Parliament don't automatically take effect immediately. This proclamation officially \"switches on\" the amendments, giving everyone certainty about when the new legal profession rules apply.\n- It was made on 16 December 2013 and published in the *Gazette* on 25 December 2013, giving about a week's notice before commencement.\n\n**Key takeaway:** This is purely procedural — it doesn't create new rules itself, but it triggers the start date for the substantive changes in the Amendment Act."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This proclamation does not change the substantive scope or content of the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013. It performs the singular procedural function of fixing the Act's commencement date under section 2, affecting the timing of when existing legal obligations take effect and the administration/notification tasks (Gazette, Department of Justice)."},"complexity_factors":["Single, discrete legal effect: sets a commencement date rather than changing substantive law.","Legal foundation is narrow: made under section 2 of the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013 (explicit statutory commencement power).","Administrative formalities: requires Governor’s approval with Executive Council advice and Gazette notification (process steps but low legal complexity).","Limited stakeholders: primarily affects those already subject to the Act (practitioners, regulators, relevant bodies).","No new regulatory instruments or delegated rule-making introduced by this proclamation.","Implementation responsibility and record-keeping assigned to the Department of Justice (administrative, not legislative, burden)."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation, issued by the Governor under section 2 of the Legal Profession Amendment Act 2013, fixes 1 January 2014 as the day that Act commences in Tasmania. It brings the Act’s amendments into force on that date. Who it affects: persons and organisations governed by the Legal Profession Amendment Act must comply from 1 January 2014; the Executive Council and the Department of Justice manage notification and administration."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-legal-profession-amendment-act-2013/documents"}}