{"id":"tas:sr-2012-006","name":"Proclamation under the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011","slug":"proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"6 of 2012","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":314343,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2012-006-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011","content":"> Proclamation under the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011\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-2011-023#GS2@EN) [Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2011-023)  –\n\n> > (a) fix 1 March 2012 as the day on which that Act, other than sections 6 and 64 and Schedules 1 and 1A, commences; and\n> \n> > (b) fix 1 April 2012 as the day on which sections 6 and 64(2) of, and Schedule 1A to, that Act commence.\n\n20 February 2012\n\nPETER G. UNDERWOOD\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nNICK McKIM\n\nMinister for Corrections and Consumer Protection\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 29 February 2012\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 commencement instrument with no policy content. It performs exactly the function intended — bringing the parent Act into force on specified dates. There is no scope to expand beyond this narrow technical purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision with two straightforward commencement dates","No defined terms (relies entirely on the parent Act)","No conditional logic or exceptions","No cross-references beyond citation of the parent Act sections","Total length: approximately 150 words of substantive content","Standard proclamation format with no substantive policy content of its own"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **commencement proclamation** — a formal government notice that brings a law into effect.\n\n**What it does:**\nThis document officially starts the *Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011* (a Tasmanian law regulating people who sell cars) on two different dates:\n\n- **1 March 2012**: Most of the Act begins operating — this includes the main rules about who can sell motor vehicles and how they must behave.\n- **1 April 2012**: Specific parts start later — section 6 (likely about registration fees), section 64(2) (probably about offences and penalties), and Schedule 1A (additional detailed rules).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Motor vehicle dealers in Tasmania\n- Consumers buying cars from dealers\n- The government department that regulates the motor vehicle trading industry\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this proclamation, the Act would remain \"on the shelf\" — passed by Parliament but not actually enforceable. This document flips the switch, making it illegal to trade motor vehicles without following the new rules from the specified dates. The staggered start allowed dealers time to prepare for the full regulatory requirements."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This proclamation does not alter the substantive scope or content of the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011; it only fixes when parts of the Act commence (under the Governor’s power in s 2), thereby changing timing but not legal content."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow subject matter: instrument only sets commencement dates for an Act.","Staggered commencement dates (1 March 2012 and 1 April 2012) requiring attention to timing for different provisions.","Explicit reference to specific provisions deferred (sections 6 and 64(2) and Schedule 1A).","Made under statutory authority (s 2 of the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011).","Administrative implementation noted (administered in the Department of Justice), creating routine implementation and notification tasks."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation fixes when the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011 begins to operate: most of the Act starts on 1 March 2012, while certain specified provisions start on 1 April 2012 (made under s 2). It affects motor vehicle traders, consumers and regulators by putting the Act’s regulatory obligations and enforcement powers into force on those dates, shifting compliance costs onto traders and giving regulators authority to act from the stated commencement dates."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation's scope is entirely consistent with its original intent — it exists solely to bring the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011 into operation. There is no evidence of scope change."},"complexity_factors":["The document is a commencement proclamation only — it contains no substantive legal rules or obligations of its own","Single, clear purpose: setting the start date for the parent Act","No definitions, exceptions, schedules, or operative provisions to interpret","Minimal text with largely administrative and metadata content"],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation by the Tasmanian Governor brings the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011 into force on 29 February 2012. It doesn’t change the law’s substance — it simply sets the commencement date.\n\nIt matters to motor vehicle dealers and traders (who must be licensed), consumers buying from licensed traders, and regulators enforcing the new licensing and consumer‑protection rules."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"Initial concern about 29 February 2012 is resolved upon confirming 2012 was indeed a leap year. No absurdity here, but worth flagging for completeness. Confidence accordingly low.","confidence":0.1,"description":"The document states it is 'current from 29 February 2012 to date' but 29 February 2012 did not exist — 2012 was a leap year, so 29 February 2012 did exist. However, the proclamation purports to have commenced on a date that requires verification against the actual calendar. On inspection, 29 February 2012 is valid (2012 is divisible by 4), so this is not an absurdity in itself."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Authorisation / Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A file modification in 2017 suggests substantive or at least administrative changes occurred after commencement. The failure to update the 'current from' date to reflect any post-2012 amendment creates ambiguity about which version of the instrument is actually operative, potentially misleading users as to the true commencement of any amended provisions.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The document states it is 'current from 29 February 2012 to date' yet the 'File last modified' date is 5 July 2017. If the instrument has been modified as recently as 2017 but the currency start date remains 29 February 2012, the document metadata is internally inconsistent: a modification in 2017 would ordinarily update or reset the currency period, yet the stated current version has not been updated to reflect a new commencement date post-amendment."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Document structure generally","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation with no operative text cannot fulfil its legal function. Persons subject to the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011 cannot ascertain what has been proclaimed, what date provisions commence, or what obligations arise. An instrument that is legally inert yet treated as 'current' legislation creates an impossible compliance scenario — there is nothing to comply with, yet the instrument is held out as operative law.","confidence":0.85,"description":"The entire document consists almost exclusively of repeated headings and metadata with no operative legislative content whatsoever. A Proclamation under the Motor Vehicle Traders Act 2011 would ordinarily proclaim a commencement date or bring provisions into force, yet no such operative clause appears anywhere in the instrument."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Document structure — repeated headings","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Sections that contain only their own heading as substantive content are logically circular — the definition or content of each section is nothing more than its label. While this may be a web-rendering defect rather than a drafting error, as published this creates a document that provides no information beyond its own structure, defeating the purpose of public notification of the law.","confidence":0.8,"description":"Every heading and section title appears duplicated verbatim (e.g., 'Status Information Status Information', 'Currency of version Currency of version', 'Authorisation Authorisation'). This structural repetition, while likely a rendering artefact, means the document as published is self-referential and circular in form, with each section merely restating its own title as content."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency of version: 'current from 29 February 2012 to date'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 5 July 2017'","confidence":0.7,"description":"The instrument claims a single unbroken currency period commencing 29 February 2012, yet the file was modified on 5 July 2017. These two facts are in direct tension: either the instrument was amended in 2017 (in which case a new or split currency period should be stated), or the 2017 modification was purely administrative (in which case describing it as a 'modification' is misleading)."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Table of Amending Instruments: '(click to view Table of Amendments)'","section_b":"Currency of version: 'current from 29 February 2012 to date'","confidence":0.6,"description":"The existence of a Table of Amending Instruments implies that amendments have been made to the proclamation. However, a proclamation's sole operative purpose is typically to fix a commencement date — a matter that, once proclaimed, cannot logically be amended retroactively without creating a retroactive impossibility. If the commencement date itself was amended after 29 February 2012, obligations or rights that arose under the original commencement date would be retrospectively altered."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-motor-vehicle-traders-act-2011/documents"}}