{"id":"tas:sr-2020-002","name":"Proclamation under the Poisons Amendment Act 2019","slug":"proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"2 of 2020","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":182564,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2020-002-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Poisons Amendment Act 2019","content":"> Proclamation under the Poisons Amendment Act 2019\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 [Poisons Amendment Act 2019](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2019-051) fix 31 January 2020 as the day on which that Act commences.\n\n28 January 2020\n\nC. WARNER\n\nGovernor\n\nBy Her Excellency's Command,\n\nJeremy Rockliff\n\nMinister for Education and Training acting for and on behalf of the Minister for Health\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 January 2020\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Health.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a procedural commencement instrument with no substantive scope. It performs exactly the limited function it was designed for: bringing the parent Act into force."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision fixing a commencement date","No defined terms","No conditional logic or exceptions","No cross-references to substantive law (only cites the enabling Act and administrative legislation)","Standard ceremonial/formulaic language typical of proclamations"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **commencement proclamation** — a formal government notice that brings a law into effect.\n\n**What it does:**\n- The Governor of Tasmania has officially declared that the *Poisons Amendment Act 2019* will start operating on **31 January 2020**.\n\n**Why this matters:**\n- Laws passed by Parliament don't automatically take effect immediately. Someone (usually the Governor or a Minister) must formally \"turn on\" the law by fixing a commencement date.\n- This proclamation flips the switch, making the amendments to Tasmania's poisons laws legally active from that date.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone dealing with poisons, pharmaceuticals, or controlled substances in Tasmania — including pharmacists, doctors, veterinarians, and chemical suppliers — who must now comply with the updated rules.\n\n**Key detail:**\n- The proclamation itself was made on 28 January 2020, published in the official government gazette on 29 January, and the law commenced two days later on 31 January."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This proclamation is purely procedural — it activates the Poisons Amendment Act 2019 as passed. There is no indication of any change in scope from the original legislative intent. It simply fixes the commencement date at 29 January 2020."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short and procedural — contains almost no substantive legal content","No operative provisions beyond setting a commencement date","Complexity lies in understanding the broader Poisons Amendment Act 2019, not this document itself","Repetitive formatting in the source document adds confusion but not legal complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This Proclamation formally brings the Poisons Amendment Act 2019 into force in Tasmania, setting its commencement date as 29 January 2020. It does not create new policy itself but activates amendments already passed by Parliament.\n\nThat activation affects anyone regulated by Tasmania’s poisons laws — e.g., pharmacists, healthcare professionals, hospitals and potentially veterinarians — because the amendments became legally enforceable from that date."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation only sets the commencement date under section 2; it does not change the Act's substantive scope, duties, or regulatory content. It brings previously enacted amendments into force on 31 January 2020."},"complexity_factors":["Single-purpose legal instrument: only fixes a commencement date.","No substantive amendments or new regulatory rules are made by the proclamation itself.","Authority exercised under a single statutory power (section 2 of the Act).","Administrative formalities present (Gazette notification; Department of Health administration).","Creates a temporal compliance trigger for persons subject to the Act."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation, made under section 2 of the Poisons Amendment Act 2019, fixes 31 January 2020 as the day that Act comes into force. The Governor, acting with the Executive Council, set the commencement date, making the Act legally operative in Tasmania from that day. Regulated persons and businesses must comply from 31 January 2020 and will bear any compliance costs; the Department of Health administers the proclamation."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation under an amending Act is typically used to fix a commencement date or bring provisions into force. This document contains only metadata, status information, and navigational elements with zero operative text. It is impossible to determine what, if anything, has been proclaimed, rendering the entire instrument legally incoherent.","confidence":0.95,"description":"The instrument contains no substantive operative provisions whatsoever. A proclamation that proclaims nothing is legally vacuous and serves no discernible legislative purpose."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Commencement proclamations are typically ambulatory instruments that exhaust their legal effect upon the relevant date passing. The existence of amending instruments suggests either the commencement date was altered retroactively or the document has been incorrectly classified, both of which raise serious logical and legal concerns.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The document states it is 'current from 29 January 2020 to date' while also referencing a Table of Amending Instruments, implying the proclamation itself has been amended. A proclamation bringing an Act into force on a fixed date is a once-and-done instrument that is logically incapable of amendment in any meaningful sense."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"File last modified 29 January 2020","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The 'File last modified' date of 29 January 2020 contradicts the claim that the legislation is 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change' and that a Table of Amending Instruments exists. If amendments were made post-29 January 2020, the file modification date would necessarily be later. This internal inconsistency undermines the reliability of the currency representation.","confidence":0.78,"description":"The document was last modified on 29 January 2020, yet the Table of Amending Instruments hyperlink implies subsequent amendments have occurred. If the file has never been modified since 29 January 2020 but amendments exist, the published version cannot be current as claimed."},{"type":"other","section":"Entire document structure","severity":"low","reasoning":"Legislative instruments must be intelligible. Systematic duplication of all headings creates ambiguity about which is the authoritative text. Under strict construction, a court might find the instrument uncertain on its face. This is almost certainly a technical publishing error, but as presented it is a logical flaw in the document as a legal instrument.","confidence":0.88,"description":"Every heading in the document is duplicated verbatim (e.g., 'Status Information Status Information', 'Currency of version Currency of version', 'Authorisation Authorisation'). While likely a rendering/formatting error, if taken as the authoritative published text, the instrument is structurally incoherent and no reader could determine which instance of each heading constitutes the operative legislative text."},{"type":"other","section":"Currency statement - accessed 5 April 2026","severity":"low","reasoning":"The concept of a version being 'current from [date] to date' presupposes substantive content capable of variation over time. An instrument consisting solely of administrative metadata has no substantive content that could be current or not current, making the currency representation logically meaningless.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The document purports to be accessed on 5 April 2026 and current 'to date', yet contains no content that could have changed or been current at any date. A content-free instrument cannot meaningfully be described as having a currency period."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency of version: 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 29 January 2020'","confidence":0.75,"description":"The site represents that it keeps legislation current within 3 working days of any change, and simultaneously provides a Table of Amending Instruments implying changes have occurred, yet the file modification date remains 29 January 2020 — suggesting either no amendments actually exist or the currency guarantee has been breached."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Table of Amending Instruments (existence of link implies amendments)","section_b":"Nature of a commencement proclamation (logically a single-use instrument)","confidence":0.68,"description":"The existence of a Table of Amending Instruments for what appears to be a commencement proclamation contradicts the legal nature of such instruments. A proclamation fixing a commencement date cannot logically be amended once the date has passed, as the legal effect is already exhausted. Any purported amendment would be a retroactive impossibility."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-poisons-amendment-act-2019/documents"}}