{"id":"tas:sr-2018-077","name":"Proclamation under the Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018","slug":"proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"77 of 2018","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":184774,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2018-077-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018","content":"> Proclamation under the Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018\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-2018-013#GS2@EN) [Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2018-013) fix 1 January 2019 as the day on which the provisions of that Act commence.\n\n3 December 2018\n\nC. WARNER\n\nGovernor\n\nBy Her Excellency's Command,\n\nMICHAEL DARREL JOSEPH FERGUSON\n\nMinister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management\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 12 December 2018\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management.","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 Act; it only fixes the commencement date under section 2, making the Act effective in Tasmania from 1 January 2019 and enabling the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management and enforcement agencies to apply its provisions."},"complexity_factors":["Single, narrow legal function: sets a commencement date rather than creating substantive law","Clear cross-reference to section 2 of the parent Act determining power to proclaim","Minimal discretion exercised (Governor acting on Executive Council advice)","Administrative steps (Gazette notification; departmental administration) add routine process requirements","No new definitions, offences, penalties or operational details included in the proclamation"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation fixes 1 January 2019 as the day the *Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018* begins to operate in Tasmania, so the Act's rules become legally effective from that date. The Governor, acting on Executive Council advice under section 2, set the date and the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management administers it. Individuals and organisations in Tasmania who display insignia covered by the Act must comply from that day; enforcement and administrative costs fall to the department and enforcing agencies."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"A proclamation by nature has a fixed, narrow purpose: to set a commencement date for existing legislation. There is no scope to change from original intent — it does exactly what it was always designed to do."},"complexity_factors":["This is a procedural proclamation only — it activates another Act rather than creating substantive law itself","Minimal legal content within the document itself","The underlying subject matter (prohibited insignia laws) has moderate complexity, but that complexity lives in the parent Act, not here","No amending provisions, definitions, or operative clauses to interpret"],"plain_english_summary":"The Proclamation brings into force the Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018 in Tasmania, fixing its commencement date as 12 December 2018. It activates a law that criminalises publicly displaying certain prohibited insignia (commonly associated with declared criminal organisations).\n\nThis affects members or associates who wear gang insignia, venue operators who permit such displays, and the public by expanding police powers to act on visible gang presence, with possible fines or criminal charges."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information / Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A proclamation is a commencement instrument — it exists to bring an Act or provisions of an Act into force on a specified date. The published text contains no operative clause specifying which provisions are proclaimed and on what date they commence. Without that substantive content, the instrument cannot perform its legal function. Either the text is materially incomplete as published, or the proclamation is an empty instrument with no discernible legal effect, which is a structural absurdity.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The proclamation is described as 'current from 12 December 2018 to date (accessed 5 April 2026 at 17:10)' yet the file was last modified on 12 December 2018. A proclamation that has never been amended but remains 'current to date' in 2026 is not inherently absurd, but combined with the absence of any substantive operative provisions in the published text, it is impossible to determine what legal effect, if any, the instrument has."},{"type":"other","section":"Document structure / repeated headings","severity":"low","reasoning":"Duplication of operative text in a statutory instrument can, in principle, create interpretive uncertainty. Here the duplicated content is purely administrative/metadata rather than operative, so the legal risk is low, but it reflects a failure of the instrument's drafting or publication integrity.","confidence":0.65,"description":"Every heading and section in the document is duplicated verbatim (e.g., 'Proclamation under the Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018' appears four times; 'Status Information' appears four times; 'Currency of version' appears four times, etc.). This is not a legislative absurdity per se but, if the duplication is present in the official consolidated instrument rather than being a rendering artefact, it could create ambiguity about which instance of a heading or clause is authoritative."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Status Information — 'Legislation on this site is usually updated within 3 working days after a change to the legislation.'","section_b":"Authorisation — 'File last modified 12 December 2018'","confidence":0.55,"description":"The update-currency notice represents that the site reflects the current state of the law within 3 working days of any change. However, the file has not been modified since 12 December 2018 despite the access date being 5 April 2026 — a gap of over seven years. If any amendment has been made to this instrument or its enabling Act in that period that required a corresponding update to this file, the currency representation would be false. Conversely, if no update was ever required, the 'Table of Amending Instruments' link (implying amendments may exist) is misleading."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a commencement proclamation — it has no substantive scope of its own. It simply activates the parent Act without expanding or altering its intended purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision: only fixes a commencement date","No defined terms, cross-references to substantive law, or conditional logic","Standard proclamation format — essentially a template with blanks filled in","Total length: 4 short paragraphs plus administrative boilerplate"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal government notice (called a 'proclamation') that sets the start date for Tasmania's ban on certain hate symbols and gang insignia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Activates the law:** It officially turns on the *Police Offences Amendment (Prohibited Insignia) Act 2018* — making it illegal to display specific prohibited symbols in Tasmania from 1 January 2019 onwards.\n- **Who made it:** The Governor of Tasmania (acting on advice from the Executive Council, which is the formal name for the state Cabinet).\n- **Who it affects:** Anyone in Tasmania who might display banned insignia — originally targeting outlaw motorcycle gang colours and patches, and later expanded to include Nazi symbols and other hate imagery.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nLaws passed by Parliament don't automatically take effect immediately. This proclamation is the legal 'on switch' that tells everyone exactly when the new offences start applying. Without this document, police couldn't charge anyone under the new law, even after Parliament passed it.\n\n**Key date:** The ban became enforceable on **1 January 2019**."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-police-offences-amendment-prohibited-insignia-act-2018/documents"}}