{"id":"tas:sr-2005-006","name":"Proclamation under the Prepaid Funerals Act 2004","slug":"proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"6 of 2005","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":317888,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2005-006-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Prepaid Funerals Act 2004","content":"> Proclamation under the Prepaid Funerals Act 2004\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-2004-011#GS2@EN) [Prepaid Funerals Act 2004](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2004-011) fix 1 March 2005 as the day on which that Act commences\n\n7 February 2005\n\nW. J. E. COX\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nJUDY JACKSON\n\nMinister for Justice and Industrial Relations\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 16 February 2005\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not change the Act’s substantive scope. It exercises the commencement power (citing section 2 of the Act) to set the day the Act takes effect; it alters timing only, not content, obligations, or coverage."},"complexity_factors":["Single, narrow function: fixes commencement date only","Short, formal text with no regulatory detail or new obligations","Clear decision-maker identified (Governor with Executive Council)","Administrative details present (Gazette notification; Department of Justice administration)","No cross-references to complex schedules or transitional arrangements"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation uses the Governor’s power (with Executive Council advice) under the Prepaid Funerals Act 2004 to set 1 March 2005 as the date the Act begins. It was notified in the Gazette and is administered by the Department of Justice. It affects the people and businesses that will be subject to the Act once it starts (for example, consumers and funeral service providers). The proclamation does not change the Act’s substance; it only fixes when its legal obligations and powers take effect."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Document Structure (entire document)","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation that contains no proclamation is a legal nullity on its face. It is impossible to determine what, if anything, is being proclaimed, on what date, or by whose authority. Any person seeking to rely on or comply with this instrument would have nothing operative to act upon.","confidence":0.95,"description":"The proclamation document contains no operative legal provisions whatsoever. A proclamation is a formal legal instrument used to bring legislation or provisions into force, yet this document contains only metadata, status information, and administrative notices — no actual proclamation text, commencement date, or operative clause."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Currency statement vs. File modification date","severity":"low","reasoning":"A document described as continuously current from 2005 should not require modification in 2017 unless its content or status changed, which the currency statement does not disclose. This creates ambiguity about the instrument's authoritative version.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The document states it is 'current from 16 February 2005 to date (accessed 8 April 2026 at 2:43)' yet the file was 'last modified 5 July 2017'. If the instrument has been current and unchanged since 2005, a modification in 2017 is unexplained. Conversely, if it was modified in 2017, the 'current from 16 February 2005' currency statement may be misleading about the instrument's true history."},{"type":"other","section":"Document Structure — repeated headings","severity":"low","reasoning":"Australian courts apply the principle that every word in a statute or instrument should be given meaning. A document where every provision appears twice with identical wording either renders the duplicates surplusage (itself a drafting defect) or raises unanswerable questions about differential legal effect.","confidence":0.65,"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 defect, if treated as the authoritative legal text, the duplication creates interpretive uncertainty about whether each section is intended to appear twice with distinct legal effect or is a single section."},{"type":"other","section":"Update currency statement","severity":"low","reasoning":"Persons relying on the online version for compliance purposes could be misled into believing they have current law when the site's own disclaimer acknowledges it may not be current. The qualifier 'usually' provides no actionable standard.","confidence":0.8,"description":"The document states 'Legislation on this site is usually updated within 3 working days after a change to the legislation.' The word 'usually' introduces an indefinite, unenforceable standard. There is no mechanism, obligation, or consequence specified if the update occurs outside 3 working days, making the statement legally meaningless as a guarantee of currency."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency statement: 'Version current from 16 February 2005 to date'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 5 July 2017'","confidence":0.75,"description":"The instrument purports to have been continuously current and in the same form since 16 February 2005, yet the file metadata records a modification on 5 July 2017 — over 12 years later. These two statements cannot both be accurate: either the instrument was unchanged (contradicting the 2017 modification) or it was changed in 2017 (contradicting the unbroken currency period from 2005)."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a commencement instrument with a single, narrow purpose: to activate the parent Act. It has not expanded beyond its original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision (fixing a commencement date)","No defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation (except citation of the parent Act and Rules Publication Act for administrative purposes)","No conditional logic or exceptions","Standard formal language typical of proclamations","Total length: approximately 150 words of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a **commencement proclamation** — a formal government notice that brings a law into force.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Sets **1 March 2005** as the date when the *Prepaid Funerals Act 2004* (Tasmania) officially starts operating.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone in Tasmania who arranges or provides **prepaid funeral services** — where people pay in advance for their own or someone else's funeral.\n- From 1 March 2005, those businesses and consumers became subject to the Act's rules about how these payments must be handled and protected.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Prepaid funerals involve significant sums of money paid years or decades before services are needed. This Act protects consumers by regulating how funeral providers must hold and manage those funds.\n- Without this proclamation, the Act would remain a \"paper law\" — passed by Parliament but not yet active.\n\n**Key point:** This document itself doesn't create the rules; it simply \"switches on\" the main Act on a specific date."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a commencement proclamation only. Its sole function is to activate the Prepaid Funerals Act 2004 — it does not expand, narrow, or alter the scope of the parent Act in any way."},"complexity_factors":["Minimal substantive content — the document is procedural rather than substantive law","No operative provisions beyond commencement — the actual legal rules are in the parent Act","Short and straightforward with no schedules, definitions, or complex clauses","Standard proclamation format used across Australian jurisdictions"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation formally brought Tasmania’s Prepaid Funerals Act 2004 into effect on 16 February 2005. It affects people who prepay funerals, funeral businesses that accept prepayments, and regulators overseeing those funds. Its significance is consumer protection—ensuring money paid in advance for funerals is properly held and not misused by providers."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-prepaid-funerals-act-2004/documents"}}