{"id":"tas:sr-1999-104","name":"Proclamation under the Rail Safety Act 1997","slug":"proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"104 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":318937,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-1999-104-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Rail Safety Act 1997","content":"> Proclamation under the Rail Safety Act 1997\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-1997-024#GS2@EN) [Rail Safety Act 1997](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1997-024) fix 20 October 1999 as the day on which the provisions of that Act commence.\n\n4 October 1999\n\nG. S. M. GREEN\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nP. A. LENNON\n\nMinister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources\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 13 October 1999\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"While not a flaw in the operative provisions of the instrument itself, the metadata asserts currency 'to date' with a specific future timestamp, which is a self-referential claim that cannot be verified at any prior point in time. This is a metadata absurdity rather than a substantive legal one.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The instrument is described as 'Version current from 13 October 1999 to date (accessed 8 April 2026 at 3:20)' yet the access date of 8 April 2026 is in the future relative to any realistic drafting or review date, raising questions about temporal validity claims in official legislative metadata."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Authorisation","severity":"low","reasoning":"If the legislation has been current and unaltered since 1999, a file modification date of 2024 suggests either administrative re-formatting or an undisclosed substantive change. Neither is explained within the document, undermining the reliability of the currency statement.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The file is stated to have been 'last modified 29 November 2024', yet the instrument is described as having been current and unchanged since 13 October 1999. A modification date 25 years after the instrument's commencement, with no corresponding amending instrument disclosed in the body of the proclamation, creates an unexplained internal inconsistency in the document's own provenance statements."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Entire Document","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation that contains no operative text cannot give rise to any legal obligation, right, or effect. Anyone purporting to comply with or rely upon this instrument would find it impossible to do so, as there is nothing to comply with or rely upon. If this reflects the actual legislative instrument rather than a rendering error, it represents a fundamental deficiency.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The proclamation contains no operative provisions whatsoever. As a Proclamation under the Rail Safety Act 1997, it should contain substantive content such as a commencement date, declaration of application, or designation of matters under that Act. The document as presented consists entirely of metadata, status information, and navigation elements, rendering it legally vacuous."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Status Information - Currency of version ('Version current from 13 October 1999 to date')","section_b":"Authorisation ('File last modified 29 November 2024')","confidence":0.6,"description":"The instrument claims continuous currency from 13 October 1999 without amendment, yet the file modification date of 29 November 2024 indicates the document was altered approximately 25 years after its stated commencement. These two statements cannot both be true simultaneously without explanation: either the instrument was modified (contradicting the implied unchanged status) or the modification date is erroneous."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Table of Amending Instruments (reference to amendments table existing)","section_b":"Status Information - Currency of version (implying no change since 1999)","confidence":0.45,"description":"The existence of a dedicated 'Table of Amending Instruments' hyperlink presupposes that amending instruments may exist, yet the version information implies the instrument has been current and unchanged since 13 October 1999. The provision of an amendments table for an instrument portrayed as never amended is internally contradictory, or at minimum misleading."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a commencement proclamation, which by definition has a narrow, single-purpose scope: to bring an Act into force. It has not expanded beyond this original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision (fixing a commencement date)","No defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation beyond citation of the enabling Act","No conditional logic or exceptions","Standard ceremonial/formulaic language only"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short official notice (called a 'proclamation') that sets the start date for Tasmania's Rail Safety Act 1997. \n\n**What it does:**\n- **Fixes the commencement date**: The Act was passed by Parliament in 1997, but laws often don't take effect immediately. This proclamation officially declares that the Rail Safety Act 1997 will start operating on **20 October 1999**.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Rail operators, workers, and safety regulators in Tasmania, who had to comply with the new safety rules from that date onwards.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Without this proclamation, the Act would remain 'on the shelf' — passed but not legally active. This document flips the switch, making the rail safety laws enforceable. It's a routine but essential step in the legislative process."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not change the substantive scope or obligations of the Rail Safety Act 1997; it only fixes the date on which the Act becomes legally effective (20 October 1999) and identifies the administering department. Made under section 2 of the Act."},"complexity_factors":["Single, specific commencement date (20 October 1999) — little legal ambiguity","Instrument made under a clear statutory power (section 2 of the Rail Safety Act 1997)","No substantive amendments, conditions, or transitional provisions included","Short formal text with prescribed signatures and publication details","Administration assigned to a named department, but no delegated rule-making or discretion granted"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation brings the Rail Safety Act 1997 into force in Tasmania by fixing its commencement date as 20 October 1999. It is made by the Governor on the advice of the Executive Council under section 2 of the Act and is administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources. The proclamation itself does not change the Act's content; it only starts the Act’s legal effect so that persons to whom the Act applies must comply from that date."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available text, there is no indication the scope of this proclamation changed from its original intent. It has remained in force without apparent modification since 13 October 1999, though the Table of Amending Instruments link suggests amendments may exist that are not visible in this extract."},"complexity_factors":["The document is largely a metadata/status wrapper with minimal substantive legal content visible","Proclamations are structurally simple instruments — they trigger or designate rather than create complex legal frameworks","The underlying Rail Safety Act 1997 may carry complexity, but the proclamation itself is a narrow administrative instrument","No definitions, penalties, rights, or obligations are set out in the visible text"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation under the Rail Safety Act 1997 is the administrative instrument that brings the Act (or parts of it) into legal effect or designates railways/operators within its scope. It primarily affects Tasmanian railway operators, rail safety workers and regulators by making safety obligations enforceable. The extract confirms the proclamation has been in force since 13 October 1999 and remains current, but the specific operative content is not included here."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-rail-safety-act-1997/documents"}}