{"id":"tas:sr-2017-002","name":"Proclamation under the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016","slug":"proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"2 of 2017","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":186036,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2017-002-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016","content":"> Proclamation under the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016\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-2016-048#GS2@EN) [Sentencing Amendment Act 2016](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2016-048) , fix 8 February 2017 as the day on which the provisions of that Act commence.\n\n31 January 2017\n\nC. WARNER\n\nGovernor\n\nBy Her Excellency's Command,\n\nDR VANESSA GOODWIN\n\nMinister for Justice\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 8 February 2017\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"A proclamation of this nature has no independent scope — it serves purely as a commencement mechanism for the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016. There is no evidence of scope change from the original intent; it does exactly what a commencement proclamation is designed to do."},"complexity_factors":["The document is a proclamation only — it contains minimal substantive content of its own","Its legal effect depends entirely on understanding the parent Act (Sentencing Amendment Act 2016), which is not reproduced here","Standard commencement proclamation format — very routine in Australian legislative practice","No complex definitions, schedules, or regulatory detail present in this document"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation by the Governor of Tasmania formally brought the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016 into force on 8 February 2017. It activated changes to Tasmanian sentencing law, affecting people charged or convicted, legal practitioners, and corrections/parole authorities by making the amended sentencing rules legally operative."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"low","reasoning":"The currency guarantee of 3 working days is rendered meaningless if the instrument has never been amended, but the presence of a 'Table of Amending Instruments' link implies amendments may exist, creating tension with the unmodified file date.","confidence":0.45,"description":"The document states legislation is 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change to the legislation', yet the file was last modified on 5 July 2017 while remaining current 'to date' (accessed 5 April 2026). This implies either no amendments occurred in nearly 9 years, or the update commitment is aspirational rather than operative."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Document Title / Header Structure","severity":"low","reasoning":"While this is likely a rendering or scraping artefact rather than a substantive legal flaw, a proclamation that cannot clearly identify its own operative provisions due to recursive self-description creates genuine ambiguity about which instance of any provision is authoritative.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The proclamation's title is duplicated at least four times across the document ('Proclamation under the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016' and its truncated variant), and every heading section is duplicated verbatim. The document appears to contain its own metadata describing itself, nested within itself, creating a self-referential structural loop."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Authorisation - File last modified 5 July 2017","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A version described as current 'from 8 February 2017' should be fixed as at that date. Post-commencement file modification without an amending instrument either reflects an undisclosed administrative correction or a substantive change to the instrument, neither of which is transparent on the face of the document.","confidence":0.63,"description":"The proclamation purports to be version current from 8 February 2017, yet the file was last modified 5 July 2017 — nearly 5 months after the stated currency commencement date. If the instrument was modified after its commencement date without a corresponding amendment instrument, it raises questions about whether the published version reflects the law as it actually stood on 8 February 2017."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency of version: 'Version current from 8 February 2017 to date'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 5 July 2017'","confidence":0.65,"description":"The version is stated to be current from 8 February 2017, implying the instrument was in its current form from that date. However, the file modification date of 5 July 2017 indicates the document was altered approximately 5 months after commencement, contradicting the implied immutability of the version from its stated start date."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Status Information: 'Legislation on this site is usually updated within 3 working days after a change'","section_b":"Table of Amending Instruments: implies amendments exist (link provided)","confidence":0.41,"description":"The provision of a 'Table of Amending Instruments' hyperlink implies amendments to this instrument exist or are anticipated. However, if amendments existed, the file modification date of 5 July 2017 would suggest the last update occurred then — yet no corresponding amendment instrument is identified on the face of the document, contradicting the transparency obligation implied by the 3-working-day update commitment."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not change the legislative scope of the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016; it only fixes the commencement date (8 February 2017) under the Act's section 2. No substantive provisions, obligations, or exemptions are added or removed by this instrument; it merely brings the existing provisions into force and records administrative steps (signatures, Gazette notification, departmental administration)."},"complexity_factors":["Single administrative action: fixes a commencement date rather than altering substantive law.","Formal executive step required: made by the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council (document shows signatures).","Specific statutory hook: relies on section 2 of the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016 to authorise commencement.","Low operational complexity: requires Gazette notification and administrative record-keeping.","Limited compliance burden: activates existing obligations under the Act rather than creating new ones.","Clear administrative responsibility: administered in the Department of Justice (explicit in the text)."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation fixes 8 February 2017 as the day the Sentencing Amendment Act 2016 comes into force. It is made by the Governor with Executive Council advice and was notified in the Gazette. Mechanically it only sets timing; it does not change the Act's substance. The Department of Justice administers the proclamation; no new fees or duties are created by the proclamation itself, but agencies and affected persons must comply from the fixed commencement date (see s 2)."},"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 function intended: bringing the parent Act into force on a specified date."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision: fixes one commencement date","No defined terms requiring interpretation","No conditional logic or exceptions","No cross-references to other legislation (except citation of the empowering section)","Standard proclamation format — essentially a template with blanks filled in"],"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 (acting on ministerial advice) has officially declared that the *Sentencing Amendment Act 2016* will start operating on **8 February 2017**.\n\n**Why this matters:**\n- Laws passed by Parliament don't automatically take effect immediately. Someone with authority (usually the Governor or Governor-General) must formally \"proclaim\" a start date. This document does exactly that.\n- Until this proclamation was made, the sentencing changes in the 2016 Act couldn't be used by courts or enforced, even though Parliament had already passed the law.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Courts and judges** in Tasmania — they can now apply the new sentencing rules from 8 February 2017 onwards.\n- **Defendants and victims** — sentencing decisions made on or after this date may use the amended powers.\n- **Legal practitioners** — need to know which version of sentencing law applies to their cases."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-sentencing-amendment-act-2016/documents"}}