{"id":"tas:sr-2008-076","name":"Proclamation under the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008","slug":"proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"76 of 2008","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":315867,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2008-076-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-08","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proclamation under the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008","content":"> Proclamation under the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008\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-2008-012#GS2@EN) [Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2008-012) fix 9 July 2008 as the day on which the provisions of that Act commence.\n\n30 June 2008\n\nPETER G. UNDERWOOD\n\nGovernor\n\nBy His Excellency's Command,\n\nMICHAEL AIRD\n\nTreasurer\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 9 July 2008\n\nThis proclamation is administered in the Department of Treasury and Finance.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A gap of nearly 9 years between the last file modification (2017) and the claimed currency date (2026) undermines the reliability of the 'current to date' representation. Either the document has not changed in 9 years (possible but requires explanation) or the metadata is inaccurate. For a water corporation proclamation, which may be subject to amendments, this discrepancy is operationally significant.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The document states it is 'current from 9 July 2008 to date (accessed 8 April 2026 at 1:54)' while simultaneously stating 'File last modified 5 July 2017'. This creates a temporal absurdity: if the file was last modified in 2017, the claim that it reflects law 'to date' as of 2026 is unverifiable and potentially misleading."},{"type":"other","section":"Document Structure - General","severity":"high","reasoning":"A proclamation under an Act is an executive instrument with operative legal effect. A proclamation consisting entirely of duplicated metadata headings and containing zero substantive provisions cannot perform any legal function. It cannot bring any provision into force, establish any entity, or achieve any legislative purpose. This renders the instrument a legal nullity as presented.","confidence":0.88,"description":"Every heading and section in the document is duplicated verbatim (e.g., 'Proclamation under the Water a Proclamation under the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008', 'Status Information Status Information', 'Currency of version Currency of version'). The proclamation as reproduced contains no operative provisions, definitions, or substantive legal content whatsoever."},{"type":"other","section":"Title - 'Proclamation under the Water a'","severity":"low","reasoning":"While likely a rendering/formatting artefact, a formally published proclamation with a truncated title in the official consolidated legislation database raises questions about document integrity. Under strict construction, the instrument as presented may not be identifiable as the instrument it purports to be.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The title of the instrument is truncated mid-word ('Water a' instead of 'Water and') in multiple instances, suggesting either a corrupted document or that the instrument as presented is incomplete. An instrument with an incomplete title may face challenges to its formal validity."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Update Policy","severity":"low","reasoning":"Administrative website disclaimers embedded within the body of a legislative instrument, particularly when duplicated, blur the line between operative legal text and publisher metadata. This is an editorial absurdity rather than a drafting one, but it affects the interpretability of the document.","confidence":0.6,"description":"The statement that 'Legislation on this site is usually updated within 3 working days after a change to the legislation' is itself duplicated in the document and appears as substantive legislative content rather than as a disclaimer, creating ambiguity about whether this operational policy forms part of the instrument itself."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Currency of version: 'current from 9 July 2008 to date (accessed 8 April 2026 at 1:54)'","section_b":"Authorisation: 'File last modified 5 July 2017'","confidence":0.7,"description":"The document simultaneously claims currency as of April 2026 and records a last modification date of July 2017, a period of approximately 8 years and 9 months during which the consolidated legislation platform presumably underwent updates, yet this instrument allegedly did not. These two claims are in direct tension: either the instrument has been amended and the file was not updated (contradicting the currency claim), or it has not been amended, in which case the 'to date' currency representation is trivially true but potentially misleading given the absence of any substantive content to assess."},{"severity":"high","section_a":"Document Title: 'Proclamation under the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008'","section_b":"Document Body: Contains no operative proclamation provisions","confidence":0.85,"description":"The instrument is titled as a proclamation — an executive instrument that must contain operative provisions (such as commencement dates, appointments, or declarations) to have legal effect — yet the entire body of the document as presented consists only of duplicated administrative metadata. The title and the content are irreconcilably contradictory as to the nature and purpose of the instrument."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward commencement instrument performing exactly the function intended — bringing an Act into operation on a specified date. No scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision (fixing a commencement date)","No defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation beyond citation of the parent Act","No conditional logic or exceptions","Standard proclamation format with ceremonial language only"],"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 **9 July 2008** as the date when the *Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008* (Tasmanian legislation) officially starts operating.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Tasmanian water and sewerage corporations, their customers, and anyone regulated by this Act.\n- Without this proclamation, the Act would remain a \"dead letter\" — passed by Parliament but not legally active.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Laws often pass Parliament but don't start immediately. This document is the \"on switch\" that makes the law enforceable. It ensures everyone knows exactly when the rules take effect, which matters for legal rights, contracts, and compliance obligations."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The proclamation does not alter the substantive scope or content of the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008; it only sets the date (9 July 2008) on which the Act's provisions commence and notes administration and publication details. No changes to rights, duties or regulatory coverage are made by this instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Procedural instrument: solely a commencement proclamation with no substantive policy or regulatory text","Cross-reference to s.2 of the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008 as the legal basis for fixing the commencement date","Requires executive action and formal signatures (Governor; advice of Executive Council) — administrative formality","Publication requirements noted (Gazette; Rules Publication Act 1953) but no complex procedural steps","Identifies administering agency (Department of Treasury and Finance) but does not specify operational details or obligations"],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation fixes 9 July 2008 as the day the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008 comes into force. Made by the Governor on the advice of the Executive Council (citing s.2 of the Act), it was signed 30 June 2008, gazetted 9 July 2008 and is administered by the Department of Treasury and Finance. From that date the Act’s legal powers, duties and obligations begin to apply to the bodies and persons the Act governs."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available text, there is no evidence the scope of this proclamation changed from its original intent. It appears to have served its narrow administrative purpose — activating provisions of the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008 — and has remained unchanged since 9 July 2008, with only a file modification noted in 2017 (likely administrative housekeeping)."},"complexity_factors":["The document is a bare procedural proclamation with minimal substantive content — it largely contains metadata and status information rather than operative legal provisions.","The actual legal effect depends entirely on the parent Act (Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008), which is not reproduced here, requiring cross-referencing to understand full impact.","No amendment history or substantive clauses are visible in the provided text, limiting analysis to the proclamation's function rather than its content."],"plain_english_summary":"This proclamation under the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008 formally brought the Act (or parts of it) into effect from 9 July 2008. It enabled the legal framework to create government‑owned corporate entities to manage Tasmania’s water and sewerage services.\n\nIt affects residents, businesses, and the corporations providing those services by activating the rules and powers that govern how water and sewerage are managed and delivered."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008","history":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008/history","analysis":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/proclamation-under-the-water-and-sewerage-corporations-act-2008/documents"}}