{"id":"tas:sr-2021-089","name":"State Service (Agencies and Heads of Agencies) Order 2021","slug":"state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"89 of 2021","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":182393,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2021-089-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This order may be cited as the [State Service (Agencies and Heads of Agencies) Order 2021](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/sr-2021-089) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This order takes effect on the day on which its making is notified in the *Gazette*.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Principal Act","content":"### 3 Principal Act\n\n> In this order, the [State Service Act 2000](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2000-085) is referred to as the Principal Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4.","sectionType":"section","heading":null,"content":"### 4.\n\n> The amendment effected by this clause has been incorporated into the authorised version of the [State Service Act 2000](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2000-085) .\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 26 November 2021\n\nThis order is administered in the Department of Premier and Cabinet.","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the order appears to serve its stated administrative purpose of listing agencies and their heads without any evident expansion or contraction from its original intent. It is a routine structural instrument typical of state public service administration."},"complexity_factors":["Administrative/structural in nature — no complex legal principles or rights involved","Operates under a straightforward enabling provision in the State Service Act 2000","Content is essentially a list or table of agencies and named officeholders","Limited substantive content was provided in the extract, reducing ability to assess any nuanced provisions","Tasmanian-jurisdiction-specific, so requires some familiarity with local public service structure to fully contextualise"],"plain_english_summary":"## State Service (Agencies and Heads of Agencies) Order 2021 (Tasmania)\n\nThis is a Tasmanian government administrative order that officially lists and names the agencies (government departments and bodies) that make up the Tasmanian State Service, and identifies who is in charge of each one.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Formally establishes which bodies count as 'agencies' within the Tasmanian public service\n- Designates who the 'Head of Agency' is for each — essentially, who is the top boss responsible for running each department or government body\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Tasmanian public servants — knowing which agency they belong to determines their employment conditions, chain of command, and legal obligations under the State Service Act 2000\n- Agency heads (such as Secretaries of government departments) whose powers and responsibilities are formally confirmed by this order\n- Members of the public dealing with Tasmanian government bodies, as it clarifies which agency is responsible for which functions\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThe State Service Act 2000 (Tasmania) requires an order like this to formally define the structure of the public service. Without it, there would be legal uncertainty about who has authority over public servants and which body is responsible for delivering government services. This order provides that official, legally-binding map of the Tasmanian public service structure.\n\n**Note:** The document as provided contains largely metadata and status information rather than the full substantive content of the order — the actual list of agencies and their heads would appear in the body of the instrument."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The State Service Act 2000 (Tas) framework routinely sees agencies restructured, renamed, or abolished via Administrative Arrangement Orders. A static instrument governing agency heads over a four-year span without amendment is administratively extraordinary and raises questions about whether the published version accurately reflects the operative legal position.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The instrument states it is 'current from 26 November 2021 to date' while simultaneously stating 'File last modified 26 November 2021', yet the access date is recorded as 5 April 2026. This creates an implicit claim that a 2021 Order governing agency structures and heads of agencies has remained completely unaltered for over four years, which is implausible given routine machinery-of-government changes in Tasmania."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Status Information - Currency of version / Table of Amending Instruments","severity":"low","reasoning":"Providing a Table of Amendments link alongside a static modification date creates an internal tension: either amendments exist (making the modification date wrong) or they do not (making the link meaningless). This is a drafting/publication inconsistency that could mislead users about the instrument's currency.","confidence":0.6,"description":"The instrument simultaneously asserts currency 'to date' (implying it reflects current law) while directing readers to a separate 'Table of Amendments' to verify changes. If the instrument is truly unamended since 26 November 2021, the Table of Amendments link is superfluous. If amendments exist, the 'file last modified' date is misleading."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Status Information - Responsible Minister and Department","severity":"low","reasoning":"An Order that establishes or names State Service agencies and their heads is the foundational document for agency identity. Requiring readers to consult a separate Order to determine ministerial responsibility for this very Order introduces a circular dependency - the instrument defining agencies must itself be interpreted through a separate instrument that may depend on those agencies existing.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The instrument declines to specify the responsible Minister and Department within its own text, instead directing readers to a separate Administrative Arrangement Order or Information Guides. For a subordinate instrument whose entire purpose is to define agency structures and heads, the omission of the responsible entity from the instrument itself creates a self-referential gap: the instrument defines agencies but cannot identify which agency is responsible for it."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"Status Information - Currency of version ('Version current from 26 November 2021 to date')","section_b":"Status Information - Authorisation ('File last modified 26 November 2021')","confidence":0.65,"description":"The 'currency' statement asserts the version is current as at 5 April 2026, while the 'file last modified' date of 26 November 2021 suggests no changes have been made to the file in over four years. These two statements are contradictory: if the file is truly the current version as at 2026, it should reflect any intervening amendments in its modification date; if it was last modified in 2021 and has not changed, asserting currency 'to date' in 2026 is misleading without explicit confirmation of no amendments."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This appears to be a standard machinery-of-government instrument. The displayed text shows no evidence of scope creep; it performs its expected function of updating agency structures under the parent Act."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document (only 4 clauses, effectively 3 substantive provisions)","No defined terms beyond standard legislative machinery","Single cross-reference to the Principal Act","Clause 4 explicitly states the amendment has been incorporated elsewhere, making this document largely ceremonial/record-keeping","No conditional logic, exceptions, or operational provisions in the displayed text"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short, technical piece of legislation that makes a specific change to Tasmania's State Service Act 2000. It establishes which government departments and agencies exist, and who their bosses (called 'heads of agencies') are. The actual amendment it makes has already been merged into the main Act, so this Order itself is essentially a formal record that the change happened. It affects public servants in Tasmania by determining which agency they work for and who their ultimate boss is."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021","history":"/api/acts/state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/state-service-agencies-and-heads-of-agencies-order-2021/documents"}}