{"id":"sr:summary-offences-regulations-2022","name":"Summary Offences Regulations 2022","slug":"summary-offences-regulations-2022","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":185849,"registerId":"vic-sr:summary-offences-regulations-2022-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Summary Offences Regulations 2022","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Summary Offences Regulations 2022**\n\n**S.R. No. 28/2022**\n\nVersion as at  \n10 May 2022\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objective 1\n\n2 Authorising provision 1\n\n3 Commencement 1\n\n4 Definition 1\n\n5 Prescribed days 1\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 3\n\n1 General information 3\n\n2 Table of Amendments 5\n\n3 Explanatory details 6\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Summary Offences Regulations 2022**\n\n**S.R. No. 28/2022**\n\nVersion as at  \n10 May 2022\n\n\t1 Objective\n\nThe objective of these Regulations is to prescribe days of religious significance for the purposes of the offence of engaging in sex work at or near certain places in the **Summary Offences Act 1966**.\n\n\t2 Authorising provision\n\nThese Regulations are made under section 61A of the **Summary Offences Act 1966**.\n\n\t3 Commencement\n\nThese Regulations come into operation on 10 May 2022.\n\n\t4 Definition\n\nIn these Regulations—\n\n***the* *Act*** means the **Summary Offences Act 1966**.\n\n\t5 Prescribed days\n\n(1) For the purposes of section 38B(3)(b) and (4)(b) of the Act, the following days are prescribed days in respect of a place of worship that is a church—\n\n(a) Good Friday;\n\n(b) the Saturday before Easter Sunday;\n\n(c) Easter Sunday;\n\n(d) 24 December (Christmas Eve);\n\n(e) 25 December (Christmas Day).\n\n(2) For the purposes of section 38B(3)(b) and (4)(b) of the Act, a day that occurs during one of the following periods is a prescribed day in respect of a place of worship that is a mosque—\n\n(a) Ramadan;\n\n(b) Eid ul-Fitr.\n\n(3) For the purposes of section 38B(3)(b) and (4)(b) of the Act, a day that occurs during one of the following periods is a prescribed day in respect of a place of worship that is a synagogue—\n\n(a) Yom Kippur;\n\n(b) Hanukkah.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe Summary Offences Regulations 2022, S.R. No. 28/2022 were made on 10 May 2022 by the Governor in Council under section 61A of the **Summary Offences Act 1966**, No. 7405/1966 and came into operation on 10 May 2022: regulation 3.\n\nThe Summary Offences Regulations 2022 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 10 May 2032 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.  \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after  \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the Summary Offences Regulations 2022 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n3 Explanatory details\n\nNo entries at date of publication.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be meaningfully assessed as the substantive content of the regulations was not included in the provided text. Only administrative metadata (version history, status labels) was available."},"complexity_factors":["Only metadata and version history were provided — no substantive regulatory content is available for analysis","Insufficient text to assess cross-references, definitions, or operational provisions","Cannot evaluate whether regulations contain technical or layered obligations","The low score reflects the simplicity of what was actually provided, not necessarily the underlying regulation itself"],"plain_english_summary":"This consolidated Victorian statutory rule (Summary Offences Regulations 2022, r.28/2022) sets detailed rules under the Summary Offences Act 1966, usually governing minor criminal matters like public behaviour, offensive conduct, weapons, gatherings, and prescribed forms or fees. It chiefly affects people in public spaces, police enforcing minor offences, event organisers, venue operators, local councils and courts. The full text is needed to know the specific conduct regulated, penalties, and obligations."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations precisely match their original intent as stated in Regulation 1: to prescribe days of religious significance for sex work location offences. There is no scope creep — the instrument is tightly focused on its specific purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 substantive regulations total","Single defined term ('the Act')","No cross-references beyond the parent Act (Summary Offences Act 1966)","Simple conditional structure: if day X, then prescribed for place Y","No exceptions, nested clauses, or procedural requirements","Straightforward list-based approach to defining religious periods"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\n\nThese regulations list specific religious days when it is illegal to engage in sex work near places of worship in Victoria.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Sex workers** — they cannot work near churches, mosques, or synagogues on the listed days\n- **Places of worship** — churches, mosques, and synagogues are protected during their significant religious periods\n\n**The specific days:**\n\n- **For churches:** Good Friday, the Saturday before Easter, Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve (24 December), and Christmas Day (25 December)\n- **For mosques:** any day during Ramadan or Eid ul-Fitr\n- **For synagogues:** any day during Yom Kippur or Hanukkah\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThese regulations support section 38B of the *Summary Offences Act 1966*, which makes it an offence to engage in sex work at or near certain sensitive locations — including places of worship — on days of religious significance. The regulations essentially define when those \"significant days\" occur for different faiths, ensuring the law applies consistently across Christian, Islamic, and Jewish observances.\n\n**Key point:** This is a technical instrument that plugs a gap in the main Act — without these regulations, the offence in the parent Act would be too vague to enforce because \"days of religious significance\" would be undefined."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Regulations do not alter the offence or its elements. They solely specify which days count as 'prescribed days' for the application of s38B(3)(b) and (4)(b) of the Summary Offences Act 1966 (reg 5). The instrument is made under s61A of that Act (reg 2) and therefore clarifies timing/application rather than expanding or narrowing the statutory offence itself."},"complexity_factors":["Direct cross-reference to section 38B(3)(b) and (4)(b) of the Summary Offences Act 1966 (reg 5) requires users and enforcers to consult the primary Act to see how 'prescribed days' operate.","Different treatments for faiths: fixed calendar dates for churches (reg 5(1)) versus multi-day/variable periods for mosques and synagogues (reg 5(2)–(3)) increases operational complexity.","Temporal ambiguity: lunar-based and multi-day observances (Ramadan, Eid ul-Fitr, Hanukkah, Yom Kippur) are not defined with start/end rules in the Regulations (reg 5(2)–(3)), so officials and the public must rely on external determinations.","Enforcement burden: authorities must determine whether a given day 'occurs during' a listed period (reg 5(2)–(3)), creating potential for dispute about applicability on borderline dates.","Low volume but high specificity: the Regulations contain a short, finite list (reg 5), which simplifies drafting but concentrates interpretive pressure on a few entries.","Administrative timing: immediate commencement (reg 3) and a statutory sunset provision noted in the Endnotes (10-year sunset under the Subordinate Legislation Act) affect longevity and review cycles."],"plain_english_summary":"*This regulation prescribes which religious days and periods count, for the purposes of the* *Summary Offences Act 1966*, *as 'prescribed days' when engaging in sex work at or near places of worship may be an offence.*\n\n*Its stated objective is to identify days of religious significance; that choice affects people who work or solicit sex near churches, mosques and synagogues by determining when the Act applies and by requiring reliance on external calendars for some dates (reg 5).*"},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/summary-offences-regulations-2022","history":"/api/acts/summary-offences-regulations-2022/history","analysis":"/api/acts/summary-offences-regulations-2022/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/summary-offences-regulations-2022/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/summary-offences-regulations-2022/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/summary-offences-regulations-2022/documents"}}