{"id":"tas:act-1927-052","name":"Tasmanian Government Officers' Salaries Attachment Act 1927","slug":"tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"52 of 1927","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110682,"registerId":"tas-act-1927-052-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Tasmanian Government Officers' Salaries Attachment Act 1927](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1927-052) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Copy of judgment may be served on paying officer","content":"### 2 Copy of judgment may be served on paying officer\n\n> *\\[Section 2 Amended by No. 29 of 1984, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*[*\\[Section 2 Amended by No. 86 of 2000, Sched. 1, Applied:01 May 2001\\]*](/view/html/inforce/2001-05-01/act-2000-086#JS1@Ja153@GC1@EN) Where judgment has been given by any court against any employee for the payment of any sum of money, the person in whose favour the judgment is given may serve on the paying officer of the State Service Agency in which the employee is employed a copy of the judgment, certified under the hand of the registrar or other proper officer of the court in which the judgment is entered, and a statutory declaration stating that the judgment has not been satisfied by the judgment debtor, and setting out the amount due by the judgment debtor under the judgment.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Paying officer to notify debtor","content":"### 3 Paying officer to notify debtor\n\n> Upon the service upon him of a copy of a judgment and a statutory declaration in pursuance of this Act, the paying officer shall, as soon as practicable, notify the judgment debtor in writing of the service of the copy judgment and statutory declaration, and require him to state in writing, within a time to be specified by the paying officer, whether the judgment has been satisfied, and, if so, to furnish evidence in support thereof, and, if the judgment has not been satisfied, to state the amount then due under the judgment.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power of paying officer to deduct certain moneys","content":"### 4 Power of paying officer to deduct certain moneys\n\n> *\\[Section 4 Amended by No. 29 of 1984, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*If the employee fails to prove to the satisfaction of the paying officer, within the time specified by the paying officer, that the judgment has been satisfied, the paying officer shall deduct from any moneys due to the employee such sums as are in his opinion necessary to enable the judgment to be satisfied, and shall pay those sums to the judgment creditor: Provided that in no case shall a deduction be made which will reduce the amount to be received by the officer to less than two pounds per week, or to less than one-third of the amount which would, but for the provisions of this section, be payable to the employee.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Judgments to be satisfied in priority","content":"### 5 Judgments to be satisfied in priority\n\n> Where more than one judgment and statutory declaration are served upon a paying officer in respect of one judgment debtor, the judgments shall be satisfied in the order in which copies of the judgments are served upon the paying officer.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment to judgment creditor to be deemed made to officer","content":"### 6 Payment to judgment creditor to be deemed made to officer\n\n> *\\[Section 6 Amended by No. 29 of 1984, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*A payment made to a judgment creditor in pursuance of this Act shall, as between the Tasmanian Government and the employee, be deemed to be a payment by the Tasmanian Government to the employee.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Paying officer to be notified of payments made","content":"### 7 Paying officer to be notified of payments made\n\n> *\\[Section 7 Amended by No. 55 of 1965, s. 5 \\]**\\[Section 7 Amended by No. 43 of 1991, s. 5 and Sched. 1 \\]*A person to whom any payment has been made in pursuance of this Act shall notify the paying officer immediately a judgment debt in respect of which the payment was made is satisfied.\n> \n> Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 5 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Provision for recovery in case of excess payments","content":"### 8 Provision for recovery in case of excess payments\n\n> If any payment made in pursuance of this Act exceeds the amount due under the judgment, the excess shall be repayable by the judgment creditor to the judgment debtor, and, in default of payment, may be recovered by the judgment debtor from the judgment creditor in any court of competent jurisdiction.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act not to apply to debtor's estate if sequestrated","content":"### 9 Act not to apply to debtor's estate if sequestrated\n\n> *\\[Section 9 Amended by No. 29 of 1984, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*[*\\[Section 9 Amended by No. 86 of 2000, Sched. 1, Applied:01 May 2001\\]*](/view/html/inforce/2001-05-01/act-2000-086#JS1@Ja153@GC2@EN) The foregoing provisions of this Act shall not apply in relation to any employee whose estate the paying officer is satisfied has been sequestrated either voluntarily or compulsorily for the benefit of his creditors, and who has not yet obtained a certificate of discharge.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definition of \"paying officer\"","content":"### 10 Definition of \"paying officer\"\n\n> *\\[Section 10 Substituted by No. 29 of 1984, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*[*\\[Section 10 Amended by No. 86 of 2000, Sched. 1, Applied:01 May 2001\\]*](/view/html/inforce/2001-05-01/act-2000-086#JS1@Ja153@GC3@EN) In this Act, the ***paying officer*** means the employee employed in the State Service Agency who pays to the employee, in relation to whom the expression is used, the salary or wages due to him by reason of his employment in the State Service.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definition of \"employee\"","content":"### 11 Definition of \"employee\"\n\n> *\\[Section 11 Substituted by No. 29 of 1984, s. 3 and Sched. 1 \\]*[*\\[Section 11 Amended by No. 86 of 2000, Sched. 1, Applied:01 May 2001\\]*](/view/html/inforce/2001-05-01/act-2000-086#JS1@Ja153@GC4@EN) In this Act, ***employee*** means a State Service officer or State Service employee.","sortOrder":10}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The core scope — permitting judgment creditors to collect from the wages of State Service employees via the paying officer — remains unchanged. Amendments recorded in the text (notably substitutions and updates to definitions and procedure in 1984, 1965, 1991 and 2000) clarify who the paying officer and employee are and adjust procedural/penalty details, but do not materially expand or narrow the Act’s substantive reach."},"complexity_factors":["Paying officer’s discretionary judgment about what sums are \"necessary\" to satisfy the judgment (s 4)","Minimum-retention rule (not less than £2 per week or one-third of pay) which requires calculation and may interact with modern pay structures (s 4)","Procedural prerequisites for enforcement: certified court copy plus statutory declaration (s 2)","Notification and response process with specified time frames set by the paying officer (s 3)","Priority rule when multiple judgments are served (s 5)","Interaction with insolvency/sequestration law via the sequestration exception (s 9)","Statutory penalty for failing to notify the paying officer of satisfaction (s 7)","Multiple historical amendments and substituted definitions that may affect interpretation (amendment notes to ss 2,4,6,7,9,10,11)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets a person with a court judgment against a Tasmanian State Service employee recover the debt from the employee’s wages by serving a certified copy of the judgment and a statutory declaration on the employee’s paying officer (ss 2–3). The paying officer must notify the employee and may deduct amounts needed to satisfy the judgment, subject to minimum-retention limits (s 4) and a priority rule for multiple judgments (s 5).\n\nPayments made to creditors are treated as payments by the Tasmanian Government to the employee (s 6). The Act does not apply while the employee’s estate is sequestrated until discharge (s 9)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: wage garnishment for Tasmanian public servants. While amended several times (notably in 1984 and 2000), these changes merely updated institutional terminology (e.g., 'State Service Agency' replacing older departmental structures) without expanding the substantive scope beyond government employees' salary attachment."},"complexity_factors":["Only 11 short sections, most under 100 words","Just 2 defined terms ('paying officer' and 'employee')","Minimal cross-referencing — essentially self-contained","Simple sequential logic: serve notice → notify debtor → deduct if unsatisfied → pay creditor","Single substantive condition (the 'two pounds or one-third' protection in section 4)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional structures","Straightforward priority rule (first in time, first in right) in section 5"],"plain_english_summary":"This Tasmanian law from 1927 creates a system for forcing Tasmanian public servants to pay their court-ordered debts directly from their government wages.\n\n**What it does:**\nIf a Tasmanian government employee loses a court case and owes money (called a \"judgment debt\"), the person they owe money to (the \"judgment creditor\") can go straight to the government payroll office. They serve a certified copy of the court judgment and a sworn statement (statutory declaration) on the \"paying officer\" — the public servant who processes wages.\n\n**The process:**\n- The paying officer must notify the employee and ask them to prove they've already paid the debt\n- If the employee can't prove payment, the paying officer **must** deduct money from their wages to pay the creditor\n- **Important protections:** The law stops the government from taking so much that the employee is left with less than £2 per week (an old amount, likely updated by regulations) or less than one-third of their normal pay\n- If multiple people are chasing the same employee for debts, whoever gets their paperwork to the paying officer first gets paid first\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Tasmanian public servants (\"State Service officers or State Service employees\")\n- People who have won court judgments against Tasmanian public servants\n- Government payroll officers who must administer these deductions\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis gives creditors a powerful shortcut. Instead of trying to force payment through usual debt collection methods, they can tap directly into the debtor's steady government income. It balances creditor rights with employee protection by guaranteeing the employee keeps a minimum living wage."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the Act appears to have retained its original narrow focus on salary attachment for Tasmanian government officers. The version has been current since at least 1 May 2001 with no indication of significant amendments that would suggest scope creep or contraction from the original 1927 intent."},"complexity_factors":["Very limited legislative content visible in the provided text — the substantive provisions are not reproduced, making full analysis impossible","Narrow and specific subject matter (salary attachment for a defined class of employees) keeps complexity low","Archaic drafting style typical of 1927 legislation may require interpretation against modern legal standards","Potential interaction with more recent Commonwealth and Tasmanian legislation on debt recovery, employment, and public sector conditions adds a small layer of complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Tasmanian Government Officers' Salaries Attachment Act 1927 allows courts to order that part of a Tasmanian government employee’s wages be withheld by their employer and paid to a creditor or maintenance recipient. It affects public servants, creditors seeking recovery, and the government as employer. It matters because it confirms government pay can be lawfully redirected to satisfy debts, preventing special immunity for public salaries."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927","history":"/api/acts/tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927/history","analysis":"/api/acts/tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/tasmanian-government-officers-salaries-attachment-act-1927/documents"}}