The Act uses a small set of recurring legal concepts to effect transition between the former and new disability statutes. Those concepts and their operational meaning in the text are:

• Commencement day (s 3): the single temporal anchor. The Act’s transitional rules are expressed in reference to the commencement day when the new Act comes into force (s 2(1)). Part 11 is an exception and requires proclamation (s 2(2)).
• Mapping of roles and instruments: the former Senior Practitioner and the new Senior Practitioner are distinct defined roles; any approval, determination, delegation, direction or other decision made by or on behalf of the former Senior Practitioner and in effect immediately before commencement is taken to be made by the new Senior Practitioner under the provision of the new Act that most closely approximates the former provision (s 4). This is a translational or mapping concept rather than an automatic re‑enactment: the preserved instrument is matched to the closest new provision.
• Preservation and conversion of approvals/authorisations: approvals to use restrictive interventions obtained under the former Act and approvals granted by the Tribunal immediately before commencement continue in force as authorisations for restrictive practices under the new Act on the same terms and conditions (s 6(1)-(2)), subject to the review provisions in ss 7-10.
• Transfer or continuation of applications and reviews: undetermined applications to the Secretary or Tribunal under specific sections of the former Act are either taken to be applications to the new Senior Practitioner under specified sections of the new Act (s 7(2)-(3); s 8), or the Tribunal/Magistrates Court may continue to hear matters under the former Act where hearings had commenced before commencement (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10).
• Annual report arrangement: the outgoing Senior Practitioner must provide the information required under the new Act’s s 47 for the portion of the transition year prior to commencement and must provide that information within 30 days; the incoming Senior Practitioner is responsible for preparing the transition year annual report and must include the information provided (s 5).
• Information continuity: information kept or provided under the former Act is treated as information for the new Act from commencement and may be shared between old and new decision‑makers in relation to underdetermined applications (s 11).
• Savings and transitional regulations: a broad enabling power for the Governor to make regulations to preserve, continue, vary, extend or revoke decisions, instruments or other matters under the former Act, and to deal with incidental matters; regulations may take retrospective effect to commencement day and may confer powers on the Minister, Secretary or other person (s 12).

The Act thus operates as a legal bridge: it preserves legal status and procedural continuity, enables mapping of pending administrative and tribunal processes into the new statutory framework, and creates a regulatory safety net for unresolved technicalities. The mapping is achieved through textual conversion (taken to be, or taken to be an application etc.), preservation (continuing authorisations on same terms), and permissive continuation (Tribunal or court hearings may continue under the former Act where begun).

Key legal intersections occur with the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 (defined as Tribunal in s 3), the former Disability Services Act 2011, and the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 (the new Act), together with a number of amended Acts and regulations whose authorised versions are stated to have incorporated consequential amendments (Parts 3-10 and ss 36-38).

Directly affected persons and bodies can be identified from the Act’s text and the matters the transitional provisions target.

Primary categories:

• Senior Practitioners: The person who was Senior Practitioner under the former Act and the person appointed under the new Act are the central actors. The Act prescribes reporting duties on the former Senior Practitioner (s 5(3)-(4)) and vests continuity of earlier approvals and instruments in the new Senior Practitioner (s 4; s 6).
• People subject to restrictive interventions or restrictive practices, and the bodies responsible for authorising or applying those measures: existing approvals for restrictive interventions under the former Act and Tribunal approvals in force immediately before commencement remain in force as authorisations under the new Act on the same terms and conditions (s 6(1)-(2)), so clients, patients or service recipients with such approvals retain legal authorisation status post‑commencement.
• Applicants with undetermined applications: an undetermined application to the Secretary under s 37 of the former Act is treated as an application to the new Senior Practitioner under s 51 of the new Act (s 7(2)); undetermined Tribunal applications under s 41 of the former Act become applications to the new Senior Practitioner unless a Tribunal hearing had already commenced, in which case the Tribunal may continue to hear under the former Act (s 7(3)-(4)). Undetermined reviews to the Secretary under s 40 map to the new Senior Practitioner under s 75 of the new Act (s 8).
• Tribunal and court users and litigants: where hearings had already started in Tribunal or Magistrates Court under specified provisions of the former Act, those processes may be continued and determined as if the former Act had not been repealed (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10). That affects representatives, lawyers and parties engaged in ongoing proceedings.
• The Secretary (departmental officers): the Secretary is the addressee for certain mapping rules (s 7(2)), and the Governor’s regulatory power expressly permits regulations to authorise matters to be approved, determined or regulated by the Secretary (s 12(2)(c)(ii); s 12(3)(c)(ii)). Administrative responsibility is assigned to the Minister for Disability Services and the Department of Premier and Cabinet until altered under the Administrative Arrangements Act (s 40).
• Ministers, Governor and executive branch: the Governor receives delegated regulation‑making authority in s 12 and retains power to make savings and transitional regulations. The Minister and Secretary are expressly named as possible delegates in s 12(2)(c)(i)-(ii) and s 12(3)(c)(i)-(iii).
• Regulatory and administrative counterparties across multiple Acts: a number of other statutes and subordinate instruments are listed as having had consequential amendments incorporated into their authorised versions (see Parts 3-10 and ss 36-38). Affected actors in those regimes include organisations and regulatory licencees governed by the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023, the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997, Dangerous Criminals and High Risk Offenders Act 2021, End‑of‑Life Choices Act 2021, Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity Act 1994, Poisons Regulations 2018, Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Regulations 2024 and the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020.

Secondary or indirect effects:

• Service providers who use or may be asked to justify restrictive practices will face continuity of authorisations but must be aware of the change in the statutory regulator (s 6).
• Records custodians and information managers: because information kept under the former Act is treated as information for the new Act and may be shared to the new decision‑maker (s 11), record‑keeping, privacy compliance and data transfer processes are implicated.
• Finance and administrative officers: the responsible department assignment (s 40) affects budgetary responsibility, reporting lines and departmental oversight until Administrative Arrangements are changed.

Who pays and who decides: the Minister for Disability Services and the Department of Premier and Cabinet are assigned administrative oversight until an order under the Administrative Arrangements Act modifies that arrangement (s 40). The Governor (through regulations) decides the scope and mechanics for residual transitional matters (s 12). The new Senior Practitioner is the decision‑maker to whom preserved approvals, mapped applications and reviews are attributed (s 4; ss 6-8). Tribunal and court judges/members retain powers to continue and determine existing matters where hearings had commenced prior to commencement (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10).

The Act is largely transitional and confers duties and rights that are derivative of mapping existing instruments, transferring responsibility, and mandating reporting. The text creates specific duties and rights that can be deployed immediately on commencement.

Duties:

• Duty on the former Senior Practitioner to prepare and provide part of the annual report: the former Senior Practitioner must supply, within 30 days after commencement day, a report covering the portion of the transition year preceding commencement that includes all information required by s 47 of the new Act (s 5(3)-(4)). The new Senior Practitioner is then required to prepare the full annual report for the transition year and include that provided information (s 5(2), (5)). This imposes an explicit timeframe and content obligation on the outgoing officeholder.
• Duty on the Tribunal and Magistrates Court to continue specified proceedings where hearings had commenced: the Tribunal may continue a hearing commenced before commencement under the former Act as though the repeal had not occurred (s 7(4)). Similarly, undetermined applications made to the Tribunal under s 45 of the former Act may be continued under that Act until determined (s 9(1)). Undetermined Magistrates Court applications under s 48 of the former Act may also be continued (s 10). These provisions legally oblige those bodies to treat certain matters as continuing under the repealed law.
• Duty to treat information held under the former Act as information for the new Act, and a permissive duty to share it: information kept or provided under the former Act is, on commencement, information for the new Act (s 11(1)), and persons to whom underdetermined applications were made may share information they possess regarding those applications with whoever the application is taken to have been made to under the new Act (s 11(2)). That places a positive legal posture on record‑holders and information custodians to permit transfer of material to new decision‑makers.

Rights and continuations for applicants and persons with approvals:

• Right to continued authorisation: an approval to carry out a type of restrictive intervention granted by the Secretary under s 38 of the former Act that was in force immediately before commencement continues in force as an authorisation for the use of a type of restrictive practice granted by the new Senior Practitioner under s 52 of the new Act on the same terms and conditions (s 6(1)). Tribunal‑granted approvals that were in force immediately before commencement continue similarly (s 6(2)). This preserves legal authorisation for those subject to the approvals.
• Right to have undetermined applications treated as applications under the new Act: undetermined applications to the Secretary under s 37 of the former Act, and undetermined Tribunal applications under s 41 of the former Act that have not had hearings commenced, are taken to be applications to the new Senior Practitioner under s 51 of the new Act (s 7(2)-(3)). Undetermined review applications to the Secretary under s 40 of the former Act are taken to be applications to the new Senior Practitioner for review of a reviewable decision under s 75 of the new Act (s 8). This gives applicants a procedural right to have their matters addressed under the new law.
• Right to continue Tribunal/court review proceedings: where proceedings had already started, applicants have a right (in practical terms) to continue hearings under the former Act until determination (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10).

Discretions and delegated powers:

• Broad regulatory discretion: the Governor may make savings and transitional regulations to effect transition and may authorise that certain matters be from time to time approved, determined, applied or regulated by the Minister, the Secretary or another person specified in the regulations (s 12(1)-(3)). This creates delegated decision‑making options for the executive which could influence procedural and substantive outcomes in transitional matters.

Notably absent in this Act:

• The Act does not itself create or modify substantive duties or civil/criminal penalties that apply to persons outside of preserving and mapping existing instruments. Enforcement regimes, penalties and the detailed duties that apply to service providers, practitioners or other regulated parties will be found in the new Act and in the other amended Acts and regulations. This Act’s duty structure is administrative and transitional in character.

Practical legal effects:

• For any party holding an approval or authorisation under the former Act, the right to continue to lawfully rely on that instrument is explicit (s 6). For applicants with undetermined matters, the right to proceed under the new statutory framework exists, unless a hearing had already commenced, in which case they will typically continue under the former Act (s 7).
• The power to make regulations that can be retrospective to commencement day or otherwise temporally tailored (s 12(3)(a)-(b)) means transitional duties and applicable timeframes may be altered by regulation.

This Act itself contains no penalty provisions, criminal offences or detailed enforcement mechanisms. The text is confined to transitional mapping and powers, report obligations and enabling regulation‑making. Consequently:

• No new fines, criminal sanctions, administrative pecuniary penalties or enforcement processes are created by this Act. Penalties and enforcement continue to be those provided in the new Act and the other Acts and regulations into which consequential amendments have been incorporated (Parts 3-10; ss 36-38). For specific sanctions that apply to the use of restrictive practices or to regulated entities, one must consult the new Act (for example ss cited here relevantly are s 51, s 52, s 47, s 75 of the new Act, as cross‑referenced throughout the transitional provisions), and the updated versions of the other Acts and subordinate instruments.
• The Act does not displace existing judicial or tribunal powers to review, amend or revoke approvals where those powers are preserved by the Tribunal or the courts under the transitional provisions (s 7(4); s 9(2)). For instance, s 9(2) provides that if the Tribunal, under s 45 of the former Act, amends an approval, the amended approval continues in force as an authorisation under the new Act on the same terms and conditions; that subsection contemplates tribunal amendment activity which could include conditions affecting compliance.
• Enforcement against non‑compliance with the reporting obligation in s 5 is not expressed as carrying a penalty within this Act. The obligation on the former Senior Practitioner is statutory and enforceable by the appropriate administrative mechanisms, but this Act contains no express sanction for failing to comply with s 5(4). Remedies for breach of a statutory duty could be sought in other forums, but readers must consult broader statutory or administrative law remedies rather than this Act for express penalty mechanisms.
• Regulatory power in s 12 permits the Governor to make regulations to effect and facilitate transition. Such regulations can, if the Governor so decides, include enforcement mechanisms or penalties, subject to the usual limits on delegated legislation. The Act itself does not set those limits beyond the broad subject‑matter licence in s 12(1)-(3).

If parties need to identify applicable penalties or enforcement procedures for conduct after commencement, they must look to the substantive provisions of the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024, and to the updated versions of other Acts and regulations indicated in Parts 3-10 and Part 11 which now incorporate consequential amendments. These instruments contain the operative sanctions and enforcement frameworks.

The Act is expressly designed to interact with, and to sit alongside, multiple other statutes and regulations. Those interactions take several forms: incorporation of consequential amendments into authorised versions of other laws; mapping of instruments between the former Disability Services Act 2011 and the new Act; procedural continuations in tribunals and courts; and explicit cross‑references to specific sections in the new Act.

Key interactions specified by the Act:

• Direct mapping from the former Act to the new Act: the Act defines the former Act as the Disability Services Act 2011 and the new Act as the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 (s 3). Sections 4-11 repeatedly map decisions, approvals, applications and reviews under the former Act to authorisations, applications or reviews under specific sections of the new Act (for example, s 6 maps former s 38 approvals to new s 52 authorisations; s 7 maps former s 37 and s 41 applications to new s 51).
• Interaction with the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 (TCAT Act): the Act defines Tribunal as the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (s 3) and provides that certain Tribunal proceedings may continue under the former Act if a hearing had commenced before commencement (s 7(4); s 9(1)). The Act also amends the TCAT Act (Parts 10 and 11), and Part 11 contains further amendments to be proclaimed (s 2(2)). The transitional rules therefore create a period in which Tribunal business may be bifurcated between the old and new statutory rules depending on whether a hearing had begun.
• Interaction with Tribunal and court review paths: undetermined applications for review to the Secretary under s 40 of the former Act become applications to the new Senior Practitioner for review under s 75 of the new Act (s 8). Undetermined Tribunal or Magistrates Court matters may be continued under the former Act until determined (ss 9-10). Those provisions preserve procedural rights while creating legal complexity for litigants and representatives who must determine which procedural regime applies based on hearing commencement timing.
• Incorporation of consequential amendments into many Acts and regulations: Parts 3-10 and ss 36-38 state that consequential amendments effected by this Act have been incorporated into the authorised versions of a number of named statutes and regulations, including the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023, the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997, the Dangerous Criminals and High Risk Offenders Act 2021, the End‑of‑Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Act 2021, the Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity Act 1994, the Poisons Regulations 2018, the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Regulations 2024, and the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 (Parts 3-10; ss 36-38). The text presents these incorporations as factual updates to the authorised texts; it does not re‑print the amendments.
• Administrative Arrangements Act interface: the Act assigns administration of itself to the Minister for Disability Services and to the Department of Premier and Cabinet until the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990 is used to reassign administration (s 40). This creates an interface with the Administrative Arrangements Act regime as the mechanism by which departmental responsibility may change.
• Regulatory power and potential retrospective effect: the Governor’s power to make savings and transitional regulations is broad (s 12). Regulations can take effect on commencement day or a later day specified in the regulations, and that day may be before, on or after the day the regulations are made (s 12(3)(a)). In practice, the provision allows regulations to have retrospective effect to the commencement day. Regulations may also be tailored to apply differently by time or circumstance (s 12(3)(b)), and may authorise specified persons to exercise or be delegated particular transitional regulatory functions (s 12(3)(c)). This interacts with the general law and constitutional limits on retrospective law‑making and delegated legislation.

Potential procedural frictions from these interactions:

• Bifurcated tribunal/court processes: parties must determine whether an application will proceed under the former Act or under the new Act depending on whether a hearing had commenced before commencement (s 7(3)-(4); s 9(1); s 10). That produces administrable complexity for legal practitioners and for Tribunal members when dealing with multiple matters at different stages.
• Interpretive uncertainty in mapping: s 4’s direction that instruments are “taken to be” decisions by the new Senior Practitioner under the provision of the new Act that “most closely approximates” the former provision requires interpretive work to identify the closest analogue in the new Act. This interaction could generate dispute about which new provision applies to a particular preserved instrument.
• Delegation and administrative discretion: the Governor’s power to make regulations that may authorise the Minister, the Secretary or another person to approve, determine or regulate matters may shift decision‑making authority away from traditional statutory officeholders to executive officers by regulation (s 12(2)(c); s 12(3)(c)). That alters the allocation of administrative power between institutions.

In short, the Act intentionally intertwines with the new Act, the former Act, the TCAT Act, and a list of other Acts and regulations. For operational and legal consequences, practitioners must work across those texts: the transitional Act provides the bridge but the substantive duties, enforcement, and procedural rules relevant to day‑to‑day compliance and litigation will be found in the new Act and the updated authorised versions of other instruments.

This Act serves as the transitional and consequential vehicle for the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024. The explicit amendment history contained in this statute is limited to statements that consequential amendments have been incorporated into authorised versions of other Acts and subordinate instruments. The Act records its own commencement scheme and delegation of administrative responsibility, but it does not set out a textual history beyond the transitional mappings. Key items in the Act text relating to amendment history are:

• Commencement mechanics: the Act’s provisions commence on the day the new Act commences, except that Part 11 commences by proclamation (s 2). This means that some consequential amendments to the TCAT Act will be delayed until a proclamation. The fact of a proclamation requirement indicates a staged implementation.
• Incorporation of amendments into other Acts: Parts 3-10 and ss 36-38 repeatedly state that “The amendments effected by this Part have been incorporated into the authorised version” of the listed Acts and regulations. Those Parts cover a range of statutes and subordinate legislation (Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act 2023; Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997; Dangerous Criminals and High Risk Offenders Act 2021; End‑of‑Life Choices Act 2021; Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity Act 1994; Poisons Regulations 2018; Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Regulations 2024; Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020). The text does not reproduce the amendments but asserts that they have been incorporated into the authorised versions.
• No repeals or substantive redrafts contained here: the Act does not itself repeal large blocks of the former Act in full text in this instrument. It relies on the repeal and replacement effected by the new Act for substantive change. The transitional Act’s function is to preserve certain instruments, map applications, and permit regulatory follow‑up.
• Regulatory enabling for further transitional amendments: section 12 provides the Governor with power to make savings and transitional regulations “consequent on the enactment of the new Act to effect and facilitate the transition” (s 12(1)). That provision is itself an acknowledgement that this Act may not be exhaustive and that further small or technical consequential amendments may be necessary by regulation. The power extends to allowing regulations to preserve, vary or revoke decisions, instruments or other matters under the former Act (s 12(2)(a)) and to allow different application by time and circumstance (s 12(3)(b)). Regulations may also authorise arrangements to be approved or determined by the Minister or Secretary (s 12(2)(c); s 12(3)(c)).
• Administrative assignment pending AA order: s 40 assigns administration to the Minister for Disability Services and to the Department of Premier and Cabinet “until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under s 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990”. This signals the intent to have a transitional administrative home that may change when the Government updates administrative arrangements.

Because the Act is transitional and declaratory in many respects, detailed amendment tracking requires consulting the authorised versions of the affected Acts and subordinate instruments (as asserted by the Parts) and the regulations that may be made under s 12. The Act itself therefore documents the intent and the mechanism for transition, rather than enumerating each specific textual amendment. Practitioners should therefore check the authorised online consolidated texts of the listed statutes and regulations to see the incorporated consequential amendments and any regulations subsequently made under s 12.

The Act contains no case law, judicial determinations or litigation materials. It does not cite any judicial authority. Consequently:

• There is no litigation history recorded in the Act text regarding the transitional provisions or their interpretation. The statute itself does not refer to any decisions of the Tribunal, Magistrates Court or higher courts.
• The Act anticipates litigation or review activity by preserving the ability of tribunals and courts to continue and decide matters under the former Act where hearings had commenced before commencement (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10). That creates a category of matters that may produce court challenges in the future , for example, disputes about whether a hearing had “commenced” for s 7(4) purposes, or disputes about what constitutes the “provision of the new Act that most closely approximates” a former provision for the purpose of s 4. The text leaves these interpretive questions to future resolution, but provides no precedent.
• Interpretive issues likely to generate litigation: given the mapping language in s 4 and the Tribunal continuation rules in s 7, future litigation could arise over:
  • the standard for identifying the “most closely approximates” provision in the new Act (s 4);
  • whether procedural steps taken prior to commencement satisfy the “hearing commenced” test so that s 7(4) applies rather than the mapping to the new Senior Practitioner (s 7(3)-(4));
  • the lawfulness of regulations made under s 12 that involve retrospective effect to commencement day (s 12(3)(a)) or that delegate significant decision‑making to the Minister or Secretary (s 12(2)(c); s 12(3)(c)).

None of the above has yet been tested in the courts in the text provided. Users requiring an account of judicial decisions must consult subsequent tribunal or court decisions that interpret these transitional provisions once such cases arise.

This Act is compact but contains several technical traps and implementation risks that practitioners and administrators should watch for. The text generates particular operational and legal wrinkles:

1. “Most closely approximates” mapping (s 4)

   • The Act converts former Senior Practitioner decisions into decisions by the new Senior Practitioner under “the provision, if any, of the new Act that most closely approximates the provision of the former Act.” The test is comparative and factually dependent. There is no statutory definition of “most closely approximates”. This may create disputes over which new provision governs a preserved instrument and whether minor differences in substantive criteria or process affect the legal status of the instrument post‑commencement.

2. Bifurcated tribunal/court procedural regimes (ss 7(3)-(4), 9, 10)

   • Whether a matter proceeds under the former Act or under the new Act depends on whether the Tribunal has commenced holding a hearing before commencement (s 7(3)-(4)). The statutory text does not define “commenced holding a hearing”. Different practices across Tribunal divisions could produce inconsistent results on what procedural regime applies.
   • Parties in multi‑matter or multi‑party proceedings may face inconsistent rules within a single case if some individual applications had hearings commenced before commencement and others had not.

3. Continuation of approvals on “same terms and conditions” (s 6)

   • Approvals to carry out restrictive interventions granted under the former Act continue as authorisations under the new Act “on the same terms and conditions” (s 6(1)-(2)). That preserves legal authorisation but does not state how subsequent changes under the new Act (for example procedural safeguards or reporting obligations) apply to those saved authorisations. Practitioners should identify whether the new Act imposes new ongoing duties that apply regardless of the preservation mechanism.

4. Report deadline on outgoing Senior Practitioner (s 5(4))

   • The former Senior Practitioner must provide the portion of the transition year report within 30 days after commencement day. If the former Senior Practitioner delays or fails to properly compile the required information, the new Senior Practitioner must still prepare the annual report for the transition year (s 5(2), (5)). There is no express penalty in this Act for non‑compliance with s 5(4).

5. Broad regulation‑making power including potential retrospective effect (s 12)

   • Regulations can take effect on the commencement day or a later day specified in the regulation, even if that specified day is before the regulation is made (s 12(3)(a)). That permits retrospective effect to the commencement day. Practitioners should monitor the regulations made under s 12 for retrospective content and for delegation of decision‑making to named persons.
   • Regulation power includes authorising the Minister or Secretary to approve or regulate transitional matters (s 12(2)(c); s 12(3)(c)). That may shift practical decision‑making away from statutory officeholders to the executive by regulation.

6. Information sharing and privacy interfaces (s 11)

   • The Act permits persons or bodies to share information they possess regarding underdetermined applications with the person to whom the application is taken to have been made under the new Act (s 11(2)). This creates a pathway for transfers of potentially sensitive personal information. Data custodians should verify that disclosures comply with privacy, health, or other sectoral information laws before sharing.

7. Administration assignment until AA order (s 40)

   • Administration is assigned to the Minister for Disability Services and to the Department of Premier and Cabinet until an Administrative Arrangements order alters that assignment (s 40). Operational leadership, funding responsibility and staff allocations may be in flux while awaiting an AA order.

8. Silent on enforcement and penalties in transition

   • The Act does not specify enforcement mechanisms, nor does it expressly say how new Act enforcement provisions apply to preserved approvals. Parties must cross‑reference the new Act to identify post‑commencement compliance requirements and consequences.

9. Multiple incorporations without textual detail (Parts 3-10; ss 36-38)

   • The repeated statements that amendments have been incorporated into authorised versions of various Acts do not display the amendments. Practitioners must consult the authorised consolidated texts to identify the precise consequential changes; reliance on this transitional Act alone is insufficient.

10. Potential for disputes about the temporal application of regulations and decisions

    • Because regulations under s 12 can be tailored by time and circumstance (s 12(3)(b)) and can confer approvals on other persons (s 12(3)(c)), transitional relief or obligations may be applied unevenly unless regulations are drafted with care.

Mitigation tactics: early inventory of pending approvals and applications; secure transfer of records; immediate engagement with the incoming Senior Practitioner; monitor Gazette for regulations made under s 12 and for any proclamation for Part 11; and clarify which procedural regime applies in each pending Tribunal or court matter based on whether a hearing has commenced.

Compliance under this transitional Act requires focused administrative and legal action by a small set of actors: former and new Senior Practitioners, the Secretary and Departmental officers, service providers who hold approvals for restrictive interventions, Tribunal and court practitioners with live matters, and record custodians. Below are concrete, source‑grounded compliance steps mapped to the Act’s provisions.

1. For the former Senior Practitioner and office staff (s 5)

   • Prepare the information required by s 47 of the new Act that relates to the portion of the transition year before commencement. This is mandatory under s 5(3).
   • Deliver that information to the new Senior Practitioner within 30 days after commencement day as required by s 5(4). Track this deadline and document transmission.
   • Retain copies of the information provided and contemporaneous evidence of delivery in case of queries or administrative review.

2. For the new Senior Practitioner and office staff (ss 4-6; s 5)

   • Catalogue all approvals, determinations, delegations, directions and other decisions made or issued by or on behalf of the former Senior Practitioner that were in effect immediately before commencement, and map each to the “provision of the new Act that most closely approximates” the corresponding former Act provision, as contemplated by s 4.
   • Record and preserve current terms and conditions of approvals to use restrictive interventions (former s 38 approvals and Tribunal approvals) and treat them as authorisations for restrictive practices under s 52 of the new Act on the same terms and conditions (s 6(1)-(2)). Note any express limitations in s 9 that may affect Tribunal‑amended approvals.
   • Incorporate the information provided by the former Senior Practitioner into the annual report for the transition year, as required by s 5(5). Ensure the annual report meets the content requirements of s 47 of the new Act.

3. For service providers, clinicians and organisations holding approvals for restrictive interventions (s 6)

   • Maintain and be able to produce the terms and conditions of any approvals that were in force immediately before commencement. Those approvals continue in force as authorisations under the new Act on the same terms and conditions (s 6(1)-(2)).
   • Monitor any subsequent directions or requirements under the new Act that may impose additional ongoing obligations on holders of authorisations, and ensure those obligations are complied with notwithstanding the preservation of authorisations.

4. For applicants with undetermined applications and their legal representatives (ss 7-9)

   • Identify whether an application to the Secretary under s 37 of the former Act, a Tribunal application under s 41, or a review application under s 40 was undetermined immediately before commencement. If so:
     • Treat an undetermined application to the Secretary under s 37 as taken to be an application to the new Senior Practitioner under s 51 of the new Act from commencement (s 7(2)).
     • If a Tribunal hearing had not commenced for a restrictive intervention application under s 41 of the former Act, the application is taken to be to the new Senior Practitioner under s 51 of the new Act (s 7(3)). If a hearing had commenced, confirm with Tribunal registry whether the Tribunal will continue hearing under the former Act as permitted by s 7(4).
     • If an undetermined application was made to the Secretary for review under s 40 of the former Act, consider it to be an application to the new Senior Practitioner for review under s 75 of the new Act (s 8).
   • For Tribunal or Magistrates Court matters where hearings had commenced before commencement, confirm with the relevant registry that the hearing will proceed under the former Act (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10).

5. For Tribunal and court registries (ss 7, 9, 10)

   • Implement administrative procedures to determine and record whether hearings had “commenced” prior to commencement day, and to notify parties of the regime that will apply (former Act continuation or mapping to new Act).
   • Where a hearing had commenced, continue to hear and determine the matter under the former Act as if it had not been repealed (s 7(4); s 9(1); s 10). Record decisions and ensure that any amendment by the Tribunal under the former Act that affects an approval is captured and communicated, because s 9(2) preserves Tribunal amendments as continuing authorisations under the new Act.

6. For information custodians and privacy officers (s 11)

   • Treat information kept or provided under the former Act as information for the new Act from commencement day (s 11(1)).
   • Where underdetermined applications exist, ensure secure and lawful mechanisms are in place to share information with the person or body to whom the application is taken to have been made under the new Act, as permitted by s 11(2). Confirm compliance with privacy obligations in the Health Records Act 2001 (if relevant), the Personal Information Protection Act and other applicable disclosure rules before transferring records.

7. For departments and the Secretary (s 12; s 40)

   • Identify the scope of regulations likely to be required under s 12 to effect transitional matters and prepare drafting instructions for the Attorney‑General’s Department or the regulatory drafting office. Note that regulations can authorise ministerial or secretarial approvals (s 12(2)(c)).
   • Coordinate with the Minister for Disability Services and the Department of Premier and Cabinet regarding administrative responsibilities assigned under s 40 until an Administrative Arrangements order is made.
   • Maintain audit trails for any delegations or approvals exercised under regulations made pursuant to s 12.

8. For Ministers and the Governor (s 12)

   • If using the s 12 regulation power, ensure that regulations are drafted to clarify whether any retrospective application to commencement day is intended and to set out clear boundaries for any delegation of approval or regulatory functions to the Minister, Secretary or other person specified (s 12(3)(a)-(c)). Prepare explanatory material to support the policy reasons for such retrospective or delegatory measures.

9. For legal advisers and compliance officers

   • Review the authorised versions of the Acts and regulations referred to in Parts 3-10 and Parts 11-12 to confirm the precise textual consequential amendments that have been incorporated. The transitional Act asserts incorporation but does not reproduce the texts.
   • Track Gazettal for regulations made under s 12 and any proclamation for Part 11, and advise clients promptly of any regulation that alters transitional rights or obligations, especially if retrospective effect or delegation is used.

Record‑keeping and auditability: in all cases, preserve contemporaneous records of decisions, transmissions, and regulatory or tribunal notifications. Given the mapping and preservation provisions, accurate records will be crucial to resolving future disputes about whether an instrument was “in force immediately before the commencement day” (ss 4-6) and whether procedural steps had been taken sufficiently to qualify a matter for continuation under the former Act (s 7(4)).

By following these practical steps mapped to the relevant sections, affected parties can manage the transition risk created by mapping provisions, preserve legal authorisations, and prepare for regulatory instruments to flesh out remaining transitional detail.