{"id":"tas:act-1951-083","name":"Highways Act 1951","slug":"highways-act-1951","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"83 of 1951","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110538,"registerId":"tas-act-1951-083-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 [Highways Act 1951](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1951-083) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 2 Interpretation\n\n> *\\[Section 2 Amended by No. 19 of 1980, s. 171 and Sched. 1, Pt. 2 \\]*In this Act unless the contrary intention appears –\n> \n> > ***highway*** means a highway over land;\n> \n> > ***register***, used as a verb, means register under the [Land Titles Act 1980](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1980-019) .","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Creation of highways by the Crown","content":"### 3 Creation of highways by the Crown\n\n> > (1)  Whenever any land of the Crown reserved or acquired for a highway is opened to the public, the Governor shall, before the opening thereof to the public, or as soon as possible thereafter, by proclamation, notify the dedication thereof and the boundaries of the highway.\n> \n> > (2)  A proclamation under this section may, in an appropriate case, be combined with a proclamation under [section 7 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1935-082#GS7@EN) [Roads and Jetties Act 1935](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1935-082) .\n> \n> > (3)  The Director-General of Lands shall record every such proclamation in the proper records in his charge and shall notify the council within the district of which the highway affected lies.\n> \n> > (4)  No highway hereafter opened over land of the Crown shall vest in any highway authority, notwithstanding any enactment to the contrary, until the dedication thereof is notified pursuant to [subsection (1)](#GS3@Gs1@EN) .\n> \n> > (5)  No reservation of Crown land or acquisition of land by the Crown for highway purposes shall, of itself, create a highway over that land.\n> \n> > (6)  No use by the public, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, of land of the Crown for passing and repassing shall be deemed to create any highway over that land, except where the land is reserved for the purpose or has been so used instead of land nearby so reserved, in which case dedication shall be deemed whenever it would be deemed in the same circumstances over private land.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Taking land for highways","content":"### 4 Taking land for highways\n\n> > (1)  The Crown, or any authority empowered to take land for a road, street, or other kind of highway, may, in lieu of taking land, acquire for the public the right to pass and repass over the land by the same process and form, as nearly as may be, as that by which it may take land.\n> \n> > (2)  When a public right to pass and repass is acquired under this section, the Crown, or the authority acquiring the right for the public, may enter on the land subject to the right and carry out works thereon for the more convenient use of the highway, and, from its first entry until completion of the works, exclude all persons therefrom as if it were the owner thereof.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5.","sectionType":"section","heading":null,"content":"### 5.\n\n*\\[Section 5 Repealed by No. 28 of 1976, s. 74 and Sched. 3 \\]*","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Licences to embank highways","content":"### 6 Licences to embank highways\n\n> > (1)  *\\[Section 6 Subsection (1) amended by No. 19 of 1980, s. 171 and Sched. 1, Pt. 2 \\]*Where the owner of land makes a grant in the form in [Schedule 1](#JS1@EN) to the highway authority having the control of an adjoining highway, it shall –\n> > \n> > > > (a) be deemed to create an interest in the grantor's land to which the powers thereby granted are accessory;\n> > > \n> > > > (b) enure for the benefit of, and bind, any other highway authority succeeding to the control of the adjoining highway; and\n> > > \n> > > > (c) if the grantor's land is registered, be capable of registration as if it were an easement over the grantor's land appurtenant to some estate of the highway authority and its successors in control in the adjoining highway, but shall not be deemed to be an easement for the purposes of [section 40 of the](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1980-019#GS40@EN) [Land Titles Act 1980](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1980-019) .\n> \n> > (2)  The Crown, or any highway authority empowered to take land for highway purposes, may acquire the rights flowing from such a grant as if those rights were land.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Easements appurtenant to highways","content":"### 7 Easements appurtenant to highways\n\n> > (1)  Easements appurtenant to land over which there is a highway for the benefit of that highway shall, if the seisin of the highway is severed from the seisin of the subjacent land and vested in a highway authority, be annexed and appurtenant to the highway without any express mention or conveyance.\n> \n> > (2)  Easements appurtenant to a highway shall enure to any highway authority in which the highway is for the time being vested.\n> \n> > (3)  An easement appurtenant to a highway may be granted to the highway authority for (naming the highway) without naming the highway authority.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Easements over highways","content":"### 8 Easements over highways\n\n> *\\[Section 8 Inserted by No. 68 of 1962, s. 45 \\]*A private right of way of equal or less extent is incapable of existing along with a public right of way over the same land or of reviving on the discharge of the land from that public right of way.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Boundary of highway","content":"### 9 Boundary of highway\n\n> *\\[Section 9 Inserted by No. 68 of 1962, s. 45 \\]**\\[Section 9 Amended by No. 75 of 1973, s. 2 and Sched. 1 \\]*\n> \n> > (1)  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a made highway shall be deemed to extend to a distance of 2·5 metres on both sides of the made way, including the earthworks thereof.\n> \n> > (2)  For the purposes of this section, ***earthworks*** includes all bridges, drains, culverts, retaining walls, embankments, cuttings, and other works constructed in connection with the highway or necessary for its maintenance.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"SCHEDULE 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"SCHEDULE 1","content":"# SCHEDULE 1 SCHEDULE 1\n\n*\\[Schedule 1 Amended by No. 75 of 1973, s. 2 and Sched. 1 \\]*\n\n[Section 6](#GS6@EN)","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"Form","sectionType":"division","heading":"Form","content":"## Form Form\n\n[![graphic image](/image/SG0045.gif)](/image/SG0045.gif)","sortOrder":10}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's scope has been altered since enactment: section 2 and s.6(1) show amendments (noted in-text), section 5 was repealed, sections 8 and 9 were inserted and s.9 later amended, and Schedule 1 was amended. Those amendments (see bracketed notes in the text) modify easement rules, boundary presumptions and registration interactions, expanding and refining the Act's coverage of easements, registration and boundary presumptions."},"complexity_factors":["Interplay with Land Titles Act for registration and easement treatment (s.2 definition of \"register\"; s.6(1)(c) — registration as if an easement but not an easement for s.40).","Timing and formal requirement for Crown dedication by proclamation, and effect on vesting (s.3(1),(4)).","Alternative acquisition mechanism allowing rights to pass and repass instead of land takings, plus a power to enter and exclude during works (s.4(1)-(2)).","Legal treatment of licences/grants appurtenant to highways and successor authorities (s.6(1)(a)-(c); s.6(2)).","Rules on easements appurtenant to highways and their automatic annexation to vested highways (s.7(1)-(3)), and incompatibility of private way alongside a public way (s.8).","Boundary presumption for \"made\" highways (2.5 metres) and the evidential burden ('absence of evidence') (s.9(1)-(2)).","Legislative history footnotes (amendments and repeals) add interpretive complexity (see amendment notes accompanying ss.2,5,6,8,9 and Schedule 1).","Prescribed form in Schedule 1 affects grant mechanics and registration (Schedule 1 linked to s.6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act sets the rules for creating and managing highways on Crown and private land: it requires formal proclamation to dedicate Crown land as a highway, allows acquisition of a public right of passage instead of taking land, recognises certain private grants/licences that benefit adjoining highways, and sets presumptions about highway boundaries.\nIt mainly affects the Crown, highway authorities, landowners and local councils by allocating who must notify dedications (s.3), who may acquire passage rights and carry out works (s.4), how private grants are treated (s.6) and the default boundary distance (s.9)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"It is not possible to assess whether the scope of this Act has changed from its original intent, as the substantive provisions of the legislation were not included in the supplied text. Only metadata and status information were provided."},"complexity_factors":["Only administrative/status metadata was provided — no substantive legislative provisions were included for analysis","The Act itself is likely moderately complex given its age (1951) and subject matter, but this cannot be assessed from the supplied text","Multiple amendments over decades may have introduced layers of complexity into the original Act, but those changes are not visible here","Older legislative drafting styles (pre-1980s) can be harder to interpret than modern legislation"],"plain_english_summary":"The Highways Act 1951 is a Tasmanian statute governing highways in Tasmania; it has been in force since 1951, amended over time, and in its current consolidated form since 1 February 1997. Administered by a Tasmanian minister and department, it sets the legal framework for highway management and so matters to road users, nearby property owners, developers, local councils and contractors involved in road works.\n\nWithout the Act’s substantive text here, consult the consolidated legislation for specific rights, duties and procedures."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears to have maintained its original narrow focus on highway creation on Crown land, land acquisition for highways, and associated property rights. The amendments visible (1962, 1973, 1976, 1980) appear to be technical updates and refinements rather than scope expansion. Section 5 was repealed, suggesting consolidation rather than growth."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('highway' and 'register')","Multiple cross-references to other Acts (Land Titles Act 1980, Roads and Jetties Act 1935)","Technical property law concepts including 'seisin', 'easements appurtenant', 'enure', and 'subjacent land' without plain English explanations","Nested conditional logic in section 6(1) with three parallel clauses (a), (b), and (c)","Section 8 contains a double negative ('incapable of existing... or of reviving') that requires careful parsing","Historical amendment notes throughout creating visual clutter (7 amendment citations visible)","Schedule 1 contains only a reference to an image file rather than actual form text"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act sets out how public roads (called \"highways\") are created and managed on Crown land (government-owned land) in Tasmania. It deals with three main things:\n\n- **Creating highways**: Before the government opens a new road to the public, the Governor must officially declare it through a formal announcement called a \"proclamation.\" Just reserving land for a road, or people walking on it, doesn't automatically make it a legal highway.\n\n- **Taking land for roads**: The government can acquire not just land itself, but also the right for the public to walk or drive across private land (called a \"right of way\"). While building works on such land, the government can temporarily exclude everyone, including the landowner.\n\n- **Special rights for road authorities**: The Act lets highway authorities get permission to build embankments (raised structures) next to roads, and ensures that utilities like drains and pipes attached to roads stay attached even when ownership changes hands.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Landowners** whose property borders or crosses proposed highways\n- **Local councils** and **highway authorities** responsible for roads\n- **The Crown** (Tasmanian government) when acquiring land for public roads\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law prevents confusion about who owns and controls public roads. It ensures that a road isn't legally \"open\" until the government formally says so, protecting both the public (who need certainty about which roads are public) and landowners (who aren't surprised by sudden claims that their land has become a public highway just because people walk across it)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/highways-act-1951","history":"/api/acts/highways-act-1951/history","analysis":"/api/acts/highways-act-1951/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/highways-act-1951/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/highways-act-1951/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/highways-act-1951/documents"}}