{"id":"melbourne-widening-streets-repeal-act-1986","name":"Melbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986","slug":"melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":178040,"registerId":"vic-melbourne-widening-streets-repeal-act-1986-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Melbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal)\nAct 1986\nAct No. 97/1986\nVersion as at 14 February 2000\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Purposes 1\n2. Commencement 1\n3. Repeals 1\n4. Sale of land by Council 1\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 4\n1. General Information 4\n2. Table of Amendments 5\n3. Explanatory Details 6\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal)\nAct 1986\nAct No. 97/1986\nVersion as at 14 February 2000\nThe Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:\n1. Purposes\nThe purposes of this Act are—\n(a) to repeal the Melbourne (Widening of\nStreets) Act 1940 and the Melbourne\n(Widening of Streets) Act 1943; and\n(b) to enable the Council of the City of\nMelbourne to sell acquired land to an\nabutting land owner.\n2. Commencement\nThis Act comes into operation on 1 January 1987.\n3. Repeals\nThe Melbourne (Widening of Streets) Act 1940\nand the Melbourne (Widening of Streets) Act\n1943 are repealed.\n4. Sale of land by Council\n(1) The Council of the City of Melbourne may sell\nany land vested in the City of Melbourne which\nwas acquired for the purposes of the Melbourne\n(Widening of Streets) Act 1940.\n(2) Land to be sold under sub-section (1) may be sold\nonly to the owner of land abutting that land.\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 97/1986\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986\n2\n(3) The sale price of land to be sold under sub-\nsection (1) must be based upon the current market\nvalue of the land determined by the Valuer-\nGeneral as at a date not more than six months\nprior to the date of sale.\n(4) The Council of the City of Melbourne must pay\nout of the town fund of the City of Melbourne the\nreasonable expenses incurred by the Valuer-\nGeneral in making a valuation for the purposes of\nthis section.\n(5) The proceeds of any sale under this section must\nbe paid into the town fund of the City of\nMelbourne.\n(6) Subject to sub-section (7), all rights of\ncarriageway over land sold under this section\ncease and determine on the registration of any\ntransfer or the execution of any conveyance in\nrespect of the land.\n(7) If immediately before the registration of any\ntransfer or the execution of any conveyance in\nrespect of land sold under this section, a public\nstatutory corporation had or possessed in respect\nof the land (whether by virtue of any easement or\ngrant or by force of any Act) any right, title,\npower, authority or interest referred to in sub-\nsection (8), the public statutory corporation\ncontinues to have and possess in respect of the\nland the same right, title, power, authority or\ninterest.\n(8) Sub-section (7) applies to any right, title, power,\nauthority or interest in land with respect to or in\nconnection with any drains, pipes, wires or cables\nlaid or erected in on or over the land or a part of\nthe land for the purpose of drainage or sewerage\nor for the supply of water, gas or electricity or for\ntelegraph or telephone or other like purpose.\ns. 4\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 97/1986\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986\n3\n(9) In sub-section (2), \"owner\" means the person for\nthe time being entitled (whether on the person's\nown account or as the agent of or trustee for any\nother person) to receive or who, if the land were\nlet to a tenant at a rent, would be entitled to\nreceive the rent.\n═══════════════\ns. 4\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 97/1986\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986\n4\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nMinister's second reading speech—\nLegislative Council: 22 October 1986\nLegislative Assembly: 29 October 1986\nThe long title for the Bill for this Act was \"A Bill to repeal the Melbourne\n(Widening of Streets) Act 1940 and the Melbourne (Widening of Streets)\nAct 1943 and for other purposes.\".\nThe Melbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986 was assented to\non 16 December 1986 and came into operation on 1 January 1987: section 2.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 97/1986\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986\n5\n2. Table of Amendments\nThere are no amendments made to the Melbourne (Widening of Streets)\n(Repeal) Act 1986 by Acts and subordinate instruments.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 97/1986\nMelbourne (Widening of Streets) (Repeal) Act 1986\n6\n3. Explanatory Details\nNo entries at date of publication.\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act explicitly repeals the Melbourne (Widening of Streets) Acts 1940 and 1943 and replaces the prior widening/acquisition regime with a narrow disposal regime allowing the City of Melbourne to sell land acquired under the 1940 Act (s 1(a)–(b), s 3, s 4). Financial flows and valuation responsibilities are assigned to the Valuer‑General and the City’s town fund (s 4(3)–(5)). The Act also narrows post-transfer interests by terminating carriageway rights on transfer while preserving any pre-existing statutory corporation utility rights (s 4(6)–(8))."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow subject matter: repeals two earlier Acts and authorises sale of specific land (s 1–3, s 4).","Simple eligibility rule: sale restricted to abutting land owners only (s 4(2)).","Valuation requirement creates an administrative step: sale price must be based on Valuer‑General’s market value dated within six months (s 4(3)).","Small financial mechanics: Council pays Valuer‑General’s reasonable expenses from the town fund and must credit proceeds to the town fund (s 4(4)–(5)).","Limited legal exception complexity: carriageway rights generally cease on transfer but existing statutory corporation utility rights survive (s 4(6)–(8)).","Defined term for 'owner' clarifies entitlement and reduces ambiguity (s 4(9))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act repeals the Melbourne (Widening of Streets) Acts 1940 and 1943 and allows the City of Melbourne to sell land it acquired under the 1940 Act.\n\nSales may be made only to the owner of adjoining land and must be priced using a market valuation by the Valuer‑General; valuation costs and sale proceeds are handled through the City’s town fund, and existing public utility rights are preserved on transfer."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to do exactly what its title suggests — repeal the Melbourne (Widening of Streets) Act. There is no indication of scope creep or deviation from its original intent. Repeal acts rarely change in scope as they have a single, clearly defined purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely narrow and singular purpose — repealing one prior Act","No substantive legal provisions to interpret or apply","No ongoing obligations, rights, or penalties created","The source document provided contains very limited legislative content, making full analysis impossible","Repeal acts are among the simplest forms of legislation"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act simply repeals the earlier Melbourne (Widening of Streets) Act, removing its legal force. Its effect is to cancel an outdated law that governed street-widening powers in Melbourne.\n\nThat mainly mattered to the City of Melbourne, any property owners whose land had been caught by the old provisions, and developers; mostly this was housekeeping to avoid confusion with modern planning and acquisition laws."},"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":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: repealing the 1940 and 1943 street-widening Acts and providing a mechanism for disposing of the acquired land. There is no evidence of scope creep; the Act does exactly what its long title suggests and no more."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 operative sections (Purposes, Commencement, Repeals, Sale of land)","Single defined term ('owner' in section 4(9))","Minimal cross-referencing (only refers to the two repealed Acts)","Straightforward conditional logic (subsections 6-8 create a simple exception for utility rights)","No nested exceptions or complex procedural requirements","Total length is approximately 3 pages of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act does two main things:\n\n**1. It scraps old street-widening laws**\n- It repeals (cancels) two old Acts from 1940 and 1943 that gave the City of Melbourne powers to acquire land for widening city streets.\n\n**2. It lets the Council sell leftover land to neighbours**\n- Any land the City of Melbourne still owns from those old street-widening projects can now be sold.\n- **Key restriction**: The Council can only sell this land to whoever owns the property next door (the \"abutting land owner\").\n- **Pricing**: The sale price must be based on current market value, as determined by the Valuer-General (the government's official property valuer), using a valuation no more than six months old.\n- **Who pays for the valuation?** The Council pays the Valuer-General's reasonable fees from the city's town fund.\n- **Where does the sale money go?** Back into the city's town fund.\n\n**Protections for utilities**\n- Normally, when land is sold, any public rights of way over it (like access roads) end.\n- However, public utilities (water, gas, electricity, sewerage, phone companies) keep their rights to maintain drains, pipes, wires and cables on the land, even after it's sold.\n\n**Why this matters**\nThis is housekeeping legislation. It tidies up decades-old planning powers that are no longer needed, and lets the Council dispose of land it acquired years ago but never used for road widening. It ensures this land goes back to adjacent property owners rather than being sold off to developers, and protects essential services in the process."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986","history":"/api/acts/melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986/history","analysis":"/api/acts/melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/melbourne-widening-of-streets-repeal-act-1986/documents"}}