{"id":"reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978","name":"Reserve and Road Closure Act 1978","slug":"reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106510,"registerId":"wa-reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Reserve and Road Closure Act 1978","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nReserve and Road Closure Act 1978\n\nWestern Australia\n\nReserve and Road Closure Act 1978\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Reserve 28402 at Crawley 1\n\n4. Road closure 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 3\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nReserve and Road Closure Act 1978\n\nAn Act to amend the area of a reserve and to close a portion of a road.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Reserve and Road Closure Act 1978*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\n(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n(2) Section 4 of this Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation.\n\n##### 3. Reserve 28402 at Crawley\n\n(1) Reserve 28402, classified as of Class A, set apart for “Site of Main Buildings of the University of Western Australia”, containing 2.224 2 hectares, vested on trust in the University of Western Australia in fee simple is hereby amended by excising —\n\n(a) an area of 2 112 square metres for road purposes; and\n\n(b) areas surveyed as Swan Locations 9881 and 8177 for the purpose of Public Open Space,\n\ndelineated on Lands and Surveys 2 Original Plan 14396 comprising in the aggregate an area of 6 404 square metres.\n\n(2) The land excised by the operation of subsection (1) of this section is hereby vested in Her Majesty as of Her former estate and removed from the operation of the *Transfer of Land Act 1893*.\n\n##### 4. Road closure\n\n(1) All those portions of Hackett Drive delineated and coloured blue on Lands and Surveys 2 Original Plan 14396 are hereby closed and all rights of way over those portions of road shall cease.\n\n(2) The land contained in the portions of road closed by the operation of subsection (1) of this section may be disposed of in such manner as the Governor approves.\n\nNotes\n\n1. This is a compilation of the *Reserve and Road Closure Act 1978* and includes all amendments effected by the other Acts referred to in the following Table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Reserve and Road Closure Act 1978* | 102 of 1978 | 30 Nov 1978 | Section 4 proclaimed 30 Mar 1979 (see *Gazette* 30 Mar 1979 p. 841);    balance on assent |\n\n\n2 Lands and Surveys plans are now being held by the Western Australian Land Information Authority (see the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* s. 100).\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is a narrowly targeted, single-purpose statute that alters the boundaries and legal status of specified parcels and closes defined portions of a road. The compiled version shown contains no substantive amendments that broaden its purpose beyond the original function of excising reserve land and closing road portions; it remains limited to those local land‑management changes (see ss 3–4)."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act: 4 substantive sections (plus short title/commencement)","Single, narrowly drafted subject matter (local reserve amendment and road closure)","Small number of cross-references: Transfer of Land Act 1893 and Lands & Surveys Plan 14396","One conditional commencement (s 2) — s 4 requires proclamation","Vesting and removal from Transfer of Land Act introduces a change of land‑titling regime (legal effect complexity)","Governor’s discretionary approval for disposal (administrative discretion rather than prescriptive rules)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanically)**\n\n- **Changes the boundaries and legal status of Reserve 28402 at Crawley (s 3).** It removes (excises) three small pieces of land from a Class A reserve that is held in trust for the University of Western Australia: 2,112 m2 for road purposes and two surveyed parcels (Swan Locations 9881 and 8177) for public open space. The excised pieces total 6,404 m2 and are shown on Lands and Surveys Original Plan 14396.\n- **Transfers the excised land to the Crown and takes it out of the Transfer of Land Act 1893 (s 3(2)).** That means the land is vested in the State (Her Majesty) and is removed from the Torrens title regime covered by the Transfer of Land Act.\n- **Closes specified portions of Hackett Drive and ends public rights of way over them (s 4(1)).** The closed portions are those coloured blue on the same Plan 14396. When closed, any public right to use those road portions is extinguished.\n- **Allows the closed road land to be disposed of with the Governor’s approval (s 4(2)).** The Governor decides how that land can be dealt with after closure.\n- **Timing:** Most of the Act takes effect on assent; the road closure (s 4) comes into effect on a date fixed by proclamation (s 2).\n\n**Who it affects**\n\n- The **University of Western Australia**, as the reserve’s trustee, because part of the reserve is excised (s 3). The University loses control over those excised areas.\n- The **State/Crown**, which becomes the owner of the excised land and gains discretion to dispose of closed road land (s 3(2), s 4(2)).\n- **Members of the public and road users**, who lose rights of way across the closed portions of Hackett Drive (s 4(1)).\n- **Prospective purchasers or developers**, who may be able to acquire the closed road land if the Governor approves disposal (s 4(2)).\n- Land administration bodies and title registries, which must update records and treat the excised land outside the Transfer of Land Act regime.\n\n**Why it matters (practical effects and mechanisms)**\n\n- The Act changes who controls and can decide the future use of specific parcels of land: authority moves from a university reserve trust to the Crown, and the Crown can subsequently dispose of closed road land with Governor approval (s 3(2), s 4(2)).\n- Ending rights of way removes public access to the closed road portions immediately on proclamation and closure (s 4(1)).\n- Removing the land from the Transfer of Land Act takes it out of the Torrens-title system; that changes the legal pathway needed to transfer or develop the land (s 3(2)). Administrative steps and possible re‑lotting or re‑titling will be required to put the land on the market.\n\n**Stated purpose and how it plays out against practical trade‑offs**\n\n- The Act’s text performs narrow property and road‑management functions (amending a reserve, vesting excised land in the Crown, closing parts of a road and enabling disposal). If the purpose claimed elsewhere is to create road space and public open space or to enable redevelopment, the Act achieves that mechanically by excision and closure (s 3, s 4).\n\n- Trade‑offs and implementation points to note:\n  - **Who decides:** The Governor has the discretion to approve disposal (s 4(2)). That concentrates decision power in the executive, rather than leaving disposal to a statutory prescriptive process or open tender unless the Governor specifies otherwise.\n  - **Costs and administrative burden:** Agencies must update cadastral and title records and manage the reclassification of land taken out of the Transfer of Land Act (s 3(2)). There is no procedural detail in the Act about compensation, sale process, or criteria for disposal — those are left to administrative decisions.\n  - **Effects on private choice and market players:** The closure extinguishes public access (s 4(1)) and creates the potential for private or Crown disposal. That produces a concentrated potential benefit (a specific buyer or developer may acquire the land) and diffuse cost (members of the public lose rights of way), depending on how disposal is handled.\n  - **Implementation risk:** The plan referenced (Lands and Surveys Original Plan 14396) determines exact parcels. If the plan is not readily accessible or if boundaries need surveying, there may be practical delay or boundary disputes. Section 2 delays operation of s 4 until proclamation, introducing timing uncertainty for closure.\n  - **No express compensation or public consultation required in the Act:** The statute does not set out compensation or consultation procedures for closure or disposal; such matters would be governed by other laws or administrative practice.\n\n**Concrete behavioural changes**\n\n- The University loses control over the excised parcels (s 3); the State acquires them (s 3(2)).\n- Public use of the closed road sections stops (s 4(1)).\n- The Governor (executive) gains the power to approve disposal of the closed road land (s 4(2)).\n\n**Key sections cited:** section 2 (commencement), section 3 (reserve excision and vesting), section 4 (road closure and disposal).\n\n"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not accessible. The page returned a system error indicating the URL has changed due to website upgrades. No content analysis was possible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source page returned a 'no longer available' error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the actual content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"## Reserve and Road Closure Act 1978 (WA)\n\n**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe actual text of this Western Australian legislation could not be retrieved. The page hosting this Act on the Western Australian legislation website is no longer available at its previous address due to system upgrades.\n\n**What we do know:**\n- This is a **Western Australian** Act from **1978**\n- Based on its title, it likely deals with the **closure of public roads and reserves** (parcels of Crown land set aside for specific public purposes)\n- Such legislation typically allows government authorities to formally close roads or revoke reserve status, which can affect **property owners, local councils, developers, and members of the public** who use those roads or reserves\n\n**To access the actual legislation**, visit the [Western Australian legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and search for the Act by name."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose. It was enacted specifically to amend Reserve 28402 and close portions of Hackett Drive, and it continues to do exactly that with no expansion into broader policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short statute (only 4 operative sections)","No defined terms section; all terms are used in their ordinary meaning","Minimal cross-referencing (only references to the Transfer of Land Act 1893 and specific survey plans)","Simple conditional logic (only a commencement provision with a proclamation trigger for section 4)","Single purpose legislation with no exceptions, exemptions, or regulatory mechanisms"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a very short, specific Western Australian law from 1978 that does two things:\n\n**1. Changes the boundaries of a university reserve**\n- Reserve 28402 at Crawley (near the University of Western Australia) was originally set aside for the university's main buildings. This Act cuts out (\"excises\") two pieces of that land:\n  - **2,112 square metres** to be used for a road\n  - **Two surveyed areas** (Swan Locations 9881 and 8177) to become public open space\n- Total land removed: about 6,404 square metres\n- Once removed, this land goes back to being Crown land (owned by the government/Her Majesty) and is no longer covered by the Transfer of Land Act 1893 (the main law for registering land ownership in WA).\n\n**2. Closes part of a road**\n- Portions of **Hackett Drive** (shown in blue on a specific survey plan) are officially closed as public roads.\n- This means people no longer have a legal right to travel over those sections.\n- The closed road land can then be sold or dealt with however the Governor (acting for the government) decides.\n\n**Why it matters:** This is a classic example of a \"private Act\" — legislation passed to deal with a specific piece of land rather than making general rules. It allowed the university to adjust its boundaries and facilitated road changes in the Crawley area, likely to support campus expansion or infrastructure changes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978","history":"/api/acts/reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978/history","analysis":"/api/acts/reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/reserve-and-road-closure-act-1978/documents"}}