{"id":"valuation-of-land-act-1978","name":"Valuation of Land Act 1978","slug":"valuation-of-land-act-1978","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110899,"registerId":"wa-valuation-of-land-act-1978-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Valuation of Land Act 1978","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nValuation of Land Act 1978\n\nWestern Australia\n\nValuation of Land Act 1978\n\nContents\n\nPart I — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n4. Terms used 2\n\n5A. Unimproved value of pastoral leases, matter to be disregarded 10\n\n5. Transitional provisions for valuations 10\n\nPart II — Administration\n\n6. Valuer‑General, designation of 13\n\n7. Valuer‑General to administer Act and value land independently 13\n\n8. Valuer-General may delegate 14\n\n9. Power to inspect etc. documents in public offices 14\n\n10. Other powers for valuing land etc. 15\n\n11. Power to obtain information 15\n\n12. Power to require people to attend, give evidence and produce documents 15\n\n13. Valuer-General and staff not to disclose etc. information except for limited purposes 16\n\n14. Exceptions to s. 13 17\n\n15. Private valuation work restricted 18\n\n16. Engaging valuers etc. under contracts for services 18\n\n16A. Minister to have access to information 19\n\n16B. Annual report by Valuer‑General 20\n\nPart III — Valuation\n\nDivision 1 — General and interim valuations\n\n17. Valuation districts, constituting 21\n\n18. General valuations, determining values for 21\n\n19. Time at which value to be ascertained for general valuation 22\n\n20. When general valuation comes into force 22\n\n21. Public notice of general valuation 22\n\n22. Frequency of general valuations 23\n\n23. Interim valuations 24\n\n24. Valuation may be aggregate of or portion of valuations; valuing improvements 25\n\n25. Rating or taxing authority may engage valuers to make general or interim valuations 26\n\nDivision 2 — Valuation rolls\n\n26. Valuation rolls 28\n\n27. Amendments to valuation rolls 29\n\n28. Custody, inspection and availability of valuation rolls 29\n\n29. Copies of or extracts from entries in valuation rolls 30\n\nDivision 3 — Concessional and other valuations\n\n31. Concessional valuations for land subject to special agreements 30\n\n31A. Valuer‑General to make valuations for *Local Government Act 1995* 31\n\n31B. Valuer‑General to make valuations for *Land Tax Assessment Act 2002* s. 28(7) 31\n\nPart IV — Objections and review\n\n32. Objections to valuation 32\n\n33. SAT review of valuation, after objection 33\n\n34. Valuer‑General to advise rating and taxing authorities of objections and review 34\n\n34A. Amended valuation not to apply before year of objection 35\n\n35. SAT review of refusal to extend time for objection or review 35\n\n36. General review by SAT of valuation 35\n\n36A. New matters raised on SAT review 36\n\n36B. Written reasons for certain determinations to be given and published 36\n\nPart V — Miscellaneous\n\n37. Local governments to give Valuer-General information 38\n\n38. Charges for making valuations under Part III 38\n\n39. Valuer‑General may make valuations for Crown etc. 39\n\n39A. Authority may provide goods and services 39\n\n40. Money received by Valuer‑General 40\n\n41. Valuation not affected by irregularity 40\n\n42. Protection from personal liability 40\n\n43. Evidentiary provisions 40\n\n44. General penalty 40\n\n45. Offences to be dealt with summarily 41\n\n46. Time limit for prosecuting offences 41\n\n47. Institution of prosecutions 41\n\n48. Service of notices 41\n\n49. Regulations 42\n\n50. Prescribed fees may exceed cost recovery 42\n\n51. Expiry of section 50 43\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 45\n\nUncommenced provisions table 49\n\nOther notes 49\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nValuation of Land Act 1978\n\nAn Act to provide for the valuation of land and for other purposes.\n\n## Part I — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Valuation of Land Act 1978*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation.\n\n[**3.** Deleted: No. 10 of 1998 s. 76.]\n\n##### 4. Terms used\n\n(1) In this Act unless the context requires otherwise —\n\n  agent includes every person who, in Western Australia, for or on behalf of any other person (hereinafter called the principal) —\n\n(a) has the control or disposal of any real or personal property owned by the principal, or the control, receipt, or disposal of any rents or proceeds derived from any such property; or\n\n(b) directly or indirectly, whether by negotiation, or otherwise howsoever, sells or disposes of any such property, or offers any such property for sale or disposition, or solicits or procures the sale or disposition thereof;\n\n  assessed value of land means such percentage of the capital value of the land as may from time to time be prescribed either —\n\n(a) in respect of land generally; or\n\n(b) in respect of a class of lands which includes the land;\n\n  Authority means the Western Australian Land Information Authority established by the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 5;\n\n  capital value of land means the capital amount which an estate of fee simple in the land might reasonably be expected to realize upon sale — provided that where the capital value of land cannot reasonably be determined on such basis, the capital value of such land shall be the sum of, first, the unimproved value of the land, and, secondly, the estimated replacement cost of improvements to the land after making such allowance for obsolescence, physical depreciation, and such other factors as are appropriate in the circumstances;\n\n  date of valuation means the date fixed by the Valuer‑General under section 19 in relation to a general valuation;\n\n  general valuation means a general valuation made or deemed to be made under section 22;\n\n  gross rental value of land means the gross annual rental that the land might reasonably be expected to realize if let on a tenancy from year to year upon condition that the landlord were liable for all rates, taxes and other charges thereon and the insurance and other outgoings necessary to maintain the value of the land, provided that —\n\n(a) where the gross rental value of land cannot reasonably be determined on such basis, the gross rental value shall be the assessed value; and\n\n(b) the gross rental value of any land not used for residential purposes only shall, where the value of the improvements on the land is less than one‑third of what would have been the value of the land if it were vacant land, in any event, be not less than what would be the assessed value of the land if it were vacant land; and\n\n(c) the gross rental value of any land separately valued shall, in any event, be not less than $20; and\n\n(d) calculation of the gross rental value of any land shall include any payment normally or usually made for or in relation to a tenancy of the kind in question but shall not include any allowance, by discounting or otherwise, for advance payment or late payment of rent that may apply;\n\n  improvements in relation to land means the value of all works actually effected to land, whether above or below the surface, and includes fixtures, but does not include —\n\n(a) machinery, whether fixed to the land or not; or\n\n(b) any below ground works used in the extraction of minerals or petroleum;\n\n  interim valuation means a valuation made under section 23;\n\n  land means lands, tenements and hereditaments, and any improvements to land, and includes any interest in land;\n\n  merged improvements means any works in the nature of draining, filling, excavation, grading or levelling of the land, retaining walls or other structures or works for that purpose, the removal of rocks, stone or soil, and the clearing of timber, scrub or other vegetation;\n\n  metropolitan region means all lands within the following local government districts — Fremantle, Gosnells, Joondalup, Melville, Nedlands, Perth, South Perth, Stirling, Subiaco, Bassendean, Cambridge, Canning, Claremont, Cockburn, Cottesloe, East Fremantle, Kwinana, Mosman Park, Victoria Park, Vincent, Armadale‑Kelmscott, Bayswater, Belmont, Kalamunda, Mundaring, Peppermint Grove, Rockingham, Serpentine‑Jarrahdale, Swan and Wanneroo;\n\n  rateable land means land in respect of which any rate or tax is assessed under any of the rating and taxing Acts or is, in the opinion of the Valuer‑General, reasonably likely to be assessed under any of those Acts prior to such land being valued in a general valuation;\n\n  rating and taxing Acts means an Act or Acts under which any rate or tax is assessed in respect of land;\n\n  rating or taxing authority means any person entitled under any Act to assess any rate or tax in respect of land;\n\n  site value of land means the capital amount that an estate of fee simple in the land might reasonably be expected to realize upon sale assuming that any improvements to the land, other than merged improvements, had not been made and, in the case of land that is reserved for a public purpose, assuming that the land may continue to be used for any purpose for which it is being used or could be used at the date of valuation;\n\n  townsite means —\n\n(a) all land within the metropolitan region; and\n\n(b) all land within a district that is a city or town outside the metropolitan region; and\n\n(c) any land that is currently a townsite within the meaning of the *Land Administration Act 1997* or any Act repealed thereby; and\n\n(d) any land, including privately owned subdivided land, in an area that has been, or is to be regarded as having been, constituted a townsite, and given a name, under section 10 of the *Land Act 1933* 1;\n\n  trustee in addition to every person appointed or constituted trustee by act of parties, or by order or declaration of a court or by operation of law, includes —\n\n(a) an executor or administrator, guardian, committee of management, receiver or liquidator; and\n\n(b) every person having or taking upon himself the administration or control of land effected by any express or implied trust, or acting in any fiduciary capacity, or having the possession, control, or management of the land of a person under any legal disability;\n\n  unimproved value means —\n\n(a) in relation to any land situate within a townsite, except land referred to in paragraph (b)(ii), the site value;\n\n(b) in relation to any land not included in any area referred to in paragraph (a), where any such land is —\n\n(i) land —\n\n(I) held under a lease granted under the *Land Administration Act 1997*, or any Act repealed thereby, for grazing purposes; or\n\n(II) held under a lease, licence or permit under the *Conservation and Land Management Act 1984*; or\n\n(III) other than a mining tenement, held pursuant to an agreement made with the Crown in the right of the State and scheduled to an Act approving the agreement,\n\nthe value thereof is an amount equal to 20 times the annual rental reserved by the lease or agreement or the value of the land in fee simple, whichever is the lesser sum;\n\n(ii) land in respect of which —\n\n(I) a mining tenement is held pursuant to an agreement made with the Crown in the right of the State and scheduled to an Act approving the agreement —\n\n(A) 5 times the annual rent per hectare for the first 1 000 h or part thereof;\n\n(B) 2.5 times the annual rent per hectare for the next 9 000 h or part thereof;\n\n(C) 0.25 times the annual rent per hectare for each hectare in excess of 10 000 h,\n\nwhere the annual rent referred to is the annual rent that would be used to calculate unimproved value under item (II) or (III) if the mining tenement were held under the *Mining Act 1978*; or\n\n(II) an exploration licence is held under the *Mining Act 1978* —\n\n(A) 2.5 times the annual rent payable for the licence under that Act if it is the first year of the term of the licence; or\n\n(B) 2.5 times the annual rent that would be payable for the licence under that Act if it were the first year of the term of the licence;\n\nor\n\n(III) any other licence or a lease is held under the *Mining Act 1978* — 5 times the annual rent payable for the licence or lease under that Act; or\n\n(IV) a licence or lease is held under the *Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967* — 2.5 times the annual fee payable for the licence or lease under that Act; or\n\n(VA) a permit or drilling reservation is held under the *Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967* — the annual fee payable for the permit or drilling reservation under that Act; or\n\n(V) any mineral estate or interest in land is registered under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* — 5 times the rent that would be payable if the land were held as a mining lease under the *Mining Act 1978*;\n\n[(iii) deleted]\n\n(iv) land comprised in the annual cutting section allotted by the Department (as defined in section 3 of the *Conservation and Land Management Act 1984*) in respect of areas of State forests, timber reserves or other Crown land and held under a sawmilling permit or licence from the Crown for cutting or removing timber — the value thereof is an amount equal to $3.75 for every hectare of land or part thereof;\n\n(v) land held or used under any other lease, licence or concession from the Crown with the right to take any profit from the land — the value thereof is an amount equal to $2.50 for every hectare of land or part thereof;\n\n(vi) other land of the Crown which is temporarily occupied for private purposes without title or authority — the value thereof is an amount equal to 20 times the ground rent which might reasonably be demanded for the land, or the value of the land in fee simple, whichever is the lesser sum;\n\n(vii) land to which any of subparagraphs (i) to (vi) do not apply —\n\n(I) the capital amount that an estate in fee simple in the land not including improvements might reasonably be expected to realize upon sale; or\n\n(II) where the unimproved value cannot reasonably be determined on the basis in item (I) — the percentage of the capital amount that an estate in fee simple in the land might reasonably be expected to realize upon sale assuming that the land has been developed, without buildings, to the standard generally prevailing in the part of the State in which the land is situated and taking into account any restriction on the land imposed under any written law, such percentage being that prescribed for land in that part of the State;\n\n  vacant land means land on which there are no improvements other than merged improvements;\n\n  valuation district means a valuation district constituted or reconstituted under section 17;\n\n  valuation roll means a valuation roll established under section 26;\n\nvalue in relation to land means the assessed value, the capital value, the gross rental value, the site value, the unimproved value and a value determined or assessed under section 39(1) of the land or any one or more of those values; to value means to determine or assess those values or any one or more of them; and determination of value or valuation means a determination or assessment of those values or any one or more of them.\n\n(2) Where, before or after the coming into operation of this Act, in any Act or in any agreement that is made with the Crown in right of the State and scheduled to any Act approving the agreement, reference is made to the annual value of land, such reference shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be a reference to the gross rental value of that land.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 16 of 1981 s. 3; No. 10 of 1984 s. 2; No. 25 of 1984 s. 9; No. 73 of 1986 s. 3; No. 20 of 1987 s. 3; No. 8 of 1992 s. 3; No. 17 of 1993 s. 5; No. 38 of 1993 s. 34; No. 69 of 1994 s. 17; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 81 of 1996 s. 153(1); No. 31 of 1997 s. 135(1) and (2); No. 57 of 1997 s. 125(1) and (2); No. 10 of 1998 s. 71(1); No. 24 of 2000 s. 44; No. 55 of 2004 s. 1262; No. 28 of 2006 s. 373; No. 60 of 2006 s. 167; No. 35 of 2007 s. 107(2); No. 33 of 2009 s. 4; No. 19 of 2010 s. 51; No. 14 of 2015 s. 4.]\n\n##### 5A. Unimproved value of pastoral leases, matter to be disregarded\n\n(1) In this section —\n\npastoral lease has the meaning given in the *Land Administration Act 1997* section 3(1).\n\n(2) For the purposes of determining, for paragraph (b)(i) of the definition of ***unimproved value*** in section 4(1), the amount of the annual rental reserved by a pastoral lease, any effect on that amount that would result from regulations made for the purposes of the *Land Administration Act 1997* section 124A(2) is to be disregarded.\n\n[Section 5A inserted: No. 32 of 2009 s. 7.]\n\n##### 5. Transitional provisions for valuations\n\n(1) Until a superseding valuation comes into force under this Act, a rating or taxing authority —\n\n(a) may, in respect of the financial or rating year commencing on 1 July 1979, or on any date between 1 July 1979, and 1 February 1980, use —\n\n(i) any valuation used by the rating or taxing authority for the assessment of any rate or tax in respect of the financial or rating year ending on 30 June 1979, or on any date between 30 June 1979, and 31 January 1980, as the case may be; or\n\n(ii) any valuation determined on or before 30 June 1979, which valuation, but for the coming into operation of this Act, might lawfully have been used by the rating or taxing authority;\n\nand\n\n(b) shall, in respect of the financial or rating year commencing on 1 July 1980, or on any date between 1 July 1980, and 1 February 1981, and of all subsequent financial or rating years, use any valuation used by the rating or taxing authority for the assessment of any rate or tax in respect of the financial or rating year ending on 30 June 1979, or on any date between 30 June 1979, and 31 January 1980, unless another valuation has been determined on or before 30 June 1979, which valuation (in this paragraph called the latter valuation), but for the coming into operation of this Act, might lawfully have been used by the rating or taxing authority, in which case the rating or taxing authority shall use the latter valuation.\n\n(1a) Subject to subsection (2), a valuation permitted or required by subsection (1) to be used by a rating or taxing authority in respect of a particular financial or rating year shall be deemed to be a valuation in force under this Act and the valuation so permitted or required to be used shall, subject to addition, deletion, correction or amendment, whether made before, on or after the coming into operation of this Act, remain in force —\n\n(a) in the case of a valuation referred to in subsection (1)(a), until —\n\n(i) the end of the financial or rating year commencing on 1 July 1979, or on any date between 1 July 1979, and 1 February 1980; or\n\n(ii) superseded by a valuation under this Act;\n\nwhichever first occurs; or\n\n(b) in the case of a valuation referred to in subsection (1)(b), until superseded by a valuation under this Act.\n\n(2) When in respect of any land differing valuations are permitted or required by subsection (1) to be used by a rating or taxing authority in respect of a particular financial or rating year, each such valuation shall remain in force in accordance with subsection (1a) only for the purposes for which it was made or used.\n\n(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), an annual value assigned to land in pursuance of any of the rating and taxing Acts shall be deemed to be a determination of the gross rental value within the meaning of this Act and an unimproved value assigned to land in pursuance of any of the rating and taxing Acts shall be deemed to be a determination of the unimproved value within the meaning of this Act, notwithstanding any divergence in the terms in which any such value is defined as between this Act and any of the rating and taxing Acts.\n\n(4) Every objection or appeal relating to the valuation of any land for the purpose of assessing any rate or tax upon that land that was made or commenced under any of the rating and taxing Acts and not finally disposed of at the coming into operation of this Act shall subsist and be dealt with as if this Act had not been enacted.\n\n(5) Every right of objection or appeal relating to the valuation of any land for the purpose of assessing any rate or tax upon that land that might have been exercised under any of the rating and taxing Acts immediately before the coming into operation of this Act may be exercised and, if exercised, shall subsist and be dealt with as if this Act had not been enacted.\n\n(6) This section does not revive any expired right of objection or appeal.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 22 of 1979 s. 3; No. 16 of 1981 s. 4.]\n\n## Part II — Administration\n\n##### 6. Valuer‑General, designation of\n\n(1) The Governor may designate a person to be the Valuer‑General under this Act.\n\n(2) A person cannot be the Valuer‑General unless —\n\n(a) the person is a member of the Authority’s staff; and\n\n(b) the person has, in the opinion of the Minister, the qualifications and experience appropriate to the exercise of the powers, and the performance of the duties and functions, conferred or imposed upon the Valuer‑General by or under this Act.\n\n(3) The power to designate a person to be the Valuer‑General includes —\n\n(a) the power to revoke a designation previously made under that power; and\n\n(b) the power to designate a person to perform functions of another person who is designated to be the Valuer‑General when it is impractical for that other person to perform the functions.\n\n(4) When the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 168 comes into operation the person who, immediately before then, is the Valuer‑General becomes the Valuer‑General as if designated under subsection (1) for the balance of the person’s term of office.\n\n[Section 6 inserted: No. 60 of 2006 s. 168.]\n\n##### 7. Valuer‑General to administer Act and value land independently\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General shall have the general administration of this Act.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General shall, in valuing any land under this Act, exercise an independent judgment and not be subject to direction from any person.\n\n##### 8. Valuer-General may delegate\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General may, by instrument in writing under his hand, delegate to any officer assisting the Valuer‑General in the administration of this Act, such of his powers, duties and functions other than the power of delegation conferred by this section, as are conferred or imposed upon the Valuer‑General by or under this Act and which are specified in the instrument.\n\n(2) Any such delegation may be made in respect of any particular matter or any class of matters or generally, or may be limited to any part of the State, and may be subject to such terms and conditions as the Valuer‑General thinks fit.\n\n(3) Any delegation under this section shall be revocable at will and shall not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty or function by the Valuer‑General.\n\n(4) Where the exercise or performance by the Valuer‑General of any power or function under this Act or the operation of any provision of this Act is dependent upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of the Valuer‑General in relation to any matter, that power or function may be exercised or performed by a delegate of the Valuer‑General acting as such in relation to that matter, or that provision may operate, as the case may be, upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of that delegate acting as such.\n\n##### 9. Power to inspect etc. documents in public offices\n\nThe Valuer‑General may at all reasonable times inspect, free of charge, any document relevant to the ownership or valuation of any land in the custody of a local government, and any document relevant to the ownership or valuation of any land in the records of the Authority, a department principally assisting in the administration of the *Land Administration Act 1997* or the *Mining Act 1978*, or any other public office; and may require and take copies thereof or extracts therefrom.\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 81 of 1996 s. 153(3); No. 60 of 2006 s. 169.]\n\n##### 10. Other powers for valuing land etc.\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General shall at all reasonable times have full and free access to all land, buildings, places and documents for the purpose of ascertaining the ownership of or valuing any land or for any purpose related thereto, and may make extracts from or copies of any such documents.\n\n(2) A person shall not obstruct the Valuer‑General in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1).\n\n##### 11. Power to obtain information\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General may, for the purpose of determining the ownership or value of any land put any question either orally or in writing to the owner or agent of the owner or trustee of land or to any person in occupation or charge of land or entitled to occupy or use land.\n\n(2) A person who, after being informed by the Valuer‑General of the purpose in putting a question and of his authority to do so, omits or refuses to answer the question to the best of his knowledge or belief either orally or in writing as requested, or knowingly makes a false answer to the question, commits an offence.\n\n##### 12. Power to require people to attend, give evidence and produce documents\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General may, by notice in writing, require any person to attend before him, or any other officer authorised by him in that behalf, and to give such evidence and to produce all such documents in the person’s custody or under his control as the Valuer‑General or the officer shall consider necessary to determine any matter relating to the ownership or valuation of any land.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General may require the evidence be given on oath, and either orally or in writing and for that purpose he or the officer authorised as mentioned in subsection (1) may administer an oath.\n\n(3) A person who, after being served with a notice referred to in subsection (1), fails to attend as required in such notice, or refuses to answer any question or knowingly gives a false answer, or fails or refuses to produce any document in his custody or under his control, as required by this section, commits an offence.\n\n##### 13. Valuer-General and staff not to disclose etc. information except for limited purposes\n\n(1) This section applies to every person who is or has been the Valuer‑General or an officer or a member of the staff assisting the Valuer‑General in the administration of this Act and to the Authority and every person who is or has been a member of the Authority’s board of management or of a committee appointed by the Authority or is or has been a member of the Authority’s staff.\n\n(2) Subject to this section and section 14, a person to whom this section applies shall not, either directly or indirectly, except in the exercise of a power or the performance of a function or duty under or in connection with this Act —\n\n(a) make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person any information concerning the affairs of any person acquired by him by reason of his office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act; or\n\n(b) produce to any person any document furnished for the purposes of this Act.\n\n(3) A person to whom this section applies —\n\n(a) may produce before any court or tribunal any document relating to the affairs of any other person of which he has the custody or to which he has access by virtue of his office or employment under or for the purposes of this Act; and\n\n(b) may divulge or communicate to any court or tribunal any information concerning the affairs of any other person obtained by him by reason of such office or employment,\n\nwhen it is necessary to do so for the purposes of a prosecution under or arising out of this Act, any proceedings before the State Administrative Tribunal, any proceedings in which a valuation made under section 39 is in issue or any proceedings for the recovery of any fine, rate or tax.\n\n[Section 13 amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1263; No. 60 of 2006 s. 170.]\n\n##### 14. Exceptions to s. 13\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General may communicate or divulge to —\n\n(a) the Commissioner, Second Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner under any law of the Commonwealth relating to taxation or to any person authorised in writing by any such Commissioner, Second Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner to receive it; or\n\n(b) the Commissioner or any other officer of any State or Territory of the Commonwealth administering any law of the State or Territory relating to taxation or to any person authorised in writing by any such Commissioner or other officer to receive it,\n\nany information concerning the affairs of any person disclosed or obtained under the provisions of this Act.\n\n(2) The Minister may, being of the opinion after consulting the Valuer‑General that it is in the public interest to do so, authorise the Authority to communicate or divulge, subject to such conditions as the Minister may in writing specify, to any Minister administering any department or agency or instrumentality of the Crown or to any other person or class of persons or to the public at large, such information obtained by the Valuer‑General under this Act as the Minister may in writing specify.\n\n[Section 14 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 4; No. 70 of 2003 s. 52; No. 60 of 2006 s. 171.]\n\n##### 15. Private valuation work restricted\n\n(1) A person employed in the administration of this Act shall not engage in any private valuation work, whether for or in expectation of any reward or not, without first obtaining the consent in writing of the Valuer‑General.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) shall operate in addition to, and not in derogation of, section 102 of the *Public Sector Management Act 1994*.\n\n[Section 15 amended: No. 32 of 1994 s. 19.]\n\n##### 16. Engaging valuers etc. under contracts for services\n\n(1) The Authority’s employing authority has to act on the advice of the Valuer‑General whenever it exercises its powers under the *Public Sector Management Act 1994* section 100(1) relating to the engagement under contract for services of such valuers and professional, technical or other assistance as may be necessary to enable the Valuer‑General to perform his duties and functions effectively.\n\n(2) A person cannot be engaged under contract for services as a valuer to assist in the performance of the Valuer‑General’s duties and functions if he is employed by, or a member of, a rating or taxing authority.\n\n(3) A person engaged under contract for services as a valuer to assist in the performance of the Valuer‑General’s duties and functions shall be deemed, for the purposes of sections 8 and 13, to be an officer assisting the Valuer‑General in the administration of this Act.\n\n[Section 16 amended: No. 32 of 1994 s. 19; No. 60 of 2006 s. 172.]\n\n##### 16A. Minister to have access to information\n\n(1) The Minister is entitled —\n\n(a) to have information in the possession of the Valuer‑General; and\n\n(b) if the information is in or on a document, to have, and make and retain copies of, that document.\n\n(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister may —\n\n(a) request the Valuer‑General to provide information to the Minister;\n\n(b) request the Valuer‑General to give the Minister access to information;\n\n(c) for the purposes of paragraph (b), make use of the staff of the Valuer‑General to obtain the information and provide it to the Minister.\n\n(3) The Valuer‑General is to comply with a request under subsection (2) and make the facilities and staff of the Valuer‑General available to the Minister for the purposes of subsection (2)(c).\n\n(4) In this section —\n\ndocument includes any tape, disc or other device or medium on which information is recorded or stored;\n\ninformation means information specified, or of a description specified, by the Minister that relates to the powers, duties and functions of the Valuer‑General;\n\nstaff of the Valuer‑General means the officers and staff provided by the Authority to assist the Valuer‑General.\n\n[Section 16A inserted: No. 70 of 2003 s. 53; amended: No. 60 of 2006 s. 173.]\n\n##### 16B. Annual report by Valuer‑General\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General is required, after the end of each financial year of the Authority, to submit to the Minister a report on the performance of the Valuer‑General’s functions during the year, containing —\n\n(a) information about the accuracy, currency, and completeness of valuation rolls and about any significant matters associated with the making of other valuations by the Valuer‑General during the year; and\n\n(b) a summary of —\n\n(i) the number, if any, and the nature of objections received by the Valuer‑General under this Act during the year, and the outcomes of objections, if any, resolved during the year; and\n\n(ii) the number, if any, and the nature of proceedings under the *State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004* commenced during the year for the review of decisions of the Valuer‑General, and the outcomes of review proceedings, if any, resolved during the year.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General has to submit the report that subsection (1) requires within the period of 2 months after the last day of the year to which the report relates.\n\n(3) When submitting the report to the Minister, the Valuer‑General has to give a copy of the report to the Authority’s chief executive officer for submission to the Authority’s board of management.\n\n[Section 16B inserted: No. 60 of 2006 s. 174.]\n\n## Part III — Valuation\n\n### Division 1 — General and interim valuations\n\n##### 17. Valuation districts, constituting\n\n(1) Subject to subsection (2) the valuation districts that had effect immediately before the coming into operation of the *Acts Amendment (Annual Valuations and Land Tax) Act 1993* for the purpose of determining gross rental values continue to have effect after the coming into operation of that Act for that purpose.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General may from time to time reconstitute valuation districts for the purpose of determining gross rental values.\n\n(3) In reconstituting valuation districts for the purpose of determining gross rental values, the Valuer‑General shall have regard to the boundaries of areas defined under the rating and taxing Acts for rating or taxing purposes.\n\n(4) The whole of the State is constituted into a valuation district for the purpose of determining unimproved values.\n\n(5) Any valuation district that had effect immediately before 30 June 1993 for the purpose of determining unimproved values no longer has effect for that purpose.\n\n(6) Subsections (4) and (5) are to be regarded as having had effect on and from 30 June 1993.\n\n[Section 17 inserted: No. 17 of 1993 s. 6.]\n\n##### 18. General valuations, determining values for\n\nFor the purposes of a general valuation, the Valuer‑General shall determine, or cause to be determined, with respect to rateable land, the gross rental value or the unimproved value, as the case requires, so far as that value is required by a rating or taxing authority for the purpose of assessing any rate or tax or is, in the opinion of the Valuer‑General, reasonably likely to be so required before the next general valuation of the land is made.\n\n[Section 18 inserted: No. 17 of 1993 s. 8.]\n\n##### 19. Time at which value to be ascertained for general valuation\n\nWhen a general valuation of rateable land is made in a valuation district, any value assigned to land shall be the value as at the date of valuation fixed by the Valuer‑General, being a date not earlier than 1 July in the financial year in which the general valuation is commenced.\n\n[Section 19 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 5.]\n\n##### 20. When general valuation comes into force\n\nThe valuations comprising a general valuation relating to land shall come into force on such day as is determined by the Valuer‑General and supersede any previous valuations of gross rental value or unimproved value, as the case may be, in force under this Act relating to that land.\n\n[Section 20 inserted: No. 17 of 1993 s. 9.]\n\n##### 21. Public notice of general valuation\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General shall, not later than 42 days after a general valuation comes into force, cause notice of the making of the general valuation to be published in the *Government Gazette* and in one issue of each of 2 newspapers having general circulation within the valuation district.\n\n(2) A notice published under subsection (1) shall specify —\n\n(a) the valuation district to which the general valuation relates; and\n\n(b) the date of valuation of the general valuation; and\n\n(c) the date on which the general valuation shall, or shall have, come into force; and\n\n(d) the rating or taxing authorities which are required to use valuations included in the general valuation for assessing any rate or tax; and\n\n(e) the place or places where, and the times at which, copies of the general valuation are available to the public for inspection; and\n\n(f) the time within which, and the manner in which, objection to any valuation included in the general valuation may be made.\n\n[Section 21 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 7.]\n\n##### 22. Frequency of general valuations\n\n(1) A general valuation shall be made within each valuation district constituted or reconstituted for the purpose of determining gross rental values at such times as the Valuer‑General shall determine; but the Valuer‑General shall ensure that, so far as practicable, the valuations comprising a general valuation shall at all times be accurate and up‑to‑date.\n\n(1a) The Valuer‑General shall make or cause to be made a general valuation within the valuation district constituted for the purpose of determining unimproved values, so far as practicable, every financial year.\n\n(2) If the Valuer‑General is of opinion that the value of land within a valuation district has not significantly increased or decreased since a previous general valuation thereof, he may, by notice published in the *Government Gazette* and in one issue of each of 2 newspapers having general circulation within the valuation district, declare that the previous general valuation accurately sets forth the values of rateable land within that valuation district.\n\n(2a) If in a particular financial year it is not practicable for the Valuer‑General to make or cause to be made a general valuation of land within the valuation district constituted for the purpose of determining unimproved values, the Valuer‑General may, by notice published in the *Government Gazette* and in one issue of each of 2 newspapers having general circulation within the valuation district, declare that the previous general valuation made within the valuation district sets forth the unimproved values of rateable land within the valuation district.\n\n(3) A notice published under subsection (2) or (2a) shall contain the same information with any necessary modifications as a notice published under section 21(1).\n\n(4) A declaration under subsection (2) or (2a) shall be deemed to constitute a general valuation of the land within that valuation district.\n\n[Section 22 amended: No. 17 of 1993 s. 10.]\n\n##### 23. Interim valuations\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General may, at any time, value or cause to be valued any rateable land where such land has not previously been valued or separately valued under this Act or where in his opinion it is necessary or expedient for any reason that such land be valued.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General shall value or cause to be valued any rateable land where in his opinion the value thereof has for any reason significantly increased or decreased in relation to the value of land of the same or a similar character in the same valuation district.\n\n(3) The Valuer‑General may value any land or cause it to be valued under subsection (1) or subsection (2) without carrying out a general valuation of all rateable land in the same valuation district.\n\n(4) Where a valuation is made under subsection (1) or subsection (2), the value of the land shall be determined —\n\n(a) if there has been a previous general valuation under this Act of rateable land within the same valuation district as that land, in accordance with the level of values prevailing in relation to land of the same or a similar character at the date of valuation of the last general valuation; or\n\n(b) if there has been no previous general valuation under this Act of rateable land within the same valuation district as that land —\n\n(i) in accordance with the level of values prevailing at the time of the last general valuation of land in that valuation district made under any of the rating and taxing Acts;\n\n(ii) or if no such general valuation had been made, in accordance with the level of values prevailing at the date fixed by the Valuer‑General.\n\n(5) A valuation made under this section shall come into force and supersede any previous valuation of gross rental value or unimproved value, as the case requires, in force under this Act and affecting the land to which the valuation relates as from such day, whether before or after the day on which the valuation is made, as the Valuer‑General shall determine.\n\n[Section 23 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 8; No. 17 of 1993 s. 11.]\n\n##### 24. Valuation may be aggregate of or portion of valuations; valuing improvements\n\n(1) Subject to the *Community Titles Act 2018* and the *Strata Titles Act 1985*, the Valuer‑General may, in his discretion, assign to any land to be valued a valuation obtained —\n\n(a) by aggregating the valuations he would have assigned to any parts of which the land is comprised had he been separately valuing each such part; or\n\n(b) by apportioning to the land such part as he considers appropriate of the valuation he would have assigned had he been valuing that land conjointly with any other land,\n\nbut nothing in this subsection limits the means by which the Valuer‑General may otherwise make a valuation of the land.\n\n(2) Any improvements on any land that are, in the opinion of the Valuer‑General, not capable of occupation shall not be included for the purposes of determining the gross rental value of the land.\n\n(3) Subject to subsection (2), the gross rental value of any land shall include the value of such of the items set out below as are fixed to the land, namely —\n\n(a) lifts, escalators or hoists of any description; and\n\n(b) air conditioning, cooling, heating or circulating equipment; and\n\n(c) water heating, cooling or pumping equipment; and\n\n(d) sewerage or drainage pumps; and\n\n(e) vehicle turntables; and\n\n(f) door control and surveillance equipment of any nature,\n\nincluding the control equipment used therewith and whether provided by the landlord or not.\n\n[Section 24 amended: No. 16 of 1981 s. 5; No. 10 of 1984 s. 3; No. 40 of 1985 s. 9; No. 30 of 2018 s. 206; No. 32 of 2018 s. 268.]\n\n##### 25. Rating or taxing authority may engage valuers to make general or interim valuations\n\n(1) A rating or taxing authority may, subject to the approval of the Valuer‑General and subject to such conditions as the Valuer‑General determines, engage a valuer to make a general valuation of rateable land within a valuation district or to value specified land within a valuation district in respect of which the authority considers that an interim valuation is necessary or expedient.\n\n[(2) deleted]\n\n(3) A valuer engaged under this section shall, for the purposes of sections 8 and 13, be deemed to be an officer assisting the Valuer‑General in the administration of this Act.\n\n(4) Where the Valuer‑General approves the engagement of a valuer under this section, the Valuer‑General shall specify, in respect of each valuation district in which the valuer shall make valuations, the date of valuation.\n\n(5) The authority shall submit any valuation made pursuant to this section to the Valuer‑General for approval.\n\n(6) The Valuer‑General may approve or decline to approve such valuation or may approve it subject to such amendments as he considers fit.\n\n(7) When the Valuer‑General approves a valuation pursuant to this section, he shall adopt it as a general valuation or an interim valuation, as the case may be, of rateable land within the valuation district to which it relates; and this Act shall apply to the valuation as if it were a general valuation or an interim valuation, as the case may be, made by the Valuer‑General under this Act.\n\n(8) Where the Valuer‑General adopts a valuation pursuant to this section, the Authority may pay to the authority for which the valuation was made such sum as the Authority determines; but such sum shall not exceed either the cost of such valuation or the charge that the Authority would have raised against the authority if the Valuer‑General had made the valuation, whichever is the lesser.\n\n[Section 25 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 9; No. 70 of 2003 s. 54; No. 74 of 2003 s. 123; No. 60 of 2006 s. 175.]\n\n### Division 2 — Valuation rolls\n\n##### 26. Valuation rolls\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General shall, as soon as practicable after the coming into operation of this Act, complete and maintain valuation rolls of rateable land.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General shall, as soon as practicable after a general valuation of rateable land in a valuation district shall have come into force, complete and maintain a new valuation roll or new valuation rolls in respect of such land.\n\n(3) There shall, so far as practicable, be a separate valuation roll for each valuation district.\n\n(4) The valuation rolls shall be in such form as the Valuer‑General determines and shall contain the following particulars in respect of rateable land —\n\n(a) a description of every portion of land separately valued sufficient to identify it; and\n\n(b) the gross rental value or the unimproved value of the land that has been determined by the Valuer‑General; and\n\n(c) the date on which the valuation or valuations shall, or shall have, come into force; and\n\n(d) such additional particulars as the Valuer‑General may determine.\n\n(5) Every valuation roll shall for all purposes and in all proceedings be evidence of every valuation recorded in that roll and of the particulars in respect of rateable land set out in the roll as required by subsection (4) and until the contrary is proved every valuation recorded in a valuation roll shall be presumed to have been duly made under this Act and to have force according to the particulars so set out.\n\n[Section 26 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 10; No. 17 of 1993 s. 12.]\n\n##### 27. Amendments to valuation rolls\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General shall amend an entry in a valuation roll if he discovers or receives notice of any error in that entry.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General shall make any amendment or addition to a valuation roll necessary as a result of an interim valuation.\n\n(3) The Valuer‑General may delete an entry in a valuation roll if the relevant land ceases to be rateable land and may delete a valuation in a valuation roll if that valuation is not required by any rating or taxing authority.\n\n[Section 27 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 11.]\n\n##### 28. Custody, inspection and availability of valuation rolls\n\n(1) After completing a valuation roll for a valuation district or making any addition, deletion, correction or amendment to it the Valuer‑General is to provide a copy of the original valuation roll to the Authority.\n\n(2) The Authority is required to —\n\n(a) make true copies of a valuation roll available for public inspection at such places, at such times and upon payment of such fee as may be prescribed; and\n\n(b) furnish to each rating or taxing authority that is obliged to adopt or use any valuations entered in a valuation roll and pays any fee that may be prescribed a true copy of the valuation roll or of any addition, deletion, correction or amendment to it, as the case may be.\n\n(3) A copy of a valuation roll and of any addition, deletion, correction or amendment to it furnished to a rating or taxing authority may be in writing or transcribed upon magnetic tape or in such other form as the Authority and the rating or taxing authority may agree.\n\n[Section 28 inserted: No. 60 of 2006 s. 176.]\n\n##### 29. Copies of or extracts from entries in valuation rolls\n\n(1) Upon the application in writing of any person and upon payment of such fee as may be prescribed, the Authority shall furnish that person with a certified copy of, or extract from, any entry in a valuation roll.\n\n(2) A certified copy of, or certified extract from, an entry in a valuation roll shall in all proceedings and for all purposes be evidence of the matters and things stated therein and that any valuation to which the entry relates has been made in conformity with this Act.\n\n(3) In this section —\n\n  certified means certified by the Valuer‑General.\n\n[Section 29 amended: No. 60 of 2006 s. 177.]\n\n### Division 3 — Concessional and other valuations\n\n[Heading amended: No. 7 of 1986 s. 4.]\n\n[**30.** Deleted: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]\n\n##### 31. Concessional valuations for land subject to special agreements\n\n(1) This section applies to the owner of any land to whom section 533B of the *Local Government Act 1960* 2 as in force before the commencement of this Act applied by virtue of the operation of section 533AA of that Act.\n\n(2) If this section applies to a person, any land owned by that person which was valued under that section 533B is, for the purpose of imposing rates under the *Local Government Act 1995*, to be valued under section 6.30 of that Act.\n\n[Section 31 inserted: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]\n\n##### 31A. Valuer‑General to make valuations for *Local Government Act 1995*\n\nWhenever the Valuer‑General —\n\n(a) is requested under clause 1(5) of Schedule 6.1 to the *Local Government Act 1995* to determine the value of land, he shall make the determination in accordance with clause 1(6) of that Schedule; and\n\n(b) is requested under clause 2(5) of Schedule 6.1 to the *Local Government Act 1995* to determine the value of land, he shall make the determination in accordance with clause 2(6) of that Schedule.\n\n[Section 31A inserted: No. 7 of 1986 s. 5; amended: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]\n\n##### 31B. Valuer‑General to make valuations for *Land Tax Assessment Act 2002* s. 28(7)\n\n(1) In this section —\n\n  residential equivalent value has the same meaning as it has in section 28(7) of the *Land Tax Assessment Act 2002*.\n\n(2) The Valuer‑General, on the request of the Commissioner of State Revenue in respect of any land, shall determine the residential equivalent value of the land.\n\n(3) Part II and Part IV apply to a valuation made under subsection (2).\n\n[Section 31B inserted: No. 22 of 1998 s. 11(2); amended: No. 45 of 2002 s. 26(2).]\n\n## Part IV — Objections and review\n\n[Heading amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1264.]\n\n##### 32. Objections to valuation\n\n(1) Any person liable to pay any rate or tax assessed in respect of land who is dissatisfied with a valuation of such land made under Part III, may serve upon the Valuer‑General or any rating or taxing authority a written objection to the valuation —\n\n(a) in the case of land the subject of a general valuation, within 60 days after the date on which the making of the valuation was notified in the *Government Gazette* under section 21 or section 22; and\n\n(b) in any case where the valuation is the basis of the assessment by a rating or taxing authority of any rate or tax, within 60 days after the issue of such an assessment.\n\n(1a) In subsection (1), person liable to pay any rate or tax assessed in respect of land includes the authorised representative of such a person.\n\n(2) An objection to a valuation of land shall —\n\n(a) describe the relevant land so as to identify it; and\n\n(b) identify the valuation objected to; and\n\n(c) set out fully and in detail the grounds of objection and the reasons in support of those grounds of objection.\n\n(3) An objection to a valuation of land may be made on the ground that the valuation is not fair or is unjust, inequitable or incorrect, whether by itself or in comparison with other valuations in force under this Act.\n\n(4) A person may not make more than one objection to the one valuation during any period of 12 months.\n\n(5) Where an objection to a valuation is served on a rating or taxing authority, that authority shall as soon as practicable refer the objection to the Valuer‑General and advise him of the date on which the objection was served on that authority.\n\n(6) The Valuer‑General may, for reasonable cause shown by a person entitled to make an objection, extend the time for service of the objection for such period as the Valuer‑General considers reasonable in the circumstances and whether or not the time for service of the objection has already expired.\n\n(7) The Valuer‑General shall, with all reasonable despatch, consider any objection and may either disallow it or allow it, wholly or in part.\n\n(8) The Valuer‑General shall promptly serve upon the person by whom the objection was made written notice of his decision on the objection and a brief statement of his reasons for that decision.\n\n(9) Where the Valuer‑General decides to allow an objection, wholly or in part, he shall also advise the person by whom the objection was made of any consequent amendment of valuation; and where the Valuer‑General decides to disallow an objection, wholly or in part, he shall also advise that person of the time within which and the manner in which a review of the valuation may be sought.\n\n[Section 32 amended: No. 10 of 1984 s. 4; No. 73 of 1986 s. 12; No. 57 of 1997 s. 125(3); No. 10 of 1998 s. 71(2); No. 45 of 2002 s. 26(3); No. 55 of 2004 s. 1265.]\n\n##### 33. SAT review of valuation, after objection\n\n(1) Any person who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Valuer‑General on an objection by that person may, within 60 days (or such further period as the Valuer‑General, before or after the expiry of that time, for reasonable cause shown by the person, allows) after service of notice of the decision of the Valuer‑General, serve on the Valuer‑General a notice requiring that the Valuer‑General refer the valuation to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review.\n\n(2) Upon receipt of such notice the Valuer‑General shall promptly refer the valuation to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review.\n\n(3) The Valuer‑General is to effect the reference by forwarding the notice to the executive officer of the State Administrative Tribunal together with the objection and a copy certified by or on behalf of the Valuer‑General of —\n\n(a) the record of the valuation; and\n\n(b) the reasons, if any, for the valuation.\n\n[Section 33 amended: No. 10 of 1984 s. 5; No. 45 of 2002 s. 26(4); No. 55 of 2004 s. 1266.]\n\n##### 34. Valuer‑General to advise rating and taxing authorities of objections and review\n\nThe Valuer‑General shall promptly advise every rating or taxing authority obliged to adopt or use, or which has adopted, any valuation —\n\n(a) of receipt by him of an objection to the valuation; and\n\n(b) of any allowance by him of an extension of time for service of an objection to the valuation; and\n\n(c) of his decision on an objection to the valuation and the reasons therefor; and\n\n(d) of any amendment of the valuation consequent upon his allowance, wholly or in part, of an objection to the valuation; and\n\n(e) of receipt by him of a notice requiring him to refer the valuation to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review.\n\n[Section 34 amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1267.]\n\n##### 34A. Amended valuation not to apply before year of objection\n\nAny amendment of a valuation consequent upon the allowance, wholly or in part, of an objection to a valuation or consequent upon a review by the State Administrative Tribunal shall not apply for the purposes of any rating or taxing year before the year in respect of which the objection was served.\n\n[Section 34A inserted: No. 73 of 1986 s. 13; amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1268.]\n\n##### 35. SAT review of refusal to extend time for objection or review\n\n(1) A person who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Valuer‑General to refuse to extend the time for service of an objection against a valuation or for service of a notice requiring the Valuer‑General to refer the valuation to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review may serve on the Valuer‑General a notice requiring the Valuer‑General to refer the decision to refuse to extend time to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review.\n\n(2) Upon receipt of such notice the Valuer‑General shall promptly refer the decision to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review.\n\n(3) The Valuer‑General is to effect the reference by forwarding the notice to the executive officer of the State Administrative Tribunal together with the objection and a copy certified by or on behalf of the Valuer‑General of —\n\n(a) the decision to refuse to extend the time; and\n\n(b) the reasons, if any, for the decision.\n\n[Section 35 amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1269; No. 8 of 2009 s. 128.]\n\n##### 36. General review by SAT of valuation\n\n(1) Where there is a question of general interest as to whether proper principles have or have not been applied in the valuation under this Act of the whole or a definable part of the land in a valuation district, a rating or taxing authority having an interest in the valuation or any person liable to pay any rate or tax on the basis of the valuation of any part of the land may apply to the State Administrative Tribunal for a review of the question.\n\n(2) A person liable to pay any rate or tax shall not apply under this section to have a question relating to his own individual case resolved.\n\n[Section 36 amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1270.]\n\n##### 36A. New matters raised on SAT review\n\n(1) Upon a review by the State Administrative Tribunal on a referral under section 33 or 35, the State Administrative Tribunal may consider —\n\n(a) grounds in addition to those stated in the notice of objection; and\n\n(b) reasons in addition to any reasons previously given for the Valuer‑General’s decision that is under review.\n\n(2) The State Administrative Tribunal is to ensure, by adjournment or otherwise, that each party and any other person entitled to be heard has a reasonable opportunity of properly considering and responding to any new ground or reason that the State Administrative Tribunal proposes to consider in accordance with subsection (1).\n\n[Section 36A inserted: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1271.]\n\n##### 36B. Written reasons for certain determinations to be given and published\n\n(1) If the State Administrative Tribunal considers that an order it makes determining a matter coming before it on a referral under section 33 or 35 is of general interest or significance, it is to prepare written reasons for its order and give a copy of the reasons to each party and publish the written reasons.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) has effect in addition to the provisions of the *State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004*.\n\n[Section 36B inserted: No. 55 of 2004 s. 1271.]\n\n## Part V — Miscellaneous\n\n##### 37. Local governments to give Valuer-General information\n\nEach local government shall, not later than the 14th day of each month after the coming into operation of this Act, furnish to the Valuer‑General in respect of land within the district of such local government —\n\n(a) a schedule of all projects for which the local government issued building licences during the preceding month, setting forth in respect of each project —\n\n(i) the name and postal address of the owner of the land; and\n\n(ii) the name and postal address of the builder; and\n\n(iii) a description of the land; and\n\n(iv) the estimated cost of such building work;\n\nand\n\n(b) a schedule of all projects for which the local government had issued building licences and which were known by the local government to have been completed during the preceding months setting forth in respect of each project the information referred to in paragraph (a)(i) to (iv); and\n\n(c) a schedule listing all registered plans and amendments thereto delivered to the local government under the *Community Titles Act 2018* or the *Strata Titles Act 1985*.\n\n[Section 37 amended: No. 40 of 1985 s. 10; No. 58 of 1995 s. 99; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 30 of 2018 s. 207; No. 32 of 2018 s. 269.]\n\n##### 38. Charges for making valuations under Part III\n\nThe Authority may, after the Valuer‑General makes or causes to be made valuations under Part III, raise against each rating or taxing authority required to use the valuations a charge in accordance with the pricing principles fixed in the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 16.\n\n[Section 38 inserted: No. 60 of 2006 s. 178.]\n\n##### 39. Valuer‑General may make valuations for Crown etc.\n\n(1) The Valuer‑General may make valuations of land for, and provide valuation advice to —\n\n(a) any department, agency or instrumentality of the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, in right of the State or in right of any other State; and\n\n(b) any person, body or authority performing any public function which, under any written law —\n\n(i) has among his, her or its functions the power to acquire or dispose of land; or\n\n(ii) has the power to impose a rate or tax on land.\n\n(2) The Authority may determine the charge payable to it for a valuation made, or for advice given, under subsection (1) but, in doing so, has to accord with the pricing principles fixed in the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 16.\n\n[Section 39 amended: No. 28 of 1993 s. 5; No. 60 of 2006 s. 179.]\n\n##### 39A. Authority may provide goods and services\n\n(1) Subsection (2) limits the extent to which the Authority may, under the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* and otherwise than as authorised by this Act, provide goods and services derived from or related to the performance of the Valuer‑General’s functions under this Act (called valuation related goods and services in this section).\n\n(2) The exception in section 13(2) does not apply to the provision by the Authority of valuation related goods and services.\n\n[Section 39A inserted: No. 60 of 2006 s. 180.]\n\n##### 40. Money received by Valuer‑General\n\nThe Valuer‑General is to pay to the Authority any money paid to the Valuer‑General under this Act.\n\n[Section 40 inserted: No. 60 of 2006 s. 181.]\n\n##### 41. Valuation not affected by irregularity\n\nThe validity of a valuation under this Act shall not be affected by reason of any failure to observe any of the provisions of this Act.\n\n##### 42. Protection from personal liability\n\nNo liability shall attach to the Valuer‑General, or any person duly authorised by him, for any act or omission by him in good faith and in the exercise or purported exercise of his powers and functions, or in the discharge or purported discharge of his duties, under this Act.\n\n##### 43. Evidentiary provisions\n\nThe production of a copy of a page of the *Government Gazette* or of a newspaper circulating in a town or district containing any notice purporting to be published in pursuance of this Act shall be conclusive evidence that the notice was duly published on the date shown on the copy of the page of the *Government Gazette* or that newspaper, as the case may be.\n\n##### 44. General penalty\n\nA person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act is, except where otherwise expressly provided, liable to a penalty not exceeding $1 000.\n\n[Section 44 amended: No. 73 of 1986 s. 14.]\n\n##### 45. Offences to be dealt with summarily\n\nProceedings in respect of offences against this Act shall be disposed of summarily.\n\n##### 46. Time limit for prosecuting offences\n\nNotwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, proceedings for an offence against this Act may be brought within the period of 2 years after the commission of the alleged offence.\n\n##### 47. Institution of prosecutions\n\n(1) A prosecution for an offence against any provision of this Act or regulations made thereunder may be instituted in the name of the Valuer‑General by any officer employed in the administration of this Act and authorised to institute prosecutions on behalf of the Valuer‑General, and any prosecution instituted in the name of the Valuer‑General shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be deemed to have been instituted by his authority.\n\n(2) An officer referred to in subsection (1) may appear on behalf of the Valuer‑General in any proceedings for an offence against any provision of this Act or regulations made thereunder.\n\n[Section 47 amended: No. 84 of 2004 s. 80.]\n\n##### 48. Service of notices\n\nWithout derogating from the provisions of section 31 of the *Interpretation Act 1918* 3 —\n\n(a) a notice or other document that the Valuer‑General is required or authorised to serve upon any person by or under this Act may be served on that person by affixing it in some conspicuous place upon the land to which it relates; and\n\n(b) any notice or other document required or authorised to be served on the Valuer‑General by or under this Act may be served by being lodged at the office of the Authority.\n\n[Section 48 amended: No. 60 of 2006 s. 182.]\n\n##### 49. Regulations\n\n(1) The Governor may make such regulations as are necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.\n\n(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may require any agency or instrumentality of the Crown, or a local government or any other public authority to furnish to the Valuer‑General details of any land owned by or vested in it and which any other person is entitled to use under an agreement or arrangement with it.\n\n(3) The regulations —\n\n(a) may be limited in their application to time, place or circumstance; and\n\n(b) may provide that any act or thing shall be done with the approval or to the satisfaction of a specified person or class of persons and may confer a discretionary authority.\n\n(4) The regulations may provide for penalties not exceeding $200 for contravention of any of the regulations.\n\n[Section 49 amended: No. 28 of 1993 s. 6; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 77 of 1996 s. 7.]\n\n##### 50. Prescribed fees may exceed cost recovery\n\n(1) Regulations made under section 49 prescribing a fee may prescribe a fee that is more than the amount, or an estimate of the amount, needed to allow recovery of expenditure —\n\n(a) incurred in connection with the matter in relation to which the fee is charged; or\n\n(b) that is relevant to —\n\n(i) the scheme or system under which the action to which the fee relates is taken; or\n\n(ii) the performance of any function to which the fee relates.\n\n(2A) To the extent that regulations to which subsection (1) applies prescribe a fee that includes an amount that is a tax, the regulations may impose the tax.\n\n(2) This section does not limit the *Interpretation Act 1984* section 45A.\n\n[Section 50 inserted: No. 11 of 2015 s. 12; amended: No. 12 of 2015 s. 10.]\n\n##### 51. Expiry of section 50\n\n(1) Section 50 expires at the end of 31 December 2019 10, 11.\n\n(2) However, the Governor, on the recommendation of the Minister, may, by proclamation made before section 50 expires, postpone the expiry of section 50 until the end of a date specified in the proclamation, and in that case that section expires at the end of that date.\n\n(3) The Minister cannot make a recommendation under subsection (2) unless the Minister is satisfied, on the basis of the most recent report laid before each House of Parliament under the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 93(2), that the expiry of section 50 should be postponed.\n\n(4) There is no limit on the number of times the expiry of section 50 may be postponed, but each postponement cannot be for longer than 5 years beginning on the day after the most recent date on which section 50 would expire if that expiry were not postponed.\n\n(5) The *Interpretation Act 1984* section 42 applies to and in relation to a proclamation made under subsection (2) as if the proclamation were a regulation.\n\n(6) The expiry of section 50 does not affect the validity of any regulations made under section 49 and in effect immediately before that expiry.\n\n[Section 51 inserted: No. 11 of 2015 s. 12.]\n\n[**Note:**  \nThe expiry of section 50 is postponed until the end of 31 December 2024 by the Land Legislation (Postponement of Expiry) Proclamation 2018 (see Gazette 21 Dec 2018 p. 4845-6).\n\nThe expiry of section 50 is postponed until the end of 31 December 2029 by the Land Legislation (Postponement of Expiry) Proclamation 2024 cl. 6 (SL 2024/43).]\n\n![dline]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Valuation of Land Act 1978* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table. For provisions that have not yet come into operation see the uncommenced provisions table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Valuation of Land Act 1978* | 74 of 1978 | 20 Oct 1978 | 1 Jul 1979 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 11 May 1979 p. 1211) |\n| *Valuation of Land Act Amendment Act 1979* | 22 of 1979 | 31 Aug 1979 | 1 Jul 1979 (see s. 2) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1981* | 16 of 1981 | 26 May 1981 | 1 Jul 1981 (see s. 2) |\n| **Reprint of the *Valuation of Land Act 1978* approved  2 Feb 1983** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1984* | 10 of 1984 | 31 May 1984 | 31 May 1984 |\n| *Acts Amendment (Mining Tenements) (Rating) Act 1984* Pt. III | 25 of 1984 | 31 May 1984 | 31 May 1984 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act (No. 2) 1984* | 43 of 1984 | 21 Jun 1984 | 21 Jun 1984 |\n| *Acts Amendment (Strata Titles) Act 1985* Pt. IV | 40 of 1985 | 13 May 1985 | 30 Jun 1985 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 21 Jun 1985 p. 2188) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1986* | 7 of 1986 | 15 Jul 1986 | 1 Jul 1986 (see s. 2) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act (No. 2) 1986* | 73 of 1986 | 4 Dec 1986 | 1 Jan 1987 |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1987* | 20 of 1987 | 25 Jun 1987 | 1 Jul 1987 (see s. 2) |\n| *Local Government Amendment Act 1988* s. 17 | 10 of 1988 | 6 Jul 1988 | 6 Jul 1988 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Land Tax Relief Act 1991* s. 5 4 | 56 of 1991 | 12 Dec 1991 | 12 Dec 1991 (see s. 2) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1992* | 8 of 1992 | 16 Jun 1992 | 30 Jun 1992 (see s. 2) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Annual Valuations and Land Tax) Act 1993* Pt. 2 5 | 17 of 1993 | 29 Nov 1993 | 29 Nov 1993 (see s. 2) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1993* | 28 of 1993 | 15 Dec 1993 | 30 Jun 1995 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 27 Jun 1995 p. 2523) |\n| *City of Perth Restructuring Act 1993* s. 34 | 38 of 1993 | 20 Dec 1993 | 1 Jul 1994 (see s. 3 and 34(2)) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Public Sector Management) Act 1994* s. 19 | 32 of 1994 | 29 Jun 1994 | 1 Oct 1994 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 30 Sep 1994 p. 4948) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Local Government and Valuation of Land) Act 1994* Pt. 3 | 69 of 1994 | 9 Dec 1994 | 30 Jun 1995 (see s. 2(2) and *Gazette* 21 Apr 1995 p. 1357) |\n| *Strata Titles Amendment Act 1995* s. 99 | 58 of 1995 | 20 Dec 1995 | 14 Apr 1996 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 15 Mar 1996 p. 981) |\n| **Reprint of the *Valuation of Land Act 1978* as at 23 Apr 1996** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Local Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996* s. 4 | 14 of 1996 | 28 Jun 1996 | 1 Jul 1996 (see s. 2) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1996* | 77 of 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 | s. 1 and 2: 14 Nov 1996;   Act other than s. 1 and 2: 28 Dec 1996 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 27 Dec 1996 p. 7153) |\n| *Transfer of Land Amendment Act 1996* s. 153(1) and (3) | 81 of 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Land Administration) Act 1997* Pt. 62 | 31 of 1997 | 3 Oct 1997 | 30 Mar 1998 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 27 Mar 1998 p. 1765) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 1997* s. 125 | 57 of 1997 | 15 Dec 1997 | 15 Dec 1997 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1998* s. 71 and 76 | 10 of 1998 | 30 Apr 1998 | 30 Apr 1998 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Revenue Laws Amendment (Assessment) Act 1998* s. 11(2) | 22 of 1998 | 30 Jun 1998 | 1 Jul 1998 (see s. 2) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2000* s. 44 | 24 of 2000 | 4 Jul 2000 | 4 Jul 2000 (see s. 2) |\n| **Reprint of the *Valuation of Land Act 1978* as at 15 Jun 2001** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Taxation Administration (Consequential Provisions) Act 2002* s. 26 6 | 45 of 2002 | 20 Mar 2003 | 1 Jul 2003 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 27 Jun 2003 p. 2383) |\n| *Acts Amendment and Repeal (Competition Policy) Act 2003* Pt. 14 7 | 70 of 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 | 21 Apr 2004 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 20 Apr 2004 p. 1297) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2003* s. 123 | 74 of 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 | 15 Dec 2003 (see s. 2) |\n| *State Administrative Tribunal (Conferral of Jurisdiction) Amendment and Repeal Act 2004* Pt. 2 Div. 129 8, 9 | 55 of 2004 | 24 Nov 2004 | 1 Jan 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7130) |\n| *Criminal Procedure and Appeals (Consequential and Other Provisions) Act 2004* s. 80 | 84 of 2004 | 16 Dec 2004 | 2 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7129 (correction in *Gazette* 7 Jan 2005 p. 53)) |\n| **Reprint 4: The *Valuation of Land Act 1978* as at 10 Feb 2006** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Machinery of Government (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2006* Pt. 12 Div. 6 | 28 of 2006 | 26 Jun 2006 | 1 Jul 2006 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 27 Jun 2006 p. 2347) |\n| *Land Information Authority Act 2006* s. 166‑182 | 60 of 2006 | 16 Nov 2006 | 1 Jan 2007 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 8 Dec 2006 p. 5369) |\n| **Reprint 5: The *Valuation of Land Act 1978* as at 2 Feb 2007** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Petroleum Amendment Act 2007* s. 107 | 35 of 2007 | 21 Dec 2007 | 19 Jan 2008 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 18 Jan 2008 p. 147) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2009* s. 128 | 8 of 2009 | 21 May 2009 | 22 May 2009 (see s. 2(b)) |\n| *Land Administration Amendment Act 2009* s. 7 | 32 of 2009 | 26 Nov 2009 | 27 Nov 2009 (see s. 2(b)) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment (Assessed Value) Act 2009* | 33 of 2009 | 26 Nov 2009 | s. 1 and 2: 26 Nov 2009 (see s. 2(a));   Act other than s. 1 and 2: 11 Dec 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Dec 2010 p. 6262) |\n| *Standardisation of Formatting Act 2010* s. 51 | 19 of 2010 | 28 Jun 2010 | 11 Sep 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Sep 2010 p. 4341) |\n| **Reprint 6: The *Valuation of Land Act 1978* as at 14 Oct 2011** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Land Legislation Amendment Act 2015* Pt. 6 | 11 of 2015 | 29 Apr 2015 | 30 Jun 2015 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 2 Jun 2015 p. 1937) |\n| *Land Legislation Amendment (Taxing) Act 2015* Pt. 5 | 12 of 2015 | 29 Apr 2015 | 30 Jun 2015 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 2 Jun 2015 p. 1937) |\n| *Valuation of Land Amendment Act 2015* | 14 of 2015 | 15 May 2015 | s. 1 and 2: 15 May 2015 (see s. 2(a));   Act other than s. 1 and 2: 30 Jun 2015 (see s. 2(b)(i)) |\n| **Reprint 7: The *Valuation of Land Act 1978* as at 8 Jan 2016** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Strata Titles Amendment Act 2018* Pt. 3 Div. 24 | 30 of 2018 | 19 Nov 2018 | 1 May 2020 (see s. 2(b) and SL 2020/39 cl. 2) |\n| *Community Titles Act 2018* Pt. 14 Div. 24 | 32 of 2018 | 19 Nov 2018 | 30 Jun 2021 (see s. 2(b) and SL 2021/69 cl. 2) |\n\n\nUncommenced provisions table\n\nTo view the text of the uncommenced provisions see *Acts as passed* on the WA Legislation website.\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024* s. 433(2) | 17 of 2024 | 14 May 2024 | To be proclaimed (see s. 2(b)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 Under the *Land Administration Act 1997* s. 281(3), a reference to the *Land Act 1933* in a written law is, unless the contrary intention appears, to be read and construed as being a reference to the *Land Administration Act 1997*.\n\n2 The name of the *Local Government Act 1960* was changed to the *Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960* by the *Local Government Act 1995* Sch. 9.2 cl. 2.\n\n3 Repealed by the *Interpretation Act 1984* s. 77(1).\n\n4 The *Land Tax Relief Act 1991* s. 5(2) relates to certain general valuations notified in 1991.\n\n5 The *Acts Amendment (Annual Valuations and Land Tax) Act 1993* s. 3 and 7 are savings and transitional provisions.\n\n6 The *Taxation Administration (Consequential Provisions) Act 2002* s. 3 and 4 and Pt. 4 are transitional provisions that are of no further effect.\n\n7 The *Acts Amendment and Repeal (Competition Policy) Act 2003* s. 51(2) is a transitional provision that is of no further effect.\n\n8 The *State Administrative Tribunal (Conferral of Jurisdiction) Amendment and Repeal Act 2004* Pt. 5, the *State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004* s. 167 and 169, and the *State Administrative Tribunal Regulations 2004* r. 28 and 42 deal with certain transitional issues some of which may be relevant for this Act.\n\n9 The *State Administrative Tribunal Regulations 2004* r. 65 is a transitional provision that is likely to be of no further effect.\n\n10 The *Land Legislation (Postponement of Expiry) Proclamation 2018* published by *Gazette* 21 Dec 2018 p. 4845-6 provides that the expiry of section 50 is postponed until the end of 31 December 2024.\n\n11 The *Land Legislation (Postponement of Expiry) Proclamation 2024* cl. 6 (SL 2024/43) provides that the expiry of section 50 is postponed until the end of 31 December 2029.\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nagent 4(1)\n\nassessed value 4(1)\n\nAuthority 4(1)\n\ncapital value 4(1)\n\ncertified 29(3)\n\ndate of valuation 4(1)\n\ndetermination of value 4(1)\n\ndocument 16A(4)\n\ngeneral valuation 4(1)\n\ngross rental value 4(1)\n\nimprovements 4(1)\n\ninformation 16A(4)\n\ninterim valuation 4(1)\n\nland 4(1)\n\nlatter valuation 5(1)(b)\n\nmerged improvements 4(1)\n\nmetropolitan region 4(1)\n\npastoral lease 5A(1)\n\nperson liable to pay any rate or tax assessed in respect of land 32(1a)\n\nrateable land 4(1)\n\nrating and taxing Acts 4(1)\n\nrating or taxing authority 4(1)\n\nresidential equivalent value 31B(1)\n\nsite value 4(1)\n\nstaff of the Valuer‑General 16A(4)\n\nto value 4(1)\n\ntownsite 4(1)\n\ntrustee 4(1)\n\nunimproved value 4(1)\n\nvacant land 4(1)\n\nvaluation 4(1)\n\nvaluation district 4(1)\n\nvaluation related goods and services 39A(1)\n\nvaluation roll 4(1)\n\nvalue 4(1)\n\n© State of Western Australia 2024.\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.\n\nAttribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2024.\n\nBy Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was provided. The input contains only a webpage error message indicating the requested legislation page is unavailable."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404-style error page rather than the actual Act","The only text present is a system error message, an acknowledgement of country, and contact information","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without access to the legislation itself"],"plain_english_summary":"**No usable legislative content could be retrieved.**\n\nThe link provided points to a page for Western Australia's *Valuation of Land Act 1978* that is **no longer available** on the official website due to system and security upgrades. The content returned is an error/redirect page — not the actual legislation.\n\n**What this means for you:** No analysis of how this law affects you can be produced from this source. To access the actual Act, try:\n- Visiting the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and searching for \"Valuation of Land Act 1978\"\n- Contacting the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk as suggested on the error page"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Since its original form the Act has been amended to broaden and clarify administrative and operational arrangements. Notable scope changes in the compiled text include: formal designation and staffing linkage of the Valuer‑General to the Land Information Authority (s 6); explicit ministerial access to valuation information and ministerial power to obtain staff assistance (s 16A); an annual reporting requirement by the Valuer‑General (s 16B); a statutory requirement to provide valuations for related Acts (eg. Local Government Act and Land Tax Assessment Act) (s 31A, s 31B); explicit charging rules and pricing‑principles references for valuation services and the power for regulations to prescribe fees (s 38–39, s 49–50); restrictions and clarifications on the Authority providing valuation‑related goods and services (s 39A); and an explicit instruction that unimproved valuations be pursued statewide with a practicable annual frequency (s 17(4), s 22(1a)). These amendments expand operational duties, information flows, fee mechanisms and inter‑agency connections compared with the core valuation framework originally enacted (see compilation table and the sections cited)."},"complexity_factors":["Large number of technical definitions that determine different valuation bases (gross rental value, unimproved value, capital value, site value) (s 4).","Multiple valuation processes and timing rules (general valuations, interim valuations, district reconstitution, annual unimproved valuations) with cross‑references (s 17–23).","Broad discretionary powers vested in the Valuer‑General (delegation, approval of contractors, setting valuation dates, extending objection periods) (s 7–8, s 19, s 22, s 25, s 32(6)).","Detailed information‑gathering powers, compulsory attendance and offence provisions tied to evidentiary and confidentiality regimes (s 9–14, s 11–12).","Integrated public‑administration interactions and data dependencies (Authority, local governments, rating/taxing authorities, Minister, and other Crown agencies) (s 6, s 16, s 16A, s 37, s 38–39).","Appeal and review pathway involving internal objection procedures and external review by the State Administrative Tribunal, including rules about new matters and publication of reasons (s 32–36B).","Fee and pricing complexity: Authority charges, pricing principles, and regulatory power to set fees that can exceed cost recovery with an expiry/postponement mechanism (s 38–39, s 49–51).","Numerous cross‑references to other Acts (Local Government Act, Land Tax Assessment Act, Land Information Authority Act, Mining and Petroleum Acts), increasing interpretive complexity (e.g. s 31A, s 31B, s 4 definitions).","Statutory confidentiality exceptions and ministerial discretion to publish or share information create conditional complexity in information governance (s 13–14, s 16A)."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this law does, in plain terms\n\n- The Act creates a system for valuing land in Western Australia and sets out who does those valuations, how they are done, how results are recorded and published, and how people can challenge them. (Longform definitions and scope are in section 4.)\n\n- The Valuer‑General (an official who must be a staff member of the Western Australian Land Information Authority) runs and administers the valuation system and must value land independently (see sections 6–7). The Valuer‑General can delegate many functions to staff and to contracted valuers (s 8, s 16). The Authority holds valuation rolls and makes valuation data available to the public and to rating/taxing authorities (s 26–29, s 28).  \n\n- The Act defines different kinds of values used for different taxation and rating purposes (for example: gross rental value, unimproved value, capital value, site value) and prescribes how those are to be determined (s 4). It also sets rules about what improvements and fixtures are included in valuations (s 24).  \n\n- The Valuer‑General is responsible for making general valuations (regular, district‑based valuations) and interim valuations (when land is newly rateable or its value has changed materially). The Valuer‑General sets the date of valuation, decides when a valuation comes into force, and must publish notices when general valuations are made (s 17–23). For unimproved values the entire State is a valuation district and the Valuer‑General is to make or cause valuations yearly where practicable (s 17(4), s 22(1a)).\n\n- Valuation records (valuation rolls) are maintained as official evidence of value and are made available for inspection and certified copying (s 26–29). Local governments must regularly give the Valuer‑General building permit and completion information and certain plan information (s 37), which feeds into the valuation work.\n\n- People affected by a valuation (generally, persons liable to pay rates or taxes on the land) can object in writing to the Valuer‑General within defined timeframes; the Valuer‑General must consider objections, can extend time for cause, and must give reasons for decisions (s 32). If a person is dissatisfied with the Valuer‑General’s decision, they may seek review by the State Administrative Tribunal within specified times (s 33–36B).\n\n- The Valuer‑General has statutory powers to inspect public records, ask questions, require attendance and production of documents, and may penalise refusal or false answers (s 9–12). Confidentiality rules restrict staff from disclosing information obtained under the Act, subject to specified exceptions (s 13–14). The Minister may also request access to valuation information and staff assistance (s 16A).\n\n- The Authority may charge rating and taxing authorities for valuations, and may charge others for valuation services and advice to public agencies, with the pricing subject to pricing principles in the Land Information Authority Act (s 38–39). Regulations can prescribe fees and limited penalties (s 49–50).\n\n### Who is affected and who pays\n\n- Owners and occupiers of land are affected because valuations determine the tax or rate base used by rating/taxing authorities (s 4, s 18). They must supply information when required and may face offences and penalties for refusal to provide information or false replies (s 11–12, s 44).\n\n- Rating and taxing authorities (for example local governments) are required to use valuations made under this Act and to pay for access to valuation rolls or valuation services (s 21, s 28, s 38). Local governments must also provide monthly building‑project information to the Valuer‑General (s 37).\n\n- The Valuer‑General and the Authority administer and operationalise the system (s 6–7, s 26–29). Contractors or valuers can be engaged under contract but are subject to approval and some statutory limits (s 16, s 25).\n\n### Key decision points, discretion and implementation risks\n\n- The Valuer‑General has broad discretion to reconstitute valuation districts (s 17), determine valuation dates (s 19), decide when interim valuations are necessary (s 23), approve third‑party valuers (s 25) and extend objection timeframes (s 32(6)). Those are operational levers that shape timing, coverage and comparability of valuations.\n\n- Information flows are essential: the Valuer‑General can inspect public records and requires local governments to report building and subdivision activity monthly (s 9, s 37). If those data flows are incomplete or delayed, valuation currency and accuracy risks rise.\n\n- Staff confidentiality rules are strict (s 13) but contain exceptions that allow information sharing with tax authorities and, in public‑interest cases, with other Ministers or the public on ministerial direction (s 14, s 16A). These create a balance between privacy of commercial information and public/tax administration needs.\n\n- Fees and charges are recoverable from rating/taxing authorities and the Authority may set charges for valuation services; regulations can prescribe fees that exceed direct cost recovery (s 38, s 39, s 50). That changes the incentives and budgetary burdens on local authorities and other public agencies that rely on valuations.\n\n### Compliance burdens and effects on private choice and markets\n\n- Property owners must cooperate with information and inspection requests and may face penalties for non‑cooperation (s 11–12, s 44). The valuation outcomes affect tax and rate liabilities, which in turn influence land use decisions and the economics of holding or developing land (s 18, s 24).  \n\n- Employees of the valuation administration face restrictions on private valuation work without written consent (s 15), which limits those staff from competing in the private valuation market while employed.\n\n- The Act creates procedural review routes (internal objection to the Valuer‑General and review by the State Administrative Tribunal) which provide dispute resolution but also require time and possibly legal/administrative cost for affected parties (s 32–36B).\n\n### Trade‑offs and concrete mechanisms to watch (source‑grounded)\n\n- Centralised independence (Valuer‑General must act independently, s 7) is balanced against ministerial access to information (s 16A) and ministerial power to authorise disclosure (s 14(2)). Those rules determine who can see and use valuation information and when.  \n\n- The Authority’s ability to charge for valuations (s 38–39) and the regulatory power to set fees (s 49–50) shift some costs from the public purse to rating/taxing authorities and public agencies. That may prompt authorities to choose between commissioning Valuer‑General valuations or using contracted valuers subject to approval (s 25).  \n\n- The Valuer‑General’s operational discretion over timing, district boundaries and acceptance of valuations prepared by others (s 17, s 22, s 25) concentrates decision authority in the Valuer‑General’s office; those functions determine valuation comparability and the calendar on which ratings and taxes are set.\n\nOverall, the Act establishes a central, legally structured process for valuing land, prescribes the powers necessary to collect information and defend valuations, sets out public record‑keeping and review mechanisms, and allocates costs for valuation services among public bodies and landowners through prescribed charges and fees."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act has grown significantly beyond its original 1978 purpose of establishing a valuation system for rating and taxing. It now incorporates: (1) complex statutory formulas for mining and petroleum tenements that effectively create a separate valuation regime for resources projects; (2) specific obligations to value for the Land Tax Assessment Act 2002 (section 31B) and Local Government Act 1995 (section 31A); (3) commercial charging provisions allowing fees above cost recovery (section 50); (4) information sharing with Commonwealth tax authorities (section 14); and (5) governance integration with the Land Information Authority Act 2006. The original Act was approximately 40 sections; it now includes extensive machinery provisions for the State Administrative Tribunal and complex transitional arrangements spanning decades."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple overlapping valuation methodologies (gross rental value, unimproved value, capital value, site value, assessed value) with distinct calculation rules","Highly conditional definition of 'unimproved value' in section 4(1) with 7 subparagraphs containing nested items (i)-(vii), multiple formulas based on land type (townsite, pastoral lease, mining tenement, petroleum licence, forestry permit, etc.)","47+ defined terms in section 4(1) including recursive definitions ('value' defined in terms of other defined values)","Extensive cross-referencing to other Acts (Land Administration Act 1997, Mining Act 1978, Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967, Local Government Act 1995, Land Tax Assessment Act 2002, etc.)","Transitional provisions in section 5 with multiple subsections dealing with valuations from 1979-1981 that remain technically operative","Complex machinery for objections and reviews (Part IV) with time limits, extension powers, and SAT jurisdiction","Multiple amendment histories shown in compilation tables indicating frequent legislative changes (30+ amending Acts)","Delegated legislative power in section 49 with capacity for differential application and discretionary authorities","Sunset clause mechanism in sections 50-51 with postponement provisions requiring proclamations and parliamentary reporting"],"plain_english_summary":"This is Western Australia's **Valuation of Land Act 1978**, which sets up the system for valuing land across the state.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Establishes the **Valuer-General** as the independent official responsible for determining how much land is worth\n- Creates different types of valuations:\n  - **Gross rental value** – what the land could earn in rent per year (used mainly for council rates in urban areas)\n  - **Unimproved value** – what the bare land would sell for without buildings (used for land tax and some rural rates)\n  - **Capital value** – total market value including improvements\n  - **Site value** – value of land assuming no improvements except basic works like drainage\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Property owners** – anyone who pays council rates or land tax\n- **Local councils and state revenue offices** – they use these valuations to calculate how much tax or rates you owe\n- **The Valuer-General and staff** – they have powers to inspect properties, demand documents, and compel people to give evidence\n\n**Key processes:**\n- **General valuations** happen regularly (annually for unimproved values, as needed for gross rental values)\n- **Interim valuations** occur when land changes significantly (subdivisions, new buildings, major damage)\n- **Objections and appeals** – property owners can challenge valuations first to the Valuer-General, then to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis Act determines the basis for most property taxation in WA. If your land is valued higher, you pay more rates or tax. The Act tries to ensure valuations are fair, consistent, and independently determined – the Valuer-General cannot be told what value to put on your property by politicians or councils.\n\n**Special features:**\n- Pastoral leases and mining tenements have special valuation formulas (multiplying annual rent rather than estimating sale prices)\n- The Valuer-General can delegate powers and engage private valuers\n- Strict confidentiality rules apply to valuation information\n- Fees can be set above cost recovery (essentially allowing some profit) until at least 2029"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/valuation-of-land-act-1978","history":"/api/acts/valuation-of-land-act-1978/history","analysis":"/api/acts/valuation-of-land-act-1978/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/valuation-of-land-act-1978/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/valuation-of-land-act-1978/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/valuation-of-land-act-1978/documents"}}