What it does
The Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 is the principal Victorian legislation governing the reservation of Crown land for public purposes and the management of reserved land. It replaced earlier reservation legislation and provides the legal framework through which Victoria's parks, gardens, reserves, cemeteries, sporting grounds, water reserves, cultural heritage sites, and many other categories of public land are established, managed and protected.
The Act creates a two-stage framework: first, the power to reserve Crown land for a specified public purpose; second, the governance arrangements through which that reserved land is managed. It also regulates the uses to which reserved land may be put, including the leasing and licensing of reserved land for purposes other than the reservation purpose.
The Act is very large and has been amended extensively (Version 134 incorporating amendments to November 2025). It contains both general provisions applicable to all reserved land and many site-specific provisions for particular parks, reserves and regions.