Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 (Northern Territory)

The Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 mechanically restructures title, planning and service arrangements for a defined set of lots in the Lake Bennett locality by authorising the Minister to prepare and lodge new plans, extinguishing certain registered easements and covenants, creating new lots and easements, and imposing planning controls and water licensing arrangements. The Act operates as a self-contained package: it directs the Minister to prepare the instruments necessary to implement a specified compromise with proprietors (s 4, s 7); it authorises the Minister to sign instruments that would otherwise require other signatures (s 8); and it requires the Registrar‑General to cancel existing plans and certificates and to register new plans, unit schedules and easements on lodgment (s 13(1)-(2)). On lodgment, registered recreational easements listed in Schedule 1 are extinguished (s 14), and restrictive covenants listed in Schedule 2 are extinguished when the Planning Scheme is amended (s 20).

The Act creates a Lake Bennett plan of subdivision (s 9) that generates created sections 1252-1255, and a Lake Bennett units plan for part of section 1252 that creates unit lots, common property and a development area (s 10). The Registrar‑General must issue certificates as to title for the created lots to specified registered proprietors (s 15). The Act also prescribes the form and beneficiaries of new easements and service easements to replace extinguished recreational easements (s 11-12; Schedules 3-4) and instructs registration even where caveats, court orders, writs or statutory charges exist (s 18). The Planning Minister must amend the Northern Territory Planning Scheme to insert the Lake Bennett development provisions in Schedule 5 and revoke the earlier Area Plan (s 19), and must issue a development permit for the development area on registration of the units plan (s 21, Schedule 6).

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA LAKE BENNETT (LAND TITLE) ACT 2005 As in force at 1 October 2019 Table of provisions Part 1 Preliminary 1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1 2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1 3 Application of Act ............................................................................. 1 4 Object of Act .................................................................................... 1 5 Definitions ........................................................................................ 1 6 Expressions defined in related legislation ........................................ 3 Part 2 Preparation and registration of instruments 7 Minister to prepare instruments ....................................................... 3 8 Minister may sign instrument ........................................................... 3 9 Lake Bennett plan of subdivision ..................................................... 3 10 Lake Bennett units plan ................................................................... 3 11 Preparation of easements to replace recreational easements ......... 4 12 Preparation of new service easements............................................ 4 13 Lodgment and registration of plans and easements ........................ 4 14 Recreational easements extinguished ............................................. 5 15 Issue of certificates as to title........................................................... 5 16 Restriction on ownership of created sections 1253 and 1255.......... 6 17 Units plan of subdivision for additional units .................................... 6 18 Effect of caveat, court order, writ of execution and statutory charge ............................................................................................. 7 Part 3 Planning and development provisions 19 Amendment of Planning Scheme .................................................... 7 20 Restrictive covenants extinguished ................................................. 7 21 Development permit for development area ...................................... 7 22 Approval not required for certain building work................................ 8 23 Restriction on further development .................................................. 8 Part 4 Miscellaneous provisions 24 Decision final ................................................................................... 9 25 Exemptions from fees and stamp duty ............................................ 9 26 Delegations...................................................................................... 9 27 Licence to take or use water ............................................................ 9 28 Acquisition on just terms ................................................................ 10

Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 ii 29 Regulations.................................................................................... 10 Part 5 Transitional matters for Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 30 Transitional provisions for body corporate ..................................... 11 Schedule 1 Recreational easements Schedule 2 Restrictive covenants Schedule 3 Conditions of easements – part created section 1252 (common property) Schedule 4 Conditions of easements – created sections 1254 and 1255 (lake and foreshore) Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Schedule 6 Development permit for development area ENDNOTES

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

As in force at 1 October 2019

LAKE BENNETT (LAND TITLE) ACT 2005 An Act about the rights and interests of persons in certain land in the Lake Bennett locality Part 1 Preliminary 1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005. 2 Commencement This Act comes into operation on the date fixed by the Administrator by notice in the Gazette. 3 Application of Act This Act applies despite any other Act or law to the contrary. 4 Object of Act The object of this Act is to facilitate the preparation and registration of instruments relating to lots in the Lake Bennett locality in accordance with the terms of compromise submitted by the Territory to the registered proprietors of the lots. 5 Definitions In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: additional unit means a unit to which the development permit issued under section 21 applies. adjoining lots means the following sections in the Hundred of Howard: (a) sections 92 to 97 (inclusive); (b) sections 99 to 110 (inclusive).

Part 1 Preliminary Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 2 building permit means a building permit under the Building Act 1993. commencement date means the date this Act comes into operation. common property easement area means the part of created section 1252 shaded on the plan in Schedule 3. complying pontoon means a pontoon the construction of which is authorised under the development provisions stated in Schedule 5. created, for a lot, means a lot created by the Lake Bennett plan of subdivision or Lake Bennett units plan. development area means the area that, under the development permit issued under section 21, may be further developed. existing unit means a unit for which a certificate as to title is issued under Units Plan 97/026, other than unit 108. Lake Bennett locality means the area of land to which the development provisions in Schedule 5 apply. Lake Bennett lots means sections 244 and 245 in the Hundred of Howard. Lake Bennett plan of subdivision has the meaning in section 9. Lake Bennett units plan has the meaning in section 10. new unit has the meaning in section 10(2)(a). Planning Minister means the Minister administering the Planning Act 1999. recreational easement means a registered instrument of easement stated in Schedule 1. registration date means the date the Registrar-General complies with section 13(2). resort owner means the owner of created section 1253. restrictive covenant means a registered instrument of covenant stated in Schedule 2.

Part 2 Preparation and registration of instruments Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 3 6 Expressions defined in related legislation If an expression used in this Act is defined in the Land Title Act 2000, Planning Act 1999, Real Property (Unit Titles) Act 1975 or Unit Titles Act 1975, the expression has, as the context requires, the same meaning in this Act. Part 2 Preparation and registration of instruments 7 Minister to prepare instruments (1) The Minister must prepare the instruments necessary to achieve the object of this Act. (2) Subsection (1) is not limited by another provision of this Part. 8 Minister may sign instrument An instrument prepared under this Act is validly executed if signed by the Minister in the place of a person who would otherwise be required to sign it for registration. 9 Lake Bennett plan of subdivision (1) The Lake Bennett plan of subdivision is plan of subdivision No. S2004/153 of the Lake Bennett lots prepared for this Act. (2) The plan of subdivision creates sections 1252 to 1255 (inclusive). 10 Lake Bennett units plan (1) The Lake Bennett units plan is the units plan of created section 1252 that is prepared for this Act and identified as such by certificate of the Registrar-General. (2) The units plan creates: (a) a lot (a new unit) for each existing unit; (b) a lot for the development area; and (c) common property. (3) The units plan must include a schedule of unit entitlements certified by a valuer.

Part 2 Preparation and registration of instruments Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 4 11 Preparation of easements to replace recreational easements (1) The Minister must prepare the following instruments of easement: (a) an easement that benefits each of the adjoining lots and created section 1254 and burdens the common property easement area; (b) an easement that benefits each of the adjoining lots, each of the lots in created section 1252, created section 1253 and created section 1255 and burdens created section 1254; (c) an easement that benefits each of the adjoining lots, each of the lots in created section 1252 and created section 1254 and burdens created section 1255. (2) The benefit and burden under the easement mentioned in subsection (1)(a) must be in the terms stated in Schedule 3. (3) The benefit and burden under each of the other easements mentioned in subsection (1) must be in the terms stated in Schedule 4. 12 Preparation of new service easements (1) The Minister must prepare instruments of easement that benefit created section 1252 and burden created section 1255. (2) The benefit and burden under the easements must be in the terms stated in Schedule 3, Part B to the Law of Property Act 2000 for providing sewerage, water supply and electricity to created section 1252. 13 Lodgment and registration of plans and easements (1) The Minister must, as soon as practicable after the commencement date, lodge the following instruments: (a) the Lake Bennett plan of subdivision; (b) the Lake Bennett units plan and schedule of unit entitlements certified by a valuer; (c) the easements prepared under sections 11 and 12. (2) On lodgment of the instruments, the Registrar-General must: (a) cancel Units Plan 97/026; (b) cancel the certificates as to title for the lots contained in the Lake Bennett lots;

Part 2 Preparation and registration of instruments Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 5 (c) register the plan of subdivision; (d) register the units plan and schedule of unit entitlements; (e) register the extinguishment of the easements under section 14; (f) issue new certificates as to title in accordance with section 15; and (g) register the easements prepared under sections 11 and 12. (3) Without limiting section 3, subsection (2) applies even if: (a) the certificate as to title for a lot is not lodged with the plan of subdivision or units plan; or (b) the holder of a registered interest in any of the lots has not consented to a cancellation, registration or issue of a certificate as to title under the subsection. (4) On registration under subsection (2): (a) the plan of subdivision is taken to have been registered under the Land Title Act 2000; (b) the units plan is taken to have been registered under the Real Property (Unit Titles) Act 1975; and (c) the easements are taken to have been registered under the Land Title Act 2000. 14 Recreational easements extinguished On lodgment of the instruments mentioned in section 13(1), each recreational easement is extinguished. 15 Issue of certificates as to title (1) The Registrar-General must issue certificates as to title for the created lots to the following persons as registered owners: (a) for created section 1252 – the body corporate constituted under the Unit Titles Act 1975 on registration of the Lake Bennett units plan; (b) for each new unit – the registered owner of the existing unit for which the new unit is created; (c) for the development area – the registered owner of unit 108 on Units Plan 97/026;

Part 2 Preparation and registration of instruments Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 6 (d) for created sections 1253 and 1255 – the registered owner of section 245 in the Hundred of Howard; (e) for created section 1254 – the registered owner of section 106 in the Hundred of Howard. (2) The certificate as to title for a lot: (a) must be issued subject to the same registered instruments applying to the lot immediately before the registration date; and (b) is taken to have been issued under: (i) for a lot created by the Lake Bennett plan of subdivision – the Land Title Act 2000; or (ii) for a lot created by the Lake Bennett units plan – the Real Property (Unit Titles) Act 1975. (3) Subsection (2) has effect subject to sections 14 and 20. 16 Restriction on ownership of created sections 1253 and 1255 (1) The land comprising created sections 1253 and 1255 must be in the same ownership. (2) The Minister must, under section 35 of the Land Title Act 2000, lodge a memorandum for each of the lots for the restriction imposed under subsection (1). 17 Units plan of subdivision for additional units The Registrar-General may, under the Real Property (Units Titles) Act 1975, register a units plan of subdivision of the development area, or that area as further subdivided, without lodgment of: (a) the documents mentioned in section 9B(d) of that Act so far as it relates to a building existing before the commencement date for which a building certificate within the meaning of section 21B of the Unit Titles Act 1975 was not required; or (b) the documents mentioned in section 9B(e), (f) and (g) of that Act.

Part 3 Planning and development provisions Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 7 18 Effect of caveat, court order, writ of execution and statutory charge The lodging (whether before or after the commencement date) of any of the following documents over any of the lots to which this Act applies does not prevent the registration of an instrument affecting the lot that is prepared for this Act: (a) a caveat; (b) a request to register a court order or writ of execution; (c) a statutory charge. Part 3 Planning and development provisions 19 Amendment of Planning Scheme (1) The Planning Minister must amend the Northern Territory Planning Scheme by: (a) revoking the part of the development provisions of the Northern Territory Planning Scheme known as the Lake Bennett Area Plan 2000; and (b) making the development provisions for the Lake Bennett locality in Schedule 5. (2) The Planning Minister must, as soon as practicable after the commencement date, publish notice in the Gazette of the amendment. (3) On publication of the notice, the amendment is taken to have been made under the Planning Act 1999. 20 Restrictive covenants extinguished (1) On amendment of the Northern Territory Planning Scheme under section 19, each restrictive covenant is extinguished. (2) The Registrar-General must register the extinguishment of the covenants. 21 Development permit for development area (1) On registration of the Lake Bennett units plan, the Planning Minister must issue a development permit for the development area in the terms stated in Schedule 6.

Part 3 Planning and development provisions Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 8 (2) The development permit is taken to have been issued under the Planning Act 1999. 22 Approval not required for certain building work (1) This section applies if a building permit is required for building work for the construction of a complying pontoon on created section 1255. (2) The approval of the owner of created section 1253 is not required for the issue of a building permit for the building work if the applicant for the permit is the owner of an adjoining lot, new unit or additional unit. (3) In addition, the approval of the following persons under regulation 11(1)(b) of the Building Regulations 1993 is not required for the issue of a building permit for the building work: (a) if the applicant for the building permit is the owner of an adjoining lot – the owners of the other adjoining lots and the owners of created section 1253, the new units and additional units; (b) if the applicant for the building permit is the owner of created section 1253 – the owners of the adjoining lots, new units and additional units; (c) if the applicant for the building permit is the owner of a new unit – the owners of the other new units and the owners of the adjoining lots, created section 1253 and additional units; (d) if the applicant for the building permit is the owner of an additional unit – the owners of the other additional units and the owners of the adjoining lots, created section 1253 and new units. 23 Restriction on further development (1) A further development of created section 1254 or 1255 or the common property easement area is not permitted other than for: (a) a complying pontoon; or (b) development that is reasonably necessary for works associated with providing communications, electricity, water, sewerage or other services. (2) The Planning Minister must, under section 35 of the Land Title Act 2000, lodge a memorandum for each of the lots for the restriction imposed under subsection (1).

Part 4 Miscellaneous provisions Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 9 Part 4 Miscellaneous provisions 24 Decision final A decision of the Minister, Planning Minister or Registrar-General under this Act in relation to an instrument prepared for this Act cannot be: (a) challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question on any grounds whatever before a court, tribunal, body or person in legal proceedings; or (b) restrained, removed or otherwise affected by an injunction or a proceeding in the nature of prohibition or mandamus. 25 Exemptions from fees and stamp duty (1) An instrument prepared for this Act is exempt from: (a) the payment of fees prescribed for lodgment of instruments with the Registrar-General; and (b) stamp duty under the Stamp Duty Act 1978. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the preparation or registration of a units plan of subdivision for an additional unit. 26 Delegations (1) The Minister may, in writing, delegate to the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency administering this Act the Minister's powers or functions under this Act. (2) The Planning Minister may, in writing, delegate to the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency administering the Planning Act 1999 the Planning Minister's powers or functions under this Act. 27 Licence to take or use water (1) On the commencement date, the licence to take or use surface water under the Water Act 1992 held by the resort owner is surrendered. (2) The Controller of Water Resources within the meaning of the Water Act 1992 must issue a new licence to take or use surface water to the resort owner for 10 years. (3) The new licence must be subject to the terms and conditions decided by the Planning Minister.

Part 4 Miscellaneous provisions Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 10 (4) On its issue, the new licence is taken to have been issued under the Water Act 1992. (5) However, the Controller of Water Resources: (a) must amend or modify the new licence or renewed licence in accordance with a direction of the Planning Minister; and (b) may amend or modify the new licence or renewed licence only with the Planning Minister's approval. (6) In addition, a renewed licence must be subject to the terms and conditions decided by the Planning Minister. (7) In this section: renewed licence means: (a) a licence issued by way of renewal or replacement of the new licence; or (b) a licence issued by way of renewal or replacement of a licence mentioned in paragraph (a). 28 Acquisition on just terms If, but for this section, property is acquired under this Act by the Territory other than on just terms: (a) the person from whom the property is acquired is entitled to receive just compensation for the acquisition; and (b) a court of competent jurisdiction may decide the amount of the compensation or make the orders necessary to ensure the compensation is on just terms. 29 Regulations (1) The Administrator may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters: (a) required or permitted to be prescribed; or (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. (2) The Regulations may make provision about a matter for which: (a) it is necessary to make provision to allow or facilitate the doing of anything to achieve the object of this Act; and

Part 5 Transitional matters for Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 11 (b) this Act does not make provision or sufficient provision. (3) A regulation made under subsection (2): (a) may provide for an exemption from compliance with a provision of another Act; (b) may have retrospective operation to a date not earlier than the commencement date; and (c) applies despite this or another Act to the contrary. (4) The Regulations may: (a) make different provision in relation to: (i) different persons or matters; or (ii) different classes of persons or matters; or (b) apply differently by reference to stated exceptions or factors. Part 5 Transitional matters for Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 30 Transitional provisions for body corporate (1) The body corporate constituted under the Unit Titles Act 1975 under the name "The Proprietors – Units Plan No. 97/026" (the former body corporate) is continued in existence by the body corporate constituted under the Unit Titles Act 1975 on registration of the Lake Bennett units plan (the new body corporate). (2) Without limiting subsection (1): (a) the assets and liabilities of the former body corporate immediately before the commencement date vest in the new body corporate; (b) any contracts entered into by or on behalf of the former body corporate and all guarantees, undertakings and securities given by or on behalf of the former body corporate, in force immediately before the commencement date, are taken to have been entered into or given by or to the new body corporate and may be enforced against or by the new body corporate;

Part 5 Transitional matters for Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 12 (c) a proceeding that could have been started or continued by or against the former body corporate before the commencement date may be started or continued by or against the new body corporate; and (d) anything else done under the Unit Titles Act 1975 by the former body corporate for the performance of its duties or functions, or the exercise of its powers, is taken to have been done by the new body corporate.

Schedule 1 Recreational easements Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 13 Schedule 1 Recreational easements section 5, definition of recreational easement Registered easement number 366439 283686 281941 373401 279160 373401 372851 372851 284756 286904 307087 283681 281296 285776 269532 361510 284761 373401 369268

Schedule 2 Restrictive covenants Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 14 Schedule 2 Restrictive covenants section 5, definition of restrictive covenant Registered restrictive covenant number 283685 281940 279161 422801 423449 412614 284755 286905 307086 283680 281292 284215 269531 361509 257750 423451

Schedule 3 Conditions of easements – part created section 1252 (common property) Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 15 Schedule 3 Conditions of easements – part created section 1252 (common property) section 11(2)

Each owner of the parcels of land receiving the benefit of the easement (the Owners) and all persons from time to time authorised by any of the Owners have the right to enter on and use the land shaded in the attached plan (the Common Property) for recreational purposes PROVIDED THAT the Common Property may be used only for such recreational purposes as are consistent with the quiet enjoyment of the Common Property by the owner of the Common Property and all other persons having the same right reserving nevertheless to the owner of the Common Property its employees agents and all persons from time to time authorised by it in common with the Owners and all persons from time to time authorised by the Owners and all persons having the like right free and uninterrupted passage across and use of the Common Property EXCEPT THAT this easement does not apply to those parts of the Common Property that at any time contain reasonably necessary service infrastructure (such as electricity, telephone, water, sewerage and similar) and the area reasonably necessary to install and maintain such service infrastructure.
Each of the Owners for the Owner and the Owner's successors in title covenants with the owner of the Common Property and its successors in title that the Owner and the Owner's successors in title will not do or suffer anything to be done on the Common Property if the Common Property or service infrastructure may be damaged or polluted or the use of the Common Property either by the Owner of the Common Property its employees agents and all persons from time to time authorised by it or by any other person with a like right to use the Common Property may be prejudicially interfered with.

Schedule 3 Conditions of easements – part created section 1252 (common property) Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 16 PLAN clause 1

Schedule 4 Conditions of easements – created sections 1254 and 1255 (lake and foreshore) Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 17 Schedule 4 Conditions of easements – created sections 1254 and 1255 (lake and foreshore) section 11(3)

Each owner of the parcels of land receiving the benefit of the easement (the Owners) and all persons from time to time authorised by any of the Owners have the right to enter on and use the land burdened by the easement (the lake and foreshore) for recreational purposes that do not interfere with the quiet enjoyment of the lake and foreshore by others PROVIDED THAT the lake and foreshore must not be used for recreational purposes that are inconsistent with the terms of the Licence to take or use surface water issued under the Water Act 1992 reserving nevertheless to the owner of the lake and foreshore its employees agents and all persons from time to time authorised by it in common with the Owners and all persons from time to time to authorised by the Owners and all other persons having the like right free and uninterrupted passage across the use of the lake and foreshore.
Each of the Owners have the right to leave a boat on the lake for use by the Owner and persons authorised by the Owner.
Each of the Owners (for so long as the Owner's land adjoins Chinner Road or section 1255) have the right to leave a pontoon (including a ramp), on the lake for use by the Owner and persons authorised by the Owner, in accordance with the Northern Territory Planning Scheme as it applies to the Lake Bennett locality, subject to the prior written approval of the owner of the lake and foreshore (which must not be unreasonably withheld) as to the specifications, construction, mooring and location of the pontoon. The owner of the pontoon must maintain the area within 3 m from any point of the pontoon (including the ramp) clear of vegetation at all times and must obtain and maintain public liability insurance with respect to any damage associated with the pontoon.
Each of the Owners for the Owner and the Owner's successors in title covenants with the owner of the lake and foreshore and its successors in title that the Owner and the Owner's successors in title will not do or suffer anything to be done on the lake and foreshore if the lake and its retaining wall may be damaged or polluted or the use of the lake and foreshore either by the owner of the lake and foreshore its employees agents and all persons from time to time authorised by it or by any other persons with a like right to use the lake and foreshore may be prejudicially interfered with.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 18 Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality section 19 Part 1 Preliminary 1 Contents of instrument This instrument contains the development provisions that comprise the Planning Scheme as it applies to the Lake Bennett locality. 2 Definitions In this instrument, unless the contrary intention appears: business sign means a device using words, letters or images exhibited for the purpose of advertising, announcement or display restricted to the name of the business carried on and the nature of the services or goods available, on the land on which the sign is erected, and includes, if a number of persons are carrying on different businesses on that land, a sign identifying the place. caravan includes: (a) a vehicle, registered or eligible for registration, within the meaning of the Motor Vehicles Act 1949 that is designed or adapted for human habitation; and (b) a tent. caravan park means land used for the parking of caravans or the erection or placement and use of tents or cabins for the purpose of providing accommodation. car parking means the parking of motor vehicles other than as an ancillary use of land. car parking area means an area set aside or designated for the parking of 3 or more motor vehicles. car parking space means a space designated for the parking of one motor vehicle. clearing of native vegetation means the removal or destruction, by any means, of native vegetation, other than: (a) lopping a tree; (b) harvesting native vegetation planted for that purpose;

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 19 (c) removal or destruction that occurs incidentally through the grazing of livestock; or (d) clearing firebreaks, fence lines and roads. consent means the consent of the consent authority. demountable structure means a building, including a transport container, that is wholly or substantially prefabricated and that is designed to be transported from site to site, but does not include a caravan or transportable module used in conjunction with an education establishment or as a construction site office. dependant unit means a dwelling ancillary to and constructed on the same site as a single dwelling for the purpose of providing accommodation for a dependant of a resident of the single dwelling. domestic livestock means any of the following: (a) a horse or other equine animal; (b) an ox, buffalo or other bovine animal; (c) a camel. dwelling means a building, or part of a building, designed, constructed or adapted as a self-contained residence. floor area, in relation to a building, includes all wall thicknesses of the external walls and all roof areas used as floors, but does not include verandahs, balconies or areas set aside for car parking or access to car parking. home occupation means an occupation or profession that is carried on in a dwelling or on the site of a dwelling, but does not include the use of a site as a medical consulting room. hostel includes boarding houses, guest houses, lodging houses and other premises used to provide board or lodging with communal toilet, ablution, dining or cooking facilities, but does not include bed and breakfast accommodation, hotel or motel. hotel means premises that require a licence and public bar authority under the Liquor Act 2019 and if, as a principal part of the business, alcoholic beverages are ordinarily sold to the public for consumption on the premises whether or not accommodation is provided for members of the public and whether or not meals are served, but does not include a motel or restaurant.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 20 Lake Bennett locality means the area of land to which this instrument applies under clause 3. medical consulting room means a room or suite of rooms on the site of a single dwelling for use as a medical practitioner, dentist or person associated with health care. motel means premises wholly or principally used for the accommodation of travellers and the vehicles used by them, whether or not the building is also used to provide meals to the travellers or to members of the general public and whether or not the premises are licensed under the Liquor Act 2019. multiple dwellings means a building or group of buildings on a site that individually or collectively contain more than one dwelling but does not include a dependant unit. net floor area, in relation to a building, includes all the area between internal surfaces of external walls but does not include: (a) stairs, cleaners' cupboards, ablution facilities, lift shafts, escalators or tea rooms if tea rooms are provided as a standard facility in the building; (b) lobbies between lifts facing other lifts servicing the same floor; (c) areas set aside as public space or thoroughfares and not used exclusively by the occupiers of the building; (d) areas set aside as plant; (e) areas set aside for use of service or delivery vehicles; or (f) areas set aside for car parking or access. place of worship means premises used as a church, chapel, mosque, temple, synagogue or place of religious instruction or worship or for the purpose of religious training. promotion sign means a device using words, letters or images exhibited for the purpose of advertising, announcement or display that contains information relating to: (a) goods, services or products not provided, produced or sold; or (b) events or activities that are not carried on, on the land or in the building on which the sign is constructed or erected.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 21 restaurant means premises or part of a hotel or motel in which meals are served to the public, whether or not the premises provide a drive-through service or require a licence under the Liquor Act 2019. shop means premises used for the display and sale by retail, or for hire, of goods or services, but does not include a restaurant. single dwelling means a building containing one dwelling only. site means an area of land, whether consisting of one lot or more, the subject of an application to the consent authority. storey means that part of a building: (a) between floor levels; or (b) if there is no floor above – between the floor level and ceiling. 3 Land to which instrument applies The development provisions contained in this instrument apply to the area of land shown bounded by a black line on the map attached to this instrument. 4 Exceptions (1) Unless specified, this instrument does not prevent any of the following: (a) the use or development of any land: (i) as a road; or (ii) for sport and recreation; (b) the construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of any of the following: (i) facilities for the reticulation of water, sewage, gas, electricity or the transmission of telecommunications services other than, subject to clause 23, towers, aerials or masts for mobile telephone communications; (ii) stormwater drains; (iii) roads; (c) the strengthening or restoration to a safe condition of a building or works;

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 22 (d) the erection or display of a sign that is: (i) a traffic control or driver advisory guide, service or similar device; (ii) displayed by a government agency or local government council under a statutory obligation; (iii) on enclosed land or within a building and not readily visible from land outside the enclosure or building; (iv) of a temporary nature used to advertise property that is available for rent, lease, sale, auction or inspection; (v) displayed on or inside a vehicle, other than a vehicle that is adapted and exhibited primarily as an advertising sign; (vi) an interpretive sign used for describing sites or items of historical or educational significance; or (vii) a public safety advisory sign displayed by a government agency or local government council; (e) the use of land under an extractive mineral permit, or a mineral authority that corresponds to an extractive mineral permit, granted under the Mineral Titles Act 2010. (2) In subclause (1): sport and recreation does not include a use that involves commercial transactions, motor sports or activities that, because of the generation of noise or disturbance, will detrimentally affect the amenity of adjoining land. 5 Permitted, discretionary and prohibited development (1) A use or development of land is permitted without consent if expressly specified in a provision of this instrument and if it complies with the provisions of any relevant clause. (2) A use or development of land that does not comply with the provisions of one or more of the relevant clauses requires consent. (3) Except in relation to an ancillary use or development of land, in considering whether to grant consent to a proposed development, the consent authority must consider the proposed use or development in its entirety.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 23 (4) The performance criteria in Part 3 are the minimum standard of development but the consent authority may: (a) if it can be shown that there are special circumstances, consent to a use or development at variance with those standards; or (b) in consenting to a use or development, if in the opinion of the consent authority it is necessary to do so, require a higher standard than specified by the performance criteria in Part 3. (5) If a proposed use or development of land is not described in the specific land use controls in Part 2, the use or development is prohibited. 6 Ancillary development (1) If a use or development of land is permitted without consent, an ancillary use or development that would require consent if proposed as the primary use or development, is also permitted without consent provided it complies with the provisions of any relevant clauses. (2) If an ancillary use or development of land would be prohibited if proposed as the primary use or development, the ancillary use or development is permitted only with consent. 7 Planning principles and framework A use or development or proposed use or development of land in the Lake Bennett locality should: (a) contribute to a built, rural and natural environment supporting the diverse lifestyle and the social, cultural and economic development of the Territory promoting: (i) housing choice; (ii) public infrastructure; and (iii) recreational and cultural opportunities; (b) contribute to the sustainable use and development of land and water resources so that the use and development of land is consistent with the principles of sustainable development and avoids or minimises the degradation of the environment or the pollution or over commitment of water resources;

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 24 (c) promote rural building design which is climatically appropriate, energy efficient and contributes to the existing and future character and appearance of an area; (d) ensure development does not unreasonably intrude on or compromise the privacy of adjoining residential uses and ensures its own amenity is not prejudiced in the future; (e) assist in the conservation of areas and sites of environmental, cultural or heritage value as identified by the Territory; (f) facilitate the further development of the tourist industry capitalising on the Territory's aesthetic, natural and cultural heritage; (g) consider flood levels to minimise risk to life and property; and (h) value unimproved land for its inherent ecosystem functions in protecting native flora, fauna, soil and water resources. Part 2 Specific land use controls 8 Sections 90 to 97, 99 to 110 and 1252 to 1255 (1) The purpose of this Part is to ensure development around Lake Bennett does not have a detrimental impact on the lake and that the rural character and amenity of the area is maintained. (2) The use or development of sections 90 to 97(inclusive), 99 to 110 (inclusive) and 1252 to 1255 (inclusive) must be in accordance with the requirements of clauses 9 to 14 (inclusive). (3) The performance criteria in Part 3 apply to development except for a conflict with a clause in this Part. (4) In considering a proposed use or development the consent authority must consider: (a) any potential detrimental impact on the lake; (b) the extent to which the proposed use or development is appropriate to the land, taking into account the physical characteristics of the land including the visual impact of the proposal and the potential environmental impact of the proposal on the lake and water; and (c) whether services and infrastructure (including but not limited to water, sewerage, gas, electricity and roads) will be adequate to support the proposed use or development.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 25 9 Sections 90 to 92 (1) Without consent, sections 90, 91 and 92 may be developed with a single dwelling on each section. (2) With consent, sections 90, 91 and 92 may be developed for any other purpose that is in keeping with the rural character of the Lake Bennett locality. (3) A use or development for a purpose specified in subclause (1) or (2) is subject to the following conditions: (a) all waste water and septic facilities must be sited at least 100 m from the full supply level of the lake, or outside its catchment, and designed so that no effluent flows into the lake; (b) domestic livestock must not be kept, exercised or trained on the land within 100 m of the full supply level of the lake; (c) the keeping, exercising or training of domestic livestock on the land must not: (i) unreasonably contribute to the erosion or pollution of the land, adjoining land or the lake; or (ii) cause detriment to the amenity of the Lake Bennett locality because of excessive noise, offensive odours, excessive dust or the attraction of flies or vermin. 10 Sections 92 to 97, 99 to 110, 1252 to 1255 (1) The purpose of this clause is to allow each of the owners of the parcels of land receiving the benefit of a recreational easement over section 1255 to have a pontoon on the lake. (2) Without consent, the owner of each of the following lots may, subject to the terms of the recreational easement, construct one pontoon on or partly on section 1255: (a) sections 92 to 97 (inclusive); (b) sections 99 to 110 (inclusive); (c) an existing or proposed unit on section 1252; (d) sections 1253 and 1254.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 26 (3) In this clause: recreational easement means an easement in the terms stated in Schedule 4 to the Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005. 11 Sections 93 to 97 and 99 to 110 (1) Without consent, sections 93 to 97 (inclusive) and 99 to 110 (inclusive) may be developed with a single dwelling on each section. (2) With consent, sections 93 to 97 (inclusive) and 99 to 110 (inclusive) may be developed for the following purposes: (a) business sign; (b) dependant unit; (c) home occupation; (d) medical consulting room. (3) A use or development for a purpose specified in subclause (1) or (2) is subject to the following conditions: (a) all waste water and septic facilities must be sited at least 100 m from the full supply level of the lake, or outside its catchment, and designed so that no effluent flows into the lake; (b) domestic livestock must not be kept, exercised or trained on the land within 100 m of the full supply level of the lake; (c) the keeping, exercising or training of domestic livestock on the land must not: (i) unreasonably contribute to the erosion or pollution of the land, adjoining land or the lake; or (ii) cause detriment to the amenity of the Lake Bennett locality because of excessive noise, offensive odours, excessive dust or the attraction of flies or vermin. 12 Section 1252 (1) With consent, section 1252 may be used only for a condominium development for no more than 64 dwellings.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 27 (2) A use or development for a purpose specified in subclause (1) is subject to the following conditions: (a) all development must be single storey; (b) all waste water and septic facilities must be sited at least 100 m from the full supply level of the lake, or outside its catchment, and designed so that no effluent flows into the lake; (c) domestic livestock must not be kept, exercised or trained on the land. 13 Section 1253 (1) With consent, section 1253 may be developed for the following purposes: (a) business sign; (b) caravan park; (c) hostel; (d) hotel; (e) motel; (f) multiple dwellings; (g) promotion sign; (h) restaurant; (i) shop. (2) A use or development for a purpose specified in subclause (1) is subject to the following conditions: (a) all waste water and septic facilities must be sited at least 100 m from the full supply level of the lake, or outside its catchment, and designed so that no effluent flows into the lake; (b) domestic livestock must not be kept, exercised or trained on the land within 100 m of the full supply level of the lake;

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 28 (c) the keeping, exercising or training of domestic livestock on the land must not: (i) unreasonably contribute to the erosion or pollution of the land, adjoining land or the lake; or (ii) cause detriment to the amenity of the Lake Bennett locality because of excessive noise, offensive odours, excessive dust or the attraction of flies or vermin. 14 Sections 1254 and 1255 (1) Sections 1254 and 1255 may be used only for recreational purposes but not for any activity that because of the generation of noise or disturbance will detrimentally affect the amenity of adjoining land. (2) A further development (including using a caravan or camping) is not permitted on section 1254 or 1255 other than a development mentioned in section 23(1) of the Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005. (3) A houseboat is not permitted on the lake. (4) Domestic livestock must not be kept, exercised or trained on section 1254 or 1255. Part 3 Performance criteria 15 Subdivision lot sizes (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure lots will be of a size that will preserve the rural character of the Lake Bennett locality. (2) Subdivision design must provide for lots 8 ha or larger with a minimum of one hectare of unconstrained land. 16 Height control (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure the height of buildings is consistent with development provided for in the Lake Bennett locality. (2) The height of any point of a building (including a tiered or split level building) must be measured from ground level vertically below that point.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 29 (3) A building, other than a flag pole, lightning rod, aerial or antenna, must not exceed a height of: (a) for sections 90 to 97 (inclusive) and 99 to 110 (inclusive) and section 1253 – 8.5 m; or (b) for section 1252 – 5 m. 17 Car parking requirements (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure sufficient off-street car parking, constructed to a standard and conveniently located, is provided to service the proposed use of a site. Note to subsection (1): For many uses, the Building Code of Australia requires the provision of parking for people with disabilities. (2) Subject to clause 18, if a use or development specified in Column 1 of the table to this clause is proposed, the number of car parking spaces (rounded up to the next whole number) required for that use or development must be calculated in accordance with the formula specified opposite in Column 2. (3) If a use or development is proposed that is not listed in the table but requires consent, the consent authority must determine the number of car parking spaces required for that use or development. TABLE Column 1 Column 2 Use or development Minimum number of car parking spaces required Caravan park 1.1 for each caravan, cabin mobile home or tent site. Hostel 1 plus: (a) 1 for each 5, or part of 5, guests; and (b) 1 for each staff member. Hotel (a) 16 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, of net floor area used as a lounge bar or beer garden;

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 30 (b) 50 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, net floor area used as another bar; (c) 10 for a drive-in bottle shop for serving cars; (d) 1 for each guest suite or bedroom; and (e) 3 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, used for dining. Medical consulting rooms 1 (in addition to the 2 spaces required for the dwelling in which the rooms are located) plus 3 for each consulting room. Motel (a) 1 for each guest suite or bedroom; (b) 16 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, of net floor area used as a lounge bar or beer garden; and (c) 3 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, used for dining. Multiple dwellings (a) 2 for each dwelling; and (b) 1 for each 5, or part of 5, dwellings. Restaurant (a) 6 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, of net floor area (including alfresco dining areas); and (b) 10 for each drive-through for serving cars. Shop 6 for each 100 m 2, or part of 100 m 2, of net floor area. Single dwelling 2 18 Car parking area layout (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure a car parking area is appropriately designed, constructed and maintained to service the proposed use of a site. (2) A car parking area must be established, used and maintained for the purpose of parking vehicles only.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 31 (3) A car parking area must: (a) be of a suitable gradient for safe and convenient parking; (b) be dust-suppressed or sealed and well drained; (c) be of functional design and provide separate access to every car parking space; (d) limit the number of access points to the road; (e) allow a vehicle to enter from and exit to a road in a forward gear; (f) maximise the sight lines for drivers entering or exiting the car parking area; (g) be not less than 3 m from a road, and the area between the car parking area and the road must be landscaped with suitable planting; and (h) have driveways with a minimum width of 6 m for two-way traffic flow or 3.5 m for one-way traffic flow. 19 Signs (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure business signs and promotion signs are of a size and location that minimises detriment to the amenity of the area. (2) A business sign or promotion sign on a site must not: (a) exceed 3 m 2 in area; or (b) the height of a building on the site. 20 Demountable structures (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure demountable structures do not detract from the visual amenity of an area. (2) Placement of a demountable structure on land requires consent. 21 Set back of buildings (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure buildings, including sheds, on certain land are sited so they do not detract from the streetscape or amenity of adjoining land. (2) A building on land, other than on section 1252, must be set back at least 10 m from all boundaries.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 32 22 Pontoons (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure pontoons are appropriately designed and constructed. (2) A pontoon must: (a) not be larger than 4 m by 8 m with a ramp not exceeding 20 m; and (b) be moored by way of a ramp that is permanently and securely fixed to land or a dwelling above the high water mark. (3) The highest point of the pontoon must be no more than 600 mm above the water. 23 Mobile telephone telecommunications towers and infrastructure (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure the erection of mobile telecommunication towers and infrastructure does not unreasonably detract from the amenity of the Lake Bennett locality. (2) Despite anything to the contrary in this instrument, towers, aerials or masts for mobile telephone telecommunications may be developed only with consent. 24 Caravans (1) The purpose of this clause is to restrict the use of caravans on certain land. (2) Land, other than sections 1253, 1254 and 1255, may be used to provide accommodation in a caravan only if that caravan is the only caravan used as a residence on the site and is used: (a) as a temporary residence by the owner of the site; (b) by a dependant of a person occupying a single dwelling on the site; (c) temporarily by a bona fide visitor; or (d) by a bona fide caretaker of the land. 25 Dependant units (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure a dependant unit is ancillary to the single dwelling on a site.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 33 (2) A building or part of a building may be used, constructed or modified for use as a dependant unit if: (a) the floor area of the dependant unit does not or will not exceed 50 m 2; (b) it shares public utility services and an effluent disposal system with the single dwelling; and (c) there is or will be only one dependant unit on the site. 26 Home occupation (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure home occupations are established and operated in a manner that does not detract from the amenity of the Lake Bennett locality. (2) A dwelling may be used for home occupation only if: (a) the occupation or profession is carried out only by persons residing in the dwelling; (b) the total of the floor area of the dwelling plus the other areas of the site that are used for the home occupation (including areas used temporarily) does not exceed 30 m 2; (c) no greater demand or load is imposed on the services provided by a service authority than that ordinarily required in the Lake Bennett locality; (d) no sign is displayed, other than a business sign, that is not more than 0.5 m 2; (e) no goods or equipment are visible from outside the site; and (f) not more than one vehicle kept on the site is used for the purposes of the home occupation. (3) In this clause: home occupation includes the care of up to 5 children in a dwelling including children who reside in the dwelling. 27 Medical consulting rooms (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure medical consulting rooms are established and operated in a manner that does not detract from the amenity of the Lake Bennett locality.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 34 (2) A medical consulting room may be established and operated only if: (a) the service is carried out only by persons residing in the dwelling and not more than one person who does not reside in the dwelling; (b) the total area used for the medical consulting room (including areas used temporarily) does not exceed 30 m 2; (c) no greater demand or load is imposed on the services provided by a service authority than that ordinarily required in the Lake Bennett locality; and (d) no sign is displayed other than a business sign that is not more than 0.5 m 2. 28 Clearing of native vegetation (1) The purpose of this clause is to ensure clearing of native vegetation does not unreasonably contribute to environmental degradation of the Lake Bennett locality. (2) This clause does not apply to the clearing of native vegetation required or controlled under an Act of the Commonwealth or the Territory. (3) The clearing of native vegetation must: (a) avoid impacts on environmentally significant or sensitive vegetation; (b) be based on land capability and suitability for the intended use; (c) avoid impacts on waterways; (d) avoid habitat fragmentation and impacts on native wildlife corridors; and (e) avoid impacts on soils highly prone to erosion. (4) The clearing of native vegetation requires consent if more than one hectare in total is to be cleared, including a previously cleared area. (5) An application for the clearing of native vegetation must demonstrate consideration of the following: (a) the presence of sensitive or significant vegetation communities including rainforest, vine thicket and close forest;

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 35 (b) the presence of an area of essential habitat within the meaning of the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1996; (c) the impact of the clearing on regional biodiversity; (d) whether the clearing is necessary for the intended use; (e) whether there is sufficient water for the intended use; (f) whether the soils are suitable for the intended use; (g) whether the slope is suitable for the intended use; (h) the presence of permanent and seasonal water features, including billabongs and swamps; (i) the retention of native vegetation adjacent to waterways; (j) the retention of native vegetation buffers along boundaries; (k) the retention of native vegetation corridors between remnant native vegetation; (l) the presence of a heritage object, heritage place, archaeological object or archaeological site within the meaning of the Heritage Conservation Act 1991. (6) In assessing an application for the clearing of native vegetation, the matters mentioned in subclause (5) must be taken into account.

Schedule 5 Development for Lake Bennett locality Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 36 LAKE BENNETT LOCALITY clause 3

Schedule 6 Development permit for development area Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 37 Schedule 6 Development permit for development area section 21 NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 DEVELOPMENT PERMIT DP04/0022 DESCRIPTION OF LAND THE SUBJECT OF THE PERMIT Lot No: section 1252 Town/Hundred: Hundred of Howard Street Address: Chinner Road Consent is granted, pursuant to the Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005, for the purpose of 64 dwellings representing up to 15 new dwellings in addition to the existing 49 dwellings, subject to the conditions in the Schedule, and for the reasons set out in the attached Statement of Reasons. Minister for Lands and Planning Date:

Schedule 6 Development permit for development area Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 38 SCHEDULE OF CONDITIONS Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 DEVELOPMENT PERMIT DP04/0022

All development on section 1252 is limited to a single storey.
Up to 15 new dwellings may be constructed on the eastern side of the lake on the areas identified by thick black lines on Drawing No. 04/5818/4 "Development Area Lake Bennett".
All new dwellings must provide a separation of at least 3 m between dwellings (proposed and existing) and a 5 m setback from the access driveway.
All new dwellings must be similar in style, height and building materials to the existing dwellings on units 17 to 54 (inclusive).
The floor level of any new dwelling must be a minimum of 200 mm above the one in one hundred year flood level.
All air conditioning condensers are to be appropriately screened from public view and located so as to minimise thermal and acoustic impacts on neighbouring properties to the satisfaction of the Minister for Lands and Planning.
The dwellings hereby permitted must be connected to the effluent disposal system that services the existing unit development to the satisfaction of the Department of Health and Community Services.
The dwellings hereby permitted must be connected to a reticulated potable water supply to the satisfaction of the Department of Health and Community Services.
Any developments on or adjacent to any easements on site must be carried out to the requirements and satisfaction of the relevant service authority. Note: Section 21 of the Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 states that a development permit issued under that Act is taken to have been issued under the Planning Act 1999. The Planning Act 1999 provides for a Base Period of Permit under section 3 subject to the provisions of sections 58 and 59. This permit will lapse 2 years from the date of issue. Minister for Lands and Planning Date:

Schedule 6 Development permit for development area Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 39 STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DETERMINATION Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 DEVELOPMENT PERMIT DP04/0022 Reason The permit allows for the development of up to 15 new dwellings on the eastern side of Lake Bennett in accordance with the terms of compromise submitted by the Territory to the registered proprietors of the lots. Variations given Not applicable Minister for Lands and Planning Date:

ENDNOTES Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 40 ENDNOTES 1 KEY Key to abbreviations amd = amended od = order app = appendix om = omitted bl = by-law pt = Part ch = Chapter r = regulation/rule cl = clause rem = remainder div = Division renum = renumbered exp = expires/expired rep = repealed f = forms s = section Gaz = Gazette sch = Schedule hdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision ins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation lt = long title sub = substituted nc = not commenced 2 LIST OF LEGISLATION Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 (Act No. 2, 2005) Assent date 18 February 2005 Commenced 9 March 2005 (Gaz G10, 9 March 2005, p 2) Mineral Titles (Consequential Amendments) Act 2010 (Act No. 37, 2010) Assent date 18 November 2010 Commenced 7 November 2011 (Gaz G41, 12 October 2011, p 5) Local Government Amendment Act 2014 (Act No. 19, 2014) Assent date 2 June 2014 Commenced s 16: 1 July 2014; s 18: 1 December 2014; rem: 2 June 2014 (s 2) Liquor Act 2019 (Act No. 29, 2019) Assent date 3 September 2019 Commenced 1 October 2019 (Gaz G39, 25 September 2019, p 2)s 3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22 of 2018) to: ss 1, 5, 6, 12, 13, 15 , 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30 and sch 4, 5 and 6. 4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS sch 5 amd No. 37, 2010, s 13; No. 19, 2014, s 26; No. 29, 2019, s 377

1 Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005

Statutory override and instrument preparation: The Act declares that it applies despite any other Act or law to the contrary (s 3). The Minister must prepare all instruments necessary to achieve the object stated in s 4 , namely to facilitate preparation and registration of instruments relating to lots in the Lake Bennett locality in accordance with a compromise submitted by the Territory (s 4, s 7). An instrument prepared under the Act is validly executed if signed by the Minister in place of whoever would otherwise be required to sign (s 8). Those provisions together allocate preparatory and signing power to the Minister and make execution and lodgment the principal mechanism for reconfiguring interests.

Title restructure and creation of lots: The Lake Bennett plan of subdivision (s 9) creates sections 1252-1255. The Lake Bennett units plan (s 10) subdivides part of created section 1252 into unit lots corresponding to existing units, one lot for the development area and common property, and must include a schedule of unit entitlements certified by a valuer (s 10(2)-(3)). On lodgment the Registrar‑General is required to cancel Units Plan 97/026 and the certificates of title relating to the Lake Bennett lots and to register the new subdivision, units plan, unit entitlement schedule and easements, and issue certificates as to title for the created lots in accordance with s 15 (s 13(2)).

Extinguishment and replacement of interests: Recreational easements listed in Schedule 1 are extinguished on lodgment of the instruments (s 14). The Minister must prepare new easements that burden, and benefit, the appropriate created sections and common property (s 11), and the text and conditions of those easements are prescribed in Schedule 3 (common property) and Schedule 4 (lake and foreshore). Restrictive covenants listed in Schedule 2 are extinguished once the Planning Scheme is amended under s 19 and that extinguishment must be registered by the Registrar‑General (s 20).

Planning and development control: The Planning Minister must replace the prior Lake Bennett Area Plan 2000 with the development provisions set out in Schedule 5 and publish notice in the Gazette (s 19). The development permit for the development area is to be issued on registration of the Lake Bennett units plan and is expressed in Schedule 6; it is taken to have been issued under the Planning Act 1999 (s 21). Schedule 5 itself contains the Lake Bennett locality planning provisions: permitted/discretionary uses, constraints such as septic‑system setbacks of 100 m from full supply level, limits on number of dwellings in section 1252 (condominium no more than 64 dwellings, s 12, Schedule 5), pontoon specifications (Schedule 5 cl 22), and prohibitions on houseboats and further development of the lake and foreshore beyond specified exceptions (Schedule 5 cl 14; s 23 of the Act).

Finality and regulatory reach: The Act restricts legal challenges , s 24 states that decisions of the Minister, Planning Minister or Registrar‑General under the Act in relation to an instrument prepared for the Act cannot be challenged, reviewed, quashed or restrained by court, tribunal or injunction. The Act also allows the Administrator to make regulations that may be retrospective, provide exemptions from other Acts, apply despite other Acts and vary by class or exception (s 29).

Water licensing and executive control: The existing licence to take or use surface water held by the resort owner is surrendered on commencement and the Controller of Water Resources must issue a new 10‑year licence to the resort owner subject to terms and conditions decided by the Planning Minister (s 27(1)-(3)). The Controller must amend or modify the licence in accordance with a direction of the Planning Minister and may only amend with the Planning Minister’s approval (s 27(5)). Renewals are also subject to the Planning Minister’s terms (s 27(6)). This places primary control over the terms and amendment of the licence with the Planning Minister.

Transitional continuity: The former body corporate under Units Plan 97/026 is continued by the new body corporate constituted on registration of the Lake Bennett units plan and its assets and liabilities, contracts, guarantees, proceedings and actions vest in or continue by the new body corporate (s 30). This provision is designed to preserve legal continuity for the unit holding despite the title reconfiguration.

Fees, stamp duty and costs: Instruments prepared for the Act are exempt from lodgment fees and stamp duty (s 25(1)), but an explicit exception is made for a units plan of subdivision for an additional unit (s 25(2)). The Registrar‑General may register a units plan subdivision for additional units without lodgment of certain documents for buildings existing before commencement where a building certificate under the Unit Titles Act 1975 was not required (s 17).

Key legal mechanics therefore include centralised ministerial preparation and signature of instruments, registration and cancellation of plans and certificates by the Registrar‑General, replacement and reallocation of easement and covenant rights according to the Schedules, insertion of locality‑specific planning controls via Schedule 5, and administrative control over water licensing by the Planning Minister.

Registered proprietors and beneficiaries of existing instruments: The immediate legal effects are on registered proprietors of the Lake Bennett lots and on persons who hold or benefit from the recreational easements and restrictive covenants listed in Schedules 1 and 2. Those easements are extinguished by operation of s 14 on lodgment, and the covenants are extinguished on amendment of the Planning Scheme under s 19 and registered as extinguished by the Registrar‑General under s 20. The Act identifies the specific registered owners who will receive new certificates as to title for created sections (s 15), for example: created section 1253 and 1255 to the registered owner of section 245 (s 15(1)(d)); created section 1254 to the registered owner of section 106 (s 15(1)(e)); created section 1252 to the body corporate on registration of the Lake Bennett units plan (s 15(1)(a)); and the development area lot to the registered owner of unit 108 on Units Plan 97/026 (s 15(1)(c)).

Unit owners and the body corporate: Owners of existing units under Units Plan 97/026 are directly affected by the conversion into the Lake Bennett units plan: each existing unit becomes a new unit lot in the units plan and the body corporate constituted under the Unit Titles Act 1975 for the new plan receives the common property and inherits the former body corporate’s assets, liabilities, contracts and proceedings (s 10(2), s 30). Unit entitlements must be certified by a valuer and included in the units plan (s 10(3)).

Owners and users of the lake and foreshore: The Act remakes the rights to use the lake and foreshore through new easements drafted in Schedules 3-4 (s 11). Those instruments grant rights to owners of adjoining lots and created sections to enter and use the common property and lake for recreational purposes, leave boats and install a pontoon within specified conditions and limitations (Schedule 3 cl 1; Schedule 4 cl 1-3). Owners who will be required to carry public liability insurance and to maintain a 3 m vegetation clearance around pontoons are directly affected (Schedule 4 cl 3). The resort owner, proprietor of the lake and foreshore, will retain ownership rights and control over approval of pontoon specifications (Schedule 4 cl 3).

Resort owner and water users: The resort owner (as defined in s 5) is affected by s 27: the resort owner’s existing Water Act 1992 licence is surrendered and replaced with a new 10‑year licence the Controller must issue, but that new licence is subject to terms and conditions decided by the Planning Minister and the Controller must follow the Planning Minister’s directions when amending the licence (s 27(1)-(6)). Persons whose recreational uses are constrained by the terms of the licence (Schedule 4 cl 1) will be affected, because easement use must not be inconsistent with the terms of the water licence (Schedule 4 cl 1).

Prospective developers and buyers: Developers seeking to build additional units in the development area are affected by the development permit issued under s 21 and set out in Schedule 6 (DP04/0022). The Registrar‑General may register a units‑plan subdivision for additional units without certain building documentation for pre‑commencement buildings (s 17). However, units plans for additional units are not exempt from fees or stamp duty (s 25(2)), so developers will face transaction costs. Purchasers must check the new certificates issued by the Registrar‑General after registration (s 13(2)(f), s 15).

Regulatory agencies and ministers: The Registrar‑General is instructed to cancel prior plans and certificates and register new instruments (s 13). The Planning Minister must amend the Planning Scheme, publish notice, and issue the development permit (s 19-21). The Controller of Water Resources must surrender and reissue the licence and act on Planning Minister direction (s 27). These provisions concentrate decision, registration and amendment responsibilities in named agencies and ministers.

Third parties with security interests: The Act expressly renders caveats, court orders, writs of execution and statutory charges non‑preventive of the Act’s registration process (s 18). Holders of such interests therefore face the risk that registration of instruments prepared under the Act will proceed despite those securities being in place.

Local government and service authorities: The development provisions in Schedule 5 impose infrastructure and environmental conditions (setbacks, effluent, water, limits on clearing of native vegetation) that implicate service authorities and the Department of Health and Community Services who are to be satisfied regarding effluent and reticulated potable water connections for the development area dwellings (Schedule 6 conditions 7-8). The consent authority must assess applications with regard to potential impact on the lake, services and infrastructure (Schedule 5 cl 8(4)).

In short, the Act materially reassigns property rights and regulatory parameters for a bounded set of lots, replacing and consolidating some private rights (easements and covenants) with a new set of statutory instruments, while imposing planning, service and water licensing controls that affect proprietors, unit owners, the resort owner, developers and holders of security interests.

Ministerial duties (preparation and lodgment): The Minister must prepare the instruments necessary to achieve the Act’s object and lodge the Lake Bennett plan of subdivision, Lake Bennett units plan with a valuer‑certified schedule of unit entitlements, and the easements prepared under ss 11 and 12 as soon as practicable after commencement (s 7, s 11, s 12, s 13(1)). The Minister must also ensure restriction memoranda under the Land Title Act 2000 are lodged for specified restrictions (s 16(2), s 23(2)).

Registrar‑General duties (registration and cancellation): The Registrar‑General must cancel Units Plan 97/026 and the relevant certificates as to title, register the new plan of subdivision, register the units plan and schedule of unit entitlements, register the extinguishment of recreational easements, issue new certificates as to title for the created lots (subject to previously registered instruments except where extinguished), and register the new easements (s 13(2)(a)-(g), s 14, s 15(2)). The Registrar‑General must also register the extinguishment of restrictive covenants after the Planning Scheme is amended (s 20(2)).

Rights created by easements and covenants: The new easements created under s 11 confer the rights and duties set out in Schedules 3-4. Schedule 3 (common property) grants owners the right to enter and use common property for recreational purposes consistent with quiet enjoyment and excludes areas containing necessary service infrastructure; it also imposes covenants not to damage or pollute common property. Schedule 4 (lake and foreshore) grants the right to enter and use the lake and foreshore for recreational purposes subject to the terms of the Water Act licence; it expressly permits owners to leave boats on the lake and permits owners whose land adjoins Chinner Road or section 1255 to leave a pontoon subject to prior written approval of the lake/foreshore owner (not to be unreasonably withheld) and to obligations to maintain a 3 m clear vegetation zone and public liability insurance (Schedule 4 cl 1-3).

Planning Minister duties and permit conditions: The Planning Minister must amend the Northern Territory Planning Scheme to insert Schedule 5 and revoke the Lake Bennett Area Plan 2000, publish notice in the Gazette (s 19), and on registration of the units plan must issue the development permit for the development area in the terms stated in Schedule 6 (s 21). The Schedule 6 conditions impose specific construction and service obligations (single storey, number and location of new dwellings, separation and setbacks, floor level minimums above the 1-in-100 year flood level, screening of condensers, connection to effluent disposal and potable water services) and refer to Department of Health and Community Services satisfaction for effluent and water (Schedule 6 conditions 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Water licensing duties and ministerial control: On commencement the resort owner’s existing Water Act licence is surrendered and the Controller of Water Resources must issue a new 10‑year licence to the resort owner, subject to terms and conditions decided by the Planning Minister (s 27(1)-(3)). The Controller must amend or modify the licence in accordance with the Planning Minister’s direction and may only amend or modify a licence with the Planning Minister’s approval (s 27(5)). Renewed licences are also subject to the Planning Minister’s terms (s 27(6)). The water licence terms therefore become a regulatory lever under the Planning Minister’s control.

Restrictions on ownership and further development: The Act mandates that created sections 1253 and 1255 be in the same ownership and requires the Minister to lodge memoranda under s 35 of the Land Title Act 2000 to record the restriction (s 16(1)-(2)). Further development of created sections 1254, 1255 and the common property easement area is restricted to complying pontoons or works reasonably necessary to provide services (s 23(1)), and a memorandum must be lodged for that restriction (s 23(2)). Schedule 5 adds land‑use controls, permitted/discretionary uses, minimum lot sizes, height caps, car parking requirements, and environmental controls such as native vegetation clearing requirements (Schedule 5 Part 1-3).

Finality of decisions and the right to compensation: The Act declares that decisions of the Minister, Planning Minister or Registrar‑General under the Act in relation to an instrument prepared for the Act cannot be challenged, reviewed or restrained (s 24). The Act preserves an entitlement to just compensation where, but for s 28, property is acquired under the Act other than on just terms: the person is entitled to receive just compensation and a court of competent jurisdiction may decide the amount of compensation (s 28). Thus, while judicial review of decisions is statutorily curtailed (s 24), s 28 expressly retains the remedy of compensation for acquisition on unjust terms.

Fees and stamp duty exemptions: Instruments prepared for the Act are exempt from payment of prescribed lodgment fees and stamp duty under the Stamp Duty Act 1978 (s 25(1)). The exception is that exemption does not apply to preparation/registration of a units plan of subdivision for an additional unit (s 25(2)). That allocation of transactional cost relief therefore benefits most state‑prepared instruments but not private additional unit subdivisions.

Delegation and regulatory power: The Minister and Planning Minister may delegate powers in writing to the chief executive officer of the agency administering the Act and the Planning Act respectively (s 26). The Administrator may make regulations including those with retrospective operation to a date not earlier than commencement, exemptions from other Acts, and provisions applying despite other Acts (s 29).

Transitional duties of the new body corporate: On registration of the units plan the new body corporate continues the existence of the former body corporate, and assets, liabilities, contracts, guarantees and proceedings are taken to be the new body corporate’s obligations or rights (s 30(1)-(2)). Practically this places a duty on the new body corporate to administer and enforce obligations and to be enforceable in ongoing proceedings.

Together these duties and rights reallocate titles, regulatory approvals, service and environmental obligations and administration of water and planning powers within a specific geographic area determined by the Schedule 5 map and the text of the Act.

Statutory removal of review and injunctions: The Act contains an unusual enforcement‑adjacent mechanism in s 24: decisions of the Minister, Planning Minister or Registrar‑General under the Act in relation to an instrument prepared for the Act cannot be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question on any grounds before a court, tribunal, body or person in legal proceedings; nor can they be restrained, removed or otherwise affected by injunction or proceedings in the nature of prohibition or mandamus. That is an express statutory bar on judicial review and interlocutory relief within the scope of the Act as drafted. The Act does not provide a penalty regime or offences in the text; enforcement therefore relies on administration, registration mechanics and civil remedies outside the Act’s ouster where available (the Act itself does not create criminal penalties).

Registration and title enforcement by Registrar‑General: The Registrar‑General’s functions under s 13(2) are mandatory on lodgment and operate to effectuate the statutory reconfiguration of title and interests. The registration process itself enforces the changes: cancellation of previous units plan and certificates and issue of new certificates (s 13(2)(a)-(f)) will change the register and thereby give effect to new legal status enforceable against subsequent purchasers. The Act requires the Registrar‑General to register extinguishment of easements (s 13(2)(e)) and covenants (s 20(2)), which is the primary enforcement mechanism against the instruments listed in Schedules 1 and 2.

Easement and covenant enforcement (private law): The Schedules set out express covenants and obligations (for example, Schedule 3 cl 2 and Schedule 4 cl 4) under which owners covenant not to do or suffer anything that would damage or pollute the common property or lake, and not to interfere with the quiet enjoyment of others. These covenants, once registered, will be enforceable as registered instruments under property law principles; the Act itself prescribes their registration (s 11-12) and the Registrar‑General is to register them (s 13(2)(g)). Schedule 4 additionally requires pontoon owners to obtain and maintain public liability insurance and to maintain a 3 m cleared area around the pontoon. Enforcement of those covenants and conditions will be by the parties with benefit of the easement/covenant and through the land titles register.

Planning compliance and permit conditions: The development permit issued under s 21 and set out in Schedule 6 includes performance conditions (single storey restriction, separation distances, floor level requirement, connection to effluent and water services, screening of condensers). The Schedule notes that the permit will lapse two years from issue in accordance with the Planning Act’s base period provisions. Enforcement of these planning conditions will be by the consent authority and through relevant provisions of the Planning Act 1999 as the development permit is taken to have been issued under that Act (s 21(2)).

Water licence compliance and ministerial control: The Controller of Water Resources is directed to issue the new licence and to act in accordance with the Planning Minister’s directions (s 27). The Water Act 1992 (referenced in s 27(4)) contains enforcement mechanisms for breaches of licence conditions; while the Lake Bennett Act does not itself create penalties for water misuse, it places the licence terms and amendment power under the Planning Minister. Enforcement therefore will be through the Water Act processes for breaches of licence conditions, and the Planning Minister’s capacity to direct amendments affects the ongoing enforcement posture.

No specific monetary penalties in the Act: The Lake Bennett Act does not create new criminal offences or prescribed pecuniary penalties within its text. Instead, enforcement is implemented by registration mechanics, covenants and easements that create enforceable obligations against landowners and by use of existing statutory enforcement frameworks in the Planning Act 1999 and the Water Act 1992 where licences or permits are taken to be issued under those statutes (s 21(2), s 27(4)).

Compensation mechanism for acquisition: Where property is acquired under the Act other than on just terms, s 28 preserves the right to just compensation and provides that a court of competent jurisdiction may determine the compensation or make appropriate orders. This is the Act’s built‑in remedy in place of challenge to the administrative acts that alter title or ownership.

Regulatory instruments with retrospective or overriding effect: Section 29 permits regulations that may have retrospective operation to the commencement date and that may apply despite other Acts, including exemptions from compliance with another Act (s 29(2)-(3)). The exercise of that regulation‑making power can have enforcement implications because regulations may alter compliance obligations or create procedural exceptions. The Administrator’s regulations therefore are a potential tool for enforcement or for creating penalties, subject to the limitation that regulations must be not inconsistent with the Act (s 29(1)).

In practice enforcement will therefore be effected mainly through registration, private covenant enforcement, planning and water licence regimes and the potential for compensation where acquisitions occur. The Act itself contains no express criminal sanction provisions.

Express primacy and cross‑statutory treatment: The Act states that it applies despite any other Act or law to the contrary (s 3). That declaratory override gives this Act primacy within Territory statute law to the extent Parliament can legislate , the Act also expressly integrates and treats certain actions as if done under other statutes: it provides that the units plan is taken to have been registered under the Real Property (Unit Titles) Act 1975 and the plan of subdivision under the Land Title Act 2000 (s 13(4)(a)-(b)). The development permit issued under s 21 is taken to have been issued under the Planning Act 1999 (s 21(2)). The new water licence is taken to have been issued under the Water Act 1992 on its issue (s 27(4)). These cross‑references align the Act’s instruments with the operational regimes of the Land Title, Unit Titles and Planning legislative frameworks.

Definitions and meaning alignment: Section 6 provides that expressions used in this Act that are defined in the Land Title Act 2000, Planning Act 1999, Real Property (Unit Titles) Act 1975 or Unit Titles Act 1975 have, as the context requires, the same meaning in this Act. That ties interpretation of terms to the established meaning in related statutes and facilitates interoperability of registration and planning processes.

Registration mechanics and extinguishment of registered instruments: The Registrar‑General is required to cancel Units Plan 97/026 and to issue new certificates (s 13(2)(a)-(f)). The Act requires registration of the extinguishment of recreational easements (s 13(2)(e), s 14) and extinguishment of restrictive covenants after Planning Scheme amendment (s 20(1)-(2)). Those provisions interact directly with the land titles register and the operation of the Land Title Act 2000 regarding priority and notice. The Act also requires lodging of memoranda under s 35 of the Land Title Act 2000 for particular restrictions on ownership and development (s 16(2), s 23(2)), thereby working alongside Land Title Act memorialisation procedures.

Planning Act integration and modification of scheme: The Planning Minister is required to amend the Northern Territory Planning Scheme by revoking the previous Area Plan and inserting the Lake Bennett development provisions in Schedule 5; once published in the Gazette, the amendment is taken to have been made under the Planning Act 1999 (s 19). The development permit provided in Schedule 6 is declared to be taken as issued under the Planning Act (s 21(2)). Therefore planning consent, lapse periods and enforcement will use the mechanisms of the Planning Act, while the content of the Scheme for this locality is statutorily specified by Schedule 5.

Water Act interaction and ministerial direction: The existing licence is surrendered and a new licence issued and taken to be under the Water Act 1992 (s 27(1)-(4)). The Controller of Water Resources must act in accordance with Planning Minister directions when amending or modifying the licence and may do so only with the Planning Minister’s approval (s 27(5)). That gives the Planning Minister practical control over the statutory water licence whose enforcement and contraventions remain governed by the Water Act machinery.

Regulatory reach and exceptions: Section 29 permits regulations that may provide for exemptions from compliance with provisions of another Act and that may have retrospective operation to a date not earlier than commencement. The Regulations may apply despite this or another Act to the contrary (s 29(3)). The regulations can therefore be used to carve out exceptions or to align otherwise inconsistent obligations to make the Act work operationally. This interacts with other legislation by permitting the Administrator to modify cross‑statutory application consistent with the Act’s objectives.

Unit titles and subdivision: The Act treats the units plan as if registered under the Unit Titles legislation (s 13(4)(b)), and s 17 allows the Registrar‑General to register a units plan of subdivision for additional units without lodgment of some documents required by the Unit Titles Act where a building existed before commencement and where a building certificate was not required. That creates an interaction where unit title subdivision requirements may be relaxed for additional units pursuant to the Lake Bennett Act direction.

Preservation of compensation rights under acquisition law: Where property is acquired under the Act other than on just terms, s 28 preserves entitlement to just compensation and provides access to a court to determine the amount. That interacts with constitutional property acquisition principles and with compensation frameworks under Territory law: the Act itself provides the express legislative path for compensation claims arising from acquisitions effected under the Act.

Taken together the Act prescribes how it is to be read with and treated as operating through the Land Title, Unit Titles, Planning and Water legislation. It both imports mechanisms from those statutes and, by express provision, overrides inconsistent elements elsewhere to effect a comprehensive, locally tailored reconfiguration.

Foundational enactment and commencement: The Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 (Act No. 2, 2005) received assent on 18 February 2005 and commenced 9 March 2005 (Gazette G10, 9 March 2005, p 2), as recorded in the Act’s endnotes.

Subsequent legislative amendments recorded in the provided endnotes: The consolidated text carries the effect of several subsequent Acts that have made formal or specific amendments:

Mineral Titles (Consequential Amendments) Act 2010 (Act No. 37, 2010): assented 18 November 2010; commencement recorded 7 November 2011 (Gazette G41, 12 October 2011, p 5). The endnotes note sch 5 amendments by No. 37, 2010, s 13.
Local Government Amendment Act 2014 (Act No. 19, 2014): assented 2 June 2014; commenced various sections 1 July 2014 and 1 December 2014 (s 16 and s 18 respectively); the endnotes list sch 5 as amended by No. 19, 2014, s 26.
Liquor Act 2019 (Act No. 29, 2019): assented 3 September 2019; commenced 1 October 2019 (Gazette G39, 25 September 2019, p 2). The endnotes list sch 5 as amended by No. 29, 2019, s 377.

Formal/technical amendments: The endnotes record that the Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22 of 2018) made general amendments of a formal nature (not specifically tabulated in the schedule of amendments) to ss 1, 5, 6, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30 and schedules 4, 5 and 6. Those are described as of a formal nature in the endnotes; the reprint reflects those technical edits.

Schedule 5 amendments: The endnotes explicitly list Schedule 5 as being amended by Acts Nos 37 (2010), 19 (2014) and 29 (2019). The operative effect is changes to the planning provisions in Schedule 5 over time, which is the element most likely to be tailored by subsequent legislative change given planning and land‑use policy.

No other amendment specifics in the source: The excerpted endnotes in the provided Act text do not enumerate line‑by‑line amendment content beyond the references above; the reprint notes general and schedule amendments. For detailed textual changes and the precise clauses affected, consult the reprints and amendment instruments in the Northern Territory legislation database or the Gazette notices that show the amendments and their commencement dates.

Practical consequence: the planning instrument portion (Schedule 5) has been varied at least three times since enactment; the Act otherwise retains its core machinery (Ministerial preparation, registration instructions, extinguishment and creation of easements, units plan conversion, water licensing and finality provisions). The Act’s reprint as at 1 October 2019 incorporates these amendments and the formal edits made by the 2018 Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act.

Readers requiring a chronological track of amendments for transactional or litigation purposes should retrieve the consolidated reprint and the amendment Acts listed (2010, 2014, 2019) and the Gazette notices for precise wording and commencement timetables.

No litigation materials or reported cases are contained within the statute text provided. The Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005 reprint as at 1 October 2019 does not list any judicial decisions, nor does it reference case law in the text or schedules. The Act contains an express bar on challenge of specified decisions (s 24), which may reduce the incidence of judicial review proceedings directly contesting the instruments prepared under the Act; however s 28 preserves an entitlement to compensation in cases of acquisition other than on just terms and provides access to a court to determine compensation.

Because the provided source does not include any case citations, reported decisions, or a litigation history section, no cases are named in this material. Practitioners seeking to determine whether s 24 has been the subject of constitutional or other challenge, or whether the Act’s reconfiguration of titles has generated disputes, will need to search Territory and federal case law databases, tribunal records and unreported proceedings after 1 October 2019 for developments. Relevant search terms include the Act’s title, created section numbers (1252-1255), Units Plan 97/026, and the registered easement and covenant numbers listed in Schedules 1-2.

If litigation exists it may concern: (a) disputes about adequacy of compensation under s 28; (b) private covenant or easement enforcement after registration of new instruments; (c) compliance with Schedule 6 development permit conditions; or (d) disputes arising from the Planning Minister’s control over the water licence under s 27. The statute as provided does not report any such matters.

Ouster of review (s 24): Section 24 removes ordinary avenues for judicial review, injunctions and interlocutory relief in respect of decisions made by the Minister, Planning Minister or Registrar‑General under the Act relating to instruments prepared for the Act. The practical effect is that many administrative decisions under the Act are insulated from challenge by statutory text. For practitioners, this is a critical procedural trap: conventional grounds and interlocutory relief will not be available within the statutory carve‑out. Note that s 28 preserves compensation for acquisition on other than just terms; the Act therefore shifts remedy emphasis away from review to compensation.

Registration despite caveats and securities (s 18, s 13(3)): The Act instructs that the lodging of caveats, requests to register court orders or writs of execution, and statutory charges do not prevent registration of instruments prepared under the Act (s 18). Moreover, the Registrar‑General must register certain instruments even if a certificate as to title is not lodged or a holder of a registered interest has not consented (s 13(3)). That means that security holders and litigants with pending writs may find priority or enforcement positions altered by the registration process. Interested parties must monitor the register and lodge or protect rights proactively prior to lodgment.

Extinguishment of private rights (s 14, s 20): Recreational easements listed in Schedule 1 are extinguished upon lodgment of instruments (s 14); restrictive covenants listed in Schedule 2 are extinguished when the Planning Scheme is amended (s 19-20). The schedule lists precise registered instrument numbers. Beneficiaries must note extinguishment is automatic on statutory trigger, and the new easements and covenants in Schedules 3-4 do not necessarily replicate prior instrument terms verbatim , check both the schedule lists and the textual terms.

Ministerial signature and substitution (s 8): The Minister may sign instruments in the place of the person who would otherwise be required to sign them (s 8). This bypasses conventional consent and execution pathways and can result in documents being lodged and registered without individual proprietors’ signatures. Transactional practitioners must verify that instruments have been prepared and lodged under the Act and be alert to the Minister’s role as statutory signatory.

Unit title conversions and entitlements (s 10, s 15, s 30): The Lake Bennett units plan creates lots for existing units and requires a valuer‑certified schedule of unit entitlements (s 10(2)-(3)). The Registrar‑General must issue certificates to unit owners (s 15(1)(b)), and the former body corporate’s assets and liabilities vest in the new body corporate (s 30(1)-(2)). Purchasers and financiers should examine the certified unit entitlement schedule and the reconstituted body corporate records to assess apportionment of rights and liabilities.

Pontoons , approval and insurance requirements (Schedule 4 cl 3): Schedule 4 permits pontoons but requires prior written approval of the owner of the lake and foreshore (not to be unreasonably withheld), compliance with planning provisions, a 3 m vegetation clearance surrounding pontoons and maintenance of public liability insurance. Building permit approval rules under s 22 remove the need for the owner of section 1253’s approval under certain circumstances, but Schedule 4 still requires written approval of the lake and foreshore owner for pontoon specifics , potential for overlapping or conflicting approval rules that parties must reconcile procedurally.

Planning and building approvals interplay (s 21, s 22, Schedule 6): The development permit in Schedule 6 is taken to have been issued under the Planning Act 1999 (s 21(2)); s 22 modifies requirements for obtaining owner approval for building permits for complying pontoons. Practitioners must coordinate building permits, the development permit conditions in Schedule 6 (notably service authority satisfaction for effluent and potable water), and the delegated exceptions in s 22 so that compliance is demonstrable.

Water licence centralisation (s 27): The new water licence issued to the resort owner is subject to the Planning Minister’s terms; the Controller must follow Planning Minister directions when amending the licence and may only amend with the Planning Minister’s approval (s 27(5)). That centralises control of licence content and future amendments in the Planning Minister’s hands , parties who rely on water use should secure clear, documented licence terms and consider the risk that the Planning Minister can direct amendments.

Fees and stamp duty exceptions with a narrow carve‑out (s 25): Instruments prepared for the Act are exempt from lodgment fees and stamp duty (s 25(1)), but this does not apply to a units plan of subdivision for an additional unit (s 25(2)). Developers proposing additional units will not enjoy the general cost exemption and must budget for fees and stamp duty accordingly.

Registrar‑General’s mandatory actions may override consent (s 13(2)-(3)): The Registrar‑General must perform cancellation and registration tasks even when proprietors have not consented or when certificates are not lodged (s 13(3)). This undermines the usual dependency of registration on proprietor cooperation and may surprise parties who expect to negotiate or withhold consent.

Regulatory power to make retrospective regulations (s 29): The Administrator may make regulations with retrospective operation to the commencement date and that apply despite other Acts (s 29(2)-(3)). That flexibility raises the risk that consequential matters (procedural or substantive) could be addressed later by regulation rather than by amendment to the Act, producing implementation uncertainty.

Restrictions on further development and ownership (s 16, s 23): s 16 mandates that created sections 1253 and 1255 be in the same ownership and s 23 restricts further development of certain lots to complying pontoons or service‑related works. These statutory restrictions must be memorialised by the Minister under the Land Title Act 2000 and placed as memoranda (s 16(2), s 23(2)), so purchasers should search the register for memoranda under s 35 of the Land Title Act to detect these encumbrances.

Document and register vigilance: Given the Act’s central mechanism is lodgment and registration that may proceed without prior consent and that overrides or extinguishes existing instruments, interested parties must check the land titles register, the units plan and schedule of unit entitlements, the new certificates as to title, and memoranda lodged under the Land Title Act 2000 to understand current legal status.

For the Minister and agencies preparing instruments

Follow the Act’s mandatory sequence: prepare the Lake Bennett plan of subdivision (s 9), the Lake Bennett units plan including a valuer‑certified schedule of unit entitlements (s 10(3)), and the easements required by ss 11-12 (s 13(1)). Ensure instruments reflect the precise terms set out in Schedules 3-4 as the Act prescribes those terms.
Lodge instruments promptly after commencement and provide documentation the Registrar‑General requires for registration on lodgment (s 13(1)-(2)). Prepare and lodge memoranda under s 35 of the Land Title Act 2000 for ownership or development restrictions required by ss 16(2) and 23(2).
Track and publish the Planning Scheme amendment in the Gazette per s 19(2) to trigger covenant extinguishment under s 20.

For the Registrar‑General

On lodgment comply with the Act’s mandatory registration steps in s 13(2): cancel Units Plan 97/026, cancel certificates as to title for Lake Bennett lots, register the plan of subdivision and units plan and schedule of unit entitlements, register extinguishment of easements, issue new certificates (s 13(2)(a)-(f)), and register the new easements (s 13(2)(g)). Note s 13(3) requires registration even if certificates are not lodged or consent not given.
Record extinguishments and lodge memoranda as required by s 20(2), s 16(2), and s 23(2).

For unit owners and body corporate representatives

Obtain and review the valuer‑certified schedule of unit entitlements required under s 10(3) to understand apportionment of unit entitlement and contribution liability.
Check the new certificates of title issued under s 15 once registered; verify which registered instruments continue to apply pursuant to s 15(2)(a) and which are extinguished by ss 14 and 20.
Ensure continuity of contracts, guarantees and proceedings as these vest in the new body corporate on registration (s 30(2)(a)-(c)). Update records and notify lenders and insurers of the new registration status.

For prospective developers and purchasers

For additional units, note that a units plan of subdivision may be registered without lodgment of certain Unit Titles Act documents (s 17), but the units plan for an additional unit is not exempt from fees or stamp duty (s 25(2)). Budget for transaction costs accordingly and obtain clearance certificates where appropriate.
Confirm the development permit conditions in Schedule 6 for the development area: single storey restriction, separation, setbacks, floor level minimums, screening of condensers and mandatory connections to effluent and potable water as to Department of Health and Community Services satisfaction (Schedule 6 conditions 1, 3, 5-8).

For pontoon and foreshore users

Design and construct pontoons within Schedule 5 cl 22 dimensions (maximum 4 m by 8 m, ramp not exceeding 20 m; highest point ≤ 600 mm above water) and follow mooring requirements (Schedule 5 cl 22(2)). Comply with Schedule 4 cl 3: obtain prior written approval of the owner of the lake and foreshore as to specifications, mooring and location,approval must not be unreasonably withheld,and maintain public liability insurance and keep vegetation cleared within 3 m of any point of the pontoon.
If a building permit is required for a complying pontoon, check s 22 to determine whether owner approvals under regulation 11(1)(b) of the Building Regulations 1993 are required or dispensed with in the specified owner/lot combinations.

For holders of extinguished or replaced instruments

Review Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 lists to see if an interest you hold is listed. If so, confirm the date of lodgment of the new instruments and search the titles register for the registered extinguishment entries (s 14, s 20(2)). If uncertain, communicate with the Registrar‑General’s office for the registered extinguishment documents and any replacement easements under Schedules 3-4.
Where a party considers property has been acquired other than on just terms, preserve evidence of value and loss, and consider commencing a compensation claim relying on s 28. The Act expressly preserves a right to just compensation and to court determination of amount (s 28).

For the resort owner and water users

Obtain the new licence issued by the Controller as required by s 27(2) and ensure compliance with the Planning Minister’s terms and conditions. Document any directions from the Planning Minister and amendments made by the Controller consistent with those directions.
Anticipate that any licence amendment will require Planning Minister approval and that renewals will be subject to Planning Minister‑decided terms (s 27(5)-(6)). Ensure water usage plans and operations comply with the licence terms and with the recreational easement restriction that easement use must not be inconsistent with the licence (Schedule 4 cl 1).

For consent authorities and service providers

Apply the planning performance criteria and local land use controls in Schedule 5 when assessing consent applications for the Lake Bennett locality, including septic setbacks of 100 m from the full supply level, limits on livestock near the lake, clearing of native vegetation rules, building height and car parking rules (Schedule 5 Part 1-3).
For development in the development area, ensure compliance with Schedule 6 conditions and seek Department of Health and Community Services sign‑off for effluent and potable water connections as specified.

Documentary and register steps for all parties

Search the land titles register for new certificates as to title, memoranda under s 35 of the Land Title Act 2000 recording restrictions on ownership and development (s 16(2), s 23(2)), and for registered easements and extinguishments (s 13(2)(e), s 13(2)(g), s 20(2)).
Keep contemporaneous records of approvals, consents, insurance certificates (for pontoons), and any communications with the Planning Minister or Controller regarding licence terms.
Where potential acquisitions or compulsion of title change is anticipated, preserve evidence of property value pre‑change to support a possible compensation claim under s 28.

Regulatory vigilance

Monitor Gazette notices: the Planning Minister’s amendment of the Planning Scheme must be published (s 19(2)), and regulations under s 29 may be made with retrospective effect or to clarify exemptions and interactions. Check the Territory Gazette and the legislation database for regulatory instruments and commencement notices affecting the Lake Bennett locality.

If contesting outcomes or seeking remedies

Be aware that s 24 limits judicial review and injunctive relief in relation to decisions made under the Act concerning instruments prepared for the Act. Where property is acquired on other than just terms, s 28 provides the compensation route. Practitioners should document valuation and loss, and be ready to pursue compensation remedies under s 28 where acquisition arises.

In summary, compliance requires attention to registration transactions executed by ministers and the Registrar‑General, careful review of new registered instruments and unit entitlements, adherence to specific planning and environmental conditions in Schedule 5 and Schedule 6, insurance and maintenance obligations for pontoons, and proactive monitoring of registers, Gazette notices and any regulations enacted under s 29.

Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005

Plain English Summary

Deep Dive

What it does

Current sections

Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005

Source text: opening excerpt

1 Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005

Main concepts

Who it affects

Key duties and rights

Penalties and enforcement

How it interacts with other laws

Amendment history

Litigation history

Gotchas

How to comply