Land Acquisition Act 1969

Landowners and lessees. Any person with an alienable interest in land -- including fee simple owners, lessees, mortgagees, and easement holders -- is a potential claimant for compensation when land is compulsorily acquired.

Native title holders. Native title rights and interests are expressly included in the compensation regime (section 22B(2)) even though native title cannot be "alienated" in the ordinary sense. The Act contains special provisions for service of notices on native title holders (section 10(2)) and ERD Court mediation of native title compensation disputes (section 23(3)).

Mortgagees and encumbrancers. Section 16(2)(b) provides that mortgages, charges, encumbrances, trusts, and other interests affecting acquired land are discharged upon the notice of acquisition being published. Mortgagees' compensation claims are regulated under Part 4.

Occupiers and residential tenants. Section 26C provides payments to residential tenants who are displaced by acquisition. Section 26B provides for professional costs payments.

The acquiring Authority. The Authority must follow the procedural requirements of the Act: give proper notice, negotiate in good faith, make compensation offers, pay compensation into court (section 23A(3)), and follow the valuers conference process when required (section 23(7)).

Developers (prescribed private acquisitions). Private developers who have secured acquisition rights under a special Act are subject to the additional obligations in Division 1A of Part 4 and the landowner's objection rights under section 12B.

Authority obligations:

• Give notice of intention to acquire to all persons with interests in the land (section 10(1)), including native title holders (section 10(2))
• Include the operation of section 26B in all communications pursuant to section 9A
• Allow a minimum of three months between the first notice of intention and the notice of acquisition (section 16(1))
• Publish notice of acquisition in the Gazette and a State newspaper (sections 16(1), 16(5))
• Negotiate compensation in good faith (section 23(1))
• Make a compensation offer within the required period (section 23A(1))
• Pay the offer amount into the ERD Court within seven days of making the offer (section 23A(3))
• Convene a valuers conference at the claimant's request (section 23(7))

Claimant obligations:

• May be required to respond to compensation offers (section 23AB)
• Must engage with the negotiation and settlement conference process in good faith

Authority's acquisition power. The power to acquire is conferred by the special Act, not by this Act itself. This Act provides only the procedural framework. The extent of the acquisition is defined by the Authority in the notice of acquisition (section 16(4)).

Non-monetary compensation. Section 23(4) allows the Authority to offer non-monetary compensation (such as transfer of other land, goods, services, or reinstatement work). A native title holder may request non-monetary compensation and the Authority must give due consideration to such a request (section 23(5)).

Partial compliance. Section 15 allows acquisition by agreement in appropriate circumstances, and sections 24-24A give the Authority and the ERD Court powers relating to early entry into possession.

ERD Court powers. The Court may mediate native title compensation disputes (section 23(3)), determine compensation, and make orders about entry into possession (section 24A) and repayment of compensation offers (section 23A(5)).

Authority's disposal of surplus land. Under section 35, the Authority may dispose of surplus land (land acquired but no longer needed for the purpose) after the acquisition.

The Act does not generally create criminal offences. Enforcement is through the compensation and civil liability framework. However, a few specific obligations create enforceable duties:

Section 23A(3): The Authority must pay its compensation offer into the Court within seven days. Non-compliance is a breach of statutory duty.

Section 9A: Certain communications must set out the operation of section 26B (professional costs payments). Failure to comply does not invalidate the acquisition but affects the landowner's rights.

Section 10: Failure to give proper notice to interested parties may invalidate the acquisition process, exposing the Authority to challenge.

Section 25(k): Any sales, transactions, or improvements made by the claimant after service of a notice of intention to acquire are excluded from the compensation assessment if made with intent to increase the compensation payable.

Step 1: Notice of intention to acquire (section 10)

• Must be given to all persons with interests in the land
• For native title, special rules apply (section 10(2))
• Must include the section 26B professional costs information

Step 2: Three-month waiting period

• At least three months must pass from the first notice of intention before the notice of acquisition can be published (section 16(1))

Step 3: Notice of acquisition (section 16)

• Published in the Gazette and a State newspaper
• On publication, land vests in the Authority and encumbrances are discharged (section 16(2))
• Notice given to the same persons as received the notice of intention

Step 4: Entry into possession (section 24)

• Authority may enter once compensation has been paid or tendered, or with the owner's consent

Step 5: Compensation assessment (sections 23-25)

• Authority and claimant negotiate in good faith
• Authority makes a compensation offer and pays it into Court within seven days (section 23A)
• Valuers conference may be convened (section 23(7))
• If no agreement, matter is referred to the ERD Court (section 23C)

Section 33 -- interest: Interest is payable on compensation from the date of acquisition until payment.

Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The compulsory acquisition of native title is subject to the NTA's right to negotiate and procedural rights provisions. The Land Acquisition Act 1969 cannot override the NTA's requirements. Section 10(2) of the Land Acquisition Act requires notice to native title holders, which interacts with the NTA's procedural protections. Griffiths v Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment (HCA 2008) considered the limits on compulsory acquisition power in relation to native title in the NT, and the principles in that case are relevant to understanding the boundary between public interest and private purpose acquisitions.

Real Property Act 1886 (SA). Section 8 of the Land Acquisition Act provides that the Real Property Act does not derogate from the Land Acquisition Act's application. Land acquired is registered under the Real Property Act, but the acquisition mechanics are under the Land Acquisition Act (section 17).

Environment, Resources and Development Court Act 1993 (SA). The ERD Court has jurisdiction under the Land Acquisition Act for compensation disputes and native title mediation.

Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA). The planning authority (the State Planning Commission) may be an "Authority" under the Land Acquisition Act for certain infrastructure purposes.

The Authority is defined by the special Act, not by this Act. The Land Acquisition Act gives the procedural framework, but it cannot be used to acquire land unless a special Act has conferred compulsory acquisition power on the relevant Authority. Practitioners must identify and read the special Act to understand who has acquisition power, for what purpose, and in what circumstances.

A minimum three-month gap between notice of intention and notice of acquisition is mandatory. Section 16(1) requires at least three months from the first notice of intention to any notice of acquisition. There is no power to shorten this period by agreement or urgency -- the Gazette notice cannot be published until this period has passed.

Encumbrances are automatically discharged on the notice of acquisition. Section 16(2)(b) provides that mortgages, charges, encumbrances, trusts, and other interests are discharged upon the acquisition. Mortgagees who are unsecured by the discharge must look to the compensation payable for their rights -- they do not retain security over the acquired land itself.

Native title requires separate notice procedures. Section 10(2) sets out specific notice procedures for land that may be subject to native title. Failure to properly notify native title holders can invalidate the acquisition or give rise to challenges under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

Enhancement in value from the acquisition project itself is excluded. Section 25(h)(c) requires that any proposed or expected development of the land after its acquisition is disregarded in assessing compensation. A landowner whose land becomes more valuable because of the very project for which it is being acquired cannot capture that enhancement as compensation.

The prescribed private acquisition right to object is substantive. Section 12B gives landowners a right to object to a prescribed private acquisition on the grounds that it is not necessary for a public purpose or is contrary to the public interest. This is a more substantive right than the standard process.

Example 1: Road widening acquisition. The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (the "Authority") is acquiring a strip of land along a residential street for road widening. It gives notice of intention under section 10 to the registered proprietors and mortgagees of each affected lot. After three months, it publishes a notice of acquisition in the Gazette. The land vests in the Authority and the mortgages over the affected strips are discharged (section 16(2)). The Authority makes compensation offers and pays them into the ERD Court within seven days (section 23A(3)). A homeowner who disputes the valuation can request a valuers conference and, if still unresolved, refer the matter to the ERD Court under section 23C.

Example 2: Native title compensation. The Authority acquires land over which there is registered native title. Under section 22B(2), the native title holders are entitled to compensation despite native title not being alienable. The parties negotiate, with the ERD Court available to mediate (section 23(3)). The native title holders may request non-monetary compensation under section 23(5) -- for example, the grant of another parcel of land.

Example 3: Underground tunnel acquisition. A public authority acquires underground strata under section 26F for a metro rail tunnel. The tunnel passes under private residential lots. Under Part 4A, landowners at the surface have a limited entitlement to compensation (section 26H) unless the tunnel physically affects their use of the surface. Residential landowners whose lots are entirely above the tunnel but suffer no physical disruption to their use of the land may receive no compensation at all.

Example 4: Prescribed private acquisition. A private developer obtains a special Act authorising compulsory acquisition of land adjacent to a proposed private development. The landowner receives notice under section 22A and has the right to object under section 12B, challenging whether the acquisition is necessary for a public purpose. The ERD Court or a relevant review body determines the objection before the acquisition can proceed.