What it does
The Land Act 1994 is Queensland's master statute for managing State land. It applies to all land in Queensland, freehold and non-freehold, including tidal land, the bed and banks of watercourses and lakes, and (because most freehold land contains a reservation of minerals to the State) it bites on freehold land for those reserved interests as well (s 5). It binds the State and, to the limit of legislative power, the Commonwealth and the other States (s 6). It does not affect the Native Title (Queensland) Act 1993 (s 7).
The Act is structured in nine chapters. Chapter 1 sets objects and application. Chapter 2 confers the core allocation powers. Chapter 3 governs reserves, deeds of grant in trust and roads. Chapter 4 sets the rules for making land available and for the lease, permit and significant-development tenures. Chapter 5 imposes conditions and the remedial action and forfeiture framework. Chapter 6 establishes the land registry. Chapter 7 covers administration, enforcement and review. Chapter 8 carries forward tenures from earlier Acts. Chapter 9 holds the transitional provisions for every amending Act back to the original 1994 enactment.