Reserves (National Parks and Conservation Parks) Act 2004

Several recurring legal concepts in the Act determine how the mechanical changes operate and what persists after reclassification.

Class A reserve: The Act repeatedly classifies land as a class A reserve (for example ss 7(2)(b), 10(7)(b), 15(10)(b), 17(2)(b)). The Act does not itself define what consequences follow from that classification; instead s 3 imports the meaning of class A reserve from the Land Administration Act 1997 s 3(1). The Act therefore changes land status by reference to the statutory framework of the Land Administration Act.

National park and conservation park: The Act reserves land for the purposes of national parks and conservation parks by operation of the Land Administration Act Part 4 (see ss 7(2)(a), 10(7)(a), 17(2)(a), 18(4)(a)). The definitions of national park and conservation park are imported from the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 ss 6(3), 6(4) and 16B(3) by s 3. That linkage means that the use and management regimes applicable to national parks and conservation parks will be those provided by the Conservation and Land Management Act, rather than the Reserves Act itself.

Plans and diagrams: Section 4 makes the spatial instruments (deposited plans and diagrams) the legal references for the changes and identifies where they are held: the Land Records Management section of the Department of Land Information. The Act also fixes the operative date for how the land appears on those plans to the commencement day in s 2(1) (s 4(2)). The Schedules operate in the same way, linking lots listed by plan/diagram and certificate of title to the new status (ss 15(9), 16(14), Schedules 1 and 2).

Registrar duties and title registration: Section 5 requires the Registrar of Titles to take any necessary measures to register the amendments, reservations, classifications and other changes effected by the Act and permits the Act to be treated as if it were an order under the Land Administration Act 1997. That gives a statutory basis for administrative registration without separate statutory instruments.

Depth limits: The Act frequently places a vertical limit on the reservation and classification. For national parks the limit is commonly 200 metres from the natural surface (for example ss 7(3), 8(3), 9(5), 10(8), 15(8)); for conservation parks the limit is 30 metres (ss 17(3), 18(5)). Those express limits create a mechanical separation between the surface-oriented reserve purpose and potential rights or interests that lie below the stated depth. The Act does not itself describe what happens below those depths; it merely records the reservation and classification are limited in depth.

Road closure and rights of way: Multiple sections close portions of road and provide that on closure rights of way cease and the land becomes unallocated Crown land (for example ss 9(2)-(3), 10(5)-(6), 14(3)-(5), 15(6)-(8), 16(6)-(11), 18(2)-(3)). The Act thus uses road closure to convert former public roadway area into unallocated Crown land, typically to be folded into the newly reserved parcels.

Transfers and revesting: Several provisions transfer and revest specific titled parcels into the Crown and declare them Crown land and part of the reserve (for example s 12(4), s 15(9), s 16(14)). Schedules 1 and 2 provide long lists of lots and certificates of title that are to be transferred and revested in the Crown (Schedules 1 and 2 refer to the relevant deposited plans and certificates of title).

Easements and specific grants: Section 16 protects a pre-existing registered easement (E098676) from cancellation (s 16(2)). It also grants a "relevant easement" to the proprietor of Lot 255 for access and to the lessee of land under Mining Lease 70/733 for access, both over land in Lot 3071 as shown coloured green on Deposited Plan 36440 (ss 16(12)-(13)). These are parcel-specific property rights created or preserved by the Act.

Native title: Section 6 provides a non-derogation clause in these terms: nothing done by or under this Act operates to affect any native title rights and interests as that phrase is defined in the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993, except to the extent that any effect is valid by operation of the Native Title Act or a State law (s 6(2)-(3)). The Act cites the NTA definitions and s 227 and s 223 where "affect" and "native title rights and interests" are defined, framing how native title interacts with the changes.

Administrative context: The Act does not itself set out the operational management arrangements for the new parks; it changes land status and classification. Management and operational rules for national parks and conservation parks will arise under the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and the Land Administration Act 1997, both of which are invoked by definition in s 3 and by the form of reservation in Parts 2 and 3.

Taken together these concepts show that the Act is primarily a land‑status instrument: the primary legal effects are registered changes to title and reserve classification governed by pre-existing statutes via cross-reference rather than by new operational rules in this statute itself.

The Act alters land status in ways that impose administrative duties on State agencies, change property rights for certain private parties, and affect local government and public uses of roads and reserves. The immediate administrative actors who must act under the Act are the Registrar of Titles, who is required to register the amendments and other changes effected by the Act (s 5), and the custodians of the plans and diagrams, identified as the Land Records Management section of the Department of Land Information for the purpose of s 4(1). The Notes indicate that those records are now held by the Western Australian Land Information Authority following the Land Information Authority Act 2006 s 100; that is a record-keeping transfer noted in the legislation compilation.

Local government boundaries and local government areas are referenced because the parcels lie in named shires and cities. Although the Act does not require action by those local governments, it closes publicly used roads in some local government areas (for example ss 9(2), 14(3), 16(6)-(11), 15(6)-(8)), which will affect municipal road networks and local access. The Act also cancels and amends other reserves previously designated for specific public purposes (for example s 11(2) cancels Reserve No. 11683 reserved for water; s 12(3) cancels class A reserve No. 39824 (Dale Conservation Park)). Those changes will be relevant to the agencies responsible for water supply, catchment management and park management.

Private property interests are affected in particular and uneven ways. Rights of way over closed roads are declared to cease (for example s 9(3), s 10(6), s 14(5), s 15(8), s 16(11), s 18(3)). Proprietors or lessees who previously relied on those ways will lose that legal right unless some compensating access benefit is provided. The Act also creates or preserves particular easements in favour of named beneficiaries. Section 16 protects a registered easement E098676 and grants a relevant easement to the proprietor of Lot 255 and to the lessee holding Mining Lease 70/733 to access their benefited land over Lot 3071 (ss 16(2), 16(12)-(13)). Those provisions confer legal access rights for those specific parties.

Commercial and resource interests may be indirectly affected. Several parcels are excised from timber reserves and State forests (for example ss 7-10, 15-16), which reduces the land area available under those classifications. Reserve No. 6203, a large reservoir/catchment reserve, is reduced by specific excisions in ss 12(2) and 13(2), which changes the extent of land reserved for water supply and catchment. If timber harvesting licences, water management arrangements or mineral tenures existed in the excised areas, those tenures may be affected in practice. The Act specifically notes one mining lease, 70/733, which is considered when the Act grants an easement to its lessee (s 16(13)). The Act does not otherwise alter existing mining lease titles or declare their extinguishment; it creates an access easement for the lessee.

The broader public is affected in different ways. In places the Act reserves land for national parks or conservation parks, which alters the legal basis for public recreation, conservation and permitted uses under the Conservation and Land Management Act. Conversely where roads are closed and rights of way cease, the public may lose established routes. The Act makes multiple parcel-specific changes that will be experienced as localised changes in access and land use.

Finally, the Native Title Act interaction means that registered native title claimants or holders are a legal category with an interest explicitly preserved by s 6, except where an effect is valid under the Commonwealth NTA or State law. That clause signals that native title interests remain relevant stakeholders for any practical outcomes arising from the reclassification or management of the land.

In sum, the Act distributes administrative duties across State land administration authorities, confers specific rights to named private beneficiaries, extinguishes some existing public access rights, and alters the land base available for timber, water-catchment and other previous reserve purposes, with consequences for public users, local government and property holders.

The Act imposes specific duties on the Registrar of Titles and creates or confirms certain rights for identified private parties, while also defining the new public-purpose statuses that will govern management.

Registrar duties: Section 5 is explicit. The Registrar of Titles must take any necessary measures to register the amendments to, reservations and classifications of, and other changes to land effected by the Act. For that purpose the Act may be treated as if it were an order under the Land Administration Act 1997 (s 5). That duty enjoins the Registrar to update title records, remove or amend prior reservations, and register transfers or revestings as specified in the Act and the Schedules. The Act does not detail the administrative steps, timing or fee arrangements for registration; it simply requires the Registrar to take the measures necessary.

Reservation and classification: The Act reserves listed land under the Land Administration Act Part 4 for the purposes of national park or conservation park and classifies the parcels as class A reserves (for example ss 7(2), 10(7), 15(10), 17(2), 18(4)). Those entries create the legal basis for public management under the Land Administration Act and the Conservation and Land Management Act. The Act itself does not lay down management duties for park authorities, but by importing those classifications it places the land within the regime of the relevant management legislation.

Road closure consequences: Where the Act closes roads or parts of roads, it expressly provides that all rights of way over the former road cease and that the land becomes unallocated Crown land (for example ss 9(2)-(3), 10(5)-(6), 14(3)-(5), 15(6)-(8), 16(6)-(11), 18(2)-(3)). That is a statutory extinguishment of private access rights arising from the closure. The change is immediate upon the closure event described in the relevant subsection.

Transfers, revesting and Crown land declarations: The Act transfers and revests particular titled lots in the Crown and declares them Crown land and part of the named lot(s) shown coloured green on the relevant deposited plans (for example s 12(4), s 15(9), s 16(14)). Those provisions create a statutory basis for title conversion and for including specified parcels in the newly created reserves.

Easements and access grants: The Act preserves a particular existing easement E098676 against cancellation by these changes (s 16(2)). It also grants "the relevant easement" for access to the proprietor of Lot 255 in favour of land in Lot 3071, and to the lessee under Mining Lease 70/733, again for access to benefited land over Lot 3071 (ss 16(12)-(13)). These grants give concrete private property rights to named beneficiaries and are expressed in the Act as rights over particular lots as shown on Deposited Plan 36440.

Native title preservation: Section 6 establishes that nothing done by or under the Act operates to affect any native title rights and interests, except insofar as an effect is valid under the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993 or State law (ss 6(2)-(3)). That is a protective provision that conditions the operation of the Act against extinguishment of native title unless it is lawfully exercised under existing native title law.

Depth-limited reservations: Several reservations are limited to a vertical depth from the natural surface: national park reservations are limited to 200 m (see e.g. ss 7(3), 8(3), 9(5), 10(8), 15(8)); conservation park reservations are limited to 30 m (ss 17(3), 18(5)). That creates a statutory delineation between the surface legal regime and any sub-surface rights or interests beyond the specified depth.

No penalty provisions: The Act contains no express offences, penalty clauses or enforcement powers against private actors in the text provided. Its legal instruments are administrative reclassifications, title registrations, closures and transfers. Enforcement mechanisms and sanctioning regimes, if any, will arise from the Land Administration Act or Conservation and Land Management Act where those laws provide for contraventions of park rules or land management obligations. The Act itself does not create a new offence regime.

Who decides and who holds rights: The State, acting through this Act and the Registrar, decides the new status and records it in the titles system. Named private parties hold rights: existing proprietors benefiting from easements preserved under s 16(2), the proprietor of Lot 255 and the lessee under Mining Lease 70/733 who receive grants under ss 16(12)-(13). Rights of way users whose ways are closed lose those rights by the express terms of the Act where closures occur.

Overall, the Act places administrative duties primarily on the Registrar and the land records custodian, confers specific access easements to named private actors, extinguishes rights of way on certain closures, and defines the depth-limited scope of the new reserve classifications.

The Act contains no express penalty regime or offence provisions directed at private individuals or corporate actors in the text provided. Its operative methods are administrative rather than punitive. The text confers powers to alter land status, to cancel or amend prior reserves, to close roads, to transfer titled lots to the Crown and to create or protect easements (see Parts 2 and 3 and the Schedules). Enforcement in the narrow sense of penalties for contravention does not appear in this Act.

That distribution of mechanisms means that compliance and enforcement of the outcomes set out in the Act will rely on other statutes and administrative regimes. Where land is reserved for national park or conservation park purposes the applicable management, regulatory and enforcement provisions will arise under the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and the Land Administration Act 1997, because the Act imports their definitions and reserves the land under Land Administration Act Part 4 for park purposes (see s 3 and multiple reservation clauses such as ss 7(2)(a), 10(7)(a), 17(2)(a) and 18(4)(a)). Those other Acts typically contain offence and penalty provisions for unauthorised uses within parks, for failure to comply with permits and for prohibited acts. The Reserves Act’s role is limited to creating the legal basis for bringing land into those regimes.

Administrative compliance tasks include registration and title amendments by the Registrar of Titles (s 5). Failure by the Registrar to perform the registration tasks could raise administrative law issues but there are no penalties prescribed in this Act for non-compliance by the Registrar. The Act allows the Registrar to treat the Act as if it were an order under the Land Administration Act 1997, which links the practical steps to the existing Land Administration Act machinery.

Where roads are closed and rights of way cease, the legal consequence is immediate under the Act; there is no separate enforcement action required to extinguish those rights once the statutory closure has occurred (see for instance ss 9(2)-(3), 10(5)-(6), 14(3)-(5), 15(6)-(8), 16(6)-(11), 18(2)-(3)). Disputes may arise if affected parties contest the closure or the consequences; such disputes would be resolved through judicial or administrative review channels rather than by penalty enforcement under this Act. The Act also contains provisions that preserve native title rights and interests except to the extent valid under the Native Title Act or State law (s 6). That provision anticipates potential conflicts and provides the legal standard by which any extinguishment would be judged under the Native Title Act.

Specific grants of easements (s 16(12)-(13)) create private rights that can be enforced by the beneficiaries in the ordinary way under property law. The Act’s protection of a registered easement E098676 (s 16(2)) renders that easement immune from cancellation by these legislative changes; enforcement of easement rights and remedies for their violation remain within the general property law framework.

In summary, the Act relies on administrative reclassification and title registration rather than on a novel penalties framework. Enforcement of the new land uses and of private rights created or preserved by the Act will depend on other statutory regimes and ordinary property law remedies; the Act itself supplies no fines, imprisonment or other sanctions.

This Act is expressly cross-referential; it changes land status by operation in and through other statutes rather than by setting new standalone management rules. The principal interactions are with the Land Administration Act 1997, the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993.

Land Administration Act 1997: The term "class A reserve" and the concept of "Crown land" and "unallocated Crown land" are imported by s 3 from the Land Administration Act 1997 s 3(1). Multiple provisions reserve land under the Land Administration Act Part 4 for the purpose of national park or conservation park (for example ss 7(2)(a), 10(7)(a), 15(10)(a), 17(2)(a), 18(4)(a)), which places the land into the statutory scheme administered under the Land Administration Act. Section 5 explicitly allows the Registrar to treat the Act as if it were an order under the Land Administration Act 1997 for the purposes of title registration and related measures. That link means that procedures, constraints and administrative obligations contained in the Land Administration Act will apply in practice to the reserves and to their management, to the extent that the Land Administration Act regulates those matters.

Conservation and Land Management Act 1984: The definitions of national park and conservation park are taken from the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 ss 6(3), 6(4) and 16B(3) by s 3. Reserving land for the purpose of national park or conservation park therefore brings the land under the management and regulatory machinery of the Conservation and Land Management Act. This Act does not itself contain the operational management rules for parks; those operational rules will be supplied by the Conservation and Land Management Act and associated regulations and administrative instruments.

Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth): Section 6 of this Act engages directly with the Native Title Act 1993. It defines the imported terms "affect" and "native title rights and interests" by reference to specified sections of the NTA, and provides that nothing done by or under this Act operates to affect any native title rights and interests, except to the extent that the effect is valid under the Native Title Act or a State law (s 6(1)-(3)). This provision links the land-status changes to the Commonwealth native title framework and recognises the need to respect or lawfully extinguish native title in accordance with the NTA. The Act does not itself undertake any extinguishment of native title beyond the procedural or substantive effects that would be valid under the NTA or under State law.

Transfer and cadastral law: The Act requires that the Registrar of Titles take necessary measures to register the changes and specifies deposited plans and certificates of title in the Schedules (ss 4(1), 15(9), 16(14), Schedules 1 and 2). That creates a practical interaction with the Transfer of Land Act 1893 and the mechanics of Land Titles Office processing, though the Act itself does not cite the Transfer of Land Act beyond preserving a particular easement registered under that Act (s 16(2)). The Act’s direction that the Registrar may treat it as an order under the Land Administration Act enables administrative variation of title records consistent with the cadastral system.

Local government and road law: The Act closes specific roads and traces of road, and on closure rights of way cease and the land becomes unallocated Crown land (multiple sections). That interacts with local government road responsibilities and with the statutory processes that local governments and State agencies employ when altering road status. The Act itself effects the closures without setting out local government processes, so operational cooperation will be required.

Other statutory regimes: The Act cancels and amends particular reserves that previously had other purposes, including water supply and timber. Sections such as 11(2), 12(2) and 13(2) excise areas from reservoirs, water reserves and timber reserves. Those changes interact with the statutory duties of agencies responsible for water catchments, forestry management and resource allocation under their governing Acts. The Act does not itself alter or create statutory duties in those Acts; it changes the land pool on which those Acts operate.

In practice, then, the Act functions as a transfer instrument that relabels and reclassifies land, situating parcels within the legal regimes of the Land Administration Act and the Conservation and Land Management Act, while expressly preserving native title and certain registered easements. The precise legal consequences for management, permitted uses, prohibited acts and remedies therefore devolve to the primary regimes invoked rather than to the Reserves Act itself.

The Act’s compilation table is brief and shows the Act’s assent and commencement chronology. The Reserves (National Parks and Conservation Parks) Act 2004 received assent on 30 November 2004 (Short title: Reserves (National Parks and Conservation Parks) Act 2004, No. 63 of 2004). The Act, other than s 11, came into operation on 30 November 2004 pursuant to s 2(1). Section 11 was to come into operation on a day fixed by proclamation and did so on 6 April 2005 as recorded in the Gazette reference in the compilation table (see Compilation table).

The text as provided contains a notes section that records an administrative change to the custodian of plans and documents. Note 2 states that the Department of Land Information was replaced by the Western Australian Land Information Authority and that plans and documents formerly held by the Department are now being held by the Authority, citing the Land Information Authority Act 2006 s 100. That is an administrative, not substantive, change recorded in the notes.

No other amendments, repeals, or amendment Acts are set out in the printed material provided. The Schedules and the main body of the Act show the parcels that were to be excised, transferred and reserved at the time of the Act’s passage. The Act itself anticipates further administrative action by the Registrar of Titles to effect registration of the changes and by the relevant authorities to manage the new parks. The compilation table and notes supply the only historical metadata in the text: assent date, commencement of the Act and the later proclamation bringing s 11 into force, and the administrative update to the land information custodian.

If practitioners require a legislative history beyond that recorded here, including any subsequent amendments, consolidations or statutory modifications, they should check the official Western Australian legislative database for post-compilation amendments and for any regulations or instruments made under the Land Administration Act 1997 or the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 that implement management functions for the lands reserved. The text provided contains no later amendment entries, no repeals and no schedules indicating subsequent changes. The Schedules as printed are part of the original enactment.

The provided text contains no reported litigation, judicial decisions or recorded disputes arising from the Act. The Act itself does not list any cases, and the compilation notes do not record any judicial proceedings that interpret or test the Act. There are no annotations, references or marginal notes in the document indicating that the Act has been the subject of litigation.

Because the Act effects changes in land status, potential litigation could arise in practice concerning title, easements, road closures, native title claims or administrative registration failures. Section 6 explicitly engages with native title law by stating that nothing done by or under the Act operates to affect native title rights and interests except to the extent that the impact is valid under the Native Title Act 1993 or State law. That provision frames native title as a potential locus for dispute, but the text contains no recorded litigation.

Section 16 preserves an existing registered easement and grants specific easements for access to particular benefited land and a lessee. Those provisions create identifiable private rights where disputes over access, maintenance, or interference could theoretically arise, but again no litigation is recorded in the Act text provided.

Practitioners seeking case law or judicial interpretation should consult the state and federal case law databases to determine whether any challenge, appeal or declaratory proceeding has arisen regarding statutory closures, the extinguishment of rights of way, the depth-limited reservations, or whether any native title determinations or compensation claims have been made in relation to the parcels identified in the Schedules. The Act as printed here provides no litigation history and no authorised examples of judicial treatment.

The Act contains multiple technical features that commonly produce unforeseen consequences for property owners, resource users, administrators and advisers. These are practical "gotchas" grounded in the Act’s text.

Depth limits may leave subsurface interests unaffected: Many national park reservations are limited to a depth of 200 metres from the natural surface (for example ss 7(3), 8(3), 9(5), 10(8), 15(8)). Conservation park reservations are limited to 30 metres (ss 17(3), 18(5)). The Act does not say what happens below those depths; it merely records the limitation. As a practical matter this means subsurface rights and mineral interests lying below those depths may not be extinguished by the surface reservation. Advisers must check whether existing mineral tenures, petroleum rights or other subterranean interests remain exercisable below the stated depth. The Act’s language creates a potentially sharp vertical split in rights that is not resolved in the Act itself.

Road closures extinguish rights of way and convert land to unallocated Crown land: Multiple sections close roads or parts of roads and provide that all rights of way over the land comprising the former roads cease and that such land becomes unallocated Crown land (for example ss 9(2)-(3), 10(5)-(6), 14(3)-(5), 15(6)-(8), 16(6)-(11), 18(2)-(3)). Practically, those closures can terminate long-standing private access which may have been treated as essential by neighbours, farmers, emergency services or local businesses. There is no provision for compensation in the Act. Affected parties may need to explore other legal remedies if they consider the closure to be unlawful or unjust, but the statutory text effects the cessation where the closure is enacted.

Specific and concentrated easement grants: Section 16 preserves an existing registered easement E098676 and grants easements for access to the proprietor of Lot 255 and to the lessee of Mining Lease 70/733 over Lot 3071 (ss 16(2), 16(12)-(13)). These are parcel-specific and benefit named parties. That creates concentrated private benefits in the text of the Act. If other parties assumed they would retain access, the Act’s express grants to named beneficiaries could leave others without legally enforceable access.

Administrative registration is mandatory but detail is unspecified: Section 5 directs the Registrar of Titles to take necessary measures to register the amendments and permits the Act to be treated as if it were an order under the Land Administration Act 1997. The Act does not specify timeframes, fees, or transitional arrangements. Practically the title registration exercise can be complex because Schedules 1 and 2 list many lots, plans and title references that must be reconciled and updated. Errors or delays in title amendment could cause short-term uncertainty for some parties.

Cross-reference dependence: The Act reserves land by reference to other statutes rather than setting out substantive management or regulatory detail. That means the legal effects on permitted uses, prohibited activities, enforcement, permit regimes and penalties will be determined by the Land Administration Act 1997 and the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984. Advisers must consult those Acts to determine day-to-day management consequences for the land newly reserved.

Parcel-specific cancellations: The Act cancels prior reserves such as Reserve No. 11683 (s 11(2)) and class A reserve No. 39824 (Dale Conservation Park) (s 12(3)). Such cancellations can have practical consequences for agencies or communities that relied on the prior status of those reserves. Scrutiny is required to understand consequences for water supply management and other prior uses.

Plans and dates matter: Section 4(2) fixes the referenced areas to how they appear on the plans on the commencement day in s 2(1). That means the exact legal area is what the deposited plans show at the specified date. Practitioners must consult the stated deposited plans and certificates of title listed in Schedules 1 and 2 and the relevant Deposited Plans referenced in each section to ascertain current boundaries. The Notes indicate the custodian of the plans has changed; records are now held by the Western Australian Land Information Authority (Notes, item 2). Failure to check the correct plan version could lead to mistaken assumptions about boundaries.

No penalties in this Act: Because the Act contains no specific offences or penalties, parties who breach new park rules will be subject to the enforcement regimes of the Conservation and Land Management Act or other relevant statutes rather than to this Act. Practitioners must therefore map the regulatory consequences to those parent statutes.

In sum, the principal gotchas are vertical limits that can preserve subsurface rights, extinguished rights of way through road closures, parcel-specific grants of easements and transfers which confer concentrated benefits, and administrative complexity for title registration tied to detailed deposited plans and certificates of title. Each must be checked against the specific section(s) cited where the relevant change is made.

Compliance with the Act requires coordinated actions by State land administration bodies and informed responses by affected private parties. The Act sets out concrete administrative steps for the Registrar of Titles and prescribes specific property changes that identified proprietors and lessees must acknowledge.

Steps for the Registrar and land records authority:

• Register the amendments, reservations, classifications, transfers and cancellations called for by the Act. Section 5 directs the Registrar of Titles to take any necessary measures for registration and allows the Act to be treated as if it were an order under the Land Administration Act 1997. Practically this means updating cadastral records, issuing new or amended certificates of title, and noting the class A reserve status on relevant titles.
• Ensure the deposited plans and diagrams referenced in s 4, each provision in Parts 2 and 3, and Schedules 1 and 2 are the operative plans used for registration. Section 4(2) makes the land reference precise as shown on the plans on the commencement day in s 2(1). The Land Records Management section (now the Western Australian Land Information Authority per the Notes) will be the custodian of those plans.
• Record the vertical limitations on reservations where required. Where reservations are limited to a depth (200 m for national parks; 30 m for conservation parks) the title records or register entries should record that the reservation is limited to the specified depth as per the relevant subsection (see for example ss 7(3), 17(3)). This avoids ambiguity about subterranean rights.

Steps for park and resource management agencies:

• Integrate the newly reserved parcels into management plans under the Conservation and Land Management Act. The Act reserves land under Land Administration Act Part 4 for park purposes (see passim), so park authorities must apply their statutory management regimes and update any relevant operational plans and public notices.
• Account for excisions made from water-catchment and reservoir reserves. Sections such as 12(2) and 13(2) excise areas from Reserve No. 6203 (reservoir and catchment). Water authorities should check whether operational or protective arrangements need adjustment for the reduced reserve areas.
• Where a reserve is cancelled and its land transferred to the Crown (for example ss 12(3) and 12(4)), the responsible agencies must update management and access arrangements accordingly.

Steps for affected private parties:

• Proprietors who benefit from easements preserved or granted by the Act should review the statutory text and the deposited plan references to confirm the precise location and scope of their rights. Section 16(2) preserves easement E098676 and ss 16(12)-(13) grant access easements to named beneficiaries. Those parties should ensure the easements are entered or protected in title records where appropriate.
• Parties who previously relied on rights of way over roads that the Act closes should recognise that those rights cease upon statutory closure (see e.g. s 9(3)). If continued access is essential, they should promptly investigate whether replacement access can be negotiated, whether statutory easements can be granted, or whether other remedies are available. The Act itself does not provide compensation or replacement rights.
• Mining lessees and resource title holders should check vertical limits. Because national park reservations are limited in depth frequently to 200 m and conservation park reservations to 30 m, mineral and subterranean rights may survive above or below those depths. Mining Lease 70/733 is specifically provided for in s 16(13) where an easement for access is granted to the lessee. Other lessees should verify whether their tenures are affected and, if there is any extinguishment or limitation, what process under the Native Title Act or other statutes applies.

General practical steps for advisers:

• Check the Deposited Plans and Certificates of Title listed in Schedules 1 and 2 and those referenced in individual sections. The Act’s legal descriptions rely heavily on those instrument references (see Schedules 1 and 2 and the body of the Act). Accurate compliance requires examining those cadastral documents.
• Verify whether native title claims exist over affected parcels. Section 6 preserves native title rights and interests except to the extent valid under the Native Title Act or a State law. If a native title claim or determination exists, its terms must be considered and any necessary native title processes followed.
• Coordinate with the Land Information Authority for plan custody and retrieval. The notes record that the Department of Land Information was replaced by the Western Australian Land Information Authority and that the Authority now holds the plans and documents formerly held by the Department. That is the operational contact for plan retrieval and title verification.
• Anticipate administrative timelines and update corporate records accordingly. Because the Act directs registration and title updates without prescribing timelines, affected parties should factor in potential delays when planning operations dependent on access, titles or reserve status.

In short, compliance is a mixture of administrative registration obligations for State authorities, property law actions for private beneficiaries, operational changes for park and resource managers, and due diligence for those losing access or experiencing changes in title. The Act supplies the legal text and parcel references; practical compliance requires cross-referencing the listed deposited plans and the related statutes invoked by the Act.