//
© 2026 Zoe. All rights reserved.
Zoe is a legal information platform. Always consult the official source for authoritative text.
Queensland act
This Queensland law creates a special legal framework for building, operating and managing a new railway in the Surat Basin — a major coal and gas mining region in southwest Queensland. The railway is intended to transport resources (like coal) from the basin to port.
1. Creates a special lease arrangement ("exempt leases") The Minister can declare railway leases to be "exempt leases," which means certain standard property law rules (from the Land Title Act 1994 and Property Law Act 2023) don't apply to them. This gives the railway developer more flexibility in how it holds and uses the land.
Want the full deep dive?
Zoe can write the in-depth analysis on top of the summary above: how it works, who it affects and what each part actually does.
Direct links to the current provisions in Surat Basin Rail (Infrastructure Development and Management) Act 2012.
Zoe has indexed the source text for search and analysis. Use the official register for the original document and download formats.
View on official registerSourced from Queensland Legislation (legislation.qld.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
2. Allows entry onto private land The Coordinator-General, railway operators, and approved contractors can enter private land to:
Landowners must get at least 7 days' written notice before anyone enters (except in emergencies). If damage occurs, landowners can claim compensation — settled by agreement or, if that fails, by the Land Court.
3. Manages roads and crossings Local governments need the Coordinator-General's approval to build roads across the railway corridor (bridges, underpasses, or level crossings). The railway manager must maintain the road surface around the tracks. Pedestrians and drivers must give way to trains at level crossings — if they don't and an accident happens, the railway operator isn't liable.
4. Handles watercourses (rivers and streams) Railway managers can divert or construct watercourses (streams/drains) with the Coordinator-General's approval. If water pooling threatens train traffic, the Coordinator-General can order landowners to fix it — or enter the land and do it themselves, recovering costs from the owner.
5. Declares "common areas" Where the railway corridor is interrupted by a road or a watercourse (river/stream along a property boundary), the Minister can declare a "common area" — allowing both the railway and the road/watercourse to share the space lawfully.
6. Safety rules The Act sets out various obligations and creates criminal offences (with financial penalties) to ensure the railway is safe for workers and the public.
This is essentially the legal foundation for a major piece of resource industry infrastructure. Without this Act, building a railway through a mix of private, local government and State-owned land would face complex legal obstacles. The Act streamlines that process while (in theory) protecting landowners through notice requirements and compensation rights.