IMPROVEMENTS TO THE LAND ACQUISITION FRAMEWORK

Improvement / Legislation / Administrative change
Encouraging acquisition of land by agreement with land owners / Acquiring authorities must make a genuine attempt for at least 6 months to acquire land by agreement before any action is taken to compulsorily acquire landunless –
  • agreement is achieved before expiry of the 6 month period, or
  • the land owner notifies the acquiring authority that the owner is not prepared to negotiate with the authority for the acquisition of land, or
  • the acquiring authority and the land owner agree to a longer period of negotiation, or
  • the land owner cannot be located after the making of reasonable inquiries.
The Minister responsible for the acquiring authority may, with the concurrence of the Minister for Acquisitions, shorten the negotiation period, but only if satisfied that the urgency of the matter or other circumstances of the case make it impracticable to have a 6 month period of negotiation.
As acquiring authorities may have contracts already in place that do not contemplate a 6 month negotiation period, the new provisions will commence on 1 March 2017 to allow time for authorities to make the transition. In the meantime, acquiring authorities must comply with the new requirements to the maximum extent possible from the date of this Circular.
The 6 month negotiation period does not apply to acquisitions of Crown land or land below the surface. / When notifying a land owner that the owner’s land is required for a public purpose for the first time, the acquiring authority must approach the land owner in person (except in exceptional circumstances, such as where the land owner cannot be located after the making of reasonable inquiries).
Acquiring authorities will appoint –
  • a Personal Manager Acquisitions to coordinate all interactions between affected landowners and the acquiring authority – this manager will help affected landowners to find new homes or business premises, find new schools for children and other services to ease the experience of moving.
  • a Place Manager to manage all general communication with affected landowners, their neighbours and communities where multiple properties are acquired in the same vicinity.

More generous compensation / Non-financial disadvantage
Acquiring authorities will provide a maximum payment of $75,000 for disadvantage resulting from relocation (formerly known as solatium). In line with current practice, the Government will index this amount annually to the Consumer Price Index.
An administrative order increasing the amount to $75,000 has been published in the Gazette, with effect from 18 October 2016.
Right to repurchase
An acquiring authority must offer land for sale at its current market value to a former owner, if the land is no longer needed for the public purpose for which it was acquired.
In general, such an offer can only be made within 10 years of the land being acquired and the authority has not made substantial improvements to the land.
Reinstatement
Sometimes, there is a limited (or non-existent) market for a particular kind of property that the Government must acquire (eg land on which there is a church or a sports field).
In such situations,acquiring authorities will provide compensation by determining the market value by reference to the cost of acquiring a similar property to be used for the same purpose. / In determining the amount of compensation to be provided in respect of disadvantage resulting from relocation, acquiring authorities (or the Valuer General as the case may be) must follow the Determination of compensation for disadvantage resulting from relocationguidelines. These guidelines can be accessed at or
The increased payment for disadvantage resulting from relocationwill also apply retrospectively to former land owners whose acquisitions were settled on or after 26 February 2014.
The Office of State Revenue (OSR) has responsibility for locating former land owners and administering this back-payment.
Acquiring authorities shouldprovide any information, including names and known contact details of former owners to OSR, to assist in locating former owners, to .
Determination of compensation will be informed by all relevant information as well as completed in a timely fashion / Acquiring authorities must provide the Valuer General all information that is relevant to the determination of compensation, including any land valuation reports, as soon as practicable but no later than 7 days after the compulsory acquisition of land.
Acquiring authorities must provide a compensation notice, offering the amount of compensation determined by the Valuer General, to a former land owner within 45 days (formerly 30 days) from when the land was compulsorily acquired.
The 45 day period may, on the request of the Valuer General, be extended by up to 60 days by the Minister for Acquisitions (formerly, any extension was granted by the Minister for the acquiring authority). / When initiating compulsory acquisition by providing the land owner with a Proposed Acquisition Notice (PAN), acquiring authorities must also provide the section 39 claim for compensation form at Annexure A, including the option of filling it out and lodging it electronically. The form has been updated in plain English and made more user-friendly.
Acquiring authorities must provide the Valuer General with a copy of the Proposed Acquisition Notice (PAN) at the same time or immediately following the issuing of the PAN.
The Valuer General may, at his or her discretion, commence the determination of compensation once the acquiring authority issues the PAN to the land owner.
The Valuer General must provide a preliminary valuation report to the former land owner for comment. The former land owner will be given 15 working days from the date of the draft determination to provide comment. The timeframe for providing comment may be extended by 5 working days in exceptional circumstances.
The Valuer General must have regard to any comments provided by the former land owner in finalising the compensation determination.
Improved information to the land owner on how compensation has been determined by the Valuer General / The Valuer General must provide the compensation determination directly to the land owner as well as the acquiring authority. / Acquiring authorities must enclose the Valuer General’s compensation determination, including the land valuation report, with the compensation notice provided to the land owner.
Ensuring that decisions on compensation claims in respect of business relocations are made on a consistent basis. / In determining the amount of compensation to be paid in respect of business relocations, acquiring authorities and the Valuer General must follow the guidelines for Determination of compensation following the acquisition of a business guidelines. These guidelines can be accessed at or at
Fairer rental arrangements / An acquiring authority cannot require a former land ownerwhose principal place of residence has been acquired to pay rent for up to 3 during which the former owner continues to occupy the premises following compulsory acquisition.
Acquiring authorities are expected to implement this requirement immediately (including in relation to any existing tenancies – ie where former land owners are currently renting their former premises from the acquiring authority).
Greater transparency in relation to hardship applications / An owner of land may apply to the Secretary of the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation for a review of a decision by an acquiring authority to reject a land owner’s request that the authority acquire the land under the Act’s hardship provisions.
The Secretary will refer the application to a suitably qualified reviewer appointed by the Minister responsible for the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991. The reviewer will endeavour to determine the application within 28 days after the application is referred to the reviewer. The decision of the reviewer is final. / In determining an application made by a land owner under the Act’s hardship provisions, acquiring authorities must follow the Guidelines for determination of hardship acquisition applications. These guidelines can be accessed at or at
Ensuring the Valuer General’s reasonable costs are paid / Acquiring authorities must pay the Valuer General’s reasonable costs of preparing valuations for determinations of compensation. Such costs include any matter where the Valuer General has commenced work following the issue of a PAN regardless of whether a determination of compensation is finally issued.
Ensuring that Crown land that is subject to an undetermined Aboriginal land claim is not acquired without the agreement of the relevant local Aboriginal land council. / When seeking to acquire Crown land, acquiring authorities should -
  1. Make all necessary inquiries to determine whether Crown land is subject to an undetermined Aboriginal land claim. An acquiring authority may at any time contact the Registrar appointed under theAboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, who is the official custodian of Aboriginal land claims, to determine whether Crown land is subject to an undetermined land claim.
  2. If the land is subject to an undetermined Aboriginal land claim, consult the relevant Aboriginal land council on whether the council consents to the land being acquired.