Our local area is growing; we’ve new infrastructure being built to meet the expected population growth.
All levels of government have the capacity to compulsorily acquire land for projects such as streets, parks, railways, hospitals, schools and many other projects deemed to be critical. However, you are most likely to have to deal with resumption by the State Government, or a body it has designated as a Constructing Authority such as a local council, or the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy or Department of Transport and Main Roads.
If you are a landowner, the first you might hear about this is when you receive a Notice of Intention to Resume. Your ability to object to this Notice is limited and cannot be based on the level of compensation you might receive. Time limits are critical and if you wish to object, you should contact us immediately upon receiving your notice to discuss your views and options.
Once finalized, the acquisition will be ‘gazetted’, which is when it is published in the Queensland Government Gazette.
After the acquisition is gazetted, you may begin to negotiate with the acquiring entity concerning the Compensation payable to you. As with any negotiations, you may wish to take advice on the first offer given to you. The negotiation process does not have to be drawn out and technical, but this may depend on the use your land had been put to. Larger commercial parcels may have more complicated issues to consider.
If the negotiations cannot resolve your dispute about compensation, either party may refer the matter to the Land Court of Queensland.
If you obtain advice before accepting the written offer of compensation, your reasonable costs of obtaining advice and assessing your loss are usually recoverable as part of your ‘Disturbance Costs’. Therefore, there should usually be little to no cost to you obtaining advice to ensure you negotiate the best possible compensation package.
We are currently assisting local landowners with their compensation negotiations and our team is ready to provide you with advice.
Links:
Department of State Development – Compulsory Land Acquisition FAQS