Compulsory acquisition: The basics - Realestate

Compulsory acquisition, or “resumption” as it's sometimes called, is when an authority like the Government acquires privately owned land or ... NewsInsightsGuidesLifestyleVideoGuidesCompulsoryacquisition:ThebasicsEmmaSorensen11Jun2021,3:16pmLoveyourhome?Thenthewordscompulsoryacquisitionwillprobablymakeyoushudder. Butbeforethepanicsetsin,let’stakealookatthefactssurroundingthismysteriousandoftenfrighteningprocess. Whatiscompulsoryacquisition? Compulsoryacquisition,or“resumption”asit’ssometimescalled,iswhenanauthorityliketheGovernmentacquiresprivatelyownedlandorproperty.Mostcommonlyitisdoneinordertobuildinfrastructurelikeroadsorpublictransport,butotherreasonspropertycouldbeacquiredincludepublicsafety–incasesofcontaminationforinstance. Asthenamesuggestsit’scompulsory.Youreallywon’thavemuchsayinthematter. CompulsoryacquisitionislegislatedforunderSection51(xxxi)oftheConstitutionofAustraliaandcanbecarriedoutfederally,orbythestates,territoriesandlocalgovernmentagencies. AttheCommonwealthlevel,compulsoryacquisitioncanbeusedwhetherornotanowneriswillingtoselltheirinterestintheland,whenthelandhasnotitle,whenanownerhasdifficultyestablishingproofoftitle,oreveniftheownercannotbefound. Landcanbeacquiredby“negotiatedagreement”or,incasesofnationalemergency,by“urgentacquisition”. Whendoesithappen? The1997AustralianfilmTheCastle,toldthefictional–andcomic–DavidandGoliathstoryoftheKerriganfamily,fightingthecompulsoryacquisitionoftheirhomeagainsttheexpansionofMelbourne’sairportrunway.“Tellhimhe’sdreaming”,becameacatchcry,astheKerrigans’suburbansolicitor,helpedbyafamousbarrister,wonthecase. “Insummingup,it’stheconstitution,it’sMabo,it’sjustice,it’slaw,it’sthevibeandno,that’sit,it’sthevibe…Irestmycase.” Butit’snotjustthestuffofmovies.InJuly2013over250residentsofCollingwood,FitzroyandCliftonHillinMelbournereceivedlettersadvisingtheeast-westlinkroadtunnelwaslikelytobeconstructedneartheirproperties.Naturallythispromptedconcernsthathomeswouldbecompulsorilyacquired. Asthenamesuggestsit’scompulsory.Youreallywon’thavemuchsayinthematter They’renottheonlyones.InSydney,propertyhasbeencompulsorilyacquiredinrecentyearsforthedesalinationplant,androadsliketheM2andM5East.InWAthere’sbeenhugecontroversyovercompulsoryacquisitionforthecontroversialKimberleyGasHub. ThisweekinMelbourne,residentsandbusinesseswerewarnedthatupto200propertiescouldbeacquiredtobuildthecity’snewMelbourneMetrorailproject,withhundredsmoretobeimpactedbyconstruction. AntonDunhill, HeadofPropertyDisputesandCompulsoryAcquisitions at Melbourne’sHunt&HuntLawyers,saysthatwhilebigpublicprojectslikeroadsandtraintracksarewhatwethinkofwhenwetalkaboutcompulsoryacquisition,itactuallyhappensallthetimeinsmaller,lessobviousways.Electricaleasementsforinstance,andotherpublicacquisitionoverlays(whichhaveanimpactonbuyingandselling).Compulsoryacquisitionisalsocommoninruralareaswherethereislessexistinginfrastructure. Thecompulsoryacquisitionprocessvariesdependingonthestateandterritorylegislation.Dunhill saysthatinVictoriaafteraprojectisgivenpoliticalbacking,thenextstepwouldbeapublicacquisitionoverlay,whichcanlastmanyyearsandisusuallytheprecursortothecompulsoryacquisitionitself,whichthenproceedsto“noticetointentiontoacquire”. Usuallytheprocessofcompulsoryacquisitionissteppedoutoveralongperiodsoit’suncommontobethrownoutatshortnotice. Whatifithappenstoyou? Dunhillsayscompulsoryacquisitionisanunusual,intricate,andalmostdraconianareaofthelaw,anditisnotuptheaveragepersontohavetodealwithitalone. Dunhill recommendsclaimantsgatherinformationfromtheacquiringauthority(itcouldbeanyonefromthedepartmentoftransporttothecouncilorwaterauthority)aswellasseekingoutpeopletheycantrustlikelawyersandindependentvaluerswhowilllookatitfromtheirpointofview,andfightfortherightcompensationwhilemanagingtheprocess. “Don’tlistentoanyoneperson’sorgroup’sviews,”Dunhillcautions.“Evenifeverythingtheysayistrueandtheinformationisrightandaccurate,it’snotbeinglookedatfromtheclaimant’spointofview,andtheirparticularcircumstances.” “Evenifthemoneyisgreatitisstillaterriblyemotionallyaggravatingareabecauseitsnotsomethingyouaskedfor–itisdonetoyou,”Dunhill says.“Mostofourclientsarehappywiththewayitsbeenmanaged,buttheysay,nonetheless,they’dbeveryhappyifitneverhappenedtothem.” Theissues Ifthereisanupsideforthoseinvolved,itisthatcompulsoryacquisitionisusuallydonetomakewhatpeoplehopearebigimprovementstoourcommunities.Butit’sunderstandablyachallengetoseethegreatergoodifithappenstoyourbelovedfamilyhomeorbusiness. DunhillsaysthatundercurrentAustralianlegislation,ifyou’renotdirectlytouchedbytheacquisition,thenyoumorethanlikelyhavenorighttoclaimanything,eveniftheproximityoftheprojectaffectsyourproperty.It’sdifferentelsewhere,liketheUK,whereifyou’renearanoisytrainlinebutnotactuallyacquiredyoucanstillmakeaclaim. Don’tlistentoanyoneperson’sorgroup’sviews ButifyourpropertyisacquiredAustralianlawssayyouarerequiredtogetfairmarketvalueforyourproperty. Elsewherepropertyownershaven’tbeensolucky.Chinahasundergonerampantgrowthandrelocated1.4millionfarmersjusttobuildtheThreeGorgesDam. Withprojectsthissizeithasn’talwaysbeenaharmoniousprocess.NewlawsnowpreventChineseauthoritiesfromdemolishinghomeswithouttheowner’sconsent. OnefamouscasemademediaheadlinesworldwidewithphotosofamassivefreewayliterallybeingbuiltaroundthehomeofanelderlyChinesecouplewhorefusedtoselltheirhome. Thishalf-demolishedapartmentbuildingstood inthemiddleofanewly-builtroadinWenling,ineasternChina’sZhejiangprovinceafteraelderlycouplerefusedtomove.Picture:GettyImages Managetheprocess LikeTheCastle,someclaimantsdohavevictoriesagainstcompulsoryacquisition.EarlierthisyearaSouthAustralianpastoralfamilywonaFederalCourtbattleagainsttheGovernmenttoretainaportionoftheirfarm,whichwasbeingcompulsorilyacquiredtoexpandadefencetrainingarea. Dunhillsaysthatinhisexperienceoncethelegalprocessofcompulsoryacquisitionstartsyoucan’tstoptheacquisitionunlesssomethingunlawfulhasoccurred.That’swhysomucheffortischanneledintolobbyingtochangethepoliticalmindbeforeaprojectgetsofftheground.Buthesaysyoucanrecruitexpertstoguideyouinmanagingtheprocessofcompulsoryacquisitionandfightforthelargestpoolofmoneyyoucantomakeyourlifebetteronceit’sallover. Ifyou’reseekingfurtherinformationaboutcompulsoryacquisition,makeastartwithyourlocalstateorterritorylegislation. Resources: TheCommonwealthandYou:CompulsoryAcquisitionofLand  NSWLandandPropertyInformation VictorianDepartmentofTransport,PlanningandLocalInfrastructure QLDDepartmentofStateDevelopmentInfrastructureandPlanning SADepartmentforTransportEnergyandInfrastructure TASDepartmentofPrimaryIndustriesParksWaterandEnvironment WADepartmentofLands NTLandandPlanningService   Editor’spickvideos