Guide to the Act
Introduction
The Land Administration Act 1997 (LAA) (external link) and the associated Acts Amendment (Land Administration) Act 1997 commenced on March 30, 1998.
The intent of the LAA was to rewrite the Land Act 1933 (which is now repealed), which was considerably out of step with the concepts and terminology understood by the real estate industry and members of the public in relation to freehold land is to introduce a single registration system into the State land title process.
The LAA codifies all processes relating to State land including reserving State land for a specific purpose and the sale or transfer of State land into the freehold.
State land administration powers have been consolidated in the LAA. Road tenure provisions were brought across from the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960, together with the land-related provisions from the Land Acquisition and Public Works Act 1902. Little change has been made to the established principles for acquiring land and compensation, except that they are now expressed in plainer English.
A number of new initiatives have been included, such as:
- the creation of a Torrens system of land registration for State land, including the ability to lodge instruments and orders made by the Minister for Lands;
- new tenures such as mall reserves and public access routes;
- new sales and leasing powers; and
- new procedures to gain efficiencies in the administration of State land.
Power has been given to the Minister for Lands to carry out international projects for the provision and export of land administration expertise and services, to raise fees and charges in respect of that export, and to set up a trust account for these purposes.
Significant features of the legislation
State land conveyancing
A major provision of the LAA is the devolution of responsibility for administrative functions concerning State land from the Governor in Executive Council to the Minister for Lands. This proposal permits more efficient practices to be adopted by enabling more timely decisions to be made by the Minister without dependence on Executive Council and Gazette publication procedures.
State land registration: The single registration “Torrens system”
A major feature of the LAA is the provision of a register for State land, permitting conveyancing procedures similar to those currently used for freehold land to apply to State land. Mining tenements and petroleum rights and interests are not included in this registration system. The Department of Industry and Resources maintains a separate register for such rights and interests.
This Torrens system requires all transactions affecting State land to be registered under the Transfer of Land Act 1893.
The advantages of a Torrens system of registration for State land are:
- security and certainty of title;
- simplification of the processes and dealings used for State land administration; and
- greater accuracy in the transactions relating to land.
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Other Acts
The LAA brought across all State land under the operation of the Land Act 1933 and made it subject to the Torrens registration system.
There are certain statutes, e.g. Marine and Harbours Act 1981, Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and the Port Authorities Act 1999 that, to varying degrees, took State land outside the operation of the Land Act 1933. Due to the redefinition of "State land" to include all non-freehold land and submerged lands, dealings in such land can now be registered under the registration system provided for by the LAA.
It is intended that new legislation will be drafted in the future, to deal with certain interface issues between the LAA and other Acts administering State land. The benefits of having one central register for all State land in a computer-based system will be considerable.
State land disposition
Disposition of State land under the LAA continues to be subject to statutory and administrative approvals and clearances under other legislation. For example, relevant approvals required by the Mining Act 1978 and Planning and Development Act 2005 still need to be obtained. Regard must also be had for other issues including conservation, environmental, Aboriginal and heritage issues. In addition, specific provision has been made for the Minister of Lands to consult with local governments where practicable before exercising any of his/her powers. Dealings in State land are also subject to the (Commonwealth) Native Title Act 1993, where any claim to native title may exist over land being dealt with.
The Minister for Lands has been provided with certain powers over State land. These powers include the ability to subdivide, develop, sell, lease and reserve land in accordance with the provisions in the LAA.
Outline of Act contents
- Part 1 - Preliminary
- Part 2 - General administration
- Part 3 - Appeals to Governor
- Part 4 - Reserves
- Part 5 - Roads
- Part 6 - Sales, leases, licences, etc. of Crown land
- Part 7 - Pastoral leases
- Part 8 - Easements
- Part 9 - Compulsory acquisition of interests in land
- Part 10 - Compensation
- Part 11 - General
- Part 12 - Repeals, transitional, savings and validation related to Land Act 1933
- Part 13 - Transitional related to pre Land Act 1933 Crown grants, Crown reserves, and Crown leases
- Schedule 1 - Divisions of State
- Schedule 2 - Transitional, savings and validation provisions related to Land Act 1933
- Schedule 3 - Crown grants, Crown reserves, and Crown leases made or created before the Land Act 1933
The Land Administration Act 1997 is available from State Law Publisher.
Acts Amendment (Land Administration) Act 1997
The provisions of the Land Administration Act 1997 (LAA) impact on many other statutes. These Acts have been amended by the Acts Amendment (Land Administration) Act, to enable the LAA's provisions to be properly construed.
The primary features of the LAA in consist of the following:
- a registration system for State land under the Torrens system of land registration by substantially amending the Transfer of Land Act 1893;
- amendment of other Acts to reflect the proposals in the Land Administration Act 1997 following the repeal of the Land Act 1933;
- removal of compulsory acquisition, resumption and compensation provisions from the Land Acquisition and Public Works Act 1902;
- amendment of other Acts that refer to the compulsory acquisition, resumption and compensation provisions in the Land Acquisition and Public Works Act 1902, to then refer to Parts 9 and 10 of the LAA;
- removal of creation and dedication of roads, streets and ways from Division 1 of Part XII of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960; and
- provision for savings and transitional provisions for existing actions being dealt with under legislation repealed or amended by the LAA.
An important financial aspect of the amendments to other legislation included an amendment to the Stamp Act 1921. The effect of these amendments to the Stamp Act 1921 was to make transfers of State land into the freehold liable to stamp duty on the same basis as any other transfer of freehold land. Formerly, grants of State land were exempt from stamp duty.
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