We provide advice and manage the process for whole of land and partial acquisitions involving owners, tenants and businesses and impacting small personal landholdings and tenancies, multinational corporations, developer and listed companies.
Compulsory acquisition is a niche area of law that does not follow typical property law practices. Claimants benefit from being represented by lawyers with specific experience and understanding of the unique interplay between the legislation, case law and practicalities of compulsory acquisition in Victoria. An intimate knowledge and attention to your particular circumstances will allow all possible entitlements to be uncovered.
How much will it cost?
The legislation provides for necessary legal costs and disbursements to be paid by the acquiring authority. It is therefore possible to avoid any out of pocket costs and expenses.
Taking care of the process from start to finish
Our team manages the whole process for you: obtaining all necessary expert valuations; planning; tax; business; agribusiness and any other advice relevant to the case.
What is compulsory acquisition
Compulsory acquisition is the compulsory purchase of all or part of your land by a government or statutory authority. It often affects landowners, tenants, businesses and licence holders.
There are three stages to the compulsory acquisition process:
1. Early planning
A public reservation is proposed (usually for infrastructure projects). Various plans and feasibility studies are undertaken to determine whether and how to proceed.
2. Identifying future acquisitions
A reservation in a planning scheme is usually made by placing a Public Acquisition Overlay or Project Area Designation (PAO for convenience) over the relevant portion of land.
3. Acquisition process commences
When the proposed project is ready to proceed, the acquiring authority will commence with the acquisition (this may be a number of years after the placement of the PAO). Then, the formal acquisition process and your claim will proceed.
For further information we encourage you to contact Principal Anton Dunhill, Head of the Property Disputes and Compulsory Acquisitions team in Victoria.
For New South Wales, click here.
