19-16 New Property Acquisition Standards to apply immediately to all acquiring authorities in New South Wales, including all general purpose and county councils
| Category: Circular to Councils | Status: Active |
| Circular Details: 19-16 / 06 August 2019 / A653804 | Contact: Performance Team – 02 4428 4100 |
| Previous Circular: 15-09 Changes to the land acquisition process for acquiring authorities in NSW and Department of Finance, Services and Innovation Circular DFSI-2017-02-Improvements to NSW Land Acquisition Processes | Attachments: Nil |
| Who should read this: Councillors/General Managers/Staff and Consultants involved in the compulsory acquisition of land by Councils | Action required: Councils will need to comply with the new requirements for the compulsory acquisition of land. |
| PDF Version: | Council Circular 19-16 – PDF |
What’s new or changing
The Department of Finance, Services and Innovation (DFSI) has produced revised Property Acquisition Standards, that apply to all acquiring authorities in NSW, including General Purpose and County Councils
The objectives of the revised Property Acquisitions Standards are to:-
- establish key requirements for all agencies that undertake acquisitions under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991;
- commit all acquiring authorities to improving the experience of property owners when dealing with the compulsory acquisition of their land; and
- increase the consistency and transparency of the compulsory acquisition process, across all acquiring authorities.
What this will mean for your council
- The Property Acquisition Standards, establish the key requirements for all agencies to comply with, when undertaking acquisitions under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991.
- The Property Acquisition Standards apply to all general purpose and county councils as they do to other acquiring authorities in NSW.
- Council staff and consultants engaged by councils who are involved in the acquisition of land, should be made aware of these revised Property Acquisition Standards.
- Councils must apply these changes to future acquisitions.
Key points
- Council staff and consultants undertaking the acquisition of land, should review their current processes to ensure they comply with the revised Property Acquisition Standards.
- When making an application for approval to acquire land under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991, Council’s will need to be able to provide evidence they have complied with the revised Property Acquisition Standards, for acquisitions where the Standards apply.
Where to go for further information
- A copy of the Property Acquisition Standards are available from the DFSI website.
- Refer to Circular DFSI-2019-03 at the following link https://arp.nsw.gov.au/dfsi-2019-03-property-acquisition-standards
- Information and resources to assist acquiring authorities in compliance with the revised Standards will be available on the Centre for Property Acquisition’s practitioner portal. Contact info@propertyacquisition.nsw.gov.au for access to the portal.
- Council enquiries about the Standards should be directed to the Centre for Property Acquisition at info@propertyacquisition.nsw.gov.au.
Tim Hurst
Deputy Secretary
Local Government, Planning and Policy