Types of acquisitions
An acquisition may involve all or only part of your property. A member of your acquisition team will provide you with information on the area of property and what type of acquisition will apply.
Whole property acquisition
When the entire property is needed for the infrastructure project, the resident or business will need to vacate the property.
Your acquisition support team will let you know if this applies to you, and what they can do to help.
Partial property acquisitions
Sometimes only part of a property is needed for a project. In this situation, the acquiring authority will provide you with a plan of the required partial acquisition. It will include proposed new property boundaries and the likely dimensions and area of the property to be acquired.
Property adjustments
When part of a property is acquired, the acquiring authority will discuss with you what property adjustments are needed, such as changes to driveways or fencing.
If services and public utilities need to be adjusted as the result of a partial acquisition, they will be undertaken at the cost of the acquiring authority, prior to or during project construction.
If new fencing is required, it will be built to a standard similar to the existing fence. If necessary, a plan detailing the property adjustments will be prepared for the property owner.
Requesting your whole property be acquired
You can request that the acquiring authority acquire your entire property, even though only part of it is needed for a proposed project. The decision to do so is at the discretion of the acquiring authority.
Substratum acquisition
Some projects - such as road or rail tunnels - require the acquisition of property that is below the ground surface. This type of acquisition is known as a substratum or subsurface acquisition.
Compensation is not required to be paid unless the surface is disturbed as a result of the proposed project.
If an owner believes they have a claim for compensation for a substratum acquisition, they should discuss this with the relevant acquiring authority.
The 6-month negotiation period prior to compulsory acquisition does not apply to substratum acquisitions as compensation is not generally payable.
Acquisition of easements, licences, and leases
Acquiring authorities may require only an interest in your property, such as an easement (the right to access and use your property), licence, or lease to build or upgrade infrastructure. The acquiring authority will contact the property owners as early as possible to provide them with details of the proposed route or other available design options and inform them about potential impacts and compensation.
Owner initiated acquisitions in cases of hardship
An acquiring authority may identify property needed for a future project, even though that may not be for some time. If you are the owner of that property, you can apply for early acquisition under Division 3 of the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991.
To apply for early acquisition, you must be able to show that you would suffer hardship if the acquisition of your property is delayed.
Find information on how to show and apply for hardship.