South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts15—Acquisition by agreement etc
(1) The Authority may,
at any time after the service of a notice of intention to acquire land, and
before the publication of a notice of acquisition in respect of the land,
acquire the subject land by agreement. 1
(2) Notwithstanding
the fact that a notice of intention to acquire land has been served upon any
person, the Authority may decline to proceed with the acquisition of the
subject land.
(3) If the Authority
decides not to proceed with the acquisition of land, it must give notice of
the decision to the same persons and in the same way as the notice of
intention to acquire the land but notice need not be given to a person who was
given notice of intention to acquire the land if—
(a) the
notice was given because the person held an interest in the land and the
person no longer holds that interest; or
(b) the
notice was given because the person claimed to hold an interest in the land
and—
(i)
the claim has been abandoned; or
(ii)
a court has determined the claim and found that the
claimant has no interest in the land.
(4) If the Authority
does not acquire land within 18 months or a longer period fixed under
subsection (4a), it will be presumed that the Authority has decided not
to proceed with the acquisition and the land cannot then be acquired by the
Authority unless a further notice of intention to acquire the land is given.
(4a) The period for
acquisition of the land may be extended as follows:
(a) the
Authority may, by agreement with the interested parties, extend the period by
agreement;
(b) the
Court (ie the Land and Valuation Court) may, on application by the Authority
or an interested party, extend the period;
(c) in
the case of a proposed acquisition of native title—
(i)
the ERD Court may, on application by the Authority or an
interested party, extend the period;
(ii)
the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, extend the
period if satisfied that the extension is necessary to allow adequate time for
negotiation.
(5) If the Authority
decides, or is presumed to have decided, not to proceed with the acquisition
of land, a person interested in the land may, within 6 months after notice of
the decision is given, or the decision is presumed to have been made, by
written notice to the Authority, claim compensation.
(5a) A native title
party registered as a claimant to native title in land has sufficient interest
in the land to bring a claim for compensation under subsection (5).
(6) If, three months
after notice is given under subsection (5), the Authority and the
claimant are not agreed on whether the claimant is entitled to compensation,
or the amount of the compensation, either party may refer the matter to the
Court for determination.
(7) On reference of a
matter under subsection (6), the Court may determine whether the claimant
has an interest in the subject land and, if so, the amount of compensation
that should be paid for—
(a)
disturbance to the use or enjoyment of the land resulting from the proposed
acquisition; and
(b)
costs and expenses reasonably incurred by the claimant in consequence of the
proposed acquisition.
Note—
1 If, in a case to which Part 4 Division 1
applies, the Authority is to acquire native title in land by agreement, the
agreement may include a statement to the effect that the surrender of native
title under the agreement is intended to extinguish the native title. See
section 24MD(2A) of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwth).