I received a Proposed Acquisition Notice

Under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW), a Proposed Acquisition Notice generally must give at least 90 days before the authority can complete the acquisition by publishing an acquisition notice in the NSW Government Gazette. That period is intended to allow time to make representations, negotiate or seek advice, and in practice gazettal sometimes occurs somewhat later than the 90-day mark. Because the exact dates turn on when and how the notice was given, the timing in a particular case should be checked against the specific notice.

A Proposed Acquisition Notice begins a statutory process, and in practice a landowner usually cannot prevent a properly authorised acquisition from proceeding. The notice period generally allows time to make representations to the authority and to negotiate over what is taken and the terms, while a challenge to the validity of an acquisition is a separate matter that would commonly be pursued by judicial review in the Supreme Court rather than through the compensation process. Whether any grounds to challenge exist depends on the facts and the authority's powers, so the specific notice should be reviewed promptly.

After land is acquired under the Just Terms Act, the amount of compensation is initially determined by the Valuer-General, and the acquiring authority generally must give the former owner a compensation notice setting out the offer within 45 days of the acquisition notice being published (a period the Minister can extend in limited circumstances). A person who has claimed compensation and disagrees with the amount may generally lodge an objection with the Land and Environment Court within 90 days of receiving that notice, in the Court's Class 3 jurisdiction. The right to object belongs to a person who has claimed compensation, and a compensation notice can arrive before any claim has been made, so it is worth checking early that a claim has been lodged. The compensation payable depends on the facts, including valuation and disturbance, so the timeframes and the offer should be checked against the specific notice.

If no action is taken, the authority can generally proceed to acquire the land by publishing an acquisition notice in the Gazette once the notice period has run. If a later compensation offer is not accepted and no objection is lodged with the Land and Environment Court within the 90-day period, the right to object to the amount is generally lost (a late objection is only sometimes allowed for good cause) and compensation is generally fixed at the amount offered. Because these timeframes are short and strict, the position should be checked promptly against the specific notice.