Compulsory Acquisition of Land

The assessment date in the context of damages represents the point in time all of the losses, typically which may have accrued and continue to accrue over a period of time, are converted to a single number representing a ‘once-and-for-all’ lump sum amount as part of damages. This article focuses on the technical and thorny issues concerning the assessment date in damages and compensation.

Rather than hope that the court will prefer your expert’s opinions, over your adversary’s expert opinion, on the relevant capitalisation rate or discount rate that should be applied, we have provided a comprehensive presentation to arm lawyers with the relevant need to know information on this vexed and technical topic.

On 30 July 2021, Pain J delivered her judgment in The Trustee for Whitcurt Unit Trust v Transport for NSW [2021] NSWLEC 82, making it very plain that the nature and scope of the ‘interest in land’ are of fundamental importance for lawyers advising their clients on the quantum of compensation, including claims for loss of profit under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms) Compensation Act 1991 (NSW) (“Act”).  The effective outcome for the applicant was that it received no compensation.

We put our forensic spotlight on the Property Law Services sector investigating what drives demand in this sector and how it is currently performing.

In Victoria, section 41(1) of the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 (Vic) sets out the general principles on which compensation is to be based. This article looks at the key implications for business owners who are impacted when an acquiring authority requires land for a public works project.