EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Statutory Rules 1989 No 274 Lands Acquisition Regulations (Amendment)

(Issued under the authority of the Minister of State for Administrative Services)

Section 140 of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters which are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Section 6 of the Act defines what is meant by a Commonwealth authority and hence which authorities are bound by the requirements of the Act. However the section also provides that authorities can be declared exempt from the requirements of the Act by regulation. Existing Regulation 3 and Schedule 1 lists those authorities which have been exempted from the requirements of the Act.

The Australian Telecommunications Corporation, the Australian Postal Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation were exempt from the provisions of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955. They were not included in the original list of exempt authorities under the Act because it is intended that their exemption would be achieved by their own legislation. However until this can be arranged, their exemption by regulation is required. It is now necessary to add those authorities to Schedule 1.

The proposed amendments to the Lands Acquisition Regulations will exempt these three authorities from the provisions of the Act. They will then be free to conduct their own property transactions without reference to the Act.