A landmark court decision has delivered a blow to the NSW government’s seemingly unstoppable compulsory acquisition of property.
I have spent the past twenty years fighting for people who have been ordered out of their homes or businesses under various laws that give power to the government to take over their property under procedures set down in the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW).
It is very rare that the courts prevent the government from seizing a property under the law that gives them the power to acquire land compulsorily for major projects.
Court rejects government’s attempt to seize land adjacent to rail yard
In the NSW Supreme Court case Desane Properties Pty Limited v State of New South Wales [2018] NSWSC 553, the property owner succeeded in stopping the government seizing land in Sydney’s inner west for the massive and controversial $16.8 billion toll road project, WestConnex.
