EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 8

Lands Acquisition Act 1989

Lands Acquisition Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 1)

Section 140 of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subsection 137 of the Act provides that a document required or permitted by the Act to be given to the Minister, except documents relating to land in an external territory, shall be given to the Minister by sending it by pre-paid post to the Minister at an address prescribed for the purposes of that subsection.

The purpose of the Regulations is to revise the prescribed address currently listed in regulation 8 of the Lands Acquisition Regulations 1989.  The prescribed address relates to a GPO Box, which is no longer used by the Department of Finance and Administration.

The Department of Finance and Administration is responsible for administering the Act.  The regulation provides that the prescribed address for the purpose of Section 137 of the Act will be ‘Secretary, Department of Finance and Administration, John Gorton Building, King Edward Terrace, Canberra, ACT, 2600’.

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.