South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts294—Power to enter and occupy land in connection with an activity
(1) Subject to this
section, an employee or contractor of a council may, insofar as may be
reasonably necessary for carrying out a function or responsibility of the
council—
(a)
enter land at any reasonable time;
(b)
occupy the land on behalf of the council;
(i)
obtain earth, minerals or timber from land;
(ii)
deposit soil on land;
(iii)
construct temporary roads and structures on land;
(iv)
deposit or store materials on land;
(iva)
conduct surveys, inspections, examinations and tests, and carry out work;
(v)
carry out any other incidental activity on land.
(1a) Subject to
subsection (1b), an owner or occupier of the land must be given at least
48 hours notice in writing of an intention to exercise a power under
subsection (1)(b) or (c).
(1b) Notice need not
be given under subsection (1a) if—
(a)
action is required to be taken in an emergency or it is otherwise
impracticable to give 48 hours notice in the circumstances of the
particular case; or
(b) the
occupation of the land, or any activities on the land—
(i)
are not expected to extend beyond 24 hours; and
(ii)
are not expected to cause any material nuisance or
damage; or
(c) the
whereabouts of an owner or occupier of land cannot be found after making
reasonable inquiries.
(2) The council is,
except in relation to an owner or occupier of the land, liable for any
nuisance or damage caused while in occupation of land under this section.
(3) The council
must—
(a) pay
to the owner or occupier of the land rent on a quarterly or half-yearly basis,
at a rate to be determined by agreement between the council and the owner or
occupier or, in default of agreement, by the Supreme Court; and
(b) pay
to the owner or occupier of the land within 1 month after occupying the
land—reasonable compensation for damage caused to any crops on the land;
and
(c)
within 6 months of ceasing to occupy the land—
(i)
remedy damage to land caused by the council while in
occupation of the land (to such extent as this may be reasonably practicable);
and
(ii)
pay to the owner or occupier of the land reasonable
compensation for any other loss or damage caused by the council, including the
full value of any earth, minerals or resources taken from the land.
(4) Compensation
payable by the council under this section may be recovered as a debt.
(5) The council must,
at the request of an owner or occupier of the land, erect a fence of
reasonable quality and design between the land and adjoining land.
(6) A council is not
authorised under this section to enter or occupy—
(a) land
that is within 500 metres of a house or dwelling; or
(b) a
garden or a park; or
(c) a
quarry, brickfield or other similar place from which materials are commonly
obtained for commercial purposes; or
(d) land
where a permit, claim, lease, licence, tenement or private mine exists under
the Mining Act 1971 or the Opal Mining Act 1995 .
(7) A council does not
require a mining tenement or other authorisation under the Mining
Act 1971 with respect to the exercise of powers under this section but,
to the extent to which a council, other than an exempt council, recovers
extractive minerals under this section—
(b) the
provisions of the Mining Act 1971 designated by subsection (7a) will
apply to and in relation to the council as if, in recovering the
extractive minerals, the council is—
(i)
carrying out operations under that Act (and required to
comply with the provisions of that Act); and
(ii)
the holder of a mining tenement under that Act for the
recovery of extractive minerals.
(7a) The following
provisions of the Mining Act 1971 are designated for the purposes of
subsection (7)(b):
(a)
sections 14B to 14F (inclusive);
(e)
section 18;
(f)
sections 76 to 77D (inclusive);
(g)
section 89A;
(h)
section 91;
(i)
section 92.
(7b) In connection
with subsections (7) and (7a)—
(a) to
the extent that there is an inconsistency between section 7(2) of the
Mining Act 1971 and subsections (7) and (7a) of this section, those
subsections will apply to the extent of the inconsistency (so as to allow the
Mining Act 1971 to regulate the operations of a council to the extent
envisaged by those subsections); and
(8) In this
section—
"exempt council" means, in relation to a financial year commencing on or after
1 July 2015, a council whose total annual revenue for the financial
year immediately preceding the relevant financial year, as reported in its
audited financial statements, does not exceed the prescribed amount;
"extractive minerals" means extractive minerals as defined by the
Mining Act 1971 ;
"minerals" include stone, gravel, clay and sand;
"work" includes work associated with—
(a) the
construction, maintenance, repair or replacement of infrastructure, equipment,
connections, structures, works or other facilities (including dams or other
structures or facilities associated with stormwater management or flood
mitigation); or
(b) the
provision of services or facilities that benefit the area of the relevant
council; or
(c) the
carrying out of any other function or responsibility of the relevant council.