This Act, consisting of 31 sections, regulates expropriation and sets out the related procedures in the public interest. Section 3 establishes that the Minister may expropriate property for a public purpose or in the public interest, in accordance with the prescribed procedures, if the responsible executive authority requests this in writing and the Minister is satisfied that the property is required for such a purpose. This power includes expropriation for the accommodation, land, and infrastructure needs of organs of state. Where only part of a land parcel is required, the Minister may expropriate the entire parcel if the owner requests this and partial expropriation would impair the use or potential use of the remainder, making full expropriation just and equitable. When property is expropriated on behalf of an organ of state, that organ becomes responsible for any applicable fees, duties, and charges as if it had purchased the property. The expropriating authority is required to (i) investigate property before expropriation, including its suitability, rights affecting it, and factors relevant to just and equitable compensation; (ii) authorize qualified persons and valuers to enter land to conduct surveys, inspections, and obtain necessary documents and information; (iii) consult relevant departments, identify all rights holders, protect personal information, and repair or compensate for any damage caused during investigations.
The Act also addresses (i) compensation, which must be just and equitable, balancing the public interest with the interests of affected persons and taking all relevant circumstances into account; it further permits nil compensation in specific situations, such as where land is unused and held for speculation, effectively abandoned, or constitutes unused state land; (ii) mediation and court processes for resolving disputes over the amount, timing, or manner of payment of compensation, with either party able to refer the matter to a competent court if mediation fails; (iii) urgent expropriation, allowing temporary use of property for up to 12 months when urgently required for a public purpose or in the public interest, but only where no suitable state-owned property is available and circumstances—such as a declared disaster—justify urgent action; and (iv) withdrawal of expropriation, which is permitted where it is in the public interest or the original justification no longer applies, subject to statutory requirements, with ownership reverting automatically to the original owner, previously discharged rights being restored, and the authority bearing any reasonable costs or damages resulting from the withdrawal.