When a Games project needs your land: resumption in Queensland

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Every large building program eventually meets a fence line. Stadiums, pools, rail lines and road interchanges need land, and some of that land belongs to households and businesses. With Brisbane 2032 drawing venue works and transport upgrades across South East Queensland and beyond, owners near a corridor or a construction site are asking two questions: can the State take their property, and what happens if the works end up next door?

This guide sets out what the law actually says. It covers compulsory acquisition under the Acquisition of Land Act 1967, which Queensland calls resumption: the notice of intention to resume, the objection process, the taking itself and the compensation claim. It then looks at how the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements Act 2021 and the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) fit beside that process, what the public record shows about Games projects and private land so far, and what the construction notices for the first venue site tell neighbours to expect.

Acquisition of Land Act 1967, sections 7, 9 and 19, as published on the Queensland legislation register.

The law behind a resumption

Land in Queensland can pass to a public body in two ways: by an ordinary negotiated purchase, or compulsorily under the Acquisition of Land Act 1967. The Queensland Government's page on land acquisition describes compulsory acquisition as a last resort and says the authority should remain willing to negotiate even after a notice has been issued.

The Act calls the body taking the land a "constructing authority". Section 5 sets out who that can be and for what. Where the Crown is the authority, land may be taken for a purpose listed in schedule 1 of the Act; local governments and other bodies may take land for purposes tied to what they are lawfully authorised to do. The power to acquire usually sits in another statute, with the 1967 Act supplying the procedure. The Department of Transport and Main Roads, for example, cites the Transport Planning and Co-ordination Act 1994 as its power to acquire land for transport works, while the Coordinator-General's office points to sections 82 and 125 of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971. In both cases the department's own pages say the steps and the compensation rules come from the 1967 Act.

That matters for Games-era projects because the procedure is the same whichever agency is behind it. A rail corridor, a road interchange and a State development project all run through the same notices, the same objection rights and the same compensation rules.

The notice of intention to resume

A resumption formally begins when the constructing authority serves a notice of intention to resume. Section 7 of the Act requires it to be served on every person the authority knows will be entitled to claim compensation, and on any mortgagee. In practice that reaches registered owners, lessees, easement holders and lenders, which is how the Coordinator-General's office lists them. A copy of the notice is also filed with the land registry.

The Act prescribes what the notice must say. It must:

• state the particular purpose for which the land is needed;
• describe the land, by its registered plan where it is a lot on a plan;
• for an easement, set out the rights and obligations it would create;
• give a date by which a written objection may be served, at least 30 days after the date of the notice;
• explain the objection rules, including that the amount of compensation is not a ground of objection;
• state that the authority is willing to negotiate to buy the land by agreement, or failing that to negotiate compensation;
• explain the time limit for a compensation claim and the right to seek leave for a late claim;
• explain that arrangements entered into after the notice may be disregarded when compensation is assessed.

The last point is easy to miss. Under section 20(2A), a lease, licence or other arrangement made after the notice was served is left out of the compensation assessment if its sole or dominant purpose was to obtain compensation. The Coordinator-General's compensation page adds that someone who buys a property after part of it, or an easement over it, has been acquired generally has no compensation entitlement unless the sale contract provides for it. Both rules matter to anyone buying or selling near a project.

Objecting, and what an objection can and cannot do

An owner who disagrees with the taking can object in writing by the date in the notice. The objection must state its grounds and the facts relied on, and say whether the objector wants to be heard. Section 8 provides that an objector is heard only if the objection asked for a hearing and the objector, or a representative, attends at the stated time and place.

The Queensland Government page gives examples of grounds that can be raised: evidence that the land would be better located elsewhere, or that proper process was not followed. The Coordinator-General describes its hearings as non-adversarial; a lawyer is not required, though an objector may bring a professional. Each objector pays their own costs at this stage.

The authority must consider the grounds, or the report of the delegate who heard them. It then has three options: go ahead as proposed, amend the notice, or discontinue. An amendment cannot add land the original notice did not cover. A fact sheet from the Department of Transport and Main Roads describes the same choice in practical terms: proceed, proceed with a smaller area, or change the project so the property is not needed.

Owners who do not intend to object have another route. Section 15 of the Act allows a written resumption agreement, signed by each affected party, which removes the objection stage and shortens the process. The Coordinator-General's office notes that such an agreement does not affect the right to compensation. If no taking follows within a year of the agreement, the resumption is treated as discontinued.

From application to gazette: when ownership changes

If the authority still needs the land after any objection, it applies to the Minister. Section 9 requires that application within 12 months of the notice of intention to resume, "and not thereafter". If no application is made in that window, the resumption is deemed discontinued. Where an objection was received, the Act does not allow the Minister to delegate this decision.

When the application is approved, a taking of land notice is published in the Queensland Government Gazette, declared by the Governor in Council or, in some cases, by the relevant Minister. The taking takes effect on the day of publication.

Section 12 sets out the effect. The land vests in the Crown or the constructing authority, freed of mortgages, charges, leases and easements, and each former interest is converted into a right to claim compensation. The authority must serve a copy of the gazette notice on those entitled to claim and on any mortgagee. The Coordinator-General's office adds that unpaid taxes, rates and charges remain the former owner's responsibility.

On timing, the Transport and Main Roads fact sheet says a resumption normally takes about four to six months from the notice of intention to resume, longer where objections or approvals add time. The Coordinator-General's office says it may take possession any time after the gazette notice, that a vacant possession date can be negotiated where the land is not needed straight away, and that construction can start before compensation is agreed or paid. If an occupier refuses to give up possession, section 38 allows the authority to issue a warrant to the sheriff to deliver it, with the costs recoverable from the person in default.

Before gazettal, the authority can also change its mind. Section 16 lets it discontinue at any time before the gazette notice by serving a further notice. No compensation is then payable for loss caused by the notice itself, except costs and expenses the person incurred and actual damage the authority did to the land.

Compensation: what is counted

Once the land is taken, the former owner, and anyone else whose interest was converted, can claim. The claim must be in writing, signed and served on the constructing authority. Section 19 allows three years from the day the land was taken. The authority may accept a late claim where that is reasonable in all the circumstances; if it refuses, the claimant can apply to the Land Court.

Section 20 sets out the assessment. Compensation is based on the value of the claimant's interest on the date of the taking, together with:

• damage from severing the land taken from the claimant's other land;
• damage from otherwise injuriously affecting that other land, for example where only part of a property is taken;
• the claimant's costs attributable to disturbance.

The Act defines disturbance costs to include legal and valuation fees, certain costs of buying a replacement property, removal costs and business losses. The Transport and Main Roads fact sheet translates this into a list an owner can recognise: stamp duty and reasonable conveyancing fees on a replacement property of equal value, removal of furniture and personal effects, re-establishing a mortgage of equal value, reconnecting phone and internet and redirecting mail, and reasonable business relocation costs including lost profits. The Queensland Government page adds that movable items are not valued as part of the land, that reasonable costs of preparing the claim are reimbursed, and that compensation for resumed land is not subject to GST.

There is a set-off in the other direction. If the project increases the value of the claimant's adjoining land, section 20(3) requires that enhancement to be taken into account, though section 20(4) means it can never leave the claimant owing money.

Offers, advances and the Land Court

After a claim is lodged, the authority has the property valued independently and makes an offer. The Coordinator-General's office describes the sequence as claim, review, offer, negotiation and payment, with a conference arranged if an offer is rejected. Transport and Main Roads describes the same conference step with its property officer. Any mortgage is paid out of the compensation first unless the lender gives a clearance, and the Coordinator-General requires that clearance before any payment, advances included.

An owner does not have to wait for a final figure to receive money. Section 23 allows a claimant to apply for an advance at any time after delivering the claim. Where no written offer has been made, the advance is capped at the authority's own estimate of the compensation. Accepting an advance does not limit the right to seek more or to go to court.

If the parties cannot agree, either can refer the amount to the Land Court under section 24, which has jurisdiction over all compensation matters under the Act. Section 28 lets the court, or the Land Appeal Court on appeal, order interest on the compensation from the date of the taking, though not on amounts already advanced. The Coordinator-General's office describes the court as a last resort because of cost and time, and says most claims settle by negotiation.

Entry, surveys and temporary occupation

Many owners first meet a project not through a notice of intention to resume but through a request to come onto their land. Section 36 allows a constructing authority's officers, contractors or authorised persons to enter land to inspect, value, survey, take levels, and dig or bore to test soil. Where practicable, the occupier must get at least 7 days' written notice, and on request the person entering must show their authority. The constructing authority is liable for actual damage done.

Section 37 goes further. It lets an authority temporarily occupy land to build, maintain or repair works: forming temporary roads, depositing material, putting up sheds and workshops. Except in an emergency repair, the occupier or owner must receive at least 7 days' written notice stating the proposed use and roughly how long it will last. A person with an interest in the land can claim compensation in writing during the occupation or within 3 months after it ends, capped at what would have been payable had the land been taken.

Corridor maps and early acquisition

A line on a planning map is not a resumption. In July 2026, Sunshine Coast News reported that owners on a Stage 1 section of The Wave, the Sunshine Coast transport project, received letters from a law firm suggesting their homes could be acquired, based on a "future railway corridor" layer in the State's planning mapping. The Department of Transport and Main Roads told the paper the letters were not issued or endorsed by the department and that Stage 1, Beerwah to Caloundra, had no residential property impacts. The same report noted that the State's mapping report warns it may contain errors, and that new corridor maps are expected with detailed design.

Corridor planning can still weigh on owners for years. The department's early acquisition policy page says owners may be told of a future land requirement well before construction, that land is usually not acquired more than one or two years before construction starts, and that owners may ask the department to consider buying earlier. The criteria for that sit in a separate policy document, so an owner considering it would read that document or ask the department directly.

Where the Games laws come in

The Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements Act 2021, current as at 1 September 2026 on the legislation register, is the main Games statute. It sets up GIICA, whose functions centre on delivering the authority venues on time and within funding. Section 53AF gives the authority "all the powers of an individual" plus any power conferred by another Act. The text of the Games Act read for this guide contains no power to compulsorily acquire private land and does not refer to the Acquisition of Land Act 1967.

What the Games Act does is different. Chapter 3A declares development for Games venues, villages and listed Games-related transport infrastructure lawful despite fifteen named Acts, including the Planning Act 2016, the Environmental Protection Act 1994, the Local Government Act 2009 and the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. Any requirement under those Acts, including a requirement to notify or consult other people, is taken to have been met. A civil proceeding cannot be started if the relief sought would directly prohibit, restrict or limit the works. Building work for venues must still comply with the relevant building provisions, and building work for villages that would otherwise be assessable still needs a development permit.

The Games Act also contains its own land mechanism, but only for land named in the Act. Part 2A of chapter 3A vests the land described in schedule 4A in GIICA in stages, the first on 1 June 2026, as freehold. On vesting, existing interests in that land are cancelled, apart from easements and certain Land Act reservations, and roads on it are closed. Section 53DFG says no compensation is payable under the Games Act for those cancellations, while preserving any right to compensation under another Act. In a written answer to a question on notice asked in March 2026, the Premier said amendments passed on 12 February 2026 resolved complex tenure arrangements and gave GIICA access to Victoria Park, which it would hold on the State's behalf. GIICA's own announcement says it took possession of the park and began early works on 1 June 2026.

On the public record so far, the Games' first big land step was a vote in Parliament over parkland, not a resumption notice on a family home.

That leaves a plain finding. None of the GIICA venue pages, construction notices or government statements read for this guide records a notice of intention to resume served on private land for a Games venue, and no such case was found in the press. Transport is where private property has been affected. On The Wave, the ABC reported in July 2026 that the State has repeatedly promised the project before the 2032 Games, and that 52 waterfront homes in Mountain Creek were still due to be demolished for the Mooloolah River Interchange upgrade that sits alongside it, with the State negotiating with a few owners who had not agreed to sell. Sunshine Coast News reported the same month that owners of 81 properties had been told their land would not be needed for Stage 3, while the department had met affected Stage 2 owners to progress acquisitions. Neither report says whether those acquisitions are by agreement or by resumption. Any resumption on those projects would run under the 1967 Act described above, not under the Games Act.

Living next to a venue build

For most households near a Games site, the practical question is not losing land but living beside a construction zone. The Victoria Park construction notices GIICA has issued during 2026 show what that looks like at the first venue precinct.

Standard construction hours in those notices are 6:30am to 6:30pm, Monday to Saturday. The site mobilisation notice of May 2026 flagged some night works, from 6:30pm to 6:30am, for fencing installation; later updates say oversized equipment may be delivered out of hours to manage traffic and that any other out-of-hours or night work will be notified to affected stakeholders individually. Gilchrist Avenue was closed to public vehicles and parking and turned into construction access, with heavy vehicles delivering via Gilchrist Avenue and Herston Road, and the Northern Brisbane Bikeway shifted slightly. The September 2026 update lists earthworks within the stadium footprint using excavators, bulldozers and large dump trucks, internal haul roads, vegetation clearing, demolition of redundant structures and, from 1 September 2026, initial works on the Spring Hill side for the National Aquatic Centre.

The notices commit GIICA to minimising impacts on the community, "as much as possible" in the September 2026 update, and say all work is subject to approvals, construction conditions and weather. None of the notices read for this guide sets out specific noise, dust or vibration limits, a monitoring program or dilapidation surveys of neighbouring buildings. Residents are directed to a mailing list, a free-call line for the Victoria Park team and an email inbox.

Two legal points frame this. Because section 53DD of the Games Act treats requirements to notify or consult under the listed Acts as already met, and bars civil proceedings that would directly stop or limit the works, a neighbour's usual planning and local-law avenues are narrower for a Games project than for an ordinary development. And because building work must still comply with the relevant building provisions, that layer of regulation continues to apply. For a home that does suffer physical damage from works on adjoining land, the outcome depends on the facts and the legal basis of the claim, and is a question for a lawyer rather than a general rule.

For an owner who does receive a notice of intention to resume, the dates it sets are the ones that count: the objection deadline, the 12-month window for the taking and the three-year claim period. Both the Coordinator-General's office and the Queensland Government suggest considering a registered valuer and a solicitor, and the reasonable cost of preparing a claim is reimbursed as part of the compensation.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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