Land beyond the register: the State and principles underpinning land policy and property relationships with land

Overview

This is an invitation to a unique intensive exploring foundational legal principles relating to the concept of "land".  These principles sit beyond Queensland's land registration system and are rarely examined.

Queensland's system of land registration – particularly for freehold land – mostly allows anyone to rely on the register as a definitive record of interests in land.  Beneath the register, however, lies a complex and absorbing body of principles relating to how, apart from its physical character, "land" is understood as a legal and political concept.  With a little insight, it can be quickly noticed for instance that terms such as "tenure", "title", "reservation" and so on are often inaccurately or loosely applied.

The world beyond the cadastre is partly the world of the Crown and its land or, in Queensland, State land.  Sometimes mysterious, but never unimportant, reasons for the principles which shape how we understand "land" and the immediate proprietary relationships that the State creates in its land (often jarringly called "tenures") are numerous.  Many are historical; some are revisionist; and others derive from successive statutes designed to advance economic and social policy objectives.

A central theme is that almost all legal (non-indigenous) proprietary rights in land ultimately emerge from, or are shaped by, relationships sanctioned by parliament.  Even registered private interests strictly are statutory.  This presentation invites attendees to appreciate that ownership of, or property in, land is only an abstraction — that which we take for granted is a particular relationship wholly dependent on the structural support of a functioning legal system.  

The intensive is designed to give attendees a richer and more nuanced understanding of land as a contemporary concept.  Broken into discrete topics and referencing current legislation and leading case authorities, it aims to equip participants with the ability to think about "land" as an idea that fulfils different purposes (private and public) as well as with an understanding of some lesser known, but important, "land" principles and rules. The intensive is suited to lawyers and non-lawyers alike, particularly those involved in land dealings and land policy.

To register, scroll down past 'Event Details' and click the 'Register' button within the green shaded banner.

Who should attend

• Government and private sector employees of any level involved in land transactions and land policy. This intensive will also be highly useful for those employees who regularly deal with different types of land tenure in Queensland. 

What we will cover

• Title by registration: title to what and looking at property from both sides of the registration divide 

• Legal meanings of "land"

• Legal relationships with, and rights to, land as "property" and other relationships and rights with respect to land: how property affects third parties

• What is a "right to property": a natural, human or legal right?

• The "public interest" in land

• The State and its land: description, title, use and occupation, parliament and executive power

• "Tenure" as land planning: why property is abstract and what are the implications for ownership?

• Native title interests and rights as property: implications for understanding

• Enjoying land as a neighbourly pursuit?

• Can land have legal rights itself?

• Rules for valid grants of land by the State: essential preconditions, the effects of registration (and seeking redress for wrongs) and the public resource consideration

• How to interpret grants made by the State: special rules in the public interest

• Special types of land: vested land; submerged land and an encroaching sea

• Reservations in grants: what are they and how should they be interpreted?

• A "right to wander" over land, the public interest and roads under the common law.

What you will learn

• You'll acquire a real understanding of "land" as a legal concept and of important principles and rules affecting its meaning, policy and applications in multiple contexts. 

Event Details

Dates: 18 August 

Time: 8.45am for 9.00am - 4.45pm

Venue:
Clayton Utz Brisbane

Cost: Inc GST
$1,785 per person
$1,606 per person if booking two weeks before the workshop
$1,517 per person if in a group of three or more

Further information:
Phone 1800 882 110
Email [email protected].

Support when you need it most

As a participant of our program you'll have comfort in knowing that you can depend on us for ongoing support. Whether it be two weeks or two years after the workshop, you can call us at any time for a short, no-cost consultation.

Recommended CPD point allocation: Up to 7 points (excluding WA).
If this particular educational activity is relevant to your immediate or long term needs in relation to your professional development and practice of the law, then you should claim one CPD unit for each hour of attendance, refreshment breaks not included. Please contact your Professional Body for your state.