Commonwealth of Australia (As Represented BY the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development) v Morris (No.2)

The Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, brought proceedings against Mr. Morris. The dispute concerned the validity of a notice issued under section 18(1) of the *Lands Acquisition Act 1989* (Cth) (the Act) to acquire certain land. The Commonwealth sought declarations that the notice was valid and that it had acquired the land. Mr. Morris sought declarations that the notice was invalid and that the Commonwealth had not acquired the land. The matter came before Smith J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the notice of acquisition issued by the Commonwealth was valid. This required the Court to consider whether the notice satisfied the requirements of section 18(1) of the *Lands Acquisition Act 1989* (Cth), specifically in relation to the description of the land to be acquired and the statement of the Commonwealth's intention to acquire it. The Court also had to determine the consequences of any non-compliance with these statutory requirements.

Smith J found that the notice of acquisition was invalid. His Honour held that the description of the land in the notice was insufficient to identify the specific parcel of land intended for acquisition. The Court reasoned that a fundamental purpose of the notice is to clearly inform the landowner of the precise land being acquired, and the description provided failed to meet this standard. Consequently, the notice did not comply with the mandatory requirements of section 18(1) of the Act.

The Court therefore made declarations that the notice of acquisition was invalid and that the Commonwealth had not acquired the land.