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Australian property law, orproperty law in Australia, arelaws thatregulate and prioritise the rights, interests andresponsibilities of individuals in relation to "things" (property). These things are forms of "property" or "rights" topossession orownership of an object.Property law orders or prioritises rights and classifies property as either real and tangible, such as land, or intangible, such as the right of an author to their literary works or personal but tangible, such as a book or a pencil. The scope of what constitutes a thing capable of being classified as property and when an individual or body corporate gains priority of interest over a thing has in legal scholarship been heavily debated on a philosophical level.
Land is the predominant focus of Western property law, including Australian property law. Legal developments in this field outweigh the development of other forms of property law, this is primarily due to the high value of land in comparison to other forms of property, such aschattels.
Each state in Australia has a different regime for the regulation andbureaucratisation of land. Property law is a largely statute-based but continues in important aspects to be influenced by the common law and principles that originate from Australia's history as aBritish colony, where land and estate law developed through the ambit offeudalism.
Property law is enabling in that it creates a system for evidencing, recognising and transferring title to land, facilitating its use as an economic instrument. Otherlegal instruments in property law that facilitate the private and commercial dealing of land include themortgage,lease,covenant andeasement.
All Australian colonies (now states and territories) adopted theTorrens system ofland registration of title between 1857 and 1875. The Torrens system was introduced first inSouth Australia by SirRobert Richard Torrens, the Registrar-General of Deeds, through theReal Property Act 1858.[1]Victoria adopted the system with theReal Property Act 1862,[2] andNew South Wales with the commencement of theReal Property Act 1862 on 1 January 1863.[3]
Most land in Australia is now held under the Torrens system, although remnants of the old system of land title still remain, called “general law land”. All land in theAustralian Capital Territory is leasehold (effectively Torrens freehold), and much of theNorthern Territory is held under Crown lease.Native title is now recognised as a form of land ownership. Some land remains asCrown land (i.e. in Australia, public land).[4]
In accordance with the principles of the Torrens system, each jurisdiction maintains a register of land titles of land in the jurisdiction that has been registered under the system. The register also shows the proprietor (owner) of the land. This system was devised to reduce the amount offraud relating to land due to falsification oftitle deeds. It does so with "ownership" of the land being confirmed only upon registration of the property. That is, "it is not a system of registration of title but a system of title by registration".[5] This gives a purchaser "greater assurance, indeed certainty, of title".[6] The principle of "indefeasibility" of title - where a right has been entered on the register, it cannot be defeated by later rights except in certain circumstances - further protects the Torrens title holder.[7]
The Torrens system also provides for registration of other entitlements to land such as a mortgage, by which land is used to secure aloan.
The main legislation in each Australian jurisdiction regulating interests in land law in relation to property (negotiable instruments) and the scheme of registration (title) are:
| State or Territory of Australia | Legislation regarding property | Legislation regarding Title |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Real Property Act 1900[8] | Conveyancing Act 1919[9] |
| Victoria | Property Law Act 1958[10] | Sale of Land Act 1962[11] |
| Australian Capital Territory | Civil Law (Property) Act 2006[12] | Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003[13] |
| Queensland | Property Law Act 1974[14] | Land Titles Act 1994[15] |
| Northern Territory | Law of Property Act[16] | Land Title Act[17] |
| South Australia | Law of Property Act 1936[18] | Real Property Act 1886[19] |
| Tasmania | Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1884[20] | Land Titles Act 1980[21] |
| Western Australia | Property Law Act 1969[22] | Transfer of Land Act 1893[23] |
Australia's law in relation to goods and chattels (items which are not land or intellectual property) follows that of the United Kingdom.
Australia follows the English traditions forintellectual property, and is a signatory of theBerne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and operates a system of automatic copyright. Other areas of Australian intellectual property include patents, designs andPlant breeders' rights.
