Local Government Property Spring Seminar & Webinar Series 2022

In this webinar, our expert panel will provide an understanding of Council’s main obligations in respect of roads, how Council can deal with roads, and some pitfalls and issues to consider.

Roads continue to be a complex area, with various roles and responsibilities Councils must fill across the Local Government Acts 1989 and 2020, and Road Management Act 2004, including:

• High level overview of Council’s role in owning, managing, or controlling roads.
• What constitutes a “road”, a ‘public road’ and a ‘public highway.
• The legal significance of these various categories of roads.
• Processes and recommendations for Councils to follow when dealing with roads and road issues, with a focus on:
• amendments the public roads register;
• discontinuing roads.

Joining us will be members of our local government property team, Michael Dowling and William Reid.

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM AEDT 

Date: Friday 21 October 2022

Councils have a range of responsibilities and powers when acquiring and/or disposing of interests in land, even in the voluntary context. This webinar looks at procedural matters Councils should be aware of, and some practical guidance on how Councils can approach certain transactions

• A look at the legislative and policy frameworks that apply to the voluntary acquisitions and disposals of interests in land by Councils.
• The different types of interests Council acquire or dispose of, and some of the common reasons behind those transactions.
• A practical overview of how those transactions can go in practice, and some tools available to Councils to help.

A practical understanding of key considerations for Councils when acquiring or disposing of interests in land, and some paths Councils can explore to complete those transactions.

Joining us will be members of our local government property team, Shaun Burmester and Kathryn Bastounas.

Time: 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM AEDT 

Date: Friday 21 October 2022

This session explores the roles of Councils as landlords and tenants and considerations for Councils in the early stages of leasing transactions.

Join this interactive panel session to gain a greater understanding of key issues to be considered in the early stages of leasing transactions to reduce the risk of protracted negotiations and disputes and to ensure leases are effective, including:

• Nature of lease v licence.
• Recommended due diligence investigations for Councils.
• Look at Retail Leases Act 2003 and Local Government Act 2020, and how those Acts interact with Council leases.
• Key terms of leases from a Council perspective.

Joining us will be members of our local government property team, Emma Dunlevie, Samantha Taylor, and Janelle Oh.

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM AEDT

Date: Friday 28 October 2022

Council, in management or control of contaminated land, have a statutory duty, compelling action, to identify, investigate, assess, mitigate and clean up the contamination and disclose information to affected persons. How the duty is discharged, in a constrained resource budget, and with multiple stakeholders, is complicated and requires a considered, risk based, strategy.

In this webinar we will look to explore:

• Explanation of the duty to manage contaminated land.
• Evaluation of local government liability for public land with multiple stakeholders.
• Legal considerations to prepare a risk based strategy to discharge the duty.
• Liability to eligible persons and case studies of regulatory intervention.

Joining us will be Stefan Fiedler from Russell Kennedy’s planning and environment team.

Time: 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM AEDT

Date: Friday 28 October 2022