Registrar-General's Caveat (XX)

Section 14(2) of the Land Acquisition Act 1969 (SA) applies to land under the Real Property Act 1886. The acquiring authority must serve a copy of each notice of intention to acquire land on the Registrar-General, who then enters a caveat on the title forbidding all dealings with the land without the authority's written consent. Form XX is the approved form for that caveat; its text forbids registration of dealings with the land in the attached notice of intention until the caveat is withdrawn or the court orders otherwise. The caveat is withdrawn on the authority's written application when it decides, or is presumed to have decided, not to proceed (s 14(3)). Prefix XX is used for freehold land and XX2 for a subsidiary interest.

When you need it

• An acquiring authority (a body authorised by an Act to acquire land) has issued a notice of intention to acquire land under the Real Property Act.
• The authority needs the title caveated so dealings cannot be registered without its consent while the acquisition proceeds.
• Not for private parties: a person claiming an interest in land lodges a Form C1 caveat instead.

1. 1

   Land affected by caveat

   Insert the land described in the notice of intention, for example 'Whole of the land in CT Volume ... Folio ...'.

2. 2

   Authority

   Insert the full name and address of the acquiring authority named in the notice of intention.

3. 3

   Supporting documentation

   List the supporting documents in the panel on the cover page. The guidance notes require a copy of the notice of intention to acquire to accompany the form.

4. 4

   Annexures

   If there is not enough space, use a Form B1 annexure sheet, referred to in the form and fixed to the top left corner, not bound.

• Registrar-General's caveats are not on the Registrar-General's mandated electronic lodgement list, so the form is lodged on paper with Land Services SA.
• Lodge the form with the copy of the notice of intention to acquire land. Serving the copy on the Registrar-General is the authority's duty under section 14(2).
• Check Land Services SA's current fee schedule for any lodgement fee.

• If the authority does not acquire the land within 18 months (or an extended period), it is presumed to have decided not to proceed (s 15(4)), and it must then apply for the caveat to be withdrawn (s 14(3)) using Form WXX.
• Owners who receive a notice of intention must tell the authority within 14 days of other people with interests in the land (s 10A).
• The Land Services SA guidance notes cite the 'Land Acquisition Act 1996'; the Act is the Land Acquisition Act 1969.