Fencing BrisbanePaling 4 of 5: beside a park

Fences beside parks and State land

Queensland’s dividing fence rules do not apply to some land at all: section 8(2) and (4) leave out stock routes, South Bank public land, State plantation forests, land prescribed under a regulation, and unallocated State land. Where a local government is the registered owner of land used as a public park, section 14(2) says the local government is not an owner for that land.

General information, not legal advice. The official place to check is the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 itself, listed at the foot of this page with the tribunal’s dividing fence page.

Where the fence rules apply

The dividing fence rules sit in chapter 2 of the Act, and section 8 sets out the land that chapter covers.

“(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), this chapter applies to the following”

  1. “(a) land recorded in the freehold land register;”
  2. “(b) land subject to a lease or licence under the Land Act 1994;”
  3. “(c) land subject to an occupation permit or stock grazing permit under the Forestry Act 1959, section 35;”
  4. “(d) land subject to a stock grazing permit under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.”

Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld), section 8(1)

The land section 8 leaves out

“(2) This chapter does not apply to the following”

  1. “(a) a stock route within the meaning of the Stock Route Management Act 2002;”
  2. “(b) South Bank public land within the meaning of the South Bank Corporation Act 1989;”
  3. “(c) a State plantation forest, including a licence area in a State plantation forest;”
  4. “(d) land prescribed under a regulation.”

“(4) To remove any doubt, it is declared that this chapter does not apply to unallocated State land.”

Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld), section 8(2) and (4)

One item on that list is Brisbane’s own: South Bank public land, as the South Bank Corporation Act 1989 defines it. Each of the first two items takes its meaning from another Act, so whether a particular piece of land is one of them depends on that Act’s definition.

Subsection (3) adds one more case: “For adjoining land consisting of 2 parcels of agricultural land, this chapter does not apply to each parcel of land for the common boundary between the parcels of land.” Agricultural land, in section 18(1), “is rural land of more than half a hectare used for cultivating crops on a commercial basis regardless of whether the land is also used for residential purposes.”

The Act still “binds all persons, including the State and, as far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Commonwealth.” What section 8 changes is where the fence chapter applies, not who the Act binds.

A council park: section 14(2)

A council park is not on section 8’s list. Section 14(2)(a) deals with it through the meaning of “owner” instead.

“(2) However, if the land is”

  1. “(a) used as a public park and the registered owner of the land is a local government, the local government is not an owner for the land; or”
  2. “(b) a State plantation forest and a plantation licensee holds an interest under the Forestry Act 1959 over the land, the plantation licensee is not an owner for the land; or”
  3. “(c) a State plantation forest and a plantation sublicensee holds an interest under the Forestry Act 1959 over the land, the plantation sublicensee is not an owner for the land.”

Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld), section 14(2)

That matters because the fence obligations are written in terms of owners: “Adjoining owners are the owners of the land on either side of a common boundary.” For park land a local government owns, section 14(2)(a) says the local government is not an owner. The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s own summary lists parks among the land the law does not apply to.

The Act leaves room for agreement all the same. Section 10(2): “To remove any doubt, it is declared that this chapter does not prevent the State, a local government or other entity from entering into an agreement to contribute to fencing work.”

When the State later sells: section 25

Section 25 looks forward. It covers a fence an owner builds beside land from section 8’s list, and what happens when someone later acquires that land from the State.

“(1) If”

  1. “(a) an owner constructs a dividing fence, whether before or after the commencement of this section, for adjoining land consisting of the owner’s land and a parcel of land mentioned in section 8(2) to (4); and”
  2. “(b) a person acquires an interest or title for part or all of the adjoining land from the State;”

“the person is liable for half of the relevant fencing cost.”

“(2) At the time the person acquires the interest for part or all of the adjoining land, the State must give the person notice of the person’s liability under this section.”

“(3) In this section”, “relevant fencing cost means the lesser of”

  1. “(a) the cost, at the date the fence was constructed, of fencing work required to have a sufficient dividing fence; and”
  2. “(b) the cost, at the date the person becomes liable, of fencing work required to have a sufficient dividing fence.”

Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld), section 25

  1. The fence goes upAn owner builds a dividing fence between their land and land listed in section 8(2) to (4).
  2. The land changes handsA person acquires an interest or title in part or all of that neighbouring land from the State, and the State must give them notice of their liability at that time.
  3. The shareHalf of the relevant fencing cost: the lesser of what a sufficient dividing fence cost when the fence was built and what it would cost when the person becomes liable.

Because the share is measured against a sufficient dividing fence, not the fence actually built, a fence built higher or finer than sufficient does not raise it.

The other palings

Where the line between a home and the land next door is itself in doubt, see when the boundary is not agreed. Brisbane City Council’s height rules are in fence heights in Brisbane, and anything fixed to a dividing fence is covered in attaching things to a fence.