The Court held that the existence of a registered interest in land is a jurisdictional fact for the purposes of ss 42 and 46 of the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW), meaning an acquiring authority cannot go behind the Register to deny that a recorded interest constitutes an interest in land. A Voluntary Planning Agreement registered under s 7.6 of the EPA Act that provides for the dedication or transfer of land (as distinct from mere monetary contributions) creates a legal interest in land by force of statute, even where the right to transfer is contingent on a third party's performance. The Court further held that an interest need not be assignable to the world at large to satisfy the alienability requirement from Dial A Dump; assignability to a limited class (here, other planning authorities) suffices.
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