26 September 2023

New webpage for divided fences

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The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Building and Energy has developed a new webpage dealing with general guidance on the Dividing Fences Act 1961.

In a statement, Building and Energy said the Dividing Fence Matters webpage provided information on the Act’s interaction with Local Government by-laws in relation to the construction and maintenance of dividing fences.

“The Act provides a process for sharing costs between neighbours, the determination of boundaries and a mechanism for courts to deal with disputes over dividing fences in specific instances,” the Agency said.

“Any agreement, contract or covenant relating to dividing fences between owners of adjoining land overrides the provisions of the Act and in most cases a dispute between neighbours will be dealt with by the Magistrates Court.”

It said it followed that when issues with a dividing fence occurred it was best to try to approach the owner of the adjoining land, discuss issues, and try to resolve matters together.

It said that in the Act a dividing fence was a ‘sufficient fence’ that separated the land of different owners, whether on the common boundary of adjoining lands or in a line other than the common boundary.

“A sufficient fence is described as: A fence prescribed by a local law of the relevant Local Government, or a fence agreed upon by adjoining owners provided that it complies with the relevant local law,” Building and Energy said.

“The information provided replaces the outdated content from Dividing Fences – A Guide,” it said.

A fact sheet and video have been developed by Legal Aid dealing with tree nuisances and other types of boundary issues and it can be accessed at this PS News link.

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