Lands minister revokes 2006 delegation and reissues water land powers

Western Australia’s Minister for Lands has revoked a delegation dating from 2006 and handed the minister responsible for water services authority over land dealings under Parts 9 and 10 of the Land Administration Act 1997. The two instruments were published in the Western Australian Government Gazette No. 133 of 20 October 2026, in the Lands section, as LA401 (Instrument of Revocation of Delegations) and LA402 (Instrument of Delegation). Both were sealed on 12 October 2026 and both came into operation on the day of publication.

The notices are signed by John Newton Carey, MLA, “acting in my capacity as the body corporate Minister for Lands continued by section 7(1) of the Land Administration Act 1997”. The revocation rests on section 59 of the Interpretation Act 1984; the new delegation rests on section 159(eb) of the Land Administration Act 1997. Together they replace the arrangement under which land powers had been exercised by the water portfolio since the mid-2000s.

The 2006 delegation is revoked

LA401 states that the Minister for Lands “hereby revoke[s] the delegation made under the Act in favour of the Minister responsible for administering the Water Services Licencing Act 1995 published in the Government Gazette on 18 July 2006”. The instrument does not restate the terms of that 2006 delegation; it simply withdraws it.

The revocation “shall come into operation on the date this instrument is published in the Government Gazette” — that is, 20 October 2026, the date of the current edition.

Powers delegated under Parts 9 and 10

LA402 delegates to “the Minister responsible for administering the Water Services Act 2012” all of the Lands Minister’s powers and duties under the following provisions of the Land Administration Act 1997:

• Divisions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Part 9;
• Part 10.

The delegation is expressly limited in purpose: it is made “for the purposes of the proper administration of the Water Services Act 2012”. It is not a general transfer of the Lands Minister’s functions, and it does not extend beyond the divisions and part listed.

The instrument names no individual minister, identifying the recipient only by portfolio responsibility — the minister who administers the Water Services Act 2012. The change therefore tracks the machinery of government rather than a named office-holder.

Sealed in Perth, in force on publication

Both instruments carry the common seal of the Minister for Lands, “hereto affixed on this 12th day of October 2026”, and are signed “Hon. JOHN NEWTON CAREY, MLA, Minister for Lands”. Both record that the seal was affixed “in the presence of LEIGH JAMES ASHBY”.

The commencement wording differs slightly between the two but produces the same result: the revocation operates from the date of publication, and the delegation “is to come into operation on the day this delegation is published in the Government Gazette”. Both therefore took effect on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

The Lands section of the gazette carries no other instruments on this occasion; the same edition also contains fisheries, justice, Premier and Cabinet, racing and gaming, regional development and public notices.

What it means

For anyone dealing with Crown land tied to water service infrastructure and licensing, the practical effect is a single, clearly bounded transfer: the water portfolio regains the land powers it lost, but only for the purposes of the Water Services Act 2012 and only within the listed provisions. The revocation of the 2006 instrument removes the older, less precisely drawn authority at the same moment the replacement takes effect, leaving no gap in the chain of delegation. The instruments also make the arrangement legible on the public record, since both the withdrawal and the grant are printed side by side in the same edition of the gazette.

Source: Western Australian Government Gazette, No. 133, 20 October 2026, Lands, p. 2372–2373 (official reference: LA401 and LA402).