Queensland Consolidated Acts Queensland Consolidated Acts(1) A trust may by notice in writing (in this section and section 11A called an improvement notice) prohibit a person from—
(a) doing and executing or continuing to do and execute;
(b) suffering or permitting the doing and executing or suffering or permitting the continuance of the doing and executing of;
any act, matter, or thing whatsoever which in the opinion of the trust—
(c) was the cause of or contributed to any damage already done by flood or cyclone to any bank of any river within a river improvement area; or
(d) is likely to cause or contribute to any such damage in the future.
(1A) An improvement notice may be addressed to any number of persons and may be given to 1 of such persons on behalf of all of such persons and in such event shall be deemed to have been given to all the persons to whom it is addressed.
(2) Where a person has done or executed or suffered to be done or executed any act, matter or thing which the trust constituted for a river improvement area is authorised by subsection (1) to prohibit then, notwithstanding that it did not impose such prohibition, the trust concerned may by an improvement notice direct that person to take and do such steps and things as the trust deems necessary to abate, remedy or prevent any damage so specified in subsection (1) already caused, or which in the opinion of the trust would be caused or contributed to in the future, by the doing of such act, matter or thing (which damage so directed to be abated, remedied or prevented shall be specified in the improvement notice) and to restore the surrounding area to its former condition as nearly as practicable.
(2A) Such notice shall specify the time within which the directions specified therein shall be complied with.
(3) A person to whom an improvement notice is given or is deemed to have been given pursuant to this section shall comply in every respect with such notice unless it has ceased to subsist or to operate.
(3A) Where an improvement notice is given to the occupier of land in respect of which the improvement notice was given, a person who subsequently to the giving of that notice becomes the occupier of that land shall, whether or not the person had or would be deemed in law to have had notice of its existence, comply in every respect with the notice unless it has ceased to subsist or operate.
(4) A person who is required by this section to comply with an improvement notice and who fails to comply in every respect with such notice shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty of—
(a) in respect of a first offence—not more than 20 penalty units;
(b) in respect of a second or subsequent such offence (whether committed in respect of non-compliance with the same provision or any other provision of the improvement notice or with any subsequent improvement notice issued pursuant to this section)—not more than 100 penalty units.
(5) Where, consequent upon the compliance with an improvement notice given to the occupier of land in respect of which the improvement notice was given, damage results to a cultivated crop growing on that land, the trust which gave the notice shall pay compensation therefor to the owner of the crop.
(5A) If the amount of compensation cannot be agreed upon it shall be determined by the court or tribunal which would be authorised under this Act to determine the compensation payable in the event of the trust taking the land concerned.
(6) If any person being required by this Act to so comply fails to comply with an improvement notice the trust concerned may do or cause to be done such acts as, in the opinion of the trust, are necessary to fully comply with such notice and, if it does so, such person shall be liable (and, in the case of more than 1 such person, jointly and severally liable) to pay to the trust the expenses reasonably incurred by the trust in effecting such compliance and such expenses together with costs may be recovered as a debt at the suit of the trust in any court of competent jurisdiction or by way of complaint under the Justices Act 1886.
(6A) The provisions of subsection (6) or the recovery of any expenses or costs pursuant hereto shall not affect the liability of the person concerned to be prosecuted and penalised for the person's failure to comply with such a notice.
(6B) For the purposes of subsection (6) the trust concerned and its employees and agents with such assistants as may be required for the purpose together with all tools, equipment and implements reasonably required for the purpose may enter and remain upon, pass and repass over any land.
(7) Upon convicting any person of a failure to comply with an improvement notice a court may, in lieu of or in addition to any penalty for such failure, order such person to pay to the trust concerned the whole of the expenses proved to the satisfaction of such court to have been reasonably incurred by the trust in effecting compliance with such notice.
(8) If any person being required by this Act to so comply fails to comply with an improvement notice the trust concerned may apply to the Supreme Court that a mandatory or restrictive injunction be issued directed to such person to compel the person to comply with such notice or, as the case may be, to refrain from contravening such notice and such court may grant any such remedy as it considers just.
(8A) For the purposes of an application made pursuant to subsection (8) the trust concerned shall be deemed to possess a sufficient interest or right in law to support the grant of such a remedy.
(9) In this section—
occupier means—
(a) the person in actual occupation of land at the material time or, where there is no person in actual occupation the person entitled to possession of the land at that time; and
(b) the owner of the land at the material time;
and includes the legal personal representative of a deceased occupier.
owner means the person who for the time being is entitled to the rents and profits of land or in the case of land held from the Crown for an estate less than freehold, the person who holds directly from the Crown, and includes the legal personal representative of a deceased owner.
prohibit includes control and regulate.