The PWA has been reformed to ensure it is more efficient and effective.
Public Works Amendment Act 2026
The Public Works Amendment Act contains changes focused on improving efficiency, effectiveness and clarity of land acquisition.
Public Works Amendment Act 2026
The Bill was passed on 25 September 2026 and took effect on 23 October 2026.
The changes include:
- new payments to incentivise early agreement,
- increased home-loss and land-loss payments,
- streamlined land acquisition processes that improve landowner engagement, recognise the use of modern technology, facilitate combined works and modernise access to the PWA, and
- new emergency provisions to support disaster recovery.
The amendments do not amend provisions relating to the processes followed when land taken under the Act is no longer required by the Crown.
- A more detailed summary of the proposed changes
- Documents relating to the Public Works Amendment Act 2026
Development of the amendments has been supported by a review of the PWA initiated by the Government in June 2024 to improve the land acquisition and compensation provisions in the PWA to enable faster delivery of public infrastructure projects.
Information about the 2024 review of the Public Works Act
Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Act 2025
Changes made to the Public Works Act in August 2025 introduced an accelerated process for specified critical infrastructure projects.
This included new payments to incentivise early agreement and a streamlined written submission process for the eligible projects aimed to help critical infrastructures projects to acquire the land needed more quickly.