Compulsory acquisition of land is covered by the Land Acquisition Act 1969 . Under this Act an authority, such as a local council or Transport SA, can acquire land or the right to place any easement, right of way or other licence on the land, whether an owner agrees or not.

An owner who has received a 'notice of intention to acquire land' must inform any prospective buyers, tenants or mortgagees of that fact. It is an offence not to disclose this information [s.13(2)].