Fencing Quickguide
PLEASE NOTE: The Committee is not able to provide advice about fences. If you are unable to find an answer to your question in the Fencing QuickGuide, please do not contact the Committee as we will be unable to assist you. We suggest that you contact a community legal centre (http://www.communitylaw.org.au/find_a_clc.php) or a solicitor instead.
Your neighbour is a council
The law is uncertain as to whether Councils are obliged to contribute to fencing costs.
If the land adjoining you houses a Council building or is a Council-run premises such as a kindergarten, it is likely that a Court would consider Council to be the "occupier", in which case it would be liable like any other occupier to contribute to fencing costs. In this situation many Councils will agree to pay their share of the costs, rather than risk a test-case in Court. You should therefore submit a quotation as a basis for negotiating the proportion to be paid by Council and, if no agreement is reached, serve a Notice to Fence.
Conversely, it is likely that a Court would not consider Council to be the "occupier" of reserves owned or managed by Council, such as road and drainage reserves, public reserves and reserves forming the balance of subdivisions. It may take the view that in these circumstances Council is acting as a trustee for the public, which may have the effect of exempting it from the operation of the Act.
Again, because there is some degree of uncertainty, Councils sometimes make voluntary (ex-gratia) payments to assist with fencing, based on the merits of individual cases. However, because there is no clear entitlement to contribution, applications for such payments in respect of fences bordering reserves are best made by letter to the Council rather than in the form of a Notice to Fence.