Homeowners whose properties are compulsorily acquired in New South Wales will be offered an extra $50,000 in compensation, under an overhaul announced on Tuesday alongside a long-awaited report.
The “incovenience and stress” payments will rise to $75,000, up from around $27,000, the NSW premier, Mike Baird, said.
The announcement comes as the NSW government finally releases David Russell’s report on land acquisitions, which was commissioned in 2012 but kept secret since its completion in 2014.
“These reforms will increase the amount of information, time and support provided to landholders and increase compensation to become the fairest and most generous scheme offered anywhere in the country,” Baird said.
The reforms will also remove the requirement for homeowners to pay rent during the three-month period they are entitled to stay in the home after it has been acquired.
It will also give homeowners the right to repurchase their house if it is no longer needed by the state government after the acquisition.