Farmers and landowners who have returned to their seized land could be entitled to windfall compensation after police forcibly removed them from their farms at the behest of banks.
If the title deeds are in the name of dispossessed owners then due process has not been followed by sheriffs seizing land under police protection leaving state governments and insurance companies who insured the loans under threat of huge compensation payouts.
briefed parliamentary members in
other states who are keen to seek a
remedy for their constituents whose land has been seized
Many of the affected titles involve farming families who were removed from their land by police, despite being the lawful owners named on the title at the time.
“In retrospect, the removals were unlawful, and those farmers now have a right to return, and two owners have already done so, one in WA and one in Victoria,” West Australian senate candidate and former Senator Rod Culleton told Cairns News.
“The rule of law must prevail — no landholder should lose their home due to procedural misconduct.”
Culleton has issued a second formal notice to the Western Australian Registrar of Titles, demanding immediate correction of fraudulent entries on eight land titles unlawfully transferred without compliance to the Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004 (WA).
Despite uncontested evidence being submitted to the Commissioner of Titles in February2024, no action has been taken to correct the register under section 188(3) of the Transfer of Land Act 1893 (WA), which requires the Commissioner to amend the register when fraud or error is apparent.
Culleton now believes the Commissioner of Titles is acting outside the boundaries of legislation and may be complicit in enabling the fraud by failing to exercise their statutory obligations to protect the integrity of the land titles register..
“The refusal to act on uncontested evidence of fraud is not just an administrative failure — it places the State in breach of its own laws and could result in substantial liability to State and Treasury,” said Mr Culleton.
Under section 246 of the Transfer of Land Act, compensation may be payable to anyone who suffers loss due to errors, omissions, or fraud on the register — liabilities that fall directly onto public funds.
The failure to act also raises significant concerns about potential breaches of:
- The Model Litigant Principles,
- Administrative law standards, and
- The fundamental duty of public officers to uphold the law.
“This matter is not only a private injustice but a public risk — to the financial integrity of the State, confidence in the land title system, and the rule of law.” Mr Culleton said.
“I have briefed Victoria Senator Ralph Babet and Queensland MHR Bob Katter who are keen to get some remedies for the many land owners dispossessed of their land by banks which have used a similar corrupted process.”
Rod Culleton is a senate candidate for the Great Australian Party in WA and has a prominent candidate, Dr William Bay, running in the Queeensland senate election.
