Property law is constructed on the relationship between an individual and an object or land. Application of law is dependent upon the classification of types of property, which are alternately protected by common law and legislation.

For the protection of interests under law, property is commonly divided into real and personal property. More specifically:

• real property refers to an interest in land and any item affixed to it; and

• personal property refers to items which are not covered under real property. This can include any movable, tangible or intangible objects.

Upon settlement of Australia, the doctrine of tenure was adopted to set the foundation of land law as the Crown acquired radical title, which is the ultimate ownership of rights over land, vested in the Crown. Under this system, the Crown was the sovereign owner of all conquered land while private individuals were tenants who simply occupied and held estates or interests under the Crown.

See Doctrine of tenure.

While the doctrine of tenure established that the Crown was the paramount owner of land, the doctrine of estates was developed to address the nature and scope of the rights tenants received when they were granted interests in land. The doctrine of estates:

• means that private individuals as tenants do not own land absolutely, but instead own a partial interest in the land, an estate, which recognises their right to possession;

• provides for the creation of successive interests, allowing multiple people to have either a present or future interest in a common piece of land; and

• establishes two basic types of estates within Australian property law: freehold and leasehold estates, where the only distinguishing feature between the two is that freehold estates are held for an indeterminable length of time while the period of holding leasehold interests is fixed.

In effect, all titles, rights and interests in land have to be the direct consequence of some grant from the Crown.

See Doctrine of estates.

Originally, legal and equitable interests arose in the different court jurisdictions in which claims were made. In modern practice, enforcement of equitable interests is aimed at supporting and supplementing any deficiencies in the common law system.

Legal interests are registered rights which are recognised by law. In real property, legal interests require the creation of deeds or title by registration.

Historically, equitable doctrine and interests were recognised and remedied through the Court of Chancery. Equitable interests:

• are now also dealt with under a single court system;

• address any deficiencies in the present system; and

• are based on fairness, which is crucial for the protection of rights of individuals who are not legally entitled to the possession of the property.

The most significant and recognised equitable interest created is a trust where the person controlling ownership rights of the trust is subject to obligations giving rights relating to the property held for other owners.

See Legal and equitable interests.

Subject to an overriding claim, possession entitles the possessor's peaceful exercise of physical occupation, control or dominion over the particular object or land. Possession of chattels can be determined from a simple holding of an object in a private capacity. However, possession of real property is more difficult to prove and requires further examination of the control and intent of the possessor. See Possession.

Ownership entitles individuals to exclusively control a piece of property. This concept is an extension from the right to simply hold property conferred from possession as the owner has both the legal and possessory rights associated with that object.

Co-ownership exists where more than one person simultaneously shares ownership to the title and interest in a property. In Australia, two forms of co-ownership are commonly recognised: joint tenancy and tenancy in common.

In a joint tenancy:

• two or more owners/tenants each possess and own an undivided interest in a single property;

• co-tenants together are treated as a single owner of the property;

• the four unities (unity of time, title, possession and interest) must be satisfied; and

• there is a right of survivorship, where the property passes automatically to the last surviving joint tenant.

A tenancy in common arises where each tenant individually owns a distinct share of a property which survives the death of a co-tenant to pass according to their estate provision.

Provided the unity of possession is fulfilled, any co-ownerships which do not satisfy joint tenancy would be instead treated as tenancies in common.

See Ownership and co-ownership.

Old system title was founded on the old English system of conveyancing by deeds accompanied with the tracing of "chains of title". Since this system required tedious research and did not guarantee certainty of the vendor's title, most land in Australia is now provided for under the more efficient Torrens system.

From the mid 19th Century, Australian states began implementing Torrens title as the centralised system of title by registration. This system was to replace old system title to provide greater assurance and efficiency to individuals seeking to purchase land.

See Old system title and Torrens title.