Subleases
There may be occasions where a pastoral leaseholder explores subleasing part of their lease area(s) to a third party.
The subleasing of all or part of a lease requires the written approval of the Minister for Lands (or their delegate). The subleasing of only a part of a lease also requires the written permission of the Pastoral Lands Board.
Transfers
The purchase of a pastoral lease does not transfer title to the land over which the pastoral lease extends.
The lease, and hence the rights accorded by the lease, may be transferred only with the consent of the Minister for Lands, however the underlying land remains Crown land.
Mortgages
For more information on Mortgages, please contact the Pastoral Approvals Team at the department to discuss your situation.
Pastoral lessee contact information form
Use this form if you need to update your contact information.
Rangelands conditions
Monitoring program
The Department is exploring different ways satellite imagery could be accessed by and distributed to land manager and how the information derived from the imagery might fit into a regulatory framework over pastoral leases. Implementation of a new monitoring system may require changes to the Land Administration Act 1997.
Voluntary rangelands monitoring
Where a rangelands condition issue has been identified on a lease, the PLB may direct the lessee to demonstrate improvement within a given timeframe. In order to demonstrate improvement, the lessee must provide evidence.
The Rangelands Condition Monitoring (RCM) methodology is an option for lessees to demonstrate improvement to the satisfaction of the Board.
The methods for installing sites in the shrublands and the grasslands please refer to the Fact sheets 06 and 07.
To assist with monitoring pastoral leases, assessment sheets are available for use, specific to grassland and shrubland sites.
The Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development website provides further information in relation to monitoring rangelands conditions.
Rent relief
Where a pastoral lease is adversely affected by a disaster or a lessee is suffering personal financial hardship as a result of poor economic conditions in the pastoral industry, the PLB under section 128 of the Land Administration Act 1997 may recommend to the Minister that the lessee be granted an appropriate level of rent relief.
A natural disaster may have significant impacts for a pastoral lease in terms of damage to infrastructure, loss of stock, and interruptions to pastoral operations. Whilst the risk of a natural disaster should be factored into a lease’s business plan, the PLB recognises that such events can be more debilitating than anticipated.
The PLB also recognises that poor economic conditions in the pastoral industry may have a direct impact on a pastoralist’s financial position.
If the degree of the negative impact of either of these two types of occurrence is severe enough to result in ongoing hardship, the PLB may see a case to recommend to the Minister that the payment of rent be deferred or waived or the level of rent outstanding be reduced, in order to provide a degree of financial relief for the affected lessee.
