Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978

• Parks Victoria: Serves as committee of management for major Victorian parks and reserves. Subject to obligations under ss 18C, 18D, 18E for Yarra River land, declared areas, and the Great Ocean Road region.
• Other committees of management and trustees: Responsible for managing their respective reserves and complying with the Act's requirements.
• Commercial operators: Tour operators require licences under Part 3A. Lease holders of reserved land are bound by the Act's requirements.
• The public: Access to reserved land for recreation, firewood collection, and use of facilities is regulated by the Act and regulations made under it.
• The Minister and Governor in Council: Exercise reservation, revocation, leasing approval and direction powers.
• Local councils: In some cases, trustees or holders of authority over reserved land in their areas. Subject to local law-making powers relative to reserved land.
• Parks Victoria and Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority: Subject to specific obligations under ss 18C-18E.

Committees of management and trustees:

• Must manage reserved land consistently with its reservation purpose (s 18).
• Parks Victoria and Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority have specific obligations regarding Yarra River land (s 18C) and declared areas (s 18D, 18E).
• Must manage land consistently with joint management plans where such plans apply (s 20A).
• Must not construct, remove, alter or carry out maintenance on a levee on reserved land without authorisation (s 21AA).

Tour operator licensees (Part 3A):

• Must obtain a licence before conducting organised tours or recreational activities on reserved land (s 21A).
• Must pay annual licence fees after grant (s 21D).
• Must comply with licence conditions (s 21E); contravention is an offence (s 21F).

Firewood collectors (Part 3B):

• May only collect fallen or felled trees in designated firewood collection areas during the firewood collection season (s 21L, 21R).
• Limited to household quantities; daily and annual limits apply.
• Must not sell fallen or felled trees collected from reserves (s 21W).
• Must produce nomination documents if requested by an authorised officer (s 21Y).

Governor in Council:

• Reserve Crown land for public purposes (s 4).
• Purchase and acquire land for reservation (s 5).
• Revoke permanent reservations (ss 11, 11A); temporary reservations (s 10).
• Appoint committees of management (s 14).
• Vest reserved land in a municipality (s 16).
• Approve leases of reserved land for purposes other than the reservation purpose.

Minister:

• Accept gifts and donations of property for reserved land (s 30).
• Enter into management agreements with the Secretary (s 18B).
• Give direction under special event management declaration for Carlton Gardens Reserve.
• Issue Part 5 declarations (offshore wind energy generation licences, ss 17BB, 17DAA).

Committees of management (s 15):

• Manage, improve and maintain reserved land.
• Take all necessary steps to prevent unauthorised use or encroachment.
• Enter into agreements under the Act (including licences under s 17A and s 17B).
• Undertake legal proceedings.

Secretary (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action):

• May enter into management agreements for reserved land (s 18B).
• May determine firewood collection areas and seasons.

Tour operator offences:

• Conducting organised tours or recreational activities without a licence: offence (s 21A).
• Contravening licence conditions: offence under s 21F.

Firewood offences:

• Collecting outside designated areas or season: offence (ss 21L, 21R).
• Collecting more than daily or annual limits: offence (ss 21S, 21T).
• Selling collected trees: offence (s 21W).

Levee offences:

• Constructing, removing, altering or maintaining a levee on reserved land without authorisation: offence (s 21AA).

Unsanctioned use:

• Committees of management may take legal proceedings against persons using reserved land without authority.

Permanent reservation:

1. Order in Council made reserving land for a specified public purpose.
2. Gazetted and comes into force.
3. Revocation requires Order in Council subject to parliamentary scrutiny (s 11B): each House of Parliament must have the opportunity to consider the Order before it takes effect.

Committee of management appointment:

1. Governor in Council appoints by Order in Council.
2. Incorporated committees: separate process under s 14A.

Leases for purposes other than reservation (s 17CA - up to 65 years):

• Parliamentary scrutiny required for certain long-term leases (s 17CB).

Tour operator licence:

1. Application lodged under s 21C.
2. Licence granted under s 21B.
3. Annual fee payable under s 21D.
4. Conditions imposed under s 21E.
5. Suspension: Show cause process under s 21I before suspension takes effect (s 21H).
6. Cancellation: Process under s 21J.

Special event management (Carlton Gardens):

1. Minister makes special event management declaration.
2. Normal management rules are suspended during declaration period.
3. Reserve restored after declaration expires (s 29S).

Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Act 2020 (Vic): Defines the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority and region. Section 18E of this Act imposes specific obligations on the land manager in relation to the Great Ocean Road region, incorporating the Great Ocean Road coast and parks protection principles.

Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic): Parks Victoria and other authorities derive their general powers from this Act. Authorised officers for purposes of this Act are appointed under Part 9 of the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act.

Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic): Declared areas under that Act trigger specific obligations for land managers under ss 18D and 18E of this Act.

Water Act 1989 (Vic): Specific provisions in Part 4 of this Act deal with management and control of water authority structures, dams and distribution works on particular reserved lands.

Victorian Environmental Assessment Council Act 2001: Accepted recommendations from VEAC reports are relevant to the definition of "accepted recommendation" in s 3, which governs management responses to certain land assessments.

Local Government Act 1989 (Vic) / Local Government Act 2020 (Vic): Councils may be trustees or committees of management. The interface between local law-making powers under the Local Government Act and the regulatory power under this Act was central to the Kerrison litigation.

Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic): The exercise of regulatory powers under this Act's s 13 must be compatible with Charter rights including freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Regulations under s 13 are subject to constitutional and Charter limits: The Kerrison case (FCAFC 130, 2014) confirmed that regulations made under s 13(1)(a) of this Act are subject to the implied constitutional freedom of political communication and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). A council or committee of management using s 13 regulations to control protests on reserved land must ensure the regulations and their enforcement comply with these higher-order constraints.

Parliamentary scrutiny for long-term leases: Leases over 21 years on reserved land for purposes other than the reservation purpose require parliamentary scrutiny (s 17CB). Failure to comply with this process would likely invalidate the lease.

Reserved land cannot be sold: Section 8 provides that reserved land is not to be sold, leased or licensed except as expressly permitted by the Act. The Act contains many specific provisions permitting leases and licences for particular purposes; but sales are not permitted.

Temporary reservations have less protection: Temporary reservations can be revoked by Order in Council without the parliamentary scrutiny required for permanent reservations. Land only temporarily reserved may have less long-term protection.

Firewood collection requires registration or nomination: Collecting firewood in designated areas requires membership of the relevant household class or a valid nomination. Simply entering a firewood collection area and removing trees without the requisite authority is an offence.

Levees on reserved land: Section 21AA prohibits construction, removal, alteration or maintenance of a levee on reserved land without the specific authorisation referred to in that section. This is relevant to land managers and adjoining landowners managing flood risk near reserved land.

Occupy Melbourne protests (Flagstaff Gardens): Flagstaff Gardens is reserved Crown land in Melbourne. Parks Victoria is the committee of management. In 2011, the City of Melbourne gave oral directions to Occupy Melbourne protesters under regulations made under s 13(1)(a) of this Act. The constitutionality of those regulations was challenged in the Federal Court and then the Full Federal Court (Kerrison v Melbourne City Council [2014] FCAFC 130). The FCAFC held that the regulations and their enforcement did not impermissibly burden the implied freedom of political communication, and the Charter grounds were not made out. This illustrates the interaction between the Act's regulatory power and constitutional and human rights constraints.

Tour operator at a regional park: A company offering guided walks through a regional park for commercial purposes must obtain a tour operator licence under Part 3A before commencing operations. The licence is subject to conditions that may limit the number of participants, the routes used, and the facilities brought onto the reserve. Contravening a licence condition is an offence.

Long-term lease of reserve land for telecommunications: A telecommunications company wishes to construct and operate a tower on a parcel of reserved land. Any lease of reserved land for a purpose other than its reservation purpose for a term exceeding 21 years requires approval under s 17CA, which is subject to parliamentary scrutiny under s 17CB. The committee of management must satisfy itself that the lease is within the powers conferred and that the reserved land purpose is not unduly compromised.

Firewood collection in a designated area: A household in a rural area of Victoria wishes to collect firewood from a regional park. They may do so only in a designated firewood collection area, only during the firewood collection season determined by the Secretary, and only within the daily and annual household limits set by the Act. They cannot sell the firewood. An authorised officer may request production of a nomination document if the person is collecting as a nominee for another household.