163Grant of aquaculture lease

#### 163 Grant of aquaculture lease 163 Grant of aquaculture lease > > (1) Subject to this Part, the Minister may, on application or by auction, public tender or ballot, lease an area of public water land for use for aquaculture. > > > (2) A lease of an area may be of the whole area or may be limited to a stratum of the area. > > > (3) A lease must specify the type of aquaculture authorised to be undertaken within the leased area. This subsection does not authorise the use of a lease without an aquaculture permit. > > > (4) The regulations may prescribe or provide for the form of an aquaculture lease granted or renewed under this Part and may provide in the form for the inclusion of such additional covenants and conditions as the Minister may determine. > > > (5) The term of any lease granted under this section must not exceed 15 years. > > > (6) The Minister may lease land under this section by auction, public tender or ballot even though an application has been made for a lease of the land. > > > (7) The Minister must not grant a lease on an application unless satisfied that— > > > > > (a) the land to which the application relates is available for lease, and > > > > > (b) the application is consistent with any relevant development plan. > > > (7A) Before granting a lease on an application, the Minister must— > > > > > (a) cause to be published in the Gazette and on a NSW Government website used by the Department a notice of receipt of the application, specifying in the notice that written objections to the granting of the lease may be lodged with the Secretary before the expiration of a period specified in the notice, and > > > > > (b) consider any objections to the granting of the lease that are lodged within the period specified in the notice for the making of written objections. > > > (7B) The Minister is not required to comply with subsection (7A) if— > > > > > (a) the area to which the application relates is the subject of a development plan and the type of aquaculture proposed is a type that the development plan provides is suitable in that area, or > > > > > (b) the person to whom the lease is to be granted has obtained a development consent under Part 4 of the [Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1979-203), or approval under Part 3A or Division 5.2 of that Act, to carry out development on the proposed leased area for the purposes of the aquaculture concerned. > > > (8) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to applications for aquaculture leases or to auctions, public tenders and ballots for aquaculture leases. > > **s 163:** Am 2009 No 114, Sch 1 \[83\] \[84\]; 2011 No 22, Sch 2.6 \[1\]; 2012 No 42, Sch 1.11 \[1\]; 2019 No 14, Sch 2.8\[3\]; 2024 No 47, Sch 1.12\[2\].