Land Act 1958

• Persons seeking to lease Crown land: For agricultural, pastoral, or other purposes under Parts I and III, including perpetual lessees, conditional purchase lessees, and agricultural lessees.
• Licence holders: Tour operators, jetty operators, bee keepers, and others holding licences over Crown land.
• Traditional Owner Land Management Boards: Entitled to enter management agreements with the Minister under section 4B.
• Public authorities: May receive Crown land for public purposes under section 99. May also surrender Crown land under section 22A.
• Municipal councils: May surrender land under section 22D.
• Electricity generation companies: May hold licences for electric line easements under Part VIII.
• Offshore wind energy developers: Section 140AB authorises licences for offshore wind energy generation.
• State and Commonwealth: The Crown in its various capacities grants, acquires, and manages land under the Act.
• Mortgagees and encumbrancers: Encumbranced leases are addressed in section 61.

Compliance with lease conditions (ss 55, 124): Lessees under perpetual leases and agricultural leases must comply with conditions including payment of rent, improvement obligations, and use restrictions. Section 55 sets out conditions in perpetual leases; section 124 sets out general conditions for agricultural leases.

Payment of rent (s 56): Perpetual lessees must pay rent at the rate prescribed. Interest accrues on unpaid rent (s 57).

Minister's consent for transfers (ss 96, 137F): A person must not assign or transfer an interest under a contract of sale (s 96) or a conditional purchase lease (s 137F) without the Minister's consent.

Improvement declarations for conditional purchase leases: Purchasers of Crown land on conditions including improvement obligations must provide annual declarations under the Act.

Tour operator licence conditions (s 140L): Tour operator licensees must comply with conditions of their licences. Contravention of a condition is an offence under section 140M.

Supply of information (s 37): The Minister must lay an annual report before Parliament.

Consistency with joint management plans (s 4C): Where an applicable joint management plan exists, Crown land covered by the plan must be managed consistently with it.

Governor in Council and ministerial powers (Division 2, Part I): The Governor in Council may convey unalienated Crown land (s 12), declare lands reserved, and direct the depth down to which Crown grants may be issued (s 339). The Minister may exchange Crown land (s 12A), sell land to public authorities (s 99), sell by private treaty (s 99A), and withdraw land from sale (s 36).

Forfeiture (ss 97, 98, 137G): The Minister may declare a contract of sale void on default of payment (s 98) and may declare a conditional purchase lease forfeited (s 137G). Forfeiture terminates the lessee's interest under section 137H.

Licence suspension and cancellation (ss 140O, 140Q): The Minister may suspend a tour operator licence (s 140O) and cancel a tour operator licence after the licensee has made submissions on the proposed cancellation (s 140Q). Similar powers exist for other licence types.

Management agreements (s 4B): The Minister may enter into management agreements with Traditional Owner Land Management Boards in relation to appointed land, reflecting the Act's integration with the traditional owner framework.

Filming approvals (s 5): Section 5 connects the Act to the Filming Approval Act 2014, enabling filming on Crown land.

Offshore wind energy licences (s 140AB): A new provision authorising licences for offshore wind energy generation on Crown land, reflecting the Act's adaptation to renewable energy development.

Tour operator licence contravention (s 140M): Contravention of a tour operator licence condition is an offence. The penalty is not stated in the extract but the Act creates a specific offence provision.

Unlicensed tour operation (s 140H): An offence to conduct an organised tour or recreational activity on Crown land if unlicensed.

Visiting Tribunal contempt (Part 3, related correctional provisions, from SA Act reference): Not applicable to this Act.

Recovery of rent (s 57): Rent and interest due under the Act are recoverable as debts. The Minister may declare leases forfeited for non-payment.

Contravention of improvement conditions: Failure to comply with improvement conditions in a conditional purchase lease or other land grant may result in forfeiture or cancellation.

Limitation of Supreme Court jurisdiction (Part XIIIA): Part XIIIA limits the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to review certain ministerial decisions under the Act, reducing avenues for judicial challenge.

Perpetual lease applications (s 53): A person may select an allotment under a perpetual lease subject to advertisement and payment of purchase price.

Sale by auction or tender (ss 89-100): The Minister gives notice of public auction or public tender (s 90). If the reserve price is not reached, further steps are available (s 91). The purchaser is deemed owner on signing the contract (s 92).

Agricultural lease applications (s 121): Applications must be made in accordance with the Act and regulations.

Licence applications (s 140J): Applications for tour operator licences must be in the approved form. The Minister grants or refuses the application and may impose conditions (s 140L).

Improvement declarations: Conditional purchase lessees and others required to effect improvements must provide annual declarations showing particulars and value of improvements effected.

Rent reviews: Rent under perpetual leases is reviewed periodically in accordance with the Act.

Water Act 1989 (Vic): Section 339 preserves rights to sink wells for water use subject to the Water Act 1989. The regulated watercourse land provisions interact with water management laws.

Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic) / Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 (Vic): The traditional owner management agreement and joint management plan provisions in sections 4B and 4C link the Act to Victoria's traditional owner settlement framework.

Road Management Act 2004 (Vic): Section 3A applies the Road Management Act to certain roads on Crown land.

Transport Integration Act 2010 (Vic): Section 3B connects the Act to transport integration obligations.

Filming Approval Act 2014 (Vic): Section 5 provides that the Act is subject to the Filming Approval Act for filming on Crown land.

Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Act 2020 (Vic): Definitions in section 2A and tour operator licence provisions in Division 8 interact with the Great Ocean Road legislation and the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority.

Parks Victoria Act 2018 (Vic): Parks Victoria is defined as a land manager in section 2A and exercises management functions under the Act for Parks Victoria recorded land.

Local Government Act 2020 (Vic): References to municipal councils use the definition from the Local Government Act.

Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic): Registration of Crown purchases under section 17 has the same effect as enrolment, connecting the Act to the land titles registration system.

Depth limitation applies to all Crown grants (s 339): All Crown grants are subject to the depth limitation directed by the Governor in Council. Purchasers of Crown land acquire only the surface rights to the specified depth, not the full column below the surface. Exceptions apply for water wells and stratum licences.

Minister's consent for transfers is mandatory (ss 96, 137F): An assignment or transfer of an interest under a contract of sale or conditional purchase lease without the Minister's consent is invalid. This is a common trap for property developers and investors dealing in Crown land-derived titles.

Limitation on Supreme Court jurisdiction (Part XIIIA): Part XIIIA limits merits review of certain ministerial decisions. Practitioners seeking to challenge Crown land decisions should carefully check whether the limitation applies before commencing judicial review proceedings.

Traditional owner obligations (s 4C): Where a joint management plan applies to Crown land, any dealing with that land must be consistent with the plan. This can constrain the development potential of land in traditional owner agreement areas.

Offshore wind energy licences (s 140AB): A relatively new provision. The conditions attaching to offshore wind energy licences will be determined by the Minister and may interact with Commonwealth offshore energy legislation.

Forfeiture affects all encumbrances (s 137H): On forfeiture of a conditional purchase lease, the Minister takes the land free of most encumbrances, which can adversely affect mortgagees who have taken security over the lessee's interest without understanding the forfeiture provisions.

Example 1: Perpetual lease non-payment. A perpetual lessee fails to pay rent for two consecutive years. Under section 57, interest accrues. The Minister may take steps to forfeit the lease or recover the debt as a civil debt, depending on the specific conditions of the lease.

Example 2: Tour operator licence conditions. A tour operator conducts bushwalking tours on Crown land in the Great Ocean Road coast and parks area. The tour operator must hold a licence under section 140I and comply with conditions under section 140L. Contravention of a condition (for example, conducting tours in an area excluded by the licence) is an offence under section 140M.

Example 3: Transfer without consent. A conditional purchase lessee assigns their interest to a third party without obtaining the Minister's consent as required by section 137F. The assignment is invalid and the Minister may treat the purported transfer as a breach of the lease conditions, potentially triggering forfeiture under section 137G.

Example 4: Traditional owner land. Crown land covered by a joint management plan under a traditional owner agreement must be managed consistently with the plan under section 4C. A decision to grant a new licence over that land must be made having regard to the plan's requirements.

Example 5: Offshore wind licence. A developer seeking to install offshore wind turbines in Victorian coastal waters applies for a licence under section 140AB. The Minister may grant the licence subject to conditions. The depth limitation in section 339 does not apply to such licences by virtue of subsection 339(4).