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Leases (Commercial and Retail) Act 2001
12What leases does this Act apply to?
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12 What leases does this Act apply to?
(1) This Act applies to a lease for premises, in the ACT, of the following
kinds:
(a) retail premises other than large excluded premises;
(b) premises located in the retail area of a shopping centre other than
large excluded premises;
(c) small commercial premises;
(d) premises under a lease to an association incorporated under the
Associations Incorporation Act 1991, or an entity eligible to be
incorporated under that Act, other than premises used for
residential purposes;
(e) premises under a lease to an unincorporated charitable entity,
other than premises used for residential purposes;
(f) premises under a lease that are used to provide a combination of
business accommodation and secretarial services;
(g) premises under a lease that are used as an education and care
service or childcare centre;
(h) premises under a lease that are used as a sports centre (other than
premises covered by another paragraph);
(i) premises under a lease that are used as an art gallery;
(j) premises under a lease that are used as a gardening supply
centre;
(k) premises prescribed by regulation for this subsection.
Note Large excluded premises is defined at the end of the section, and small
commercial premises is defined in the dictionary.
(2) However, this Act does not apply to a lease if—
(a) the lease is for premises prescribed by regulation for this
paragraph; or
(b) the lease is prescribed by regulation for this paragraph; or
(c) the lease is for less than 6 months, unless the lease is a
continuous occupation lease.
(3) Also, section 139 (Changing core trading hours) applies in relation to
each lease for premises in the retail area of a shopping centre.
(4) For this section, it does not matter whether the lease was entered into
outside the ACT or purports to be governed by the law of a
jurisdiction other than the ACT.
(5) For this section, a lease includes—
(a) an agreement, whether in writing or not, that provides for the
occupation of premises exclusively or otherwise, whether for a
fixed term, periodically or at will; and
(b) a sublease or licence.
(6) However, a lease does not include—
(a) an agreement relating to the common area of a shopping centre
that would be included only because it provides for someone to
use a part of the area; or
(b) a territory lease; or
(c) a land sublease; or
(d) a lease of vacant land; or
(e) a right to occupy land to build on the land.
(7) For this section:
childcare centre includes a childcare centre within the meaning of the
Children and Young People Act 2008, section 733.
education and care service—
(a) means an education and care service within the meaning of the
Education and Care Services National Law (ACT), section 5;
but
(b) does not include a family day care service within the meaning
of the Education and Care Services National Law (ACT),
section 5.
Note The Education and Care Services National Law (ACT) Act 2011, s 6
applies the Education and Care Services National Law set out in the
Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (Vic), schedule as
if it were an ACT law called the Education and Care Services National
Law (ACT).
land sublease—see the Planning Act 2023, dictionary.
large excluded premises means premises with a lettable area larger
than 1000m2 that are leased to a listed public company or a subsidiary
of a listed public company.