Valuation of Land Act 1963 (Northern Territory)

The Valuation of Land Act 1963 (as in force at 13 September 2025) sets out the territorial machinery for valuing land in the Northern Territory, records and publishes those valuations, prescribes the types of valuation to be made, allocates responsibilities for paying the costs of valuations, and provides a statutory objection and review path. The Act establishes an officeholder, the Valuer-General, gives that office a broad information and access toolkit to obtain facts and inspect land (ss 5, 41-42), defines three standard value concepts used for rating and other statutory purposes (improved capital value, unimproved capital value and annual value at ss 8, 9, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D), requires a valuation roll to be prepared and maintained for all ratable land (s 15), prescribes notice, objection and review steps (ss 16-20A), and creates a Land and Valuation Review Tribunal while also providing review jurisdiction in NTCAT for decisions of the Valuer-General under s 20 (s 20A). The Act also contains specific provisions for heritage land valuations (s 10C), valuation of improvements (s 12), and a cycle for periodic revaluation (three yearly review rhythm in ss 10(1), 10(3), 10A(6)).

Mechanically, the Act does the following things that change or allocate rights, duties and costs:

Creates and defines the Valuer-General role and authorises delegations to valuers (ss 5, 7). The Valuer-General may approve forms (s 7B) and the Minister may designate recognised valuation bodies and qualifications (s 7A), thereby setting who may lawfully act as a valuer (s 4).
Sets out valuation methodologies and assumptions. Improved capital value is essentially market value (s 8, s 8B). Unimproved capital value is market value of the land absent certain improvements, with specific assumptions and valuation mechanics listed (s 9, s 8C). Annual value is the greater of gross annual rental and 5 per cent of improved capital value (s 8A, s 8D).

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA VALUATION OF LAND ACT 1963 As in force at 13 September 2025 Table of provisions Part 1 Preliminary matters 1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1 2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1 4 Definitions ........................................................................................ 1 Part 2 Administration 5 Valuer-General ................................................................................ 3 6 Judicial notice of signature of Valuer-General ................................. 3 7 Delegation ....................................................................................... 3 7A Valuation bodies and valuation qualifications .................................. 4 7B Approved forms ............................................................................... 4 Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls 8 Improved capital value ..................................................................... 4 8A Annual value .................................................................................... 4 8B Improved capital value of unit .......................................................... 5 8C Unimproved capital value of unit...................................................... 5 8D Annual value of unit ......................................................................... 6 9 Unimproved capital value ................................................................ 6 10 Valuations of unimproved capital value of ratable land .................... 7 10A Rating authority may request valuation ........................................... 8 10B Section 10 no longer to apply where valuation made under section 10A ...................................................................................... 9 10C Heritage land ................................................................................... 9 11 Other valuations ............................................................................ 10 12 Value of certain improvements ...................................................... 11 13 Effect of valuation .......................................................................... 11 14 Land to be included in the one valuation ....................................... 12 14A Determination of limits of land ....................................................... 12 15 Valuation rolls ................................................................................ 12 15A Error in valuation roll...................................................................... 13 16 Notice of valuations ....................................................................... 14 17 Validity of valuation not affected by failure to give notice .............. 14 17A Cost of valuations .......................................................................... 14 Part 5 Objections to valuations 18 Objection to valuations .................................................................. 14

Valuation of Land Act 1963 ii 19 Prescribed grounds of objection .................................................... 15 20 Decision of Valuer-General on objection ....................................... 15 Part 6 Review of valuations 20A Review by NTCAT ......................................................................... 15 Part 7 Land and Valuation Review Tribunal 21 Establishment of Land and Valuation Review Tribunal.................. 16 22 Registries of Tribunal..................................................................... 16 23 Officers of Tribunal ........................................................................ 16 24 Sittings of the Tribunal ................................................................... 17 27 Procedure before Tribunal ............................................................. 17 28 Representation before Tribunal ..................................................... 17 29 Decisions of Tribunal ..................................................................... 17 30 Certificate as to costs .................................................................... 18 31 Decision of Tribunal not to be challenged ...................................... 18 Part 8 Miscellaneous matters 40 Certified copies of entries in valuation roll ..................................... 18 40A Keeping and public inspection of valuation rolls ............................ 18 41 Valuer-General to have access to buildings, documents, &c. ........ 19 42 Powers of Valuer-General ............................................................. 19 43 Notice of change of ownership ...................................................... 20 44 Service of notices, &c. ................................................................... 20 45 Change of ownership of land ......................................................... 20 47 Regulations.................................................................................... 21 Part 9 Transitional matters for Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025 48 Decisions reviewable under Part VA or VI ..................................... 21 ENDNOTES

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

As in force at 13 September 2025

VALUATION OF LAND ACT An Act relating to the valuation of land Part 1 Preliminary matters 1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Valuation of Land Act 1963. 2 Commencement This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the Administrator by notice published in the Gazette. 4 Definitions In this Act: approved form means a form approved under section 7B. gross annual rental means the fair rental that a property may be expected to be let at from year to year less statutory outgoings. improvements, in relation to land, means improvements on or appertaining to the land, whether visible or invisible and whether made or acquired by the owner or a predecessor in title of the owner, and includes any destruction of suckers and seedlings that is incidental to the destruction of other vegetable growths and of animal pests on the land to the extent only to which the destruction retains its effectiveness, but does not include the destruction by a person of any vegetable growths or animal pests that are allowed to establish themselves on the land during his ownership except to the extent, if any, to which that destruction consists wholly or partly of the further destruction of any vegetable growths or animal pests which, after having apparently been destroyed, are again allowed to establish themselves on the land. land includes a unit. lease includes a licence to occupy, or a tenancy of, land.

Part 1 Preliminary matters Valuation of Land Act 1963 2 lessee means a person to whom a lease of land has been granted, and includes a person to whom a lease passes by transfer, devolution or operation of law. owner means, in relation to land that is subject to a lease from the Crown, the lessee of the lease, and includes a person who has obtained a right to be granted such a lease. parcel of land means an area of land that is separately held by any owner. prescribed improvements, in relation to any lands, means improvements on or appertaining to the land that are of a kind referred to in section 12. ratable means, in relation to land, liable under a law of the Territory to have rates imposed in respect of the land. rating authority means a local government council, and includes any other body or authority that is entitled to impose rates in respect of land under a law of the Territory. site improvements, in relation to any land, means improvements on the land that consists of: (a) the reclamation of any part of the land by draining or filling and the erection of retaining walls, and the carrying out of other works, for the purposes of reclamation; or (b) the excavation, grading or levelling of any part of the land otherwise than for the purpose of irrigation or conservation. statutory outgoings means, in relation to land, any rates imposed by a rating authority and any water, sewerage and other rates and taxes applying to the land during the 12 month period immediately preceding a determination of the annual value of the land. the Tribunal means the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal established by this Act. unit means: (a) a unit, as defined in section 4(1) of the Unit Titles Act 1975; or (b) a unit of a scheme, as defined in section 37 of the Unit Title Schemes Act 2009. valuation body means a professional association or institute of land valuers determined under section 7A(1).

Part 2 Administration Valuation of Land Act 1963 3 valuation qualification means a qualification determined under section 7A(2). valuation roll means a valuation roll prepared and maintained under section 15. valuer means a person who: (a) is a member of a valuation body; or (b) possesses a valuation qualification. Valuer-General means the Valuer-General for the Territory appointed under section 5. Note for section 4 The Interpretation Act 1978 contains definitions and other provisions that may be relevant to this Act. Part 2 Administration 5 Valuer-General (1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a Valuer-General for the Territory who shall be appointed by the Minister. (2) A person shall not be appointed to be the Valuer-General unless he is a valuer. 6 Judicial notice of signature of Valuer-General All courts and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of a mark purporting to be the signature of the Valuer-General or a facsimile of his signature affixed to a document, and, in the case of a facsimile of his signature, shall presume that it was affixed by proper authority of the Valuer-General. 7 Delegation (1) The Valuer-General may, by instrument in writing, delegate to a valuer all or any of his powers and duties under this Act (except this power of delegation) in relation to a matter or class of matters, or to a particular place, or generally. (2) A power or duty so delegated may be exercised or performed by the delegate in accordance with the instrument of delegation.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 4 (3) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power, or the performance of a duty, by the Valuer-General. 7A Valuation bodies and valuation qualifications (1) The Minister may determine a professional association or institute of land valuers to be a valuation body. (2) The Minister may determine a professional qualification in land valuation to be a valuation qualification. 7B Approved forms The Valuer-General may approve forms for this Act. Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls 8 Improved capital value (1) For the purposes of this Act, the improved capital value of land (other than a unit) is the sum which the fee simple of the land might be expected to realize if offered for sale on such reasonable terms and conditions as a seller in good faith would require. (2) In determining the improved capital value of land under subsection (1) which are premises occupied for trade, business or manufacturing purposes, such value shall not include the value of plant, machines, tools or other appliances which are not fixed to the premises or which are only so fixed that they may be removed without causing structural damage to the premises. 8A Annual value (1) For the purposes of this Act, the annual value of land (other than a unit) is: (a) the gross annual rental of the property; or (b) 5% of the improved capital value of the land, whichever is the greater. (2) In determining the annual value of land under subsection (1) which are premises occupied for trade, business or manufacturing purposes, such value shall not include the value of plant, machines, tools or other appliances which are not fixed to the premises or which are only so fixed that they may be removed without causing structural damage to the premises.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 5 (3) In determining the annual value of land under subsection (1) it shall be assumed that the land with the improvements, if any thereon, is not subject to a determination in relation to rent under section 43 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999. 8B Improved capital value of unit (1) For the purposes of this Act, the improved capital value of a unit is the sum which the fee simple of the unit might be expected to realize if offered for sale on such reasonable terms and conditions as a seller in good faith would require. (2) In determining the improved capital value of a unit under subsection (1) which are premises occupied for trade, business or manufacturing purposes, such value shall not include the value of plant, machines, tools or other appliances which are not fixed to the premises or which are only so fixed that they may be removed without causing structural damage to the premises. 8C Unimproved capital value of unit (1) For the purposes of this Act, the unimproved capital value of a unit is the sum which the fee simple of the unit might be expected to realize if offered for sale on such reasonable terms and conditions as a seller in good faith would require assuming that: (a) the improvements, if any, which form the walls, floors and ceilings containing the unit and made or acquired by the owner or his predecessor in title had not been made, provided that where the unit is wholly or partly in an excavation it shall be assumed that the excavation of the unit had been made; (b) means of access to the unit may be used, and may continue to be used, as they were being used, or could be used, on the date to which the valuation relates; and (c) lands outside the unit, including land of which the unit forms part, are in the state and condition existing at the date to which the valuation relates, and, in particular, without limiting the generality of this assumption, that where the unit consists partly of a building, structure or work or is portion of a building, structure or work, such building, structure or work, to the extent that it is outside the unit, had been made. (2) In determining the unimproved capital value of a unit under subsection (1) it shall be assumed that: (a) the unit may be used, or may continue to be used, for any purpose for which it was being used, or for which it could be used at the date to which the valuation relates; and

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 6 (b) such improvements may be continued or made in the unit as may be required in order to enable the unit to continue to be so used, but nothing in this subsection prevents regard being had, in determining that value, to other purposes for which the unit may be used on the assumptions set forth in subsection (1). 8D Annual value of unit (1) The annual value of a unit is: (a) the gross annual rental of the unit; or (b) 5% of the improved capital value of the unit, whichever is the greater. (2) In determining the annual value of a unit under subsection (1) which are premises occupied for trade, business or manufacturing purposes, such value shall not include the value of plant, machines, tools or other appliances which are not fixed to the premises or which are only so fixed that they may be removed without causing structural damage to the premises. (3) In determining the annual value of a unit under subsection (1) it shall be assumed that the unit with the improvements, if any therein, is not subject to a determination in relation to rent under section 43 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999. 9 Unimproved capital value (1) For the purposes of this Act, the unimproved capital value of land (other than a unit) is: (a) the capital sum which the fee simple of the land might be expected to realize if offered for sale on such reasonable terms and conditions as a seller in good faith would require, assuming that any improvements, other than site improvements, on or appertaining to the land had not been made; or (b) the sum which would be obtained by deducting the value of any improvements, other than site improvements on or appertaining to the land, from the improved capital value of the land, whichever is the greater.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 7 (2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), in determining the unimproved capital value of any land under that subsection it shall be assumed that: (a) the land may be used or continued to be used for any purpose for which it was being used or could be used at the date to which the valuation relates; and (b) such improvements on or appertaining to the land are made or continued as are necessary to enable the land to be or continue to be so used, but nothing in this subsection prevents regard being had in determining that value to any other purpose for which the land may be used on the assumption that the improvements, other than site improvements, on or appertaining to the land had not been made. (3) For the purposes of this section, the value of improvements on or appertaining to land is the added value which the improvements, other than site improvements, give to the land, irrespective of the cost of the improvements, including in such added value the value of any licence in force under the Liquor Act 2019, the value of which has been included in the improved capital value of the land. 10 Valuations of unimproved capital value of ratable land (1) The Valuer-General shall, before the expiration of the period of 3 years after the date of commencement of the Valuation of Land Act 1973, cause a valuation to be made of the unimproved capital value of all ratable land. (2) Where, after the Valuer-General has made a valuation of the unimproved capital value of any land in pursuance of this section (including this subsection): (a) the land is subdivided; (b) a change is made in the boundaries of the land; or (c) a change occurs in the purpose for which the land may be used or continued to be used, the Valuer-General shall, as soon as practicable, cause a further valuation of the unimproved capital value of that land to be made. (3) The Valuer-General shall cause a further valuation of the unimproved capital value of all land that is then ratable to be made before the expiration of the period of 3 years after the making of each valuation of ratable land under subsection (1) or under this subsection.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 8 (4) A valuation of the unimproved capital value of any land made in pursuance of subsection (1) or (3) shall determine that value as at the date on which the valuation is made. (5) A valuation of the unimproved capital value of any land made under subsection (2) shall be the valuation as at the date on which the last valuation of the unimproved capital value of that land was made under subsection (1) or (3). 10A Rating authority may request valuation (1) A rating authority may, by notice in writing to the Valuer-General, request a valuation of the following to be made in relation to land or part of land to which the authority is entitled to impose rates: (a) the improved capital value; (b) the annual value; (c) the unimproved capital value. (2) A notice under subsection (1) must specify: (a) the value to be determined; and (b) the ratable land in respect of which the valuation is required. (3) The Valuer-General on receiving a notice under subsection (1) may cause a valuation to be made of the land specified in the notice. (4) Where, after the Valuer-General has made a valuation of land in pursuance of this section (including this subsection): (a) the land is subdivided; (b) a change is made in the boundaries of the land; or (c) a change occurs in: (i) the purpose for which the land may be used or be continued to be used; or (ii) an improvement on the land, the Valuer-General must, as soon as practicable, cause a further valuation of the land to be made. (5) A valuation under subsection (4) must be made of the improved capital value, the annual value or the unimproved capital value whichever was determined in the previous valuation of the land.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 9 (6) The Valuer-General must cause to be made a further valuation of land which is then ratable before the expiration of the period of 3 years after the making of each valuation under subsection (3) or under this subsection. (7) A valuation made under subsection (3) or (6) must determine the value as at the date on which the valuation is made. (8) A valuation made under subsection (4) must be the valuation as at the date on which the last valuation was made under subsection (3) or (6). 10B Section 10 no longer to apply where valuation made under section 10A Where the Valuer-General under section 10A(3) causes a valuation to be made of land and the land is land to which section 10 applies that section shall be deemed on and from the date of the valuation no longer to apply to or in relation to the land and all valuations of the land on and from that date shall be made in accordance with section 10A. 10C Heritage land (1) The owner of land that is or contains a heritage place is entitled to the benefit of this section in respect of the valuation of that land. (2) Where the Valuer-General is satisfied that a person is entitled to the benefit of this section, he may, and shall at the request of that person, value the land: (a) taking into account the fact that the land is or contains a heritage place; and (b) disregarding any potential use of the land that is inconsistent with the preservation of the value of the land or the relevant part of the land as a heritage place, and any such valuation shall operate for the purposes of any rating or taxing Act on the basis of the valuation of the Valuer-General. (3) Where, after the Valuer-General has caused a valuation of land to be made under section 10 or 10A, he causes a valuation of the land to be made under subsection (2), the valuation shall: (a) be made of the improved capital value, the annual value or the unimproved capital value whichever was determined in the previous valuation of the land; and

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 10 (b) be the valuation as at the date on which the previous valuation was made. (3A) Where the Valuer-General causes a valuation to be made of land under section 10 or 10A and the Valuer-General is satisfied that the owner of the land is entitled to the benefit of this section, the valuation of the land shall be made: (a) taking into account the fact that the land is or contains a heritage place; and (b) disregarding any potential use of the land that is inconsistent with the preservation of the value of the land or the relevant part of the land as a heritage place, and any such valuation shall operate for the purposes of any rating or taxing Act on the basis of the valuation of the Valuer-General. (4) Where the Valuer-General makes a valuation under subsection (2), he shall inform the owner of the land, in writing, of the valuation and of the owner's obligations under subsection (6). (5) If at the time a liability to pay a rate, tax or impost on land arises the land is owned by a person who subsequently establishes an entitlement to the benefit of this section, neither the validity nor the extent of the liability is affected by this section. (6) Where land has been valued under this section and the land ceases to be a heritage place, the owner shall within 28 days inform the Valuer-General accordingly and shall furnish such further information, if any, as the Valuer-General requires. Maximum penalty: 15 penalty units. (7) In this section: heritage place, see section 4 of the Heritage Act 2011. rating or taxing Act means an Act under which a rate, tax or impost is levied or imposed on land. 11 Other valuations (1) Subject to this Act, the Valuer-General shall cause such valuations of or in relation to land in the Territory to be made: (a) as are required by the Territory, an authority of the Territory, the Minister, a rating authority or any other public authority or local government council; or

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 11 (b) as are required by or under any law (other than this Act) in force in the Territory, and may make such other valuations of or in relation to land in the Territory as he thinks fit. (2) A valuation made in pursuance of this section may determine a value as at a date earlier than the date on which the valuation was made. 12 Value of certain improvements (1) Where the Valuer-General makes a valuation of the unimproved capital value of any land, he shall also make a valuation of: (a) any site improvements on the land; and (b) any improvements that, although not made on the land, have been made for the purpose of draining the land or protecting the land from inundation, being improvements made within the immediately preceding period of 15 years by the person who is the owner of the land at the date on which the valuation was made. (2) The Valuer-General shall not value any improvements under subsection (1) at an amount exceeding the cost of making those improvements at the date on which the valuation was made. 13 Effect of valuation (1) Where, for the purpose of any law in force in the Territory, it is necessary to ascertain the unimproved capital value, the improved capital value or the annual value as at a specified time of any land: (a) if the Valuer-General has made a valuation of the unimproved capital value, the improved capital value or the annual value of that land as at that time – the value determined by that valuation; or (b) if the Valuer-General has not made such a valuation as at that time but has made a valuation of the unimproved capital value, the improved capital value or the annual value of that land as at an earlier time – the value determined by the last such valuation, shall, subject to subsection (2), be deemed for the purpose of that law, unless the contrary intention appears in that law, to have been the unimproved capital value, the improved capital value or the annual value of that land at that first-mentioned time.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 12 (2) An amount that is deemed by subsection (1) to be the unimproved capital value of any land at any time shall be deemed to be reduced by the value of the prescribed improvements on or appertaining to that land, as determined by the Valuer-General in the valuation made by him at the same time as he made the valuation of the unimproved capital value of that land. 14 Land to be included in the one valuation (1) Subject to this section, the Valuer-General shall make a separate valuation of every parcel of ratable land. (2) Where several parcels of adjoining land of the same tenure are owned by the same person and: (a) no part of those parcels of land is leased by the owner to any person; or (b) all the parcels of land are leased by the owner to the same person, the Valuer-General may include all the parcels of land in the one valuation. (3) Subsection (2) does not apply to or in relation to a parcel of land that is capable of separate ownership and on which there is erected a building that is adapted to separate occupation. (4) For the purposes of this section, parcels of land that are separated by a public road shall not be deemed to adjoin one another. 14A Determination of limits of land If any doubt arises as to the limits, for the purpose of making a valuation, of a parcel of land, the limits shall be determined for that purpose by the Valuer-General after considering all matters which in his opinion are relevant. 15 Valuation rolls (1) For the purposes of this Act, the Valuer-General must cause a valuation roll to be prepared and maintained for all ratable land. (2) A valuation roll may be in such form as the Valuer-General determines.

Part 4 Valuations and valuation rolls Valuation of Land Act 1963 13 (3) With respect to each parcel of ratable land, the Valuer-General must cause to be recorded on the valuation roll for the rating authority in respect of that land correct particulars of: (a) the name of the owner of the land and the owner's last postal address of which the Valuer-General has knowledge; (b) the nature of the title to, and a description of, the land; (c) the unimproved capital value, the improved capital value or the annual value determined by, and as at the date of, the last valuation made under section 10 or 10A; and (d) the value of prescribed improvements on or appertaining to land as determined by, and as at the date of, the last valuation made under this Act, and such other particulars, if any, as the Valuer-General determines. (4) The Valuer-General must, as soon as practicable after the making of valuations in relation to ratable land under this Act, cause a copy of the valuation roll containing those valuations to be furnished to the rating authority in respect of that land. (5) The Valuer-General must, as soon as practicable after the making of each valuation of ratable land under section 10(2) or 10A(4), provide a copy of the valuation to the rating authority in respect of that land. (6) The Valuer-General must, as soon as practicable after a variation of a valuation of ratable land under Part 5 or 6, provide a copy of the variation to the rating authority in respect of that land. 15A Error in valuation roll Where there is found to be an error or omission in a valuation roll, the Valuer-General shall: (a) give notice in writing to the owner of the land of the error or omission; and (b) correct the error or omission.

Part 5 Objections to valuations Valuation of Land Act 1963 14 16 Notice of valuations (1) The Valuer-General must, as soon as practicable after making any of the following valuations in relation to land, give notice of the valuation to the owner of the land: (a) the improved capital value; (b) the annual value; (c) the unimproved capital value; (d) the value of prescribed improvements on or appertaining to the land. (2) If any of the valuations mentioned in subsection (1) are varied under Part 5 or 6, the Valuer-General must, as soon as practicable, give notice of the variation of the valuation to the owner of the land. (3) A notice under this section must be in writing in accordance with the approved form. 17 Validity of valuation not affected by failure to give notice The validity of a valuation is not affected by reason of a failure to give a notice of valuation in accordance with section 16. 17A Cost of valuations (1) Where the Valuer-General causes a valuation to be made of land, the cost of making the valuation is a debt due and payable to the Territory by, where made under: (a) section 11(1), the person, rating authority, public authority or local government council requiring the valuation; or (b) sections 10 or 10A, the rating authority in respect of the land. (2) The Minister may, in respect of a valuation carried out under this Act, exempt a person, authority or body from the application of subsection (1) in respect of all or a part of the cost of the valuation. Part 5 Objections to valuations 18 Objection to valuations (1) An owner of land who receives a notice of valuation under section 16 may object to the valuation made by the Valuer-General in relation to the land.

Part 6 Review of valuations Valuation of Land Act 1963 15 (2) An objection mentioned in subsection (1) must: (a) be in writing in accordance with the approved form; and (b) specify one or more of the prescribed grounds of objection under section 19; and (c) be lodged with the Valuer-General's office within 30 days after notice of the valuation is given under section 16. 19 Prescribed grounds of objection The prescribed grounds of objection to a valuation of the unimproved capital value, the improved capital value or the annual value of any land, or of the prescribed improvements on or appertaining to any land are: (a) that the values determined are too high or too low; (b) that the description of the land is not correctly stated; (c) that parcels of land that should be included in one valuation have been separately valued; or (d) that parcels of land that should be separately valued have been included in the one valuation. 20 Decision of Valuer-General on objection (1) If an objection is lodged with the Valuer-General under section 18, the Valuer-General must consider the objection and may: (a) allow it in whole or in part; or (b) disallow it. (2) The Valuer-General must give written notice to the objector, in accordance with the approved form, of the decision on the objection under subsection (1). (3) A valuation is not affected by the lodging of an objection to the valuation. Part 6 Review of valuations 20A Review by NTCAT (1) NTCAT has jurisdiction to review a decision of the Valuer-General under section 20 to disallow an objection or allow it in part only.

Part 7 Land and Valuation Review Tribunal Valuation of Land Act 1963 16 (2) The objector may apply to NTCAT for review of the Valuer-General's decision. (3) On an application under subsection (2) for review of a decision of the Valuer-General on an objection under section 20, the applicant's case is limited to the grounds that were specified in the applicant's objection. Note for section 20A The Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014 sets out the procedure for applying to the Tribunal for review and other relevant matters in relation to reviews. Part 7 Land and Valuation Review Tribunal 21 Establishment of Land and Valuation Review Tribunal (1) There shall be a Tribunal, to be known as the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Tribunal shall consist of: (a) a President, who shall be appointed by the Minister; and (b) such other person or persons as the Minister appoints. (3) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Tribunal unless he is a Judge of the Supreme Court. (4) The members of the Tribunal, other than the President, have seniority according to the dates of their appointments. 22 Registries of Tribunal (1) There shall be a Registry of the Tribunal at Darwin in the Territory. (2) The Minister may authorize the establishment of additional Registries of the Tribunal at such places in the Territory as he determines. 23 Officers of Tribunal (1) The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of the Tribunal and may appoint such other officers of the Tribunal as are necessary. (2) An officer of the Tribunal shall perform such functions and exercise such powers as are prescribed.

Part 7 Land and Valuation Review Tribunal Valuation of Land Act 1963 17 24 Sittings of the Tribunal (1) Sittings of the Tribunal shall be held at such times and places in the Territory as the President of the Tribunal, being present in the Territory, determines. (2) The powers and functions of the Tribunal shall be exercised and performed by one member of the Tribunal. (3) The President of the Tribunal may, from time to time, make arrangements as to which member of the Tribunal is to exercise and perform the powers and functions of the Tribunal. (4) A member of the Tribunal may sit and exercise and perform the powers and functions of the Tribunal notwithstanding that another member of the Tribunal is at the same time sitting and exercising and performing those powers and functions. (5) A power conferred on the President of the Tribunal by subsection (1) or (3) may be exercised by the senior member of the Tribunal present in the Territory and able to exercise the power if there is a vacancy in the office of President of the Tribunal or if the President of the Tribunal is not present in the Territory or is unable to exercise the power. 27 Procedure before Tribunal At the hearing of a reference to the Tribunal: (a) the procedure of the Tribunal is, subject to this Act, within the discretion of the Tribunal; (b) the Tribunal is not bound to act in a formal manner and is not bound by any rules of evidence but may inform itself on any matter in such manner as it thinks fit; and (c) the Tribunal shall act without regard to technicalities and legal forms. 28 Representation before Tribunal At the hearing of a reference to the Tribunal, a party may be represented by a legal practitioner having the right to practise in the Supreme Court or by any other person authorized by the party in writing. 29 Decisions of Tribunal (1) Upon a reference to the Tribunal, the Tribunal shall give a decision in writing.

Part 8 Miscellaneous matters Valuation of Land Act 1963 18 (2) Upon the request, made at the hearing by the Valuer-General or by the person at whose request the reference was made, the Tribunal shall, when giving its decision, state in writing its findings of fact and its reasons in law for the decision. 30 Certificate as to costs (1) When the Tribunal gives its decision it shall, at the same time, certify the amount which, in its opinion, would be a reasonable amount to be paid by the Valuer-General or the objector, as the case may be, in respect of costs incurred by the reference to the Tribunal. (2) An amount so certified is recoverable as a debt, payable by the Territory or the objector, as the case may be, in any court of competent jurisdiction. 31 Decision of Tribunal not to be challenged A decision of the Tribunal shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called in question, or be subject to prohibition, mandamus, certiorari or injunction, in the Supreme Court on any account whatever. Part 8 Miscellaneous matters 40 Certified copies of entries in valuation roll (1) The Valuer-General must, on written application by a member of the public and payment of the prescribed fee, give the member of the public a copy of an entry in a valuation roll certified by the Valuer-General to be a true copy of that entry. (2) In any proceedings, a document purporting to be such a certified copy of an entry in a valuation roll shall be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is shown, be deemed without further proof to be a true record of that entry. 40A Keeping and public inspection of valuation rolls A rating authority shall keep a copy of the latest valuation roll furnished to it under this Act at its offices, and the Valuer-General shall keep a copy of the latest valuation roll at his office, available for inspection by the public without charge during the hours during which those offices are, or his office is, as the case requires, open for business.

Part 8 Miscellaneous matters Valuation of Land Act 1963 19 41 Valuer-General to have access to buildings, documents, &c. (1) The Valuer-General, or any person authorized in writing by him, is entitled, either alone or with such other persons to assist him as he considers necessary, at all reasonable times during the day, to full and free access to all lands, buildings, places, books and papers for the purposes of this Act and, for those purposes, may make copies of, or take extracts from, any such books or papers. (2) A person shall not hinder or obstruct the Valuer-General or any other person in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1). Maximum penalty: 1.5 penalty units. 42 Powers of Valuer-General (1) The Valuer-General, or a person authorized in writing by him, may, by notice in writing, require any person in the Territory to answer any question put to him by the Valuer-General or authorized person or to furnish to the Valuer-General or authorized person such information in the possession or under the control of the person, or to which the person has access, as the Valuer-General or authorized person requires for the purposes of this Act. (2) A person shall not, without lawful excuse (proof of which lies upon him), fail to answer a question put to him by the Valuer-General or an authorized person, or to furnish any information required by the Valuer-General or an authorized person, in pursuance of subsection (1). Maximum penalty: 1.5 penalty units. (3) The Valuer-General may, for the purposes of this section, serve on the owner of any land such forms as may be prescribed to be completed and returned to the Valuer-General within such time as the Valuer-General determines and specifies on the forms. (4) The Valuer-General may, if he thinks fit, require a person by whom a form is completed and returned under subsection (3) to verify the contents by statutory declaration. (5) A person shall not fail to complete and return a form served on him under subsection (3) or return a form containing information that is false or misleading in a material particular or fail to comply with a requirement made under subsection (4). Maximum penalty: 1.5 penalty units.

Part 8 Miscellaneous matters Valuation of Land Act 1963 20 43 Notice of change of ownership (1) Subject to subsection (4), where a person becomes, or ceases to be, the owner of any land, he shall, within 30 days, cause notice of that fact, in accordance with the approved form, to be given to the Valuer-General. Maximum penalty: $40. (2) Subject to subsection (4), where a person subdivides any land, he shall forthwith cause notice of the subdivision to be given to the Valuer-General, in accordance with the approved form, together with a plan of the subdivision. Maximum penalty: $40. (3) An offence of contravening or failing to comply with this section is a regulatory offence. (4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply where the Registrar-General has entered into an agreement under section 205 of the Land Title Act 2000 to provide the information required by or under those subsections to be given. 44 Service of notices, &c. A notice or requirement to be given or made under this Act by the Valuer-General may be given to a person: (a) by sending it by post addressed to the person at the place of residence or business of the person last known to the Valuer- General; or (b) if the Valuer-General does not know a place of residence or business to which a notice or requirement may be so sent – by publishing it in the Gazette. 45 Change of ownership of land (1) A change in the ownership of land to which a valuation by the Valuer-General has been made, does not affect any of the following: (a) the validity of any notice of the valuation given before the change to the former owner; (b) any objection to the valuation or application for review made before the change by the former owner;

Part 9 Transitional matters for Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025 Valuation of Land Act 1963 21 (c) the duty of the Valuer-General to consider an objection to the valuation; (d) the power of NTCAT to review the valuation. (2) The new owner of land is, for this Act, taken to have been, at all times, the owner of the land and any act or thing done by the former owner or any notice given to the former owner is, taken to have been done by, or given to, the new owner. 47 Regulations The Administrator may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. Part 9 Transitional matters for Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025 48 Decisions reviewable under Part VA or VI (1) For section 20A, as inserted by section 68 of the amending Act, a decision of the Valuer-General includes a decision that, immediately before the commencement, was subject to review under Part VA or VI as in force before the commencement, but for which a review had not been lodged or considered before the commencement. (2) In this section: amending Act means the Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025. commencement means the commencement of section 68 of the amending Act.

ENDNOTES Valuation of Land Act 1963 22 ENDNOTES 1 KEY Key to abbreviations amd = amended od = order app = appendix om = omitted bl = by-law pt = Part ch = Chapter r = regulation/rule cl = clause rem = remainder div = Division renum = renumbered exp = expires/expired rep = repealed f = forms s = section Gaz = Gazette sch = Schedule hdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision ins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation lt = long title sub = substituted nc = not commenced 2 LIST OF LEGISLATION Valuation of Land Ordinance 1963 (Act No. 69, 1963) Assent date 16 September 1963 Commenced 10 February 1964 (Gaz No. 7A, 6 February 1964, p 31A) Valuation of Land Ordinance 1965 (Act No. 22, 1965) Assent date 16 August 1965 Commenced 10 February 1964 (s 2, s 2 Valuation of Land Ordinance 1963 (Act No. 69, 1963) and Gaz No. 7A, 6 February 1964, p 31A) Valuation of Land Ordinance 1968 (Act No. 27, 1968) Assent date 18 June 1968 Commenced 18 June 1968 Valuation of Land Ordinance (No. 2) 1968 (Act No. 70, 1968) Assent date 7 October 1968 Commenced 7 October 1968 Valuation of Land Ordinance 1969 (Act No. 58, 1969) Assent date 10 December 1969 Commenced 10 December 1969 Valuation of Land Ordinance 1973 (Act No. 55, 1973) Assent date 13 September 1973 Commenced 1 October 1973 (Gaz No. 39, 27 September 1973, p 330)

ENDNOTES Valuation of Land Act 1963 23 Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1973 (Act No. 87, 1973) Assent date 11 December 1973 Commenced 11 December 1973 (s 12(2)) Amending Legislation Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1974 (Act No. 34, 1974) Assent date 26 August 1974 Commenced 11 December 1973 (s 3(2)) Ordinances Revision Ordinance (No. 2) 1974 (Act No. 69, 1974) Assent date 24 October 1974 Commenced 11 December 1973 (s 3) Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1976 (Act No. 27, 1976) Assent date 28 June 1976 Commenced ss 1, 2 and 6: 28 June 1976 (s 6(2)); ss 3 and 4: 11 December 1973; s 5: 24 October 1974 Transfer of Powers (Self-Government) Ordinance 1978 (Act No. 54, 1978) Assent date 1 July 1978 Commenced 1 July 1978 (s 8) Statute Law Revision Act 1978 (Act No. 95, 1978) Assent date 5 September 1978 Commenced 5 September 1978 Statute Law Revision Act 1983 (Act No. 58, 1983) Assent date 28 November 1983 Commenced 28 November 1983 Criminal Law (Regulatory Offences) Act 1983 (Act No. 68, 1983) Assent date 28 November 1983 Commenced 1 January 1984 (s 2, s 2 Criminal Code Act 1983 (Act No. 47, 1983), Gaz G46, 18 November 1983, p 11 and Gaz G8, 26 February 1986, p 5) Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1987 (Act No. 15, 1987) Assent date 25 June 1987 Commenced 28 July 1987 (Gaz G30, 28 July 1987, p 5) Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1991 (Act No. 56, 1991) Assent date 26 September 1991 Commenced 1 November 1991 (s 2, s 2 Heritage Conservation Act 1991 (Act No. 39, 1991) and Gaz S58, 1 November 1991) Valuation of Land Amendment Act (No. 2) 1991 (Act No. 57, 1991) Assent date 26 September 1991 Commenced 26 September 1991 Valuation of Land Amendment Act 1994 (Act No. 82, 1994) Assent date 30 December 1994 Commenced 30 December 1994

ENDNOTES Valuation of Land Act 1963 24 Sentencing (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 (Act No. 17, 1996) Assent date 19 April 1996 Commenced 1 July 1996 (s 2, s 2 Sentencing Act 1995 (Act No. 39, 1995) and Gaz S15, 13 June 1996) Residential Tenancies (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999 (Act No. 46, 1999) Assent date 10 November 1999 Commenced 1 March 2000 (s 2, s 2 Residential Tenancies Act 1999 (Act No. 45, 1999) and Gaz G8, 1 March 2000, p 2) Land Title (Consequential Amendments) Act 2000 (Act No. 45, 2000) Assent date 12 September 2000 Commenced 1 December 2000 (s 2, s 2 Land Title Act 2000 (Act No. 2, 2000) and Gaz G38, 27 September 2000, p 2) Legal Profession (Consequential Amendments) Act 2007 (Act No. 7, 2007) Assent date 17 May 2007 Commenced s 10: 1 July 2007 (Gaz G26, 27 June 2007, p 3); rem: 17 May 2007 Heritage Act 2011 (Act No. 34, 2011) Assent date 15 November 2011 Commenced 1 October 2012 (Gaz S43, 31 July 2012) Penalties Amendment (Miscellaneous) Act 2013 (Act No. 23, 2013) Assent date 12 July 2013 Commenced 28 August 2013 (Gaz G35, 28 August 2013, p 2) Local Government Amendment Act 2014 (Act No. 19, 2014) Assent date 2 June 2014 Commenced s 16: 1 July 2014; s 18: 1 December 2014; rem: 2 June 2014 (s 2) Liquor Act 2019 (Act No. 29, 2019) Assent date 3 September 2019 Commenced 1 October 2019 (Gaz G39, 25 September 2019, p 2) Statute Law Revision Act 2023 (Act No. 4, 2023) Assent date 2 March 2023 Commenced 3 March 2023 (s 2) Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (Act No. 25, 2025) Assent date 12 September 2025 Commenced pt 6: nc; rem: 13 September 2025 (s 2(1)) 3 SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS s 10(5) Valuation of Land Ordinance 1973 (Act No. 55, 1973) 4 GENERAL AMENDMENTS General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1973 (Act No. 87, 1973) (as amended) to the following provisions: ss 4, 9, 10, 12 – 14, 17, 18, 21, 24 – 26, 41 – 43.

ENDNOTES Valuation of Land Act 1963 25 5 GENERAL AMENDMENTS General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: ss 1, 8A, 8D, 9, 10C and 43. 6 LIST OF AMENDMENTS lt amd No. 58, 1983, s 4 pt I hdg amd No. 25, 2025, s 76 ss 1 – 2 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 3 amd No. 22, 1965, s 3; No. 55, 1973, s 4 rep No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 4 amd No. 27, 1968, s 2; No. 70, 1968, s 2; No. 55, 1973, s 5; No. 54, 1978, s 4; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 4; No. 19, 2014, s 26; No. 4, 2023, s 15; No. 25, 2025, s 63 pt II hdg amd No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 5 amd No. 58, 1969, s 2; No. 55, 1973, s 6; No. 54, 1978, s 4; No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 6 rep No. 58, 1969, s 3 ins No. 55, 1973, s 7 s 7 rep No. 58, 1969, s 3 ins No. 55, 1973, s 7 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 7A ins No. 4, 2023, s 16 s 7B ins No. 25, 2025, s 64 pt III hdg rep No. 55, 1973, s 8 pt IV hdg amd No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 8 rep No. 55, 1973, s 8 ins No. 15, 1987, s 5 amd No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 8A ins No. 15, 1987, s 5 amd No. 46, 1999, s 9; No. 25, 2025, s 76 ss 8B – 8C ins No. 15, 1987, s 5 amd No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 8D ins No. 15, 1987, s 5 amd No. 46, 1999, s 9; No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 9 amd No. 55, 1973, s 9; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 6; No. 29, 2019, s 427; No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 10 amd No. 55, 1973, s 10; No. 87, 1973, s 12 s 10A ins No. 15, 1987, s 7 amd No. 82, 1994, s 3; No. 25, 2025, s 65 s 10B ins No. 15, 1987, s 7 s 10C ins No. 56, 1991, s 3 amd No. 82, 1994, s 4; No. 34, 2011, s 170; No. 23, 2013, s 12 s 11 amd No. 54, 1978, s 4; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 8; No. 19, 2014, s 26 s 12 amd No. 55, 1973, s 11 s 13 amd No. 22, 1965, s 4; No. 55, 1973, s 12; No. 15, 1987, s 9 s 14 amd No. 55, 1973, s 13 s 14A ins No. 70, 1968, s 3 amd No. 55, 1973, s 14 s 15 amd No. 55, 1973, s 15; No. 87, 1973, s 12; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 10; No. 25, 2025, s 76 s 15A ins No. 15, 1987, s 11 s 16 amd No. 55, 1973, s 16; No. 15, 1987, s 12 sub No. 25, 2025, s 66

ENDNOTES Valuation of Land Act 1963 26 s 17A ins No. 15, 1987, s 13 amd No. 19, 2014, s 26 pt V hdg amd No. 2025, s 76 s 18 amd No. 55, 1973, s 17; No. 15, 1987, s 14 sub No. 25, 2025, s 67 s 19 amd No. 55, 1973, s 18; No. 15, 1987, s 15 s 20 amd No. 55, 1973, s 19 sub No. 25, 2025, s 68 pt 6 hdg ins No. 25, 2025, s 68 s 20A ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 amd No. 4, 2023, s 17 sub No. 25, 2025, s 68 pt VA hdg ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 pt VA div 1 hdg ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20B ins No. 15, 1987, s 16; No. 7, 2007, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20C ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 amd No. 4, 2023, s 18 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 ss 20D – 20E ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20F ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 amd No. 17, 1996, s 6 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 pt VA div 2 hdg ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20G ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 amd No. 4, 2023, s 19 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20H ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 amd No. 4, 2023, s 20 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20J ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 s 20K ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 amd No. 23, 2013, s 12 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 ss 20L – 20M ins No. 15, 1987, s 16 rep No. 25, 2025, s 69 pt VI hdg sub No. 25, 2025, s 70 s 21 amd No. 70, 1968, s 4; No. 25, 2025, s 71 ss 22 – 23 amd No. 54, 1978, s 4 s 24 amd No. 70, 1968, s 5 s 25 amd No. 55, 1973, s 20; No. 15, 1987, s 17 rep No. 25, 2025, s 72 s 26 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 18 rep No. 25, 2025, s 72 s 27 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 28 amd No. 7, 2007, s 16 s 30 amd No. 15, 1987, s 19 s 31 amd No. 22, 1965, s 5 pt VII hdg rep No. 55, 1973, s 21 pt VIII hdg amd No. 2025, s 76 ss 32 – 39 rep No. 55, 1973, s 21

ENDNOTES Valuation of Land Act 1963 27 s 40 amd No. 25, 2025, s 73 s 40A ins No. 55, 1973, s 22 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 20 s 41 amd No. 27, 1968, s 3; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 23, 2013, s 12 s 42 amd No. 27, 1968, s 3; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 21; No. 23, 2013, s 12 s 43 amd No. 27, 1968, s 3; No. 55, 1973, s 23; No. 87, 1973, s 12; No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 68, 1983, s 124; No. 57, 1991, s 2; No. 45, 2000, s 11; No. 23, 2013, s 12; No. 2025, s 76 s 44 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 45 amd No. 58, 1983, s 4; No. 15, 1987, s 22 sub No. 25, 2025, s 74 s 46 rep No. 58, 1983, s 4 s 47 amd No. 95, 1978, s 14; No. 58, 1983, s 4 pt 9 hdg ins No. 25, 2025, s 75 s 48 ins No. 25, 2025, s 75

1 Valuation of Land Act 1963

The Act operationalises a small set of valuation concepts that determine how land is assessed for rates and other statutory purposes. Each concept is defined with explicit assumptions and exclusions that drive how valuers treat improvements, fixtures and uses.

Improved capital value (ICV)

Defined as the sum the fee simple might reasonably realise on sale (s 8(1); s 8B(1) for units). For trade/business premises, plant and movable equipment not fixed to the premises are excluded from ICV (s 8(2); s 8B(2)). This is effectively market value subject to specific exclusions.

Unimproved capital value (UCV)

UCV is the capital sum the fee simple might realise assuming specified improvements (other than site improvements) had not been made, or obtained by deducting improvements from the ICV, whichever is greater (s 9(1)(a)-(b)). The statute instructs valuers to assume continuing permitted uses (s 9(2)), to take added value of improvements irrespective of their cost (s 9(3)), and to treat certain site improvements and improvements made for drainage/inundation protection specially under s 12. For units, a different construct is provided that assumes the walls, floors and ceilings forming the unit had not been made, subject to stated exceptions (s 8C(1)).

Annual value

Annual value equals gross annual rental or 5 per cent of ICV, whichever is greater (s 8A(1); s 8D(1) for units). The statute excludes plant and removable equipment from the rental base for trade/business premises (ss 8A(2), 8D(2)). The Act also specifies that valuers must assume the property is not subject to a rent determination under s 43 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999 when calculating annual value (ss 8A(3), 8D(3)).

Site improvements and prescribed improvements

The Act distinguishes site improvements (reclamation, excavation, levelling , s 4 definition) that are treated differently for UCV, and prescribes valuation of certain improvements that must be separately valued where UCV is determined (s 12). Improvements made within the preceding 15 years by the then-owner are to be valued (s 12(1)), but valuations of such improvements must not exceed their cost at the valuation date (s 12(2)).

Valuation rolls and public inspection

The Valuer‑General must prepare and maintain a valuation roll for all ratable land (s 15(1)). Each roll entry must record owner name and last postal address where known, nature of title and land description, the last valuation(s) (UCV/ICV/annual value) and the value of prescribed improvements as determined at the last valuation date (s 15(3)(a)-(d)). The Valuer‑General must furnish copies to rating authorities (s 15(4)-(6)), and both the Valuer‑General and rating authorities must keep the latest roll for public inspection during office hours (s 40A).

Valuer-General and valuation qualification regime

The Act appoints a Valuer‑General (s 5), allows the Minister to determine professional associations as valuation bodies and qualifications as valuation qualifications (s 7A), defines a valuer as a person who is a member of a valuation body or possesses a valuation qualification (s 4). The Valuer‑General may delegate functions to valuers (s 7).

Valuation cycles and requests

General unimproved capital valuations are to be made for all ratable land within three years and then at three-year intervals (s 10(1), s 10(3)). A rating authority may request a valuation of improved capital, annual value or unimproved capital value for land it rates (s 10A(1)-(3)), and such valuations become governed by s 10A rather than the general s 10 cycle where requested (s 10B).

Deeming and cross‑statutory effect

Where a Valuer‑General has made a valuation at a specified time, that valuation is deemed to be the unimproved capital value, improved capital value or annual value for purposes of any law in force in the Territory, unless the other law expressly intends otherwise (s 13(1)). The Act also directs that the deemed UCV be reduced by the value of prescribed improvements as determined by the Valuer‑General (s 13(2)).

Objection, review and finality

Owners notified of valuations (s 16) have 30 days to object in writing in an approved form, specifying one or more prescribed grounds (s 18(2); grounds listed at s 19). The Valuer‑General decides the objection and must give written notice of the decision (s 20). NTCAT has jurisdiction to review a Valuer‑General decision that disallows or partially allows an objection, and any review is limited to grounds specified in the original objection (s 20A). The Act also establishes a Land and Valuation Review Tribunal with procedure rules and a statutory bar on Supreme Court challenges to Tribunal decisions (Part 7; s 31).

Powers to obtain information and access

The Valuer‑General may access land, buildings and records, require answers to questions and the production of information, serve prescribed forms and require statutory declarations (ss 41-42). Failures to answer, obstructive conduct or returning false or misleading information carries small penalties (ss 41-42).

These concepts are narrowly defined and operationalised in the Act, and the definitions carry measurable consequences: the assumptions made about uses and existing improvements materially affect the taxable base (s 13), the allocation of the cost burden for valuations follows the request path and statutory cycle (s 17A), and objections and reviews are tightly time-limited and scope-limited (ss 18-20A).

Owners and lessees of land

Primary regulatory subjects are owners and lessees. The Act defines owner expansively for Crown leases (s 4). Owners receive notices of valuations (s 16), must notify the Valuer‑General upon change of ownership or subdivision within 30 days (s 43) unless the Registrar‑General supplies that information by agreement (s 43(4)), and must cooperate with Valuer‑General access and information demands (ss 41-42). Owners who want a heritage‑conscious valuation may request one and have obligations if the land ceases to be a heritage place (s 10C(2), (4)-(6)).

Rating authorities (local councils and other taxing bodies)

Rating authorities are a central affected group. The Act defines rating authority as a local government council and any other body entitled to impose rates under Territory law (s 4). Rating authorities receive valuation rolls (s 15(4)-(6)), must keep and make available valuation rolls for public inspection (s 40A), and may request valuations of ICV, UCV or annual value for land they rate (s 10A(1)). Where valuations are made under ss 10 or 10A, the cost of the valuation is a debt due by the rating authority (s 17A(1)(b)). Rating authorities therefore can initiate revaluation of their rate base but bear the cost unless exempted by the Minister (s 17A(2)).

Valuers and valuation bodies

The Act places valuers and valuation bodies at the centre of the technical process: a valuer is a person who is a member of a valuation body or who possesses a valuation qualification determined by the Minister (s 4, s 7A). The Valuer‑General may approve forms (s 7B) and delegate to valuers (s 7). The Act’s definitions and ministerial determinations affect who may lawfully perform valuations for statutory purposes.

Valuer‑General and delegated officers

The Valuer‑General (s 5) and any person authorised in writing by the Valuer‑General (ss 41-42) exercise inspection and information powers. The Act enables statutory officers to require completion of forms, verification by statutory declaration, and to take copies or extracts of documents (ss 41-42(3)-(4)). Delegates exercise powers according to the instrument of delegation (s 7(2)) and delegations are revocable (s 7(3)), concentrating operational decision-making authority in the Valuer‑General’s office.

Owners of heritage land and other special-interest owners

Owners of heritage land have an express statutory entitlement to a valuation that takes into account heritage status and disregards potential uses inconsistent with preservation (s 10C(1)-(3A)). Heritage valuations operate for the purposes of any rating or taxing Act on the basis of the Valuer‑General’s valuation (s 10C(2)). Owners must notify the Valuer‑General within 28 days if the land ceases to be a heritage place (s 10C(6)).

Public and other stakeholders

Members of the public may inspect valuation rolls without charge during business hours (s 40A). A member of the public may obtain certified copies of entries in a valuation roll on payment of the prescribed fee (s 40). Documents certified by the Valuer‑General are prima facie evidence in proceedings (s 40(2)).

Tribunals and judicial bodies

The Act creates, and allocates functions to, dispute-resolution bodies: NTCAT for review of Valuer‑General decisions under s 20 (s 20A) and the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal (Part 7). The Tribunal’s decisions are stated to be final and not challengeable in the Supreme Court (s 31), which has implications for litigants and public law review routes.

Other statutory actors and laws

The Act explicitly interacts with other Territory laws. It assumes away rent determinations under s 43 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999 when valuing annual value (ss 8A(3), 8D(3)). It treats the value of a liquor licence if included in ICV as part of the added value for the UCV calculation (s 9(3)). The Heritage Act 2011 definition of heritage place is adopted by s 10C(7). The Registrar‑General under the Land Title Act 2000 may supply change-of-title information instead of individual owners notifying the Valuer‑General (s 43(4)).

Who pays

The Act specifies who pays for valuations in certain circumstances. Costs of valuations are a debt payable to the Territory by the person or authority requesting the valuation under s 11(1) or by the rating authority where valuations are made under ss 10 or 10A (s 17A(1)(a)-(b)). The Minister may, however, exempt a person, authority or body from all or part of those costs (s 17A(2)). Owners face small penalties for failing to notify changes of ownership or subdivision (s 43) and may face penalties for failing to comply with information requests or for obstructing access (ss 41-42).

The Act therefore affects a clustered set of parties: owners and lessees who bear valuation consequences and evidence obligations; rating authorities that can initiate valuations but may bear costs; valuers and professional bodies whose recognition is regulated; administrative decisionmakers in the Valuer‑General’s office; and dispute-resolution bodies that provide limited but final review routes.

This section extracts, organises and explains the principal statutory duties and rights that flow from the Act. Citations are to the specific provisions that create those duties and rights.

Principal duties of the Valuer-General and valuation office

Appointment and qualification: the Valuer‑General must be a valuer as defined in s 4 and is appointed by the Minister (s 5).
Prepare and maintain valuation roll: the Valuer‑General must prepare and maintain a valuation roll for all ratable land (s 15(1)), determine valuations in accordance with the Act (ss 8-10A) and record specified particulars on the roll (s 15(3)(a)-(d)).
Notify owners: after making any valuation or variation in valuation, the Valuer‑General must, as soon as practicable, give written notice in approved form to the owner (s 16(1)-(2); s 17 clarifies validity is not affected by failure to give notice).
Furnish copies to rating authorities: after valuations or variations, the Valuer‑General must provide copies to the relevant rating authority (s 15(4)-(6)).
Correct errors: where there is an error or omission in a valuation roll, the Valuer‑General is to give written notice to the owner and correct the roll (s 15A).

Duties and powers to obtain information and access

Access to land and documents: the Valuer‑General or authorised persons have access at reasonable times to lands, buildings, places, books and papers, and may make copies or take extracts (s 41(1)).
Require answers and information: the Valuer‑General may require any person to answer questions or furnish information relevant to the Act (s 42(1)). A person must not, without lawful excuse, fail to answer or provide information, with the burden of proof on that person (s 42(2)). The Valuer‑General may serve prescribed forms to be completed and require verification by statutory declaration (s 42(3)-(4)). Offences for obstruction or failure to comply attract penalties (ss 41-42).

Duties of owners and persons in control of land

Notify change of ownership or subdivision: a person who becomes or ceases to be the owner of any land must, within 30 days, notify the Valuer‑General in the approved form (s 43(1)) and the person who subdivides land must notify the Valuer‑General forthwith and supply a plan (s 43(2)). Penalty for breach is specified (s 43 provides maximum $40 and classifies the offence as regulatory).
Cooperate with information requests and access: owners and persons must not hinder access or refuse to answer or provide information when lawfully required (ss 41-42). Penalties apply where specified.

Duties of rating authorities

Maintain and make available valuation roll copy: a rating authority must keep a copy of the latest valuation roll provided to it under this Act at its offices and make it available for public inspection (s 40A).
Payment of valuation costs: where valuations are made under s 11(1) (requested by a person or public authority) the requesting person/authority is liable for costs (s 17A(1)(a)); where valuations are made under ss 10 or 10A the rating authority is liable for the cost (s 17A(1)(b)).

Rights and entitlements of owners

Right to notice: owners must be sent notice of valuations and variations (s 16).
Right to object: owners may object to valuations within 30 days on prescribed grounds in an approved form (ss 18(1)-(2); s 19 lists grounds).
Right to review: where the Valuer‑General disallows or partially allows an objection, the owner may apply to NTCAT to review the decision (s 20A(2)). The owner’s review is limited to the grounds specified in the original objection (s 20A(3)).
Heritage valuation entitlement: owners of heritage land may request valuations that explicitly take the heritage status into account and disregard potential uses inconsistent with preservation; such valuations operate for rating and taxing Acts on the Valuer‑General’s basis (s 10C(1)-(3A)). Owners must notify the Valuer‑General within 28 days if the land ceases to be a heritage place (s 10C(6)).

Rights of the public

Access to valuation information: members of the public can inspect valuation rolls without charge during office hours (s 40A) and obtain certified copies of roll entries on payment of the prescribed fee (s 40(1)). Certified copies are admissible evidence (s 40(2)).

Tribunal and review rights

NTCAT review jurisdiction: NTCAT may review Valuer‑General decisions under s 20 that disallow or partially allow objections (s 20A(1)). The application process and procedures are those set out in the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014 (note to s 20A).
Land and Valuation Review Tribunal: the Act establishes a Tribunal, prescribes membership (President and members who must be Judges of the Supreme Court unless otherwise stated , s 21(2)-(3)) and sets out procedure, representation, provision of reasons and certification of costs (Part 7). The Tribunal’s decisions are final and cannot be challenged in the Supreme Court (s 31).

Delegation and ministerial powers

Delegation by Valuer‑General: the Valuer‑General may delegate powers and duties to a valuer, except the power of delegation itself (s 7(1)-(3)). Delegations are revocable (s 7(3)).
Ministerial determinations: the Minister may determine valuation bodies and valuation qualifications (s 7A) and may exempt persons/authorities from paying valuation costs (s 17A(2)). The Minister also appoints the Valuer‑General (s 5) and Tribunal members (s 21(2)(a)-(b)).

Deeming and cross-application

Valuations deemed authoritative for other laws: where the Valuer‑General has determined a valuation as at a specified time, that valuation is deemed to be the relevant value for any law in the Territory unless that other law shows a contrary intention (s 13(1)). This gives valuations cross-statutory effect and certainty unless another Act says otherwise.

Each of these duties and rights is expressed in the Act in mandatory language and carries associated procedural or penalty consequences. The Act centralises valuation methodology and makes Valuer‑General determinations a practical datum used across Territory statutory schemes.

The Act provides a set of modest criminal/regulatory penalties, powers to require information and to access land and documents, and a debt recovery mechanism for valuation costs. The enforcement architecture is administrative with narrow criminalisation for obstruction, failure to answer, providing false information and non-notification in relation to ownership or subdivision.

Specified penalties

Access obstruction: a person who hinders or obstructs the Valuer‑General or an authorised person acting under s 41 is liable to a maximum penalty of 1.5 penalty units (s 41(2)). The Act records this penalty amount directly.
Failure to answer/furnish information and false or misleading returns: a person who, without lawful excuse, fails to answer a question or furnish information required under s 42(1) is liable to a maximum penalty of 1.5 penalty units (s 42(2)). Further, failing to complete and return a prescribed form or returning a form containing information that is false or misleading in a material particular, or failing to comply with a statutory declaration requirement, also attracts a maximum penalty of 1.5 penalty units (s 42(5)).
Notice of change of ownership/subdivision: breach of s 43 (failure to notify change of ownership or subdivision as required) carries a maximum penalty of $40 and is classified as a regulatory offence (s 43(1)-(3)).
Heritage land obligations: owners have an obligation to inform the Valuer‑General within 28 days if land ceases to be a heritage place; failing to comply attracts a maximum penalty of 15 penalty units (s 10C(6)).

Debt and cost recovery

Costs of valuations: when the Valuer‑General causes a valuation to be made, the cost is a debt due and payable to the Territory by the requesting person or authority where made under s 11(1), or by the rating authority where made under ss 10 or 10A. The classification of these costs as a debt allows recovery in court as a civil matter (s 17A(1)). The Minister may exempt a person, body or authority from all or part of the cost of the valuation (s 17A(2)).

Administrative enforcement powers

Access and information compulsion: ss 41-42 grant the Valuer‑General and authorised delegates the power to inspect land and documents and to require answers and the production of information. The Valuer‑General may serve prescribed forms and require statutory declarations verifying their contents (s 42(3)-(4)). Failure to comply can trigger the penalties noted above.
Correction of valuation roll errors: the Valuer‑General must notify owners and correct errors or omissions in the valuation roll (s 15A). This is an administrative remedy that preserves the integrity of the record.

Finality of Tribunal decisions

The Act provides an unusual finality mechanism for the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal: a decision of the Tribunal shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called into question in the Supreme Court on any account (s 31). This statutory bar removes ordinary avenues of judicial review in the Supreme Court for Tribunal decisions under the Act, at least as expressed in the statute, and directs parties to the review avenues provided within the Act (e.g., NTCAT per s 20A for Valuer‑General decisions).

Enforcement practice implications that follow from the Act text

Relatively modest pecuniary penalties mean non-compliance is likely to be remedied by administrative or civil processes rather than heavy criminal sanctions (see penalty levels under ss 41-43). Costs of valuation are recoverable as a debt, which supports civil recovery mechanisms rather than criminal enforcement (s 17A(1)).
The Valuer‑General’s power to require statutory declarations and the burden-of-proof shift for lawful excuse in s 42(2) places the evidential burden on a respondent in prosecutions under that section.
The Valuer‑General’s access and document powers, combined with the duty to keep valuation rolls publicly available and to furnish them to rating authorities (ss 15, 40A), create both transparency obligations and administrative enforcement levers.

The Act’s enforcement regime is therefore predominantly administrative and civil, with limited low‑level criminal penalties directed at obstruction, non-cooperation or false returns. The power to recover valuation costs as a debt aligns enforcement with civil recovery processes for fees and charges.

The Act contains several explicit cross-references to Territory statutes and creates legal effects that extend into other statutory domains. The main interactions are with laws governing tenancy, heritage, liquor licensing, land title recording and tribunal procedure.

Residential Tenancies Act 1999

The Act instructs valuers, when determining annual value for land or units, to assume the land or unit is not subject to a rent determination under s 43 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999 (ss 8A(3), 8D(3)). That assumption removes the effect of rent-control-style determinations from the annual value calculation, preserving the gross annual rental or 5 per cent of ICV formula as the determining mechanism, unaffected by a separate rent determination scheme.

Heritage Act 2011

The Act adopts the Heritage Act’s definition of heritage place for s 10C(7) and gives owners of heritage land the right to ask for valuations that take heritage status into account and disregard potential uses inconsistent with preservation (s 10C(2)). Valuer‑General heritage valuations operate, by statute, for the purposes of any rating or taxing Act (s 10C(2)). Owners of heritage land have a continuing duty to notify the Valuer‑General if the land ceases to be a heritage place within 28 days, with a penalty of up to 15 penalty units (s 10C(6)).

Liquor Act 2019

The Act mandates that, for UCV purposes, the value of improvements includes any licence in force under the Liquor Act 2019 when that licence value has been included in the ICV (s 9(3)). This creates a direct valuation link between regulatory licences and land value.

Land Title Act 2000 and Registrar‑General

Section 43(4) carves out an administrative streamlining: subsections requiring owners to notify change of ownership or subdivision do not apply where the Registrar‑General has entered an agreement under s 205 of the Land Title Act 2000 to provide the information required. This allows registration systems to feed the Valuer‑General’s register and reduces duplication in jurisdictions using the land titles system.

Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014

The Act refers claimants to NTCAT for review of Valuer‑General decisions under s 20 (s 20A and the note to s 20A). The procedures, filing rules and review machinery in the NTCAT Act therefore govern the review process for those decisions. Section 20A(3) limits an applicant’s case on review to the grounds specified in the original objection, a procedural constraint that interacts with NTCAT’s review functions under the Tribunal Act.

Rating and taxing Acts generally

Section 13 explicitly provides that Valuer‑General valuations are to be used for the purposes of any law in force in the Territory that requires determination of UCV, ICV or annual value, unless that other law shows a contrary intention (s 13(1)). As a consequence, a single Valuer‑General valuation will commonly feed into diverse statutory obligations, from rates to some taxation or concessional schemes that rely on statutorily defined land values.

Local government and rating legislation

The Act’s definition of rating authority (s 4) and obligations to provide valuation rolls to rating authorities (s 15(4)-(6)) integrate with Territory local government rating frameworks. The Local Government Amendment Act 2014 appears in the amendment history, signalling that statutory changes in local government law have been considered in successive reprints; the mechanics for requesting valuations (s 10A) and cost allocation (s 17A(1)(b)) create direct operational interactions between the Valuer‑General and councils.

Tribunal and judicial review statutes

The Act establishes its own review forum in the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal (Part 7) but also expressly provides NTCAT jurisdiction for review of certain Valuer‑General decisions (s 20A). At the same time, s 31 asserts that Tribunal decisions shall not be challenged in the Supreme Court. This creates an interactional matrix where both tribunal procedural law (NTCAT Act) and the Tribunal’s statutory procedures (Part 7) are relevant and may require practitioners to choose or reconcile forum routes depending on the nature of the decision and the specific statutory pathway.

Transitional amending statute linkages

The Act contains transitional provisions referencing the Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (s 48). The endnotes list a sequence of amending Acts affecting valuations, tribunal structure and other matters. Practitioners need to consult those amending statutes directly for changes to review routes and to confirm which procedural parts have been repealed or substituted (see endnotes and s 48).

In short, the Act is a connective tissue: Valuer‑General valuations are designed to be authoritative across Territory law (s 13), the Act adopts specific provisions or definitions from heritage and land title law (s 10C(7); s 43(4)), and it routes dispute resolution into NTCAT and its own Tribunal with constrained appeal paths (s 20A; Part 7; s 31). Lawyers and administrators must therefore consult the Residential Tenancies Act, Heritage Act, Liquor Act, Land Title Act and the NTCAT Act for the full operational effect of valuation determinations.

The Act’s endnotes provide a chronological list of legislative changes and insertions from 1963 through to 2025. The reprint at 13 September 2025 reflects multiple rounds of amendment that introduced new definitions, review pathways, administrative details, and technical updates. Key amendment milestones and their statutory effects as recorded in the endnotes are:

1960s-1970s foundational changes

Original enactment as the Valuation of Land Ordinance 1963 (Act No. 69, 1963) and subsequent early amendments in 1965, 1968 and the Valuation of Land Ordinance 1973 (Act No. 55, 1973) established the core valuation framework that underpins the modern Act. The 1973 Ordinance introduced significant structuring retained in later reprints (see list of legislation and early amendments).

1980s-1990s modernisation and procedural additions

The 1987 Valuation of Land Amendment Act (Act No. 15, 1987) inserted a range of procedural provisions, including Part VA and Part VB elements later affected by more recent amendments. The 1991 and 1994 amendments clarified valuation mechanics and added special provisions such as heritage considerations (1991 amendments link to Heritage Conservation Act amendments).

1999-2014 sectoral alignment

The Residential Tenancies (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999 (assented 10 November 1999, commenced 1 March 2000) inserted cross-references to rent-determination provisions affecting annual value assumptions (ss 8A(3), 8D(3)).
The Land Title (Consequential Amendments) Act 2000 aligned change-of-title notice duties with the Registrar‑General’s information flows (s 43(4)).
The Legal Profession and Local Government amendments in 2007 and 2014 updated representation rights and made adjustments to the administrative interplay with councils (referenced in the endnotes: Legal Profession (Consequential Amendments) Act 2007; Local Government Amendment Act 2014).

2011-2019: heritage and liquor licence interactions

The Heritage Act 2011 amendments and consequential changes inserted or clarified s 10C relating to heritage place valuations (assent 15 November 2011; commenced 1 October 2012).
The Liquor Act 2019 is directly referenced in s 9(3) to include valuation of a liquor licence where its value is included in ICV (assent 3 September 2019; commenced 1 October 2019).

2023-2025: recent statutory housekeeping and structural reforms

The Statute Law Revision Act 2023 made general amendments of a formal nature to numerous sections (assent 2 March 2023).
The Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 is noted as making formal corrections to several sections.
The Lands, Planning and Environment Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (Act No. 25, 2025) is the most recent major amending Act listed in the endnotes and reprint. It produced a range of substitutions, insertions and repeals recorded across the Act:
- Introduced or amended headings and Part numbering (pt headings amended per s 76).
- Inserted or re-substituted sections such as s 7B (approved forms) and made multiple changes to Part 4 valuation provisions (see list of amendments and the table at the front of the reprint).
- Substantive repeals and replacements of previous Part VA/Part VB review material are recorded; s 48 implements transitional measures to carry forward decisions that were subject to review under the old parts (s 48(1)-(2)).
- Several sections were re-substituted or modernised and other obsolete procedural sections repealed (endnotes list many specific section substitutions, insertions and repeals effected by the 2025 amending Act).

Other amendment notes

The Act has been subject to multiple statute law revision and miscellaneous penalty adjustment Acts, notably the Penalties Amendment (Miscellaneous) Act 2013 updating penalty units. The Sentencing (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 and other Acts have created consequential adjustments to wording and penalty cross-references.

What the amendment history signals in the statute

The endnotes show ongoing adjustments to the Act’s administrative and review architecture over time, including shifting of review jurisdiction to contemporary administrative tribunals (NTCAT) and repeated housekeeping and formalisation of definitions and forms. The 2025 amending Act is the latest consolidation, and its transitional s 48 indicates that residual review matters from repealed parts were specifically preserved for review under the new scheme. Practitioners should consult both the Act and the 2025 amending legislation text for detailed changes to review pathways and which parts remain in force.

The Act’s amendment list in the endnotes is the authoritative record of legislative change in this reprint. For a matter requiring precise historical continuity or challenge, the amending statutes listed (and their commencement dates and clauses) should be examined directly alongside the reprint.

The Act as reprinted does not list reported judicial decisions or cases. The statute itself gives the administrative and review structure for valuation disputes rather than recording litigation. It does, however, specify where review rights lie and whether judicial review routes are curtailed.

Procedural and judicial pointers appearing in the text

NTCAT review: s 20A expressly confers jurisdiction on NTCAT to review a decision of the Valuer‑General under s 20 where an objection has been disallowed or allowed in part. The note to s 20A points users to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2014 for detailed procedures for applying and conducting reviews. Practitioners must therefore look to NTCAT’s published decisions under that Act for litigation history relevant to valuation reviews.
Land and Valuation Review Tribunal and finality: Part 7 establishes the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal and sets out its procedure. A statutory bar is expressed in s 31 stating that a decision of the Tribunal shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called in question in the Supreme Court on any account whatever. That is a statutory statement limiting Supreme Court challenges to Tribunal proceedings directly under the Act. The textual existence of that bar must be considered in any strategy involving judicial review, subject of course to any constitutional or superior forum doctrine that might apply but which the Act does not itself address.

What the Act records as review pathways

The Act describes an internal administrative decision by the Valuer‑General (s 20), a statutory right of review to NTCAT for Valuer‑General decisions under s 20 (s 20A), and the existence of a separate Tribunal with its own procedural provisions (Part 7). The Act’s text therefore routes valuation disputes primarily into specialised administrative tribunal forums rather than the ordinary courts.

Absence of case names in the reprint

The reprinted Act does not name any reported cases. The absence of case references in the statute is normal; the statute establishes forums and processes, and the body of litigation and administrative decisions that interpret and apply the Act will be found in NTCAT decisions, Tribunal determinations, and any Supreme Court or appellate decisions that have considered the Act in practice. Those decisions are not reproduced in the Act text and must be located in case law databases or tribunal decision archives.

For practitioners seeking precedents and interpretive guidance

Primary sources of litigation history and interpretative materials will be:
- NTCAT decisions under s 20A, recorded in NTCAT published decisions.
- Decisions of the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal (if sitting and publishing).
- Any Superior Court decisions that engage with the Act, including cases that may address whether s 31’s bar on Supreme Court challenge is absolute, although the Act makes a clear statutory statement (s 31) restricting Supreme Court interference with Tribunal decisions.
The statutory text points practitioners to these forum-specific sources rather than supplying case law.

Because the Act contains its own dispute-resolution structure and finality language, the litigation footprint will depend on how those tribunals have exercised their functions in practice. To identify relevant litigation history, search NTCAT decisions and the Land and Valuation Review Tribunal records, and verify whether any Superior Court rulings have addressed procedural bars in s 31 or other statutory provisions in the Act.

This section flags technical, timing and practical traps that arise directly from the Act’s language and structure. Each point is tied to the relevant provision and describes the concrete mechanism that generates risk or unintended consequences.

Short objection timeframe and scope limitation

Owners have 30 days from notice of valuation to lodge an objection, in an approved form, specifying one or more prescribed grounds (s 18(2)(c); s 19). The statute limits any subsequent NTCAT review to the grounds specified in that original objection (s 20A(3)). The practical consequence is that failing to identify all relevant grounds in the initial objection can foreclose consideration of additional arguments on review.

Valuer‑General valuations are deemed for other laws

Valuer‑General valuations are deemed to be the relevant UCV/ICV/annual value for purposes of any law in force in the Territory unless that law indicates a contrary intention (s 13(1)). This creates a strong cross-statutory effect: a valuation can become the operative datum across rating, taxing and other statutory schemes. The “deeming” effect means that, absent express contrary legislative language, disputing a valuation may be the only practical route to alter liabilities flowing from other Acts.

Cost allocation and timing risk for rating authorities

A rating authority may request a valuation under s 10A(1), but where valuations are made under ss 10 or 10A the cost is a debt payable by the rating authority (s 17A(1)(b)). If councils request valuations to update their rate base, they should be prepared to pay costs unless the Minister grants an exemption (s 17A(2)). The Act therefore gives rating authorities power to initiate valuation updates but requires them to internalise the immediate cost risk.

Limited penalties but civil cost recovery

Penalties for non‑cooperation and obstruction are modest (1.5 penalty units for many contraventions under ss 41-42; $40 for certain notice breaches under s 43). However, the costs of valuations are recoverable as debts (s 17A(1)), which may be more commercially significant to councils and requesting authorities than the small regulated fines for non-compliance.

Information and access powers concentrate evidential burden

The Valuer‑General may require prescribed forms and statutory declarations (s 42(3)-(4)). Section 42(2) places the onus on a respondent to prove a lawful excuse for failing to answer a question or furnish information. The combination of compulsory statutory declarations and a burden-of-proof shift may create exposure for owners who cannot promptly gather the required documents or who return forms with inadvertent inaccuracies.

Heritage valuation mechanics and obligations

While s 10C enables owners of heritage land to have valuations that ignore uses inconsistent with preservation, once a heritage valuation is made it operates for the purposes of any rating or taxing Act on the Valuer‑General’s basis (s 10C(2)). Moreover, if the land ceases to be a heritage place, the owner must notify the Valuer‑General within 28 days (s 10C(6)) with a penalty of up to 15 penalty units for failure. Owners must therefore be alert to ongoing obligations and the binding effect of heritage-adjusted valuations.

Apparent duplication and forum-selection risk

The Act establishes a Land and Valuation Review Tribunal (Part 7) and simultaneously confers jurisdiction on NTCAT to review Valuer‑General decisions under s 20 (s 20A). Parties must be careful to determine the correct forum and the scope of review available in each forum. The Act also contains a finality clause preventing Supreme Court challenge of Tribunal decisions (s 31). The transitional provisions and endnotes indicate that some older review parts were repealed and that the 2025 amendments restructured review pathways; practitioners should check the amending Act text to confirm which forum applies to particular disputes (s 48).

Valuation timing and relevance to statutory dates

Valuations under s 10 determine value as at the date the valuation is made (s 10(4)); valuations under s 10A(7) and s 10A(3) follow similar dating rules (s 10A(7) and s 10A(3)). Where a later valuation under s 10A is made for land previously governed by s 10, s 10B deems s 10 no longer to apply to that land from the date of the s 10A valuation. The practical result is that valuation dates determine which value applies to other statutory events; a valuation made after relevant facts may change the value applied to earlier statutory liabilities unless the other law provides otherwise.

Delegation mechanics and accountability

The Valuer‑General may delegate powers and duties to a valuer, but the delegation is revocable and does not prevent exercise of the power by the Valuer‑General (s 7(1)-(3)). Delegation instruments govern how delegated powers are exercised (s 7(2)). Responsibility for valuations therefore resides in an administrative architecture where the Valuer‑General controls delegation but may not be personally performing all valuations; clients and counsel should identify the delegate and the instrument of delegation when challenging a valuation.

Public inspection does not create substantive rights to alter valuations

Rating authorities and the Valuer‑General must keep valuation roll copies available for public inspection (s 40A). Public inspection rights facilitate scrutiny and information-gathering but do not alter the legal effect of a valuation or provide a separate basis to challenge a valuation beyond the objection and review paths set out in the Act.

Small fines versus practical costs

The Act’s small maximum fines for some contraventions (for example $40 under s 43) may create a compliance environment where administrative remedies and correction are more likely to be used than criminal enforcement, but the larger practical financial consequences arise from valuation outcomes and valuation costs (s 17A). Parties should therefore focus on the valuation process and timely objections rather than treating small statutory penalties as the main exposure.

Each of these “gotchas” arises from the Act’s text. They create behavioural incentives and compliance priorities that should be addressed operationally by owners, rating authorities and valuers.

This section provides practical, source-grounded steps for the main actors identified in the Act to satisfy statutory duties, preserve rights, and manage procedural risks. The steps are tied to the Act’s provisions.

For owners and lessees

Keep contact details current with the Valuer‑General and the Registrar‑General where relevant: owners must be able to receive valuation notices (s 16) and must notify changes of ownership or subdivision within 30 days using approved forms (s 43(1)-(2)). Where the Registrar‑General supplies title change information under s 205 of the Land Title Act 2000, confirm whether the s 43 notices are replaced by that data feed (s 43(4)).
Lodge objections promptly and fully: if you receive valuation notice, prepare an objection in the approved form and lodge it within 30 days specifying one or more of the prescribed grounds (s 18(2); s 19). Identify all factual and legal grounds you wish to advance because a subsequent NTCAT review is limited to the grounds specified in the original objection (s 20A(3)).
Preserve evidence on improvements and site works: when UCV or prescribed improvements are being valued, the Valuer‑General will take into account site improvements and improvements made in the preceding 15 years and will not value such improvements above their cost at the valuation date (s 12(1)-(2)). Keep invoices, plans, consents and cost records for the preceding 15 years.
Co-operate with information requests and statutory declarations: if served with a prescribed form under s 42(3), complete and return it within the time specified and be ready to verify its contents by statutory declaration if required (s 42(4)). Failing to answer or provide information without lawful excuse can attract penalties and the burden of proving excuse rests on the respondent (s 42(2); s 42(5)).

For rating authorities and councils

Use s 10A strategically but budget for costs: councils may request valuations of ICV, UCV or annual value under s 10A(1)-(3). Be aware that valuations made under ss 10 or 10A become debts payable by the rating authority (s 17A(1)(b)). Consider whether to seek Ministerial exemption from costs under s 17A(2) or to factor valuation costs into rate-setting.
Ensure public access to the roll and maintain copies: the Act requires rating authorities to keep a copy of the latest valuation roll at their offices for inspection (s 40A). Ensure the roll copy is current, accessible during office hours and that staff can provide certified copies if requested under s 40(1).
Coordinate with Valuer‑General on data flows: the Valuer‑General must furnish copies of valuation rolls and variations to rating authorities (s 15(4)-(6)). Set up administrative protocols to receive, integrate and use these valuations in rate assessment and statutory reporting.

For valuers and valuation bodies

Confirm standing under ministerial determinations: valuers must be members of a valuation body or possess a valuation qualification as determined by the Minister to be a valuer for the purposes of this Act (s 4; s 7A). Check whether your professional association is named as a valuation body and whether your qualification is listed as a valuation qualification.
Follow statutory valuation assumptions: when performing valuations, follow the assumptions in ss 8-9 and 8B-8D. For annual value, assume no rent determination under Residential Tenancies Act s 43 applies (ss 8A(3), 8D(3)). For UCV, apply the statutory assumption that land may be used or continued to be used for any purpose it could be used at the valuation date (s 9(2)).

For the Valuer‑General’s office and contractors

Use approved forms and keep records: make and use approved forms (s 7B) consistently for notices (s 16), objections (s 18(2)(a)), and information requests (s 42(3)). Maintain auditable records of valuations, notices, delegation instruments, and corrections (s 15A).
Manage delegation instruments and accountability: when delegating under s 7, ensure instruments state the scope and conditions of delegation and that delegations are recorded and revocable, as the Act requires (s 7(1)-(3)). Provide clear lines for appeals and record the identity of the delegate who made a given valuation.
Publish and provide valuation rolls to rating authorities: comply with statutory timelines to furnish valuation roll copies to rating authorities after making valuations and after variations under Parts 4 and 5 (s 15(4)-(6)). Keep the roll accessible in office hours for public inspection (s 40A).
Use information powers carefully: if serving prescribed forms and requiring statutory declarations under s 42, set reasonable return periods and ensure compliance processes are transparent to reduce disputes. Use the 15-year lookback for improvements valuation under s 12(1) consistently and maintain cost evidence for the ceiling in s 12(2).

For lawyers and advisers

File objections precisely: draft objections in approved form within 30 days and list all grounds you intend to pursue because s 20A(3) limits review questions to grounds in the initial objection.
Prepare for NTCAT procedure: when a Valuer‑General decision is disallowed or partially allowed, prepare to apply to NTCAT (s 20A(2)) and follow NTCAT Act procedures. Be precise about the temporal value being questioned because valuations are dated as at the date made (s 10(4); s 10A(7)).
Check cross-statutory consequences: because valuations are deemed for other laws unless another Act indicates contrary intention (s 13(1)), check how the valuation will feed into rates, taxes and other statutory charges and advise clients on the integrated regulatory effect.

Compliance checklist (actionable items)

Verify whether you are an owner, lessee, rating authority, valuer or ministerial appointee under the Act (s 4; s 5; s 7A).
Keep registered contact and postal addresses current; expect notices by post or Gazette if the Valuer‑General does not know an address (s 44).
For owners: on receipt of a valuation notice act within 30 days to object using the approved form and specify grounds (ss 16, 18(2)); keep records for improvements up to 15 years (s 12(1)).
For rating authorities: when requesting a valuation, ensure budget lines for the valuation cost are in place and consider seeking Ministerial exemption if appropriate (s 10A; s 17A).
For all: maintain documentary evidence for valuations, return prescribed forms promptly, and comply with statutory declaration requirements where asked (s 42(3)-(4)).

These steps follow directly from the Act’s text and reduce exposure to the timing, scope and evidentiary constraints the Act imposes.

Valuation of Land Act 1963

Plain English Summary

Deep Dive

What it does

Current sections

Valuation of Land Act 1963

Source text: opening excerpt

1 Valuation of Land Act 1963

Main concepts

Who it affects

Key duties and rights

Penalties and enforcement

How it interacts with other laws

Amendment history

Litigation history

Gotchas

How to comply