NSW Western Division: 355 farmers convert their leases to freeholdings

NSW Western Division leaseholders have taken up the chance to convert 1.6 million hectares to freehold titles.

Most of the leaseholders who have converted their properties to freehold are on the eastern and southern fringes of the massive Western Division, where it meets the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Darling (pictured) and Barwon Rivers.

A total of 355 family and corporate farmers across NSW’s Western Division have converted 1.6 million hectares of their crown land leases into freehold titles, according to the state’s Department of Planning and Environment.

Legislation enacted in 2018 granted leaseholders whose land is mainly used for primary production and has or could be cultivated the right to own it outright for 3 per cent of its unimproved capital value.

A NSW DPIE spokesman said just how much had been paid to the government is unknown, with a departmental spokesman saying “this information can’t be disclosed due to the Privacy Act”.

Western Lands Advisory Council chairman Geoff Wise said most of the conversions were mainly on the eastern and southern fringes of the massive Western Division, where it meets the western rivers: the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Darling and Barwon.

Mr Wise said that while 1.6 million hectares might sound a lot, it still only represented about 5 per cent of the 32 million-hectare Western Division covering 42 per cent of NSW.

While most banks accept the perpetual leases over the Western Division as security on loans, Mr Wise said there were advantages in gaining freehold title, especially when negotiating with potential investors, renewable energy project proponents and mining companies.

He said any leaseholder wishing to negotiate with a solar farm developer or mineral sands company, faced restrictions and would have to negotiate with the government as a third party.

Mr Wise said the rules currently restricted regional development on leaseholdings more than 30km from towns, which acted as an incentive to those who could convert their leases to freehold.

However not all leaseholders can convert to freehold.

Under the conversion regulations, only leased land that falls within the top four of the state’s eight land and soil capability classifications can be converted to freehold, while those with class five and six will have to gain government approval.

Land in classes seven and eight must remain with the Crown.

Class one represents land capable of sustaining most land uses including those that have a high impact on the soil (including regular cultivation), while class eight represents land that can only sustain very low impact land uses such as nature conservation.

“We’re trying to seek amendments to the Crown Land Act to allow regional development for leaseholders more than 30km from towns,” Mr Wise said.

Western Division leases were originally granted at the start of last century to ensure the government maintained ownership and control of some of the state’s most fragile landscapes.

But after years of consultation and reviews dating back to 2000, the Crown Land Management Act 2016 and consequent 2017 regulations were enacted in 2018 to allow conversions.