Pastoral Lands Board

Under the LAA, annual pastoral lease rent is, “the amount, as determined by the Valuer-General, of ground rent that the land might reasonably be expected to realise in good condition, for a long-term lease for pastoral purposes under which all normal outgoings are paid by the lessee."

The Valuer-General determines rents based on accepted valuation practice.  This is achieved by analysing sales of pastoral leases and deducting the value of any improvements to determine the unimproved land value. A capitalisation rate is then applied to the unimproved value to derive a rental value.

Being based on analysis of sales of pastoral leases in the market place, the assessments reflect the impact of any drought, industry economics and other factors that were considered by the parties to the sale transaction.

Only pastoral lease sales which are considered to represent “fair market” transactions are used in determining what is termed ‘market unimproved value’. These sales are analysed by distributing the sale price between livestock, plant and equipment, house and buildings, waters, fencing, any other improvements and the unimproved land value. This unimproved value evidence provides the basis for determining a separate unimproved value for each lease. The final market unimproved value considers a number of factors relevant to the pastoral enterprise such as potential carrying capacity (PCC), land system productivity, location, access, rainfall reliability, water supply, size, and environmental issues.

The Valuer-General also consults with the PLB in relation to the economic state of the pastoral industry.

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage will advise of the rent payable for your pastoral lease, as determined by the Valuer General, in due course. As per usual process, your invoice will be issued in July, with payment due prior to 1 September 2019.

Under the LAA, the Valuer-General is required to consult with the PLB in relation to the economic state of the pastoral industry, in determining pastoral lease rents. This is a legislated requirement which involves continued liaison between the Valuer-General and the PLB over the course of the review process.

The Valuer-General will determine pastoral lease rents that apply from 1 July 2019.  Pastoralists will receive a letter in early July 2019 from the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage advising them of their revised annual lease rent, followed by their lease rent invoice by mid-July 2019 for half the annual rent. Payment of this invoice will be due by 1 September 2019. A second invoice for the remaining half will be issued on 1 March 2020. 

Under the LAA and VLA, any person liable to pay a pastoral rent has the right to:

1. object to the rental value
2. seek a review by the State Administrative Tribunal, if dissatisfied with the outcome of an objection

Objections

Formal objections must be lodged within 60 days from the issue of a rent notice. While the Valuer-General may accept objections outside this period, it is more likely the matter will then be treated as an informal query without a right of review.

The Valuer-General may grant an extension of time in which to lodge a valid objection, however the onus is on the objecting party to establish reasonable cause for such an extension to be granted.

Objections must be made in writing to the Valuer-General and include sufficient information to identify the property. For the objection to be valid, this must include:

• the name of the station and pastoral lease number(s) or Crown Land title details
• The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage invoice number on the rent notice
• Confirmation that the objection relates to the pastoral lease rent determination
• detailed reasons and evidence in support of the grounds for objection
• details of the objector’s name, postal address and telephone number

Once an objection is received and accepted, the Valuer-General may seek to arrange an inspection of the property. A response, including the decision to allow or disallow the objection, will be provided in writing.
An Objection to Valuation form, including additional information, is available from Landgate Valuation Services or via the Landgate website. 

Seek a review

If you lodge an objection and are dissatisfied with the Valuer-General’s decision, you may have the decision reviewed by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). A request to have the decision referred to the SAT must be served on the Valuer-General within 60 days of the service of the Valuer-General’s decision on the objection, or such further period as the Valuer-General may allow.
 

Financial counselling and concessional loans

If you are a pastoralist experiencing financial difficulty, the Rural Financial Counselling Service WA may be able to help. Visit https://rfcswa.com.au/about/rfcs/, email admin@rfcswa.com.au or call 1800 612 004.

The Regional Investment Corporation provides concessional loans (currently up to $2 million at a variable interest rate of 3.58 per cent) to eligible pastoralists who are in need of financial help. Visit www.ric.gov.au/farmers, email info@ric.gov.au or call 1800 875 675.

Additional support services

• Western Australia’s rural health, financial & information support directory
• The Regional Men’s Health Initiative: visit https://regionalmenshealth.org.au/, email menshealth@4blokes.com.au or call (08) 9690 2277.
• Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Farm Debt Mediation Scheme: visit https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/grains/farm-debt-mediation-wa-scheme, email rbdu.loans@agric.wa.gov.au or call 1800 198 231.

If you have any questions, please email LeaseManagement@dplh.wa.gov.au, or email Receivables@dplh.wa.gov.au for any queries on your pastoral lease rent invoice.

For further information about the pastoral lease rent review please refer to the Landgate website. 

2020 meetings

At the request of the Minister for Lands the PLB has recently concluded a series of consultation workshops. Information gathered from the pastoral industry during these workshops has informed the PLB's advice to the Ministers for Lands and Agriculture in the paper Priorities for Strengthening the Economic Viability and Ecological Management of the Pastoral Estate. 

The recommendations made by the PLB include:

• creating a strategic vision for the pastoral industry
• improving security of land tenure for pastoralists
• introducing a risk based approach to assessing applications for diversified economic activity on pastoral leases
• introducing a new optional lease type which would enable more diverse activity on pastoral leases
• developing a land condition monitoring system that assists the State Government as land owner and pastoralists as land managers, to acquit their respective responsibilities
• developing a program to assist Aboriginal pastoralists to better realise opportunities for economic, environmental and social benefits.

Pastoral Lands Board streamlines pastoral agistment process

McGowan Government moves ahead with Pastoral Lands Reform

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