RURAL
STATUTORY CONTROLS - SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The
following are a summary of those controls which can affect non urban
land values in South Australia.
COUNCIL
RATES ON PRIMARY PRODUCTION
Local
councils often adopt a different rate for rural land. Part XII of the
Local Government Act, 1934 provides that a differential rating can be
declared by reference to the use of the land or whether the land is
situated within or outside a township. Usually, local councils with a
council area which contains a large amount of non urban land will
adopt the land value option under- Division 3 of Part XII.
FENCES
The
valuer should be aware of the following:
- Boundary fences
which front government or local council land must be fully paid for and
maintained by the landowner. On the other hand, the cost of fences
adjoining private lands are shared with the adjoining owner.
- “Give and take"
fences. There is often an implied agreement between owners that fences
along an irregular boundary such as a watercourse are on a "give and
take" basis and therefore, do not follow the property's boundary. The
agreed boundary has legal status.
- Map watercourse
boundaries may change over time according to the law of riparian
rights. Such an owner is known as a riparian owner.
- Fences are
often repaired over and over again for taxation purposes, rather than
replaced.
- The Fences Act,
1975 (SA)applies to non urban fences as well as urban fences
- The Dog Fence
Act, 1946 (SA) provides for the establishment and maintenance of the
dog proof fence in the pastoral zone of the state. The landowner over
whose property the dog fence runs, must maintain and take all
reasonable steps to destroy all wild dogs in the immediate area of the
fence. The Dog Fence Board will pay the owner an amount per kilometre
of fence for maintenance. That rate is determined by the Board for that
year.
POWER
LINES (HIGH TENSION LINE EASEMENTS)
The
appropriate act is the Electricity Trust of SA Act Amendment Act,
1987. Power lines which run across a non urban property must be kept
clear of "naturally occurring" vegetation by the Trust. All
other vegetation must be cleared by the landowner. The trust may have
power to remove vegetation near a public supply line. The landowner
cannot erect buildings near the line.
CONSENT
FOR DEVELOPMENT AND SUBDIVISION
These
local government controls are the same as for urban landowners. The
rural landowner must apply to the local council for permission to
subdivide and develop the land. However, there are more stringent
controls on land use where the land is within a waterboard catchment
area.
EXAMPLE
For
example, the Hills Face Zone near Adelaide. In this situation there
may be drastic controls on land uses. A development application must
be completed and lodged in accordance with the Planning Act, 1982.
MINING
The
undertaking of certain mining operations requires that a development
application be lodged. A landowner must apply for permission to mine
minerals on the landowner's own land. This is done by applying for a
licence to prospect, pegging a claim and lastly, applying for a
mining lease.
A
mining operator must notify a landowner of his intention to enter the
land and to carry out mining operations. The landowner is entitled to
receive compensation for any financial loss, hardship and
inconvenience suffered by him as a consequence of the mining
operation - The Mining Act, s61. Certain restrictions are placed on
prospectors and mining companies' operations adjacent to buildings,
watering points and land under cultivation.
Certain
mining operations constitute development under the Planning Act, 1982
and in such a case a DA is required to be lodged with local council.
These controls also apply to quarrying.
FRINGE
BENEFIT TAX
There
is a concession for "remote area housing". The Federal
Government
sets a statutory annual rental for remote area housing - Fringe
Benefits Tax Assessment Act, 1986. "Remote area housing" is
defined under a complicated definition in the act. There are no
concessions to the primary producer for Capital Gains Tax.
AGRICULTURAL
TENANTS AND SHAREFARMERS
Agricultural
tenants and sharefarmers have specific legal rights under the
Agricultural Holdings Act, 1891. The Act only applies to land not the
subject of a crown lease or any tenancy under a lease for a term of
not more than 21 years at a fixed rent. The tenant has a general
right to
compensation
for improvements he/she made on the holding upon quitting the holding
at the termination of the tenancy - s6.
The
tenant must give the landlord notice of his/her intention to make the
improvements not more than 3 months nor less than 2 months before
beginning to execute the improvements. A tenant has a right of sale
of his/her holding but he/her must give notice to the landlord of
this intention. The tenant cannot subdivide the holding except with
the
consent
of the landlord. The landlord has the right to elect to purchase the
tenancy for the consideration agreed to be paid by a proposed
purchaser.
NATIVE
ANIMALS
Native
animals and protected animals with some exceptions. The exceptions
include crows and dingos. The controlling Act is the National Parks
and Wildlife Act, 1972. "Controlled animals" cannot be
released from captivity or control otherwise than by permit.
NATIVE
PLANTS
Native
and protected plants are protected under the National Parks and
Wildlife Act, 1972. The Native Vegetation Management Act, 1985
regulates the clearance of native vegetation and makes it an offence
to clear native vegetation contrary to the Act. Native vegetation
refers to plant or plants of a species indigenous to SA. The
definition of "clearance" is broad and includes:
- The killing or
destruction of native vegetation
- The removal of
native vegetation
- The severing of
branches, limbs, stems or trunks or native vegetation.
- Any other
substantial damage to native vegetation.
Exemptions
include:
- Where the
clearance is solely for the purposes of providing fencing material or
firewood for use (for a period not exceeding 2 years from the date of
clearance) by the owner of the holding on which the vegetation was
situated and the nature of the clearance is reasonable.
- Where the
clearance is solely for the purpose of establishing or maintaining
fences, firebreaks or tracks and the nature and extent of the clearance
is reasonable.
- By grazing of
domestic stock at a rate that does not exceed the average of which
stock of that species had grazed the land in the previous 5 years.
- If the
vegetation was sown or planted by man
- Where the
clearance is incidental to exploratory or mining operations authorized
under the Mining Act, 1971 or the Petroleum Act, 1940.
- Where the land
on which the vegetation is situated was used for cultivation or pasture
within 5 years immediately before the proposed clearance occurs.
- The clearance
is necessary to maintain the land so that it can continue to be used
for either cultivation or pasture to the extent to which it had been
used for those purposes within the immediate preceding 5 years.
- The vegetation
has a stem diameter at ground level of 150mm or less
- The vegetation
is of the genus Xanthorrhoea.
- The clearance
is incidental to the lawful construction of a dam that will be used for
primary production.
- The vegetation
to be cleared comprises trees with a stem diameter at ground level of
over 150mm.
- The land on
which the vegetation is situated has been cleared of all other native
vegetation and has been maintained during the immediately preceding 5
years for cultivation or pasture.
- Where the
vegetation is situated within 20m of a dwelling (except in a number of
sections in the Hundred of Waterhouse and within the Town of Robe).
The
Native Vegetation Management Act, 1985 also establishes the Native
Vegetation Authority to which application must be made for the
clearance of native vegetation if the clearance does not fall within
any of the exceptions above. If the authority refuses consent the
landowner may be entitled to a payment by the minister for
compensation after he has entered into a Heritage Agreement over the
land not cleared.
NOXIOUS
PLANTS
Every
occupier of private land must take reasonable and effective measures
to eradicate proclaimed noxious plants from the land. A Pest Control
Board is responsible for the destruction of pest plants on all lands
owned by the Board and on all public roads within its control areas.
NOXIOUS
INSECTS
There
is a duty on every council to take all prescribed steps for the
destruction and suppression of noxious insects within the area under
the Noxious Insects Act, 1934.
WATER
RIGHTS
The
Water Resources Act, 1991 provides for the assessment,
conservation
and development of the water resources of SA particularly,
"watercourses". A "watercourse" is defined to
include an river, stream, creek or channel in which water is
contained or flows whether permanently, intermittently or
occasionally.
It
also provides for proclaimed watercourses. The E and WS Department
can advise the valuer whether or not a particular watercourse is a
proclaimed watercourse.
Amongst
other watercourses the River Murray is a proclaimed watercourse. S26
provides that it is an offence to divert or take water from a
proclaimed watercourse however, the owner of any land upon or
adjacent to a proclaimed watercourse has the right to divert to take,
without charge, water from that watercourse for the use of himself,
his family and employees for domestic purposes and for providing
drinking water for grazing stock on that land.
A
person may apply for a licence to divert or take water from a
proclaimed watercourse. Such a licence can be sought and obtained
from the E and WS Department. A licence will provide for, amongst
other things, the amount of water which may be diverted or take. The
amount may be reduced by the minister by notice in the gazette.
It
is an offence to carry out any works on land upon or adjacent to
which passes any proclaimed watercourse, without a permit in the
prescribed form. In respect of watercourses which are not proclaimed
watercourses s635 of the Local Government Act, 1934 makes it an
offence to, without permit, deposit anything in a watercourse,
obstruct a watercourse or do anything that might result in the
obstruction of a watercourse, alter the course of a watercourse or
remove rock, sand or soil from the bed or banks of a watercourse.
Pursuant
to s636 of the LGA, a council may give notice to a landowner to
undertake specified work for the purposes of removing obstructions
from the watercourse, making good damage to the watercourse or
otherwise maintaining the watercourse in good condition. It is an
offence not to comply with such a notice.
BUSHFIRES
AND NATURAL DISASTERS
The
rights and responsibilities of the landowner come under the Country
Fires Act, 1976 and the State Disaster Act, 1980.
SHEARERS
ACCOMMODATION
The
Shearers Accommodation Act, 1971 sets minimum standards for shearers'
accommodation which must be observed when 4 or more shearers (other
than family members) are employed in or about a shearing shed.
CONTROLS
ON PRODUCE
The
extent of legal controls is shown by the following list of Acts which
directly and indirectly control and affect farm produce:
- The Seeds Act
1979
- Fruit and Plant
Protection Act, 1968
- Fruit Fly Act,
1947
- Agricultural
Chemicals Act, 1955
- Stock Medicines
Act, 1959
- Stock Foods
Act, 1941
- Chaff and Hay
Act, 1922
- Local
Government Act, Impounding Act, 1920; Wrongs Act - stray animals.
- Dog Control
Act, 1979
- Federal
Pastoral Industry Award - payment of a dog allowance to an employee.
- Branding of
Pigs Act, 1964
- Brands Act, 1933
- Apiaries Act,
1931
- Pastoral Act -
travelling stock
- Stock
Diseases Act, 1934
- Swine
Compensation Act, 1936
- Cattle
Compensation Act, 1939
- Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1985
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