Pastoral Land Act 1992

(1) Without limiting the power of the Minister to impose such other conditions as the Minister thinks fit on the granting of a pastoral lease, a pastoral lease is subject to the following conditions and reservations:

(a reservation of a right of entry and inspection is to be read as a reservation of a right in favour of the Minister or a member of the Board, or a person authorised in writing by the Minister or the Board, at all reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, to enter on the leased land or any part of it (other than a homestead) and to inspect the leased lands and any improvements, stock and pasture on the land);

(a reservation of minerals is to be read as a reservation to the Territory of all minerals and extractive minerals, within the meaning of the Mineral Titles Act 2010, and all petroleum, within the meaning of the Petroleum Act 1984);

(d) that, subject to section 88, the lessee will use the land only for pastoral purposes;

(e) that the lessee, having paid all rent due and payable by the lessee, may at any time, in the prescribed manner, surrender the lease;

(f) that the lease (except a perpetual pastoral lease) is liable to forfeiture if the rent or any part of that rent is unpaid for 12 months or more;

(g) that the lease (except a perpetual pastoral lease) is, subject to this Act, liable to forfeiture for non-compliance by the lessee with a condition of the lease;

(h) that the lessee will not clear pastoral land unless the lessee is granted a clearing permit or the clearing is permitted under section 91D;

(j) that the lessee will comply with the requirements of or under all laws of the Territory relating to the use and maintenance of the land the subject of the lease;

(a reservation of all timber is to be read as including all timber trees and all trees producing bark, resin or valuable substances, together with the right to authorise a person to enter on the land and to cut or fell any timber or timber trees, or trees producing bark, resin or valuable substances and to take away any timber, wood, bark, resin or such valuable substances, and to do all things necessary or convenient for those purposes);

(m) that the lessee will not without the consent of the Minister take any timber trees or parts of trees or stone, sand or gravel on the leased land except for use on or in connection with the land;

(n) a reservation in favour of the Aboriginal inhabitants of the Territory.

(2) In a pastoral lease, a reservation in favour of the Aboriginal inhabitants of the Territory is to be read as a reservation permitting those Aboriginal persons:

(b) who ordinarily reside on an area of land that at any time after 1 January 1979 was within the boundaries of the land that then comprised the leased land and which area of land has since that date been excised from the leased land as a living area or part of a living area for those Aboriginal persons; or

(c) who, by Aboriginal tradition, are entitled to use or occupy the leased land;

subject to subsection (3):

(e) notwithstanding any other law of the Territory, to take and use the water from the natural waters and springs on the leased land; and

(i) to take or kill for food or for ceremonial purposes animals ferae naturae; and

(ii) to take for food or for ceremonial purposes vegetable matter growing naturally;

on the leased land;

but not permitting:

(g) the Aboriginal persons referred to in paragraph (a) to erect or use a structure on the leased land that would serve as a permanent shelter for human occupation, other than at the place on the leased land where they ordinarily reside; or

(h) the Aboriginal persons referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) to erect or use such a structure on the leased land.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a reservation in a pastoral lease in favour of the Aboriginal inhabitants of the Territory does not apply to a part of the leased land within 2 kilometres of a homestead.

(4) Where an Aboriginal person was, or a group of Aboriginal persons were, at the commencement of the Aboriginal Land Act 1978, residing within 2 kilometres of a homestead and was or were entitled to use educational, medical or other facilities provided for their use within that area, the Aboriginal person or group of Aboriginal persons may reside within 2 kilometres of the homestead and use the educational, medical and other facilities provided for them until the Aboriginal person or group of Aboriginal persons ceases to reside permanently within 2 kilometres of the homestead or until adequate facilities of a similar nature are provided on another site, whether or not on the leased land, being a site suitable to the Aboriginal person or group of Aboriginal persons.

(5) A person commits an offence if the person interferes with the full and free exercise by Aboriginal persons of rights reserved in favour of those persons under a pastoral lease.

Maximum penalty: 60 penalty units

(6) An offence against subsection (5) is an offence of strict liability.

(7) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (5) if the defendant has a reasonable excuse.

(8) Without limiting subsection (7), it is a reasonable excuse if the conduct forming the basis of the alleged offence entailed reasonable acts taken by, or on behalf of, a lessee, or another person having an interest in the lease, to ensure the proper management of the lease for the purposes for which it was granted.