Closer Settlement Act 1957

Closer Settlement Act 1957

This Act may be cited as the Closer Settlement Act 1957.

The Acts specified in Schedule 1 to this Act are repealed.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

Crown land has the same meaning as in the Crown Lands Act 1976;

eligible person means a natural person not incapable of taking a lease under Part V;

Financial Agreement means the agreement made between the Commonwealth and the States and ratified by the Financial Agreement Act 1927, and includes that agreement as varied from time to time and any agreement made in substitution therefor;

holding means a defined area of land leased subject to Part V or intended by TDR to be so leased;

lessee means the grantee of a lease subject to Part V and includes any person in occupation of a holding by virtue of such a lease;

rural land means land not within a city or town;

TDR means Tasmania Development and Resources.

TDR may, with the consent of the Minister, purchase any land that is, in its opinion, suitable for the purposes of this Act.

Where any person offers to sell land to TDR for the purposes of this Act his offer shall remain open for not less than two months from the date thereof and may be accepted by TDR at any time within that period.

TDR is liable to pay rates and taxes levied by any local authority or any body of a public or semi-public nature constituted under statutory authority in respect of lands vested in it and not leased under Part V, if the lands are worked for profit by or on behalf of TDR.

Except as provided in subsection (1) TDR is not liable to any rate or tax levied by a local authority or body of a public or semi-public nature constituted under statutory authority other than a rate or tax for a service actually rendered or supplied by the local authority or body.

TDR may, subject to this Act and to any direction of the Minister, do all such acts and things as may appear to it to be just and equitable and either necessary or convenient for settling eligible persons on the land and enabling them to become independent land owners.

Where TDR is of opinion that any lands held by it are not required for the purposes of this Act, it may with the consent of the Minister sell or surrender those lands.

Where TDR is of opinion that any lands held by it are required for the purposes of this Act, but not immediately, it may with the consent of the Minister let them for terms of not more than 10 years subject to conditions that will preserve them for any purpose for which they might be used under this Act.

Lands shall be sold under this Part as if TDR were a trustee for sale thereof.

A person is incapable of taking a lease under this Part if – he is under the age of 18 years; or he and his spouse or partner jointly or severally, or either of them, hold or holds in their or his own right rural land which in the opinion of TDR provides, or is sufficient to provide, a reasonable living for him and his family when farmed in a good and husbandlike manner.

A person is not capable of taking a lease under this Part if he or his spouse or partner is the holder of another lease under this Part unless TDR is satisfied that the land subject to the other lease is insufficient to provide a reasonable living for that person and his family.

For the purposes of this section – if a person holds land jointly with another person not his spouse or partner he shall be regarded as the holder in severalty of such proportion of the land so held as represents his personal interest therein; the holder of a lease for a term of not less than 3 years still to run shall be regarded as the holder of the land subject thereto; and a proprietary company shall be regarded as an unincorporated partnership.

For the purposes of this section,partner means the person with whom a person is in a personal relationship, within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003.

An eligible person may apply as prescribed to TDR for registration as an applicant for settlement under this Part – generally; or in a particular area.

With every application under this section the prescribed fee shall be lodged.

Where TDR receives an application under this section it shall, after ascertaining that the applicant is an eligible person and that he has sufficient experience and is otherwise likely to be a successful settler, register him as an applicant for settlement.

Subject to this section, as holdings become available for occupation TDR shall offer them each to a registered applicant for settlement, other than one who has applied for settlement in a different area, on a development lease in accordance with section 28.

Where the number of applicants to whom the available holdings may be offered exceeds the number of those holdings, the offering of the holdings among the applicants shall, in default of agreement between the applicants, be by ballot at such time, in such manner, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed.

TDR may, in lieu of offering a development lease as provided in subsection (1), offer a settlement lease as provided in section 29.