Crown Lands (Shack Sites) Act 1997

Crown Lands (Shack Sites) Act 1997

This Act may be cited as the Crown Lands (Shack Sites) Act 1997.

This Act commences on the day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – administrative costs, in relation to a shack site, means the costs of carrying out an assessment and making a determination for the shack site under Part 2 and of implementing that determination under Part 5, including the costs, if any, of surveying or valuing the shack site or any related infrastructure land; appeal period means the 28 day period specified in section 11(2); commencement day means the day on which this Act commences;Commissioner means the Shack Sites Commissioner appointed under section 8; contravention includes failure to comply; conversion period means the period commencing on the commencement day and ending at midnight on 20 November 2002 or, if a later date is prescribed, at midnight on that later date;Crown land means Crown land within the meaning of the Crown Lands Act 1976; dedicated Crown land means Crown land that by virtue of an enactment is under the exclusive or primary control or management of a particular State instrumentality other than the responsible Department in relation to the Crown Lands Act 1976;Fund means the Crown Lands Administration Fund established under Part VIA of the Crown Lands Act 1976; infrastructure includes – roads; and waste water treatment facilities such as reticulation pipes, rising mains, treatment plant and disposal areas; and stormwater facilities; and mains power supply;Parks Minister means the Minister responsible for the administration of the National Parks and Reserves Management Act 2002;Portfolio Minister, in relation to any dedicated Crown land, means the Minister responsible for the State instrumentality that has the exclusive or primary responsibility for controlling or managing that land;Register means the register of title referred to in section 33 of the Land Titles Act 1980; rehabilitation, in relation to a shack site, means rehabilitation of the shack site both above and below ground; related infrastructure land, in relation to a shack site, means land required for the purposes of providing access and services to the shack site or providing related infrastructure or for any other purpose, as fixed by survey under section 4(2)(b); responsible council, in relation to a shack site, means the council of the municipal area in which the shack site is situated;Secretary means Secretary of the Department; shack means a dwelling that is erected on land under a lease or licence, from the Crown or a State instrumentality, expressed to be for shack purposes and includes any related lawfully erected structures or dismountable improvements, other than jetties, boatsheds and slipways; shack site means the Crown land on which a shack is erected; shack site covenant means a positive or negative covenant recorded on the folio of the Register for land comprising a shack site pursuant to section 33; shack site determination means a determination of the Secretary made under section 4(1);State Coastal Policy means a policy of that name prepared and made under Part 2 of the State Policies and Projects Act 1993;State instrumentality means either of the following:a Government department within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000; a State authority within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000; waste water includes sewage and grey water, whether treated or untreated.

For the purposes of this Act, 2 parcels of land are taken to adjoin each other only if they have a common boundary.

Before the end of the conversion period, the Secretary must carry out an assessment of each shack site to which this Act applies and make one of the following determinations:that the existing lease or licence for the shack site should be replaced with a long-term lease; that the shack on the shack site should be removed and the land revert to the use of the Crown; that the shack site should be sold to the existing lessee or licensee.

The Secretary may do either or both of the following if the Secretary thinks it necessary or appropriate to do so for the purposes of making the determination:fix by survey which land constitutes the shack site; fix by survey which other land, if any, will be required for the purposes of providing access and services to the shack site or providing related infrastructure or for any other purpose.

The Secretary must serve written notice of the determination on – the lessee or licensee of the shack site; and each person holding an estate in fee simple, or an equity of redemption, in land adjoining the shack site and each person who is a lessee or licensee of an adjoining shack site; and the responsible council.

The notice must also explain that there is a right of appeal in respect of the determination and specify the time and procedure for lodging an appeal.

The notice must clearly identify the shack site and, as far as practicable, any related infrastructure land.

The Minister must issue criteria to be applied by the Secretary in making shack site determinations.

The criteria so issued may be referred to as conversion criteria.

In formulating the conversion criteria, the Minister – must have regard to the State Coastal Policy and the objectives of the Resource Management and Planning System set out in Schedule 1 to the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993; and may – have regard to such other policies and to such enactments and other matters as the Minister thinks fit; and seek and have regard to such advice as the Minister thinks fit.

If the conversion criteria issued by the Minister have the same content as the model conversion criteria set out in Schedule 2A, the conversion criteria so issued are to be taken for all purposes as having been validly formulated under this section.

For the purposes of subsection (4), 2 documents may be taken to have the same content despite – the absence, from one document, of a heading, introduction or note appearing in the other document; or any variation between them in punctuation or spelling; or minor variations between them in style or layout.

In carrying out an assessment and making a determination under section 4, the Secretary – must have regard to the conversion criteria; and must consult with the lessee or licensee of the shack site; and must, if the shack site is on dedicated Crown land, consult with the Portfolio Minister; and must consult with the responsible council; and must consult with the Aboriginal community of Tasmania through the Office of Aboriginal Affairs; and may consult with such of the following as the Secretary considers appropriate in the circumstances:the Recorder of Titles; the Surveyor-General; the Director of National Parks and Wildlife; and may have regard to – the State Coastal Policy or any other policy that the Secretary considers relevant in the circumstances; and any enactments, planning schemes or other matters that the Secretary considers relevant in the circumstances.

The Secretary must not make a determination under section 4(1)(a) or (c) in respect of a shack site unless the Secretary is satisfied that – waste water from the site can be effectively treated or disposed of; and the granting of a long-term lease for the shack site, or its sale, will not eliminate or restrict reasonable public access to, and use of, coastal foreshore or lake or river frontage.

When the Secretary makes a determination in relation to a shack site under section 4(1)(a) or (c), the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, Part 3 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 and the State Coastal Policy cease to apply to that shack site and to any related infrastructure land, as identified in the notice under section 4(3), until – for a section 4(1)(a) determination, whichever of the following first occurs:the replacement lease for the shack site is issued; a folio of the Register for the shack site is created; the conversion period expires; or for a section 4(1)(c) determination, whichever of the following first occurs:a folio of the Register for the shack site is created; the conversion period expires.

This section has effect notwithstanding any other enactment.

The Governor may appoint a person to be the Shack Sites Commissioner for a period not exceeding 3 years and on any terms and conditions the Governor determines.

The Governor may extend a person's appointment as Shack Sites Commissioner for one further period not exceeding 3 years.

A person appointed as the Commissioner may hold that office in conjunction with – State Service employment; or any statutory office.

A person appointed as the Commissioner may vacate, or be removed from, office in accordance with Schedule 1.

The Minister may appoint a person to act as Commissioner for a period not exceeding 6 months if there is no Commissioner or the Commissioner is unable to perform the duties of the office of Commissioner because of illness or absence or conflict of interest.

The function of the Commissioner is to hear and determine appeals under Part 4.

The Commissioner must also perform any prescribed functions.

The Commissioner has the following powers:

to determine the procedures to be followed in any appeal;

to do all things necessary or convenient to perform the function of the Commissioner.

When the Secretary makes a determination in respect of a shack site under section 4(1), any or all of the following parties may appeal against the determination in accordance with this Part:the person who is the lessee or licensee of the shack site; a person who holds an estate in fee simple, or an equity of redemption, in adjoining land or a person who is the lessee or licensee of an adjoining shack site; the responsible council.

A person's appeal is to be lodged with the Commissioner within 28 days of the day on which notice of the determination is served on the person.

The Commissioner may accept a late appeal from a person, other than a council, if satisfied that the appeal was unable to be lodged within the appeal period – by reason of the absence from the State or serious illness of the person; or for any other reasonable cause.

An appeal lies only in respect of the kind of determination made and not in respect of – any procedure, consideration or other matter relating to that determination; or any associated action taken under section 4(2).

Except as provided by subsection (1), no appeal lies against a shack site determination.