Valuation of Land Act 2001

Valuation of Land Act 2001

This Act may be cited as the Valuation of Land Act 2001.

Section 65 commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

The remaining provisions of this Act commence on a day to be proclaimed.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

adjustment factor means an adjustment factor determined by the Valuer-General under Part 9A;

Agency has the same meaning as in the State Service Act 2000;

approved form means a form approved by the Valuer-General for the purposes of this Act;

arbitrator means an arbitrator appointed under section 31;

assessed annual value, in respect of land, means the gross annual income, excepting any amount to be applied for goods and services tax and reimbursement of council rates and land tax applicable to the land, which at the time of valuation a person owning the land and its appurtenances in fee simple free from encumbrances and able freely to dispose of it might reasonably expect to obtain by letting it to a tenant without fine on reasonable terms and conditions;

building of a prescribed class means – a dwelling house; or a building that is used, or designed for use, as a professional chambers or for the carrying on of any trade, business or manufacture; or a hotel, public house or theatre;

business day means a day on which the office of the Valuer-General is open for business;

capital value, in respect of land, means the capital sum which the land, if it were held for an estate in fee simple free from encumbrances by an owner who is at liberty to dispose of it as and when he or she desires, might be expected to realise if offered for sale on such reasonable terms and conditions as a bona fide seller would require;

certified copy, in respect of an entry on a valuation roll, means a copy of that entry that – is certified by the Valuer-General or an officer acting on the Valuer-General's behalf to be a copy of the public record; or in the case of a copy created by a facsimile or electronic transmission process, has recorded on it by that process an indication that the transmission creating the copy was initiated by the Valuer-General and a record of the time and date of the transmission;

commencement day means the day fixed under section 2(2);

Committee means the tender committee appointed under section 9;

contravene includes fail to comply with;

council means a council established under section 18 of the Local Government Act 1993;

court means the Land Valuation Court as continued by section 34(1);

demolish includes unroof, remove doors and windows, partly demolish and otherwise make unusable;

dwelling house includes a boarding house and a lodging house;

foundations, used in respect of plant, machines, tools or other appliances, means the foundations or other like structures on which the plant, machines, tools or appliances are erected if the sole purpose of the foundations or structures is to support the plant, machines, tools or appliances;

fresh valuation means a fresh valuation made under section 20;

function includes duty;

improvements, in respect of the assessment of land value, means all work done or material used on the land by the expenditure of capital on or for the benefit of the land, but only so far as – the effect of the work done or material used is to increase the value of the land; and the benefit of the work is unexhausted at the time of valuation;

land includes – messuages, tenements and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, of every kind and description (whatever may be the estate or interest in them), together with all structures, paths, passages, ways, waters, watercourses, liberties, privileges, easements, plantations, gardens, mines, minerals and quarries and all trees and timber on land or lying or being under land; and any structure which is above land but permanently anchored to, or otherwise kept in place above, the land; and a licence to enter or remain on land;

land improvements means – the draining, excavation, filling or reclamation of any land or the making of retaining walls or other works appurtenant to that draining, excavation, filling or reclamation; or the grading or levelling of the land or the removal of rocks, stone, sand or soil from the land; or the removal or destruction of vegetation or the effecting of any change in the nature or character of the vegetation; or the alteration of soil fertility or of the structure of the soil; or the arresting or elimination of erosion or flooding;

land value, in respect of land, means an amount assessed in respect of that land as provided in section 11(5);

lease includes an agreement to lease, a licence and any tenancy or occupancy of any land for an estate or interest less than in fee simple;

owner of land means a person having an estate of freehold at law or in equity in any land and includes – a lessee or licensee who is liable for payment of any rates; and a mortgagee in possession;

qualified person means – a person who is qualified to carry on business as a land valuer under section 4 of the Land Valuers Act 2001; and a body corporate of which at least one of the directors or employees is qualified to carry on business as a land valuer as mentioned in section 5 of the Land Valuers Act 2001;

rating authority means a council or other statutory authority authorised by law to make and levy rates or charges in respect of land in any defined area;

registrar means the Administrator of the Magistrates Court, a district registrar or deputy district registrar appointed under the Magistrates Court Act 1987;

regulations means regulations made and in force under this Act;

rent, in respect of a lease, includes any premium, fine, royalty or other consideration for the granting of the lease;

rules of court means rules of court made and in force under this Act;

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department;

statutory authority means a person, body or authority, whether incorporated or unincorporated, constituted by or under an Act or appointed by the Governor under the authority of an Act to administer or control an office, business or undertaking on behalf of the State;

structure includes – any building or erection; and a relocatable structure, building or device that is plumbed or connected to the ground or otherwise made capable of human occupation, other than a mobile home or caravan that is, or is capable of being, fitted with wheels for the purpose of transportation;

subdivide means to divide land by creating estates or interests rendering different parts of land available for separate disposition or occupation;

supplementary valuation means a valuation made under section 18 or 21;

Supreme Court means the Supreme Court of Tasmania;

valuation contractor means a person or body with whom a contract for valuation services is in force under this Act;

valuation district means the municipal area of a council;

valuation list means a valuation list, supplementary valuation list or particulars of adjustment factors referred to in section 45;

valuation roll means a valuation roll referred to in section 24.

This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.

The Minister may appoint a State Service officer or State Service employee to be the Valuer-General and that person holds that office in conjunction with State Service employment.

Subject to the State Service Act 2000, the Valuer-General is responsible for the direction, control and management of the valuation of land in accordance with this Act.

Without limiting subsection (2), the Valuer-General has the following functions:to establish and maintain valuation rolls under this Act by means of such databases or formats as the Valuer-General thinks appropriate; to enter valuations in the valuation rolls and databases; to determine adjustment factors as provided by Part 9A; to be responsible for the administration of contracts made under this Act for valuation services; to make valuations or provide other advice as required by or under this or any other Act; to deal with objections and appeals against valuations made under this Act; to monitor the quality of valuation services performed by valuation contractors.

Subsection (3)(c) does not prevent a rating authority from taking any action, with the approval of the Valuer-General, against a valuation contractor to recover loss arising from a contract for the provision of valuation services.

The Minister may appoint a State Service officer or State Service employee to be a Deputy Valuer-General and that person may hold that office in conjunction with State Service employment.

A Deputy Valuer-General so appointed may, in the absence of the Valuer-General, perform any of the functions or duties or exercise any of the powers of the Valuer-General under this Act.

The Minister may appoint or employ such persons as may be considered necessary to provide valuation services to the Valuer-General and the appointment or employment may be subject to, and in accordance with, the State Service Act 2000.

A person may not be appointed as the Valuer-General or a Deputy Valuer-General under section 5 or 6 unless he or she is qualified to carry on business as a land valuer under section 4 of the Land Valuers Act 2001.

A person may not describe himself or herself as, or in any way hold himself or herself out as being, a land valuer for the purposes of this Act unless he or she is qualified to carry on business as a land valuer under section 4 of the Land Valuers Act 2001. Fine not exceeding 200 penalty units and a further penalty of a fine not exceeding 5 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues after conviction.

In this section,officer includes the Valuer-General, a Deputy Valuer-General, a valuation contractor and any other person appointed or taken to have been appointed under section 6.

An officer must maintain, and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of all matters which come to his or her knowledge in the exercise and performance of powers, duties and functions under this Act.

An officer may not, except for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect, communicate or divulge or aid in divulging, to any other person, any matter which comes to his or her knowledge in the exercise and performance of his or her powers, duties and functions under this Act.

An officer must on appointment notify in writing to the Minister or the Valuer-General, as may be appropriate, any conflict of interest that may arise from the performance of his or her duties under this Act.

Any person who contravenes a provision of this section which is applicable to him or her is guilty of an offence. Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.

The Minister may appoint a tender committee to assess tenders for a fresh valuation for a valuation district.

The Committee is to consist of – the Valuer-General; and a person nominated by the Treasurer who has special knowledge of, and experience in, the administration of the Land Tax Act 2000; and a representative of the council for which the fresh valuation is proposed; and a representative of the Local Government Association of Tasmania; and one other independent person who is to be chairperson of the Committee.

The functions of the Committee are to assess tenders and to make recommendations to the Minister –

as to the successful tenderer; or that no tender is to be accepted; or as to the acceptance or rejection of any terms and conditions for the provision of valuation services that are procured by the Valuer-General under section 20.

The Valuer-General must, subject to this section, make valuations of the land values, capital values and assessed annual values of all lands within each valuation district, including any Crown lands that are liable to be rated in accordance with Part 9 of the Local Government Act 1993.

The Valuer-General may exempt land from the valuations to be made under subsection (1) if he or she is satisfied that – it is only a minor parcel of Crown land that has not been reserved for any purpose and it is not practical or sensible to include it in those valuations; or it is Crown land of a prescribed kind that has not been reserved for any purpose and it is not practical or sensible to include it in those valuations.

A valuation made under this section may include the land values, capital values and assessed annual values of the estates and interests of all owners in any such lands and omit the value of such estates and interests as are dependent on other estates and interests in the land.

For the purposes of this Act, the following provisions apply to and in respect of the assessed annual value of any land:the land is taken not to include any plant, machine, tool or other appliance not fixed to the land or the foundations of any such plant, machine, tool or appliance; in the case of land which is occupied in portions by more persons than one, the Valuer-General may separately determine the assessed annual values of those portions if he or she, having regard to the occupation or construction of the land or improvements, or the structural alterations (if any) made in it, is satisfied that the land is capable of separate occupation; the land is taken to include any structure that the Valuer-General determines is occupied or is capable of being occupied; the assessed annual value of the land is not to be in any case less than 4 per cent of the capital value of the land.

For the purposes of this Act, in the assessment of the capital value of land – the land is taken not to include any plant, machine, tool or other appliance not fixed to the land or the foundations of any such plant, machine, tool or appliance; and the land is taken to include any structure that the Valuer-General determines is occupied or is capable of being occupied.

For the purposes of this Act, the land value of land is to be assessed in accordance with the following rules:the land value of land is the capital sum which the fee simple of the land might be expected to realise if offered for sale on such reasonable terms and conditions as a bona fide seller would require, assuming that the improvements, if any, on the land or appertaining to the land, other than land improvements made or acquired by the owner or the owner's predecessor in title, had not been made; notwithstanding paragraph (a), in determining the land value of any land it is to be assumed that – the land may be used, or may continue to be used, for any purpose for which it was being used or for which it could be used, at the date to which the valuation relates; and any improvements which are required by law to be used for any purpose or to be retained in their present form continue to exist or be made, as so required; where the land is comprised in – a plan taking effect as a sealed plan under section 94 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993; or a previously approved plan as defined in section 80 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 – and is still vested in the owner who submitted the plan for sealing or approval or his or her successor in title to the whole of those lands or so much of those lands as has not been sold as lots, the value of any works mentioned in section 86 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993 is to be included in the land value.

For the purposes of this Act, in the assessment of the land value, the capital value and the assessed annual value of land used primarily and effectively for growing trees to be cut for commercial or industrial uses, use as firewood excepted, and of an area – in the case of indigenous trees not in an artificially established plantation, of not less than 10 hectares; and in the case of an artificially established plantation, whether indigenous or foreign trees (including a plantation artificially established and naturally regenerated), of not less than one hectare – the value of the trees growing on the land is not to be included.

Subsection (7) does not apply to valuations made for the purposes of section 44 or 51 of this Act or for the purposes of the Land Titles Act 1980.

Where there is on any land movable residential premises erected under Part 14 of the Homes Tasmania Act 2022, the land value, the capital value and the assessed annual value of the land are to be assessed as if the unit and its ancillary features (within the meaning of that Part of that Act) and any works constructed for the provision of services to the unit had not been erected, constructed or placed on the land.