Pastoral Land Board

The Pastoral Land Board is a statutory authority established under section 11 of the Pastoral Land Act 1992, are responsible for administering the Northern Territory (NT) pastoral leases in accordance with the Act.

The board has a range of responsibilities and is the consent authority for:

  • clearing of native vegetation on pastoral land
  • non-pastoral use on pastoral land.

Under section 91D of the Act, the board may, by notice in the NT Government Gazette, determine circumstances where clearing activities do not require a clearing permit.

View the current determinations:

Read current pastoral land clearing and current non-pastoral use applications and approvals on Northern Territory Government website.

The board reports to the minister on various matters including:

  • pastoral lease conversions to perpetuity
  • pastoral lease management plans and
  • pastoral sub-division applications.

The Pastoral Land Board consists of at least 5 members, appointed by the Minister.

Chair

Paul Burke

Deputy Chairperson

Allan Andrews

Members

  • Roy Chisholm
  • Dr Sue Fitzpatrick
  • Danny Hayes
  • Dr Leigh Hunt
  • Gemma Lake
  • Alastair Shields
  • Dr Michael Wellington

Role of the board

Under section 29 of the Act, the functions of the board are to:

  • report regularly to, and as directed by, the minister, but in any case not less than once a year, on the general condition of pastoral land and the operations of the board
  • consider applications for the subdivision or consolidation of pastoral land and make recommendations to the minister in relation to them
  • plan, establish, operate and maintain systems for monitoring the condition and use of pastoral land on a district or other basis
  • assess the suitability of proposed new pastoral leases over vacant Crown land
  • direct the preparation, and monitor the implementation, of remedial plans
  • monitor, supervise or cause to be carried out work in relation to the rectification of degradation or other damage to pastoral land
  • monitor the numbers and effect of stock and feral and other animals on pastoral land
  • monitor and administer the conditions to which pastoral leases are subject
  • consider and determine applications for permission to use pastoral land for a non-pastoral purpose in accordance with part 7
  • make recommendations to the minister on any matter relating to the administration of this Act
  • hear and determine all questions, and consider and make recommendations on all matters, referred to it by the minister and
  • such other functions as are imposed on it by or under this or any other Act or as directed by the minister.

Section 30 of the Act gives the board powers:

  • subject to this Act, the board has power to do all things that are necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with or incidental to the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers
  • for the purposes of performing its pastoral monitoring functions, the members of the board, and persons authorised in writing for that purpose by the board, may, after giving reasonable notice to the pastoral lessee of their intention to do so:
    • enter on pastoral land to assess the condition of the land and identify, establish and operate monitoring sites and reference areas
    • inspect recorded land data kept by the pastoral lessee in accordance with the requirements of or under this Act and
    • without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the board may, for the purposes of performing its functions or exercising its powers, including powers conferred on it elsewhere in this Act, with the approval in writing of the minister, act as agent for the Territory or a statutory corporation.

Terms of reference

The board hold meetings to consider matters relating to the NT pastoral estate.

Meetings of the board are not open to the public, however the board may invite any person including applicants and submitters to attend a particular meeting to present to them.

2024 meeting dates

  • 6 February 2024
  • 19 March 2024 and 20 March 2024
  • 14 May 2024
  • 17 to 21 June 2024
  • 13 August 2024 (cancelled)
  • 17 September 2024
  • 29 October 2024 and 30 October 2024
  • 10 December 2024

2025 Meeting dates

  • 11 February 2025
  • 18 March 2025 and 19 March 2025
  • 20 May 2025 and 21 May 2025
  • 21 to 24 June 2025
  • 14 October 2025 and 15 October 2025
  • 9 December 2025

Further information

Applications for pastoral land clearing and non-pastoral use are considered by the board after significant assessment by the department.

Approximate processing times for these applications is 6 months.

Further information on this process is available on the Northern Territory Government website:

Section 24 of the Act provides that the board may, by resolution delegate any of its powers and functions under the Act to persons, or committees of its members.

View the current Pastoral Land Board delegations PDF (290.9 KB).

The board may from time-to-time decide by resolution to make delegations for a specific matter under section 24(1). These delegations are generally not made public.

Read the Pastoral Land Board annual reports:

Compliance Framework

Contact us

For more information about the Pastoral Land Board, contact the executive officer:

Phone: 08 8999 4667
pastorallandboard@nt.gov.au

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