Updated: 18 May 2007
Land Tenure
Public land belongs to the Crown and includes land which is reserved, owned for public purposes or vacant. It typically includes reserves for nature conservation, forestry, marine conservation, water conservation, mining, defence, and vacant and other Crown land.
The first park to be dedicated for public use in Australia was Kings Park in Perth, in 1872. The oldest national park in Australia, Royal National Park, at Port Hacking (NSW), was established in 1879. However, it was not until the 1950s that conservation reserves began to be systematically dedicated in Australia.
Private land makes up the largest part of Australia and can be freehold land or Crown leasehold land, the latter normally being held on long term lease or licence.
Aboriginal land may be freehold, leasehold or Crown reserve, and is those areas available for the use, benefit and residence by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Of all the States and Territories, South Australia has the most land dedicated to nature conservation reserves, with over 203 700 km2, or more than 20 per cent of the State. The following information is available from Geoscience Australia's Australian Land Tenure map (1993).
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A nationally consistent, broadly based classification of land tenure has been used by Geoscience Australia which incorporates land tenure types currently in use by the relevant State/Territory and Commonwealth land administration agencies. The categories in this classification are as follows:
- Public lands managed and controlled by State/Territory forestry services in accordance with forestry acts and regulations.
- National parks under the control of Aboriginal groups.
- Crown marine environments managed by State/Territory or Commonwealth governments, reserved for the preservation of flora and fauna.
- Includes national parks, nature reserves, State/Territory recreation areas, conservation parks, environmental parks etc. These are Crown lands reserved for specific environmental conservation purposes such as protection of wildlife, protection of a type of habitat or preservation of an area with natural features of scientific or recreational value. National parks are generally large areas of scenic or other natural significance to the general public.
- Crown lands reserved to protect a water supply catchment or accommodate works associated with water supplies. Includes controlled catchments where privately or publicly owned land is used primarily for other purposes but is subject to land use or access restrictions.
- Land reserved for use by the armed forces for training, research and military installations.
- Crown lands reserved for Aborigines but under the control of State/Territory Government Aboriginal affairs authorities.
- Institutional lands reserved for purposes other than those in the other classifications, or being held in reserve pending dedication for some specific purpose.
- Crown lands held in reserves for mining.
- Crown land not reserved for any purpose.
- Represents privately owned land. In certain circumstances, freehold title can be held by a government body, such as a State forestry commission when land is purchased to establish forestry plantations.
- These lands are also regarded as privately owned. Many of the leases are perpetual and are mainly leased to pastoralists.
- Aboriginal freehold and leasehold land is land held by designated Aboriginal communities, with special conditions attached to the titles. Does not include land held privately by individual Aboriginal landowners.
- A mix of adjoining small areas less than 50 km2 with different public land categories.
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TOTAL LANDS CATEGORY
(1993 data) |
(thousand square kilometres) |
| QLD |
NSW |
VIC |
SA |
WA |
NT |
TAS |
ACT |
TOTAL |
% of Australia |
| Public |
118.0 |
85.7 |
72.3 |
217.6 |
1095.0 |
137.2 |
40.6 |
1.5 |
1767.9 |
23.0 |
| Private |
1567.0 |
714.4 |
155.3 |
576.8 |
1105.0 |
673.0 |
27.2 |
0.9 |
4819.6 |
62.75 |
| Aboriginal & TSI |
42.2 |
1.5 |
- |
189.6 |
325.5 |
536.0 |
- |
- |
1094.8 |
14.25 |
| TOTAL |
1727.2 |
801.6 |
227.6 |
984.0 |
2525.5 |
1346.2 |
67.8 |
2.4 |
7682.3 |
100 |
PUBLIC LAND CATEGORY
(1993 data) |
(thousand square kilometres) |
| QLD |
NSW |
VIC |
SA |
WA |
NT |
TAS |
ACT |
TOTAL |
% |
| Nature conservation reserve |
54.2 |
38.1 |
30.6 |
203.7 |
155.0 |
27.8 |
13.5 |
1.2 |
524.1 |
6.9 |
| Aboriginal freehold-National Park |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
10.8 |
- |
- |
10.8 |
0.14 |
| Vacant crown land |
0.6 |
1.4 |
- |
8.3 |
863.3 |
82.8 |
4.3 |
- |
960.7 |
12.5 |
| Other crown land |
13.9 |
6.4 |
2.0 |
0.8 |
42.7 |
12.3 |
2.5 |
- |
80.6 |
1.0 |
| Forestry reserve |
40.1 |
34.6 |
36.4 |
1.0 |
20.9 |
- |
15.1 |
0.1 |
148.2 |
1.9 |
| Water reserve |
0.3 |
2.8 |
1.5 |
0.2 |
5.3 |
- |
0.9 |
- |
11.0 |
0.16 |
| Defence land |
3.8 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
3.6 |
6.6 |
3.5 |
0.3 |
- |
18.6 |
0.24 |
| Mining reserve |
4.3 |
- |
0.3 |
- |
0.4 |
- |
- |
- |
5.0 |
0.06 |
| Mixed category lands |
0.8 |
2.0 |
1.1 |
- |
0.8 |
- |
4.0 |
0.2 |
8.9 |
0.1 |
| Total |
118.0 |
85.7 |
72.3 |
217.6 |
1095.0 |
137.2 |
40.6 |
1.5 |
1767.9 |
23.0 |
PUBLIC LAND CATEGORY
(2002 data) |
(thousand square kilometres) |
| QLD |
NSW |
VIC |
SA |
WA |
NT |
TAS |
ACT |
TOTAL |
% |
| Nature conservation reserve |
67.2 |
54.4 |
34.3 |
213.0 |
319.9 |
17.8 |
49.2 |
- |
- |
- |
| Aboriginal freehold-National Park |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Vacant crown land |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.1 |
2.5 |
122.8 |
6.3 |
0.0 |
- |
- |
- |
| Other crown land |
0.0 |
0.8 |
4.8 |
4.6 |
44.6 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
- |
- |
- |
| Forestry reserve |
4.2 |
32.1 |
35.9 |
1.3 |
34.8 |
14.6 |
0.0 |
- |
- |
- |
| Water reserve |
0.0 |
2.2 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
9.0 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
- |
- |
- |
| Defence land |
7.1 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
126.2 |
6.3 |
0.2 |
12.4 |
- |
- |
- |
| Mining reserve |
3.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
- |
- |
- |
| Mixed category lands |
0.0 |
0.4 |
0.5 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
- |
- |
- |
| Total |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
PRIVATE LAND CATEGORY
(1993 data) |
(thousand square kilometres) |
| QLD |
NSW |
VIC |
SA |
WA |
NT |
TAS |
ACT |
TOTAL |
% of Australia |
| Freehold |
627.2 |
405.5 |
155.2 |
158.4 |
205.1 |
6.4 |
27.2 |
- |
1585.0 |
20.6 |
| Crown leasehold |
939.8 |
308.9 |
0.1 |
418.4 |
899.9 |
666.6 |
- |
0.9 |
3234.6 |
42.1
|
| Total |
1567.0 |
714.4 |
155.3 |
576.8 |
1105.0 |
673.0 |
27.2 |
0.9 |
4819.6 |
62.7 |
All freehold land in the Australia Capital Territory has been resumed and vested in the Crown. This allows the Commonwealth to retain an interest over the leasehold estate, preventing its sale or disposal as freehold land.
ABORIGINAL AND
TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER
LAND CATEGORY
(1993 data) |
(thousand square kilometres) |
| QLD |
NSW |
VIC |
SA |
WA |
NT |
TAS |
ACT |
TOTAL |
% of Australia |
| Freehold |
20.5 |
0.4 |
- |
189.0 |
- |
516.8 |
- |
- |
726.7 |
9.5 |
| Leasehold |
18.9 |
1.1 |
- |
0.6 |
126.1 |
19.2 |
- |
- |
165.9 |
2.1 |
| Reserve |
2.8 |
- |
- |
- |
199.4 |
- |
- |
- |
202.2 |
2.6 |
| Total |
42.2 |
1.5 |
- |
189.6 |
325.5 |
536.0 |
- |
- |
1094.8 |
14.25 |
MARINE RESERVES
(1993 data) |
(thousand square kilometres) |
| OTHER1 |
QLD |
NSW |
VIC |
SA |
WA |
NT |
TAS |
ACT |
TOTAL |
| Total |
361.6 |
3.4 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
- |
11.4 |
2.5 |
- |
- |
380.2 |
1 Marine reserves in Commonwealth waters (1993 data)
Source: Geoscience Australia Land Tenure database 1993
