Plantation Management – Regulation and Planning
Western Australia
Legislation
Western Australian legislation in practice
1. Legislation in Practice
There is currently no automatic right to establish tree plantations in Western Australia. The Planning and Development Act 2005 enables councils to prepare planning schemes/rural strategies, define zones and control land use, and includes a requirement for approval of leases exceeding ten years. Permits are required for plantations in most areas (as plantation forestry is defined as a changed landuse), and the permit application processes involves significant investment in terms of time and cost for potentially uncertain outcomes.
Local Government planning approvals may be discretionary or provisional. If discretionary, the Local Government can refuse the development application. This poses significant risks for the plantation investor or developer, particularly if the property has been purchased with an expectation of being able to utilise the land for plantation development.
The Act gives State Planning Policies (regional policies, strategies and guidelines within a central framework which provides a context for decision-making on land use and development in Western Australia) the force of a regulation, to the extent that they override local schemes which are otherwise permissive.
The Act also gives general primacy to environmental issues and incorporates many of the requirements of other statutes as preconditions to planning approval.
Prior to the passing of the Tree Plantations Act 2003, there was no automatic ‘right to harvest’ from plantations in WA. This legislation is also relevant to separation of ownership of plantations from land.
Separation of ownership of carbon (as a ‘product’ of a plantation) is covered by WA’s Carbon Rights Act (2003).
Current state laws relating to taxation state that on a change of ownership, stamp duty will be incurred. For a plantation developer, this may take place on the original purchase of the property (as it does now for any transaction), when the property is split into individual blocks for growers, and when the growers actually purchase these blocks. This has an impact on the cost of plantation development for growers. Stamp duty on leases has now been abolished. There is a specific exemption for a Timber Sharefarming Agreement (under the Forest Products Act 2000 and CALM Act 1984) under which a profits á prendre is created, which determines whether Stamp Duty is payable.
Clearing of native vegetation is controlled under the 2003 amendments to the Environmental Protection Act. Permission for clearing is required and conservation values are independently assessed, with some local interpretation. Unauthorised clearing carries heavy penalties and land owners may be directed to restore vegetation. Land clearing is also included in the definition of development and generally requires permission under the Planning and Development Act 2005.
2. A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF LOCAL PLANNING POLICY FOR AGROFORESTRY AND TREE PLANTATIONS-MANJIMUP SHIRE
Manjimup Shire, in south west WA, has prepared a comprehensive local planning policy to guide their decision making about Agroforestry and Tree Plantations development applications.
The Local Planning Policy was developed following preparation and consideration of an Issues Paper by Manjimup Shire.
Download the 6.1.40 Agroforestry and Tree Plantations extract from the Manjimup Shire Local Planning Policy. (PDF)
Download the Issues Paper prepared to support development and understanding of the Manjimup Shire Local Planning Policy 6.1.40 in relation to Agroforestry and Tree Plantations. (PDF)
