Apply for pastoral lease rent reductions or waivers

Lessees who are required to pay rent under the Act can apply to have their 2019-2020 rent reduced or waivered where serious hardship can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources.

Rent may be reduced or waivered in circumstances where 'drought-like conditions' have resulted in suffering of serious hardship. Other circumstances that can result in hardship, notably tropical cyclones and flooding may also be considered.

Climatic data sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) indicates that the NT experiences cyclical periods of rainfall deficiency. Since 2018 some areas of the NT have received considerably lower rainfall than preceding years which has significantly affected pasture availability.

Serious hardship is not defined in the Act.

As a guide, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) defines individual serious hardship as when one is unable to provide the following for oneself, one's family or other dependents; food, accommodation, clothing, medical treatment, education and other basic necessities.

The ATO has identified natural disaster and other serious or difficult circumstances. The ATO definition of a business with financial difficulty refers to difficulty associated with: business closure, other necessities for the business or people you are responsible for etc.

Maximum holdings in the Act was established to provide for widespread diversity in pastoral ownership, and flexibility in management approaches and station size. The ability to exceed maximum holdings ensures the pastoral industry is able to adapt and respond to change in climatic, economic and technological conditions. If approved by the Minster, a person (either alone or together with an associate) may hold in aggregate in excess of 13,000km2 of pastoral land in the NT.

The Northern Territory Maximum Holdings: Application to exceed maximum holdings PDF (73.2 KB) establishes criteria that may be considered by the Minister when assessing applications for maximum holdings including:

• demonstrated financial capacity to improve and develop the pastoral property to ensure the sustainable use of the properties
• the provision of evidence of the financial viability of the business, including ability to withstand hardship such as drought
• demonstrated experience in, or systems to ensure, best practise land management (taking into account the Northern Territory's climatic conditions)
• strategies to ensure environmentally sustainable practices, for example moderating stocking numbers as seasons dictate.

Applications for pastoral lease rent reductions or waivers can be submitted if you have maximum holding approval, however you will be required to discuss why and how your ability to meet the above criteria has been affected.

As part of your application, you must include:

• evidence to demonstrate you are suffering serious hardship. Examples of suitable evidence may include:
  • profit/loss statements
  • livestock trading accounts
  • evidence of supplementary feeding expenditure and/or transport costs associated with destocking
  • declines in:
    • stocking rates
    • calving ratios
    • cattle weight gains
    • sales
• a detailed description of how seasonal conditions have impacted on business operations
• a detailed description of how a rent reduction or waiver for 2019-2020 will genuinely reduce hardship being experienced.

Each application can then be considered on a case by case basis. Applications lacking suitable details will not be assessed and will not be considered beyond the application closing date of 23 March 2020.

The information provided in your application will be assessed to determine if it demonstrates serious financial hardship.

The Minister for Environment and Natural Resources will make the final determination in accordance with the Act.

If you have already paid some or all of your rent for the 2019-2020 year and your application for a pastoral lease rent reduction or waiver is approved, you will be eligible for a full refund.

Any application for hardship will be considered in context to the full financial year. Where applicable, evidence submitted with your application could illustrate pending or ongoing costs that will be incurred irrespective of recent rain events, for example re-establishment of a nucleus herd.

You can apply via email or mail by:

1. Read the eligibility criteria and information required for assessment.
2. Fill in the form PDF (1.1 MB).
3. Attach supporting evidence.
4. Your application will be assessed again the eligibility criteria.
5. Submit the application and supporting evidence to:
   
   Pastoral Lease Administration, Rangelands Division
   Department of Environment and Natural Resources
   PO Box 1249
   Palmerston NT 0831
   Rangelands.DENR@nt.gov.au

Agricultural systems should be sufficiently flexible to manage risks associated with fluctuations in both climate and associated markets. The Department of Primary Industry and Resources (DPIR) has expertise in assessing sustainable livestock carrying capacity and evaluating management scenarios with potential to increase the resilience of pastoral businesses to seasonal variability.

DPIR can provide information, technical support and training in grazing land management and proactive management of land condition. Extension activities can be catered to the requests of individual stations and complement the short courses offered which include: the EDGE Network Grazing Land Management (GLM) course and the one-day Grazing Fundamentals workshop, both of which include strategies for drought preparedness. DPIR also publishes a Pastoral Feed Outlook every quarter; subscribe to this free bulletin on the Department of Primary Industry and Resources website.

The development of Drought Management Plans are strongly supported. Planning for climatic variation is crucial in places like the Territory that are known to experience cyclical weather patterns, and in particular prolonged periods with limited rainfall over multi-year periods. A Drought Management Plan should contain strategies to:

• prepare for drought
• manage drought
• recover from drought.

Producers are encouraged to engage a farm business adviser and/or work with their rural lender to put together a drought management plan that has a sound financial basis for herd reduction and herd recovery strategies. Drought management information is also available from:

• FarmHub
• WA DPIRD and
• Meat and Livestock Australia.