Summary of changes

South Australia’s pastoral rangelands are essential to our economy and the wellbeing of our regional communities. They provide regional jobs and support the growth of our red meat and wool industries.

We would like to unlock their potential to achieve positive outcomes for our state. With no significant changes to the legislation for the past 30 years, the new Pastoral Lands Act will reflect the modern needs of South Australia’s pastoral industry.

The following key changes are being proposed. You can read a more comprehensive version of the changes in the Explanatory Guide.

• The new Act will help lessees make long-term investment decisions with long term leases up to 100-years
• Enable pastoral lessees to take advantage of seasonal opportunities and vary stocking rates while still maintaining land condition
• It will support lessees to diversify their income and support pastoral businesses using the land for appropriate non-pastoral purposes, such as tourism
• Retain the main focus of the land. The pastoral rangelands are for pastoralism and any other land uses should not detract from this primary use
• Continue to provide for a Pastoral Board, which will ensure good land management practices are in place to grow the pastoral industry. A new nomination committee will ensure appropriately skilled and experienced members are identified for the Minister to appoint, with the majority of Board members drawn from current lessees
• Public access routes will remain
• Better address inappropriate behaviour from those visiting or travelling through pastoral lands by establishing an offence for misuse including trespass, littering, hunting or shooting without legal authority
• The health of these natural environments will continue to be monitored with condition assessments required every 10 years. This assessment will be done by a qualified team, using the best available technology
• The rights of Aboriginal people will continue to be upheld, including acknowledging Indigenous Land Use Agreements
• The Pastoral Lands Fund will have greater flexibility in how it can be used to support the new Act’s administration and objectives
• Lessees retain the right to seek a review of decisions under the Act. The Board will be required to publish a record of its meetings, with at least two public meetings a year held within the pastoral rangelands
• For those who do the wrong thing, the new Act will have stronger powers to intervene and change behaviours, with significant penalties for breaching the conditions of a lease or using the land inappropriately.

Conservation and sustainability of these natural environments is integral to ensure long-term sustainable use of these unique landscapes.The new Act will ensure our lessees can maximise their business opportunities while ensuring they look after the land for our future generations.