Land Administration SystemsIn Australia: Queensland

Steven JacobyGeneral-Manager Information PolicyDepartment of Natural Resources & Mines

Chair, Queensland Spatial Information CouncilANZLIC Member (Queensland)

Queensland – State sketch• 1.73M Sq Kms – 22.5% continent• Population 4 Million (20% Australia)• Population growth 2.1%p.a. (highest)• Will be second largest State by 2010 (past Vic)• Local Governments

– 125 Local Councils

– 15 Aboriginal Councils

– 17 Island Councils

• Rateable Properties – 1,445,300• Land Parcels – 2,660,900• New Parcels – 55,000 p.a.

Queensland – State sketch…• Professional Surveyors – 820• Valuers – 1397• Freehold Tenure – 21% (area)• Leasehold Tenure – 68% (area)• National Parks – 4% (area)• Mining (Development) Tenures (area)

– Minerals 0.35%

– Coal 0.22%

– Petroleum 1.24%

• Registered Indigenous Land Use Agreements– 120 Qld 192 Aust.

Natural Resources & Mines

• Leading Queensland’s stewardship of natural resources

– Balance current demands on our natural resources with the sustainable needs of future generations

– Working closely with other governments, industry & the community

– Using integrated approach: land, water, mineral, petroleum, vegetation & cultural resources

– Excludes Primary responsibility for: primary industries, environment, planning

National Co-operation Initiatives

• Council of Australian Governments– Water Resource Management Reform– Water Trading – Water Licences to transferable

water allocations

• National Action Plan for Salinity & Water Quality

• National Heritage Trust• ANZLIC – Spatial Information Council

– Standing Committee on Land Administration

• NSINS – National Spatial Information for National Security

Queensland – Positive Aspects• Significant investments in State LAS,

integration in mature (land) systems– Automated Titles Registration (land & water)– Valuations & Sales (QVAS)– Land Asset Management System– Digital Cadastral Database

• Robustness and integrated nature of Queensland’s legislative planning framework

• Access to integrated government information – Information Queensland

www.information.qld.gov.au

Information Queensland• Access to Information• All appropriate information to be available to the public on-

line (default)• $6.3M / 3 year program – Election Commitment• All Queensland Departments• Spatial & aspatial data• Free & fee• Public domain & restricted• 1.5M hits per month / 30% interstate / 76 Countries

accessed the site last months

Queensland – Challenges• Complex interests of the 3+ tiers of

government– Federal– State (25 Departments, 600 ‘entities’)– Local (158 local – including one big one, 15

Aboriginal & 17 Island Councils)– Regional Arrangements (15 Regional bodies)

• Digital Cadastral Data Base– Spatial representation of the ‘cadastre’– Maintained post registration (no pre-approvals)– Major users maintain at pre-registration– No 3D geometry

Queensland – Challenges…• Rights, Obligations & Restrictions

– Significant changes in law governing land use over the last 20 years

– 180 pieces of legislation in Queensland creating a ROR in land across all tiers (~15 on title)

– Major Federal legislation• Native Title Act 1993• Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation

Act 1999

– State legislation• Water Act 2000• Vegetation Management Act 2004

– Manage Public perception of ‘Land Ownership’

Approaches we’re using

• Queensland has imposed strict regulatory, compliance and penalty regimes

• Now seeking to transition to a cooperative or partnership model between land owners & govt

• Doing that through:– Consultation & collaboration with stakeholders– Establishing landscape – property level planning

instruments that achieve sustainable outcomes – Introducing incentive programs (eg $12m Vegetation IP)

Comments on the LAS model

Queensland & the LAS model• Integrated vision – triple bottom line agreed • Policy focus – is on land management outcomes not

land administration– Eg. Vegetation Clearing Ban– Science & research plays as important role as land

information in policy formulation• Require a very broad view of land…

– Water, Vegetation, Minerals, Cultural resources• Institutional arrangements are complex

– Largely State based– Multi agency (and levels of government)

• Access to information and engagement in the policy development process is critical

Next 10 years…

• Access to all appropriate information by the public is achieved

– E-services– All RORs discoverable on a parcel in Queensland

• Public is engaged in consultation, decision-making and policy development process

– E-democracy

• If not one tier of government…– Made Federated system work (max positives)– Sharing, authentic data, ICT Service oriented approaches…