Sale of Crown Land

Direct Sale Scheme

The Minister for Planning and Lands may sell Crown land by direct sale for commercial development, but only if:

• Suitable land is not available on the private market or suitable land cannot readily be made available for normal competitive release by the Government; or
• The proposed development is site specific; and
• The proposed development is of a scale or of a nature which would make it of strategic economic and/or social benefit to the Northern Territory; or
• The proposed development demonstrates initiative by providing a new and worthwhile facility in the area concerned; and/or
• The real property is for consolidation with adjoining private land to form a larger development site.

Applications for a Direct Sale are not accepted if:

• the Government proposes to release the subject land by a public competitive process;
• if the proposed development is not consistent with the relevant structure plan, land use objectives (i.e. planning requirements) and any other statutory requirements applicable to the area concerned; and
• the application is for the proposed development of urban or residential land.

Land sold by either public competition or direct sale is sold at a purchase price as determined by the Minister having regard to the current market value as assessed by the Valuer-General.

How to Apply

Application forms can be obtained from any office of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. When submitted they must be accompanied by; 

• a report containing -
• an assessment of the proposed development addressing factors such as servicing, environmental issues, control plans, access to site etc;
• an estimated program including development period and total value of improvements proposed, number of stages and value of improvements at each stage, and estimated completion date of each stage;
• financial details (ie. source of funds for the proposed development); and
• a brief summary of any experience in operating the type of development proposed;
• locality plan/s showing the location options for the proposed development and the location of the subject land with respect to surrounding roads and land; and
• a site plan showing the layout of the proposed development. The plan should also indicate proposed staging of the development and appropriate dimensions of the site and of buildings, car parks, structures etc.

Each application must be accompanied by a $1,150 non-refundable processing fee.

The applicant is also required to pay any other fees relating to the application (e.g. application fees for rezoning, subdivision and development consent, title document registration and company search fees).

Before applying the applicant should;

• investigate the availability of suitable land on the open market. The applicant may be required to show evidence that suitable land is not available on the open market;
• determine the source of finance and other resources necessary to purchase the land and complete the proposed development within a reasonable time frame;
• be sure that the proposal falls within the qualification criteria listed above;
• determine the suitability of possible sites for the proposal, including land status, zoning, power, water and access, plus the cost of providing services if they are nor readily available; and
• discuss the proposal with a project officer of the Land Administration Branch to ascertain if an application would be supported.

The above information is contained in the Direct Sale brochure (PDF 81kb)