Managing your pastoral lease
Emergency and recovery support
Find out what emergency and recovery support is available to support pastoral businesses and pastoral communities, including bushfire, drought, storms and floods, and COVID-19.
24 hour Drought Hotline: 1800 931 314
Email: PIRSA.drought@sa.gov.au
Managing pastoral leases
Pastoral lease holders (lessees) must follow good land management practices, prevent land degradation, and endeavour to improve the condition of the land.
Pastoral leases are granted by the Pastoral Board under conditions set in the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act 1989.
The Pastoral Lease Handbook sets out lessees’ obligations under the Pastoral Act inaddition to other relevant information, such as legislation that should beconsidered in the management of pastoral lands. The e-version of the Handbookwill be updated regularly to reflect changes to information pertinent topastoralists.
Pastoral station maps available on Avenza Maps
Avenza Maps is a free app that uses your smartphone’s GPS for tracking and navigation on maps. Maps are available for free, purchased from the in-app Map Store or can be provided by the Pastoral Unit. The Unit has received positive feedback from pastoralists regarding the app’s capabilities.
App features include:
- Locate your realtime GPS position and find direction, even when offline
- Record GPS tracks during your activities Navigate to features using compass tools
- Add photos and notes to any location
- Add placemarks to your map and style them with recreational symbols
- Measure distances and estimate times
- Supports KML, GPX, and CSV Formats
Upon request and with lessee consent, the Pastoral Unit can provide a georeferenced station map to upload onto the Avenza Maps App. These maps can be used to traverse your property, collect data and pinpoint locations. Any data that is collected can be extracted and provided to the Unit as a means to update the base map. The Unit have developed a Training Guide for Pastoral Use.
Lessee responsibilities
Lessees are responsible for complying with the conditions of their pastoral lease, including:
- paying lease rent and associated costs
- complying with relevant legislation and regulations
- allowing people to access their lease who have a right of access
- pasturing only the species of animals detailed in their lease
- not exceeding the maximum number of stock detailed in their lease
- only using the land for pastoral purposes
- maintaining fencing to a stock-proof standard and maintaining stock watering points
- if required, closing sections of land (and allowing land access points to be closed or moved) to support rehabilitation
- submitting annual stock returns by 31 July each year
- complying with Pastoral Board notices.
For full details see Section 22 of the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act 1989.
It is the duty of a lessee throughout the term of a pastoral lease:
- to manage the lease according to good land management practices
- to prevent degradation of the land
- to endeavour, within the limits of financial resources, to improve the condition of the land.
For full details see Section 7 of the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act 1989.
More information
Contacts
For general enquiries and access rights to pastoral land, please contact the Pastoral Unit on (08) 8429 0333 or email DEW.Pastoral@sa.gov.au
For pastoral land lease assessment queries, please contact (08) 8429 2154
