Queensland remains the only Australian state that levies land tax on land protected through Nature Refuges and similar conservation covenants.
You may have seen the news this week where C4 President Peter Rowles spoke publicly about the ongoing application of land tax to Nature Refuges and other protected conservation land.
As conservationists, landholders and community members, we thought it was worth sharing some background on why this issue matters — not just to Peter, but to organisations like C4 and to the future of conservation across Queensland.
Nature Refuges are voluntary conservation agreements between private landholders and the Queensland Government. They permanently protect important habitat, wildlife corridors and biodiversity values while remaining under private ownership.
Across Queensland, almost 600 Nature Refuges protect close to five million hectares of habitat. These properties form a significant part of the state’s conservation estate and play an important role in protecting threatened species and ecosystems.
This is not simply an issue for individual landholders. C4 is also a conservation landholder. Our Gurrbum Nature Refuge and QTFN’s Cassowary Connections Nature Refuge (Lot 66) are protected conservation properties that attract land tax. Like any expense, these costs reduce the resources available for weed control, habitat restoration, monitoring, community planting days, volunteer programs and other on-ground conservation activities.
The Queensland Government has made clear commitments to expand the state’s protected areas and increase support for landholders who conserve nature on private land. At the same time, Queensland remains the only Australian state that levies land tax on land protected through Nature Refuges and similar conservation covenants.
Other states have chosen to remove this tax, recognising the role that private landholders play in achieving conservation outcomes. Their experience suggests that reducing barriers to private conservation can encourage greater participation and help grow protected area networks.
“Whilst the Queensland Government does not release its data on nature refuge land tax revenue, if the experience in Victoria is anything to go by, then it is minimal. Land tax on conservation properties there was estimated at around $700,000 annually – a tiny figure in a state budget. It’s hard to justify a policy that raises so little, yet disincentivises private conservation across the state.”
– Michael Cornish, Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA)
As discussions continue about how Queensland can best support conservation on private land, land tax exemptions for Nature Refuges are one option that deserves consideration. Such a change could recognise the contribution of conservation landholders while allowing more resources to be directed towards practical, on-ground environmental outcomes.
Read more from ALCA on this issue here.