Lease Applications

Marine farming leases allow aquaculture operators to apply for a marine farming licence to conduct activities in Tasmanian waterways. Leases are granted for areas within marine farming zones.

Getting a lease

There are generally four options to acquire a marine farming lease:

Purchase an existing lease area
Sub-lease an existing lease area (part of or whole)
Be allocated a new lease within an existing marine farming zone (provided the maximum leasable area is not already fully utilised)
Embark on a planning process to create or amend a marine farming development plan to create a new zone, to which a lease may then be allocated.

Purchasing or sub-leasing an existing lease area

Purchasing or sub-leasing an existing lease involves the operator sourcing an interested party with a suitable lease.

The location of existing marine farming leases can be found on the Tasmanian Government’s online map application, LISTmap.

The Aquaculture Branch is unable to provide details of leaseholders beyond what is publicly available. Instead, when a lease of interest is identified, the Aquaculture Branch can contact the relevant leaseholders to ascertain any interest in selling or sub-leasing a lease.

Operators must then complete the appropriate lease application form, depending on the prospective arrangements.

Allocating a new lease

If an existing lease is unable to be purchased or sub-leased, a new lease may be allocated inside an existing marine farming zone.

New leases can be allocated only if the maximum leasable area within a zone has not yet been reached. The zone must also be designated for the species of interest (if the species of interest is not already allocated to a zone, a Marine Farming Development Plan amendment process is required to have the species added to that zone). Allocation of new leases generally occurs through a public tender process, unless specifically catered for through a specific planning process.

Creating a new lease

An operator may embark on a planning process to create or amend a marine farming development plan to create a new zone, to which a lease may then be allocated.

Preparing a draft amendment to a Marine Farming Development Plan can be a complex action involving several non-statutory and statutory processes. Proponents are encouraged to contact the Aquaculture Branch to discuss their proposal before proceeding.

Learn more about preparing or amending a Marine Farming Development Plan or contact the Aquaculture Branch for more information.

Lease fees

Marine farming leases are subject to annual lease fees, as per the Marine Farming Planning Regulations 2016. Lease fees must be paid annually, regardless of operational status, and are subject to GST.

Lease fees are made up of a base fee and a fee per hectare of leased area. The total cost of a lease fee is calculated by multiplying these fees by the existing fee unit value, which changes every year in line with CPI.

Existing lease fee units (base fee and fee per hectare) can be found under Schedule 1 Part 3 of the Marine Farming Planning Regulations 2016.

Existing fee unit value can be found on the Department of Treasury and Finance fee unit webpage.

For more information on calculating a lease fee, please contact the Aquaculture Branch.

How to apply

As a first step, it is important to review the existing Marine Farming Development Plan covering the area of interest, which contains information about the location, size and which species are permitted to be farmed, within each marine farming zone.

Before proceeding further, applicants are then advised to contact the Aquaculture Branch.

As every application is different, a staff member will explain the process and discuss options specific to individual applications.