IPART completed its review of the rental arrangements for communication towers on Crown land that is managed by three NSW land management agencies in November 2019:
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The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) – Property and Housing (Crown Lands)
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NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which is part of the Environment, Energy and Science Group in DPIE
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Forestry Corporation of NSW (Forestry Corporation) – a state-owned corporation.
The terms of reference for the review asked us to provide advice on a fee schedule that reflects “fair, market-based commercial returns”. In forming this advice, we had regard to:
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Recent market rentals agreed for similar purposes and sites
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Recent land valuations
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The framework we established in the 2013 review and used to set the current rental arrangements for communication tower sites
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The land management agencies’ legislative requirements.
We found that setting rents using a schedule that reflects efficient prices in a workably competitive market continues to be the most appropriate and practical approach for ensuring that government land management agencies receive “fair, market-based commercial returns”. However, other key elements of the current rental arrangements should be refined or changed to better reflect up-to-date information on market prices and practices, improve simplicity and transparency, and ensure compliance with the Telecommunications Act.
For information on the NSW Government's response to the review refer to the Communication licence rent fact sheet available on the Crown Land's website here.