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The definition of “owner” of land is set out in the Schedule to the MRA and includes:

• a registered owner of freehold land;
• the holder of land under a lease or occupancy granted by the State (but not occupation rights under a permit under the Land Act 1994); and
• various entities with powers of management or control of specified reserves, leases or grants of land.

What can landowners be compensated for?

For activities under prospecting permits, exploration permits and mineral development licences, landowners can be compensated for the damage or injury suffered or the loss incurred.

For activities under mining claims and mining leases, the landowner is entitled to compensation for (an extract of sections 281(3) and (4) of the MRA follows):

“281 Determination of compensation by tribunal
…
(3) Upon an application made under subsection (1), the tribunal shall settle the amount of compensation an owner of land is entitled to as compensation for—

(a) in the case of compensation referred to in section 279—

(i) deprivation of possession of the surface of land of the owner;
(ii) diminution of the value of the land of the owner or any improvements thereon;
(iii) diminution of the use made or which may be made of the land of the owner or any improvements thereon;
(iv) severance of any part of the land from other parts thereof or from other land of the owner;
(v) any surface rights of access;
(vi) all loss or expense that arises;
as a consequence of the grant or renewal of the mining lease; and

(b) in the case of compensation referred to in section 280—

(i) diminution of the value of the land of the owner or any improvements thereon;
(ii) diminution of the use made or which may be made of the land of the owner or any improvements thereon;
(iii) all loss or expense that arises;
as a consequence of the grant or renewal of the mining lease.

(4) In assessing the amount of compensation payable under subsection (3)—

(a) where it is necessary for the owner of land to obtain replacement land of a similar productivity, nature and area or resettle himself or herself or relocate his or her livestock and other chattels on other parts of his or her land or on the replacement land, all reasonable costs incurred or likely to be incurred by the owner in obtaining replacement land, the owner’s resettlement and the relocation of the owner’s livestock or other chattels as at the date of the assessment shall be considered;

(b) no allowance shall be made for any minerals that are or may be on or under the surface of the land concerned;

(c) if the owner of land proves that the status and use currently being made (prior to the application for the grant of the mining lease) of certain land is such that a premium should be applied—an appropriate amount of compensation may be determined;

(d) loss that arises may include loss of profits to the owner calculated by comparison of the usage being made of land prior to the lodgement of the relevant application for the grant of a mining lease and the usage that could be made of that land after the grant;

(e) an additional amount shall be determined to reflect the compulsory nature of action taken under this part which amount, together with any amount determined pursuant to paragraph (c), shall be not less than 10% of the aggregate amount determined under subsection (3).
… .”

Where can I get advice about compensation?

Valuers can assist landowners to assess the impact of mining activities on the land. Lawyers can assist landowners to formulate, negotiate and present their claim for compensation.

Does compensation have to be determined by the LRT?

Landowners and miners can enter into compensation agreements without the matter coming before the LRT. Compensation agreements for mining claims and mining leases must be in writing, signed by both parties, filed in the office of the Mining Registrar and stamped, (if stamping is required under Queensland law). Enquiries about stamping should be made to the Office of State Revenue.

What is the effect of a compensation agreement?

As well as being an agreement between the parties, it is a condition of all mining leases that the miner makes all compensation payments and complies with all the terms of any compensation agreement.

All the LRT’s compensation determinations are available under the Decisions page on the LRT’s website. Click here to access the Decisions page.

How do compensation matters come to the Tribunal?

Either the landowner or the miner can apply to the Mining Registrar to have the LRT determine compensation. The Mining Registrar can also refer the matter to the LRT if the parties have not filed a compensation agreement within 3 months of the events specified in section 279(5) MRA, in the case of a mining lease and section 85(12) MRA, in the case of a mining claim.

Either party can make a request through a Tribunal officer for the matter to be sent to mediation. That request will be dealt with by the Member to which the matter has been allocated. They may convene a directions hearing to deal with the request or, if there is agreement between the parties, may make an order “on the papers”.

The Tribunal has implemented a procedure to enable smaller compensation matters to be dealt with on the papers. Click here to access the Flow Chart for Landholder compensation for mining tenures, which includes information about the process. Unless either party requests a hearing or the LRT considers a hearing is necessary, compensation matters will be dealt with “on the papers”.

If an application is made or a matter is referred to the LRT for a determination of compensation for a mining lease or mining claim, the LRT may determine the amounts and the terms, conditions and times when payments aggregating the total compensation is payable. Some landowners are more interested in the miner doing specified works that will assist with their property management or would like conditions imposed about how the miner will undertake the mining activities. If the landowner has objected to the grant of a mining lease, the LRT can certainly recommend the lease be granted on conditions that take such matters into account. Alternatively, the miner and landowner can enter into a compensation agreement that deals with such matters and compliance with the compensation agreement is a condition of the lease. However, the LRT cannot impose such conditions as part of the compensation determination. Once the matter is left to the LRT to determine, the LRT can only make an award in monetary terms and make orders about how and when the compensation is to be paid.