WA Rating Obligations for Crown Land Subject to Mining Tenements

Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025

17 Jun 2026: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

crown land land tax land use local government mining mining tenements property rates property tax tax refunds

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

Crown land is rateable if it is subject to a mining tenement; this excludes miscellaneous licences or small prospecting licences
Crown land held under a miscellaneous licence or small prospecting licence is not rateable
Local governments must cancel and extinguish rates and recovery costs for licence land charged between 1 July 2017 and 1 July 2025
Local governments must refund any payments made for those cancelled rates within 28 days
Local governments cannot reassess rates or issue payment notices for licence land for the affected years
Past actions taken on the basis that licence land was not rateable are confirmed as lawful
People holding mining tenements or petroleum and geothermal energy permits are now classified as owners
People who paid these rates can sue the local government to recover the debt if it is not refunded within 28 days

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Jackie Jarvis ALP

“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 is to clarify that miscellaneous licences and small prospecting licences on crown land are not rateable regardless of occupation.”

Official source →

Hannah Beazley ALP

“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 is to clarify that miscellaneous licences and small prospecting licences on crown land are not rateable regardless of occupation.”

Official source →