What kind of activity is it? - Dja Dja Wurrung LUAA

A project or program of works may include several LUAA ‘activities’. If so, assess each activity separately and follow the LUAA process for each one.

It may be convenient, when planning such a program, to notify DJAARA of the scope of activities in that program. You can then discuss when and how best to manage the formal notifications required by the LUAA.

For some Major Public Works, a grant or variation of a Public Land Authorisation (PLA) is required. The LUAA clarifies that in these cases, the PLA is not treated as a separate matter for negotiation and Community Benefits. It is treated as a component of the Major Public Works.

In all other cases, if a single project or enterprise includes multiple Negotiation or Agreement activities, then Schedule 6 of the LUAA sets out a joint process to be followed for all activities forming that project.

An activity can proceed without prior notification if:

• it is during an 'emergency situation', and
• the activity is for the purpose of protecting life, property or the environment.

'Emergency situation' is not defined, but clearly this category does not include planned controlled burning or other activities carried out to prevent emergencies.

The decision maker must inform DJAARA of what has been done during the emergency, as soon as practicable afterwards.

Any works or other activities conducted after the emergency has passed are classified by the LUAA in the usual way.

Activities under existing legal authorisations

Activities carried out within the terms of a Public Land Authorisation (a lease, licence or permit) are exempt from the LUAA if the PLA was granted either:

• before 25 October 2013, or
• in compliance with Part 4 of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act (which gives legal effect to the LUAA).

Activities authorised by an ILUA (an Indigenous Land Use Agreement under the Native Title Act) are exempt from the LUAA. There are several site-specific ILUAs on the ILUA register(opens in a new window) within Dja Dja Wurrung country, all dating from before, or just after, the commencement of the LUAA. Most relate to mining activities or to leases for specific purposes.

Activities under a Joint Management Plan

The Dja Dja Wurrung RSA provides for certain National Parks (together with State Parks, a Regional Park and a Flora & Fauna Reserve) to be returned to DJAARA as Aboriginal Title. These areas are managed by the Dhelkunya Dja Land Management Board.

Where this has occurred, and the Board has created a Joint Management Plan for that land, the LUAA authorises activities if they:

• occur wholly on the land subject to the Plan
• are consistent with that Plan, and
• would otherwise have been Advisory activities.

Management and working plans under listed Acts

The creation of management plans or working plans made under the following Acts are Advisory activities:

• Fisheries Act 1995 (s.28)
• National Parks Act 1975 (s.17, 17B, 17D, 18)
• Wildlife Act 1975 (s.18, 32)
• Water Act 1989 (s.31)
• Forests Act 1958 (s.22).

Other plans

In all other cases, the LUAA does not affect the creation of a plan. There is no obligation to consult or negotiate with DJAARA when preparing zoning plans or other kinds of plans not listed above.

That said, it is both efficient and appropriate (in the spirit of ‘a meaningful partnership based on mutual respect’) to engage informally with DJAARA early in the course of any planning.

Although the planning itself may not be regulated by the LUAA, your plan may include a number of specific activities that will be. When you create such a plan, you could then formally notify DJAARA of those activities well in advance. This would allow plenty of time to work through any Advisory, Negotiation or Agreement processes required for each activity.

Public Works that are listed in the LUAA (Specified Public Works) are divided into two categories:

• Major Public Works are Negotiation Class B activities
• Minor Public Works are Advisory activities

The LUAA’s classification may differ from other ways of classifying 'major' works, such as in planning schemes or budgeting processes. The following information shows related kinds of works to aid your assessment.

Land clearing or Major Works for a commercial purpose (see definition below), without a Public Land Authorisation (lease, licence or permit), are generally Agreement activities.

‘Major Works’ is defined in the LUAA, but not in the same way as ‘Major Public Works.’ It means any works which have a substantial impact on the physical quality of the land, having regard to the size and scale of the activity.

Other land clearing or major works

In many cases, land clearing or major works for a commercial purpose cannot be conducted on public land without a lease, licence or permit. Where such a Public Land Authorisation (PLA) is being granted or varied, see below for its classification under the LUAA.

Activities conducted pursuant to a valid PLA are authorised under the LUAA.

Where land clearing is part of a Specified Public Work, see above for the LUAA classification of that public work.

The LUAA groups mining and energy related authorisations under the general term Earth Resource or Infrastructure Authorisation (ERIA).

The following table shows how the LUAA categorises each ERIA activity. Please read the hyperlinked definitions for key terms.

Most authorisations under the Fisheries Act 1995 are either:

• Routine activities under the LUAA, or
• not mentioned in the LUAA, and therefore not regulated by it.

Note that leases for aquaculture are covered above under "Public Land Authorisation".

Changes to reservations as listed below are Advisory activities.

• New reservation of public land, proclamation of an area as Protected Forest, or classification of a State Wildlife Reserve
• Change of reservation boundaries, Gazetted change of reservation purpose, or Gazetted declaration that land within a reserved forest is set aside for a specific purpose
• Revocation of reservation, or excision of land from a reserved forest.

In general, the grant of freehold title to parcels of public land covered by the LUAA (e.g., the sale of public land) is an Agreement activity. It cannot proceed without DJAARA's consent.

The only exceptions are:

• a grant of Aboriginal Title (freehold title subject to certain conditions) to the Traditional Owners
• a grant made to facilitate a project that is for a public purpose
• transfers of land between statutory authorities.

In these three cases, there are no LUAA requirements for the grant or transfer.

The transfer of title to existing freehold land is not subject to the LUAA.