FAQs

All local government land (except roads) that is owned by a council or under a council’s care, control and management is Community Land under the Local Government Act 1999 (LG Act), unless it has been exempted through legislation, excluded by resolution of Council or the classification has been revoked. 

Our community land has diverse uses from foreshore reserves, to trails, open space and parks, sportsgrounds, wetlands, conservation reserves and car parks. Our community land contributes to our quality of life, economic development and urban amenity for all residents and visitors to Victor Harbor.

Community Land Management Plans (the Plans) are documents created by Council following public consultation that provides an opportunity for community input and comment. 

They provide guidance and direction on the care, management and use of community lands for the benefit of residents and visitors. 

The LG Act provides a framework for the administration and management of all local government land, including community land, which aims to ensure a consistent, strategic and flexible approach in order to protect the community interests in land for current and future generations and to provide direction for the use of each community land parcel.  

A Community Land Register lists all Community Land parcels in a Council area and identifies which Community Land Management Plan each parcel is managed under. 

A Community Land Register must also contain the following information for each parcel: 

• the legal description; 

• street address; 

• locality or suburb;

• commonly known name (if applicable); 

• area of the land; 

• name of the owner; and 

• if the land is leased or licenced, the name of the tenant, the term and the purpose of the lease or licence. 

The Community Land Register is a separate document and can change over time as new parcels are added to it or land has its Community Land classification revoked and is removed from the register.

Yes, community land can be leased or licenced, so long as the lease or licence is consistent with the purpose of the Community Land Management Plan. 

If the lease or licence is for a term greater than 5 years, Council will follow the relevant steps in its public consultation policy before granting the lease or licence. 

Leases and licences cannot be granted for more than 42 years.

For land that was not considered community land, councils were able to exclude it from the community land classification by notice in the Government Gazette prior to 31 December 2002. For all property acquired since 2003, the council must pass a resolution prior to its acquisition or transfer that the land will be excluded from the community land classification. For land owned by the council, the community land classification can be revoked following the process set out in the LG Act. When considering which properties are to be excluded from the community land classification, Council has applied the following criteria: 

• Is the land intended to be available for use by the public as a right? 

• Is the land used only for Council’s operational purposes (eg Council depot)? 

• Is the land used or was it purchased for strategic or commercial purposes? 

• Is the land considered surplus to Council’s needs and appropriate to sell?