Victorian Farmers, will changes to retail leasing apply to you?

In some circumstances farm leases will be outside the scope of The Retail Leases Act (Act) following a determination by the Minister for Small Business, exempting farm leases from the Act.

As stated by the Minister:

“The Retail Leases Act was never intended to apply to the operation of commercial farming businesses and this determination reinforces that fact.”

“We are acting to provide farmers with certainty following recent legal judgements that may have broadened the scope of the Retail Leases Act past that intended by the Parliament.”

The determination is effective from 29 October 2019 and provides that particular leases are excluded from the Act if the premises are used for the following activities for wholly or predominantly commercial gain:

a)     agricultural, pastoral, horticultural or apicultural activities;

b)     poultry farming, dairy farming, aquaculture, tree-farming or any business that consists of the cultivation of soils, the gathering of crops or rearing of livestock;

c)     grazing, including agistment; or

d)     any other activities prescribed as a farming operation for the purpose of the Farm Debt Mediation Act 2011.

Tenants on a leased farm will still be covered by the Act if the leased premises is used for the retail sale of goods and services to consumers. The Act may also still apply if the lease is for charitable purposes.

If you are seeking to lease agricultural land, it is important that the terms of the lease are drafted correctly so that the Act does not apply.

For further information or advice, please contact:

Rod Payne
Principal
T: 03 5226 8541
E: rpayne@ha.legal

Vittoria De Stefano
Principal Lawyer
T: 03 5226 8520
E: vdestefano@ha.legal

Joseph Flanagan
Lawyer
T: 03 5226 8504
E: jflanagan@ha.legal