• Concessional leases are granted for less than market value. These types of leases are often used to benefit the community.
  • You can use the Land Titles Register to check if your lease is concessional. 
  • You can apply to change a concessional lease or have it ‘deconcessionalised’.

Concessional leases are granted for less than market value. They don't include rural leases , Territory owned leases and other exceptions.

The Government uses concessional leases to provide benefits to the ACT community. This means supporting the not-for-profit sector by releasing land for core community and social facilities.

Examples of concessional leases include leases that are:

  • granted to a religious or community organisation
  • within a units plan if the rest of the leases in that unit plan stay at market value
  • part of a business incentive package to help the economic growth and development of the Territory.

Identifying concessional leases

Buyers, sellers, conveyancing lawyers and other interested people can look at a lease in the Land Titles Register to see if it's concessional without having to do further detailed research.

The Land Titles Register will tell you if  the lease is:

  • currently concessional
  • at risk of being concessional

Concessional leases are identified using parts 10.4 and 10.5 and Schedule 2 of the Planning Act 2023.

Concessional leases and non-concessional leases need to fit into one of these categories:

  • Concessional leases: leases deemed to be concessional.
  • Market value leases: leases deemed to be not concessional.
  • Possibly concessional leases: this includes leases that might or might not be concessional. It's a category that flags that the lease might be concessional. This means you'll need to do further research.

Decisions on concessional leases

The Territory Planning Authority (the Authority) decides if a lease is concessional. If you're a lessee, you can apply to determine if your lease is concessional .

The Authority will provide:

  • written notice to each person with a registered interest in the lease
  • invite representations in the notice
  • consider any representations made within 15 working days after public comments close.

You can't make dealings with the lease without written consent from the Authority. This includes the lessee or anyone else with an interest in a concessional lease.

Apply to appeal concessional lease decision

If you're unsatisfied with the outcome of a concessional lease, you can apply for a review of the decision. You can do this by applying to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Community concessional leases

Applications for concessional leases are considered under the Community Concessional Leases provisions of the Planning Act 2023.

You can find out more about concessional community use of land . You can also contact the Urban Renewal team .

Change a concessional lease

Sometimes you might want to change or remove your granted concessional lease. You will need to apply to change this status.

A development application can be lodged to vary a lease granted as a concessional lease to remove its concessional status.

Removing concessional status or “deconcessionalising”

Deconcessionalising a lease is varying it to remove its concessional status.

You'll need to lodge a development application to change the concessional status. Your approval is sought through a development application.

At a minimum, your proposal needs to meet the requirements of the Social Impact Assessment Guide. Your proposal will also need to assess the:

  • social impact
  • cultural impact
  • economic impact.

The Minister for Planning will decide the development application in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act 2023.

Approval to deconcessionalise

Your development application to deconcessionalise a lease may be approved. If you're the lessee, you'll need to pay the Territory the payout amount. You can calculate this payment using the formula in Section 311 of the Planning Act 2023.

Surrender and regrant of lease

You might have a lease varied to remove the concessional status by surrender and regrant of the lease. This means the regranted lease will be authorised for each use under the previous lease.

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