New marine lease - information kit

When do I need to apply for a marine aquaculture lease?

An application for a marine aquaculture lease is required if you wish to develop an area of marine waters for the farming of marine finfish, shellfish, or algae. Marine waters include coastal waters up to the jurisdictional limit of three nautical miles offshore (states waters) but does not include estuarine environments.

Unless you are applying for a marine water lease as part of a competitive lease tender process, the application process involves you submitting an expression of interest for a marine water lease ( PDF, 185.8 KB).

Do I need an aquaculture permit to carry out farming on a marine aquaculture lease?

Yes. You need a class A (extensive, no added feed) or B (intensive, added feed) aquaculture permit to undertake farming on a marine aquaculture lease.

How do I find out if the area I want to apply for has already been assessed as suitable for marine aquaculture?

Marine lease areas that have already been assessed as suitable for marine aquaculture will either be published on the Fisheries Spatial Data Portal and/or advertised as part of a competitive tender process.

There are number of current marine aquaculture leases in NSW. Zoning of marine waters for potential aquaculture leases has not been undertaken, so interested parties will need to identify an area of suitable marine waters and submit to NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW DPIRD) an expression of interest for a marine water lease (PDF, 185.8 KB).

What is expected of me in the expression of interest form?

The expression of interest form (EOI) carries no fee and must:

include a map of the proposed lease and the approximate size of the area
adequately address the constraints and assessment requirements as outlined in the NSW Marine Waters Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy (MWSAS), specifically chapter 3.1 (Table 1, items 1-12) which identifies areas where aquaculture operations are permissible
adequately address the considerations for compatibility with commercial, recreational, aboriginal fishing, recreational boating and tourism as outlined in the MWSAS chapter 3.2.1 item 12.1
adequately address the considerations for the suitability of the proposed infrastructure for the environmental conditions at the site in accordance with MWSAS 3.2.17 item 17.1 and 17.2.

What happens after I lodge an EOI for a new marine lease?

NSW DPIRD will assess the EOI and determine if the proposed lease is suitable for aquaculture and if the proposed infrastructure and aquaculture operations are suitable for the site conditions. To do this DPIRD assesses the proposed lease against the constraints and assessment requirements in chapters 3 and 4 of the NSW Marine Waters Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy.

If NSW DPIRD is supportive of the EOI, the department will consult with any relevant agencies (for example, Marine Parks, National Parks and Wildlife Service) to ensure they also support the EOI. The proposed lease will then be published in the NSW Government Gazette and on the department’s website, where the notice will ask for objections to the offering of the proposed lease.

NSW DPIRD will consider any submissions received in response to the publication and decide whether to offer the proposed lease via a competitive tender process. A tender for marine leases is held once per year, dependent on EOI submissions.

Can NSW DPIRD allocate a proposed marine lease to the first person who applies?

No. A competitive allocation process allows fair and equal opportunity for participants and ensures that returns to the State are maximised in the allocation of aquaculture leases.

The preferred allocation method is a public tender process, unless the department decides that the proposed lease should be allocated by auction or ballot.

For more information about the competitive tender process, refer to the aquaculture lease allocation policy.

How do I find out when a proposed marine lease is being offered via public tender?

When NSW DPIRD holds a competitive lease tender process for marine leases, the department will:

advertise the details of the tender in the NSW Government Gazette and on the department’s website at Lease Notifications & Tenders.
write to all parties who have submitted an EOI, providing the tender details
advise all current class A and B permit holders in NSW that a tender is about to commence
write to the relevant associations advising them of the tender details.

Am I eligible to participate in a competitive lease tender process?

To participate in a competitive tender process, you must meet one of the following:

hold a current class A or B aquaculture permit. You will need to apply to vary your permit as part of the tender submission
apply for a new class A or B aquaculture permit. Your new permit application will form part of the tender submission
have an arrangement in place to sublet the proposed lease to a current class A or B permit holder. The relevant permit holder will need to apply to vary their permit as part of the tender submission. Sublet applications will be required immediately after the tender process if you are the successful tenderer.

How do I participate in a competitive lease tender process?

You must follow the instructions set out in the Request for Tender (RFT) document, which will be available on the department’s webpage as soon as the tender opens. The RFT provides specific information about the tender process including:

the terms and condition of the tender
how to ensure your tender is eligible and conforming
how to submit your tender.

Your tender submission can be mailed or emailed using the addresses listed in the RFT. It must be submitted before the closing date.

As part of the RFT, you will be asked to:

offer a tender premium for the proposed marine lease you wish to lease. The minimum premium for marine leases is $10,000 per lease
complete a new marine water lease application form
complete a permit application as described above, either a new permit application or an application to vary an existing permit. As part of this, you will be required to prepare a new, or update your existing, commercial farm development plan (CFDP)
demonstrate knowledge of, and capacity to pay, the associated costs of the State Significant Development (SSD) application process.

What happens after the tender closes?

An aquaculture lease tender committee (ALTC) will assess the tenders received. The ALTC will consist of two officers from the aquaculture business unit and an independent officer from DPIRD corporate services.

The tenderer who has submitted a conforming tender and has offered the highest tender premium will be deemed the successful tenderer.

NSW DPIRD will notify all successful tenderers soon after the closing date of the tender. The successful tenderer will need to pay all prescribed lease and permit application fees within a 14-day period. If the successful tenderer has advised in their tender submission that they intend to sublet the proposed lease, a completed sublet application form and prescribed fee will also be required within this 14-day period.

If the successful tenderer fails to submit any of these requirements, the proposed lease will be offered to the next highest conforming tenderer.

The tender premium is payable after development consent for the SSD application has been granted by the Department of Planning and Environment. An application for a marine lease may be refused by NSW DPIRD if the applicant fails to lodge a SSD application within 3 years of being advised to do so.

A marine lease will only be granted if the successful tenderer:

obtains all necessary consents and approvals as per the requirements of the SSD to authorise marine aquaculture. The Department of Planning will consider the MWSAS as part of their decision to grant consent to a SSD marine lease application
pays the tender premium that was offered in the tender submission
pays any other relevant costs related to the SSD
organises for a registered surveyor to develop a new lease plan of the proposed lease.

Is the tender premium and application fee refundable if the application is withdrawn or refused?

No, the tender premium and application fee are not refundable.

The tender premium is only payable after consent for a SSD marine aquaculture lease is granted.

If for any reason, the lease is not granted to the successful tenderer or the successful tenderer withdraws their application prior to obtaining consent, the premium is not payable.

What will I need to do to get a new lease plan?

When all required consents for the marine lease have been granted, NSW DPIRD will ask you to engage the services of a registered surveyor to survey the proposed lease and generate a new lease plan.

For further information refer to the lease survey specifications.

Do not organise for a proposed lease to be surveyed until you are advised to do so by NSW DPIRD. Likewise, do not place any lease markers on a proposed lease until you are told to do so.

What fees and charges will be payable after a marine lease has been granted?

After a lease is granted, the following annual fees will be payable:

lease rent is payable per hectare, or part thereof, per annum (including GST). Lease rent is charged to the leaseholder
annual permit contribution is a set fee that will be charged to the permit holder of the lease
annual research contribution is payable per hectare, or part thereof, per annum. It is also charged to the permit holder.

Lease and permit fees will be charged from the date a new lease is granted.

In addition, a lease security arrangement must be in place within 30 days of the granting of the lease. For a marine lease, this will be either a cash deposit or a bank guarantee. The rate is $1,000 per hectare. This is a refundable arrangement.

For further information refer to the aquaculture fee schedule.

Under what circumstances would my application for a new lease and/or my tender submission be refused?

A lease application and/or tender submission may be refused on the grounds specified in clause 31(2) and 35(4) of the Fisheries Management (Aquaculture) Regulation 2017. This includes if you, as the applicant:

are disqualified from holding an aquaculture permit under s 161 of the Fisheries Management Act 1994
fail to complete any requirements of the application or tender process
have overdue rent, contributions or other debt that is more than 90 days overdue
have failed to clean up a previously terminated aquaculture lease.

In addition, an application may be refused if the proposed lease:

is not in the public interest
is assessed as unsuitable for sustainable aquaculture.

Where can I find more information about applying for a new marine lease?

If you need assistance, please contact aquaculture administration via email at aquaculture.administration@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

You are advised to contact NSW DPIRD before you submit an EOI for a proposed marine lease.

Summary of the new lease application and lease tender process

NSW DPIRD receives an EOI for a marine water lease
The EOI is assessed in line with the MWSAS
NSW DPIRD consults with any relevant agencies to ensure they support the proposal outlined in the EOI
If the lease is assessed as a suitable aquaculture area, NSW DPIRD will advertise the proposed lease for objections on the NSW Government Gazette and on the department’s website
After considering any objections received, NSW DPIRD will decide whether to offer the proposed lease via a competitive tender process
The tender process opens for a minimum 4-week period. A Request for Tender document is made available on the department’s webpage. NSW DPIRD advises all relevant parties that the tender has opened
After the tender closes, the ALTC meets to review the submitted tenders. They decide if a tenderer is eligible to participate and if their tender is conforming
Successful tenderers are notified that their tender has been accepted and are offered the proposed lease. They are provided with a period of 14 days to meet certain requirements
Successful tenderer accepts the offer, pays the relevant application fees, and commences the SSD application process
The successful tenderer pays the tender premium within 14 days of SSD consent being granted
The successful tenderer organises for a registered surveyor to survey the proposed lease and generate a new lease plan.