A pastoral lease is Crown land that government allows to be leased, generally for the purposes of farming.
Pastoral leases exist in both Australian commonwealth law and state jurisdictions.
Under the Commonwealth of Australia law they are agreements that allow for the use of Crown land by farmers, etc. The leases constitute an Australian land apportionment system created in the mid-19th century to facilitate the orderly division and sale of land to indigenous Australians and European colonists.[1]
Leases within state jurisdictions have variations as to applicability from state to state.
The statutory provisions of pastoral leases are covered by the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 and the Land Act 1948. The holder of the lease has:[2]
Pastoral leases are undergoing a voluntary tenure review process.