Leases

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The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority manages Leases under the Crown Land (Reserves) 1978 for a range of buildings and land parcels within the Great Ocean Road region. Leases are managed in line with the Victorian Government’s Leasing policy for Victorian Crown land 2023, which can be downloaded here:

Leases regarding Surf Life Saving Clubs and their management are outlined in the Occupation and use of Crown land by Lifesaving Clubs in Victoria – Policy Statement 2019. The policy was developed in partnership between Life Saving Victoria and the Victorian Government. A copy can be downloaded here: 

You can find out more about leasing Crown land in Victoria on the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) website here

Applying for a lease 

If an individual or organisation wishes to apply for a Crown land lease managed by the Authority, fill out the application below.

Click here to view form.

Those seeking to lease a building or land for ‘community use’ will also need to fill in the Community use Application Form. This is a separate form that allows applicants to outline the proposed community use – applicants seeking to apply for a lease for community use should also familiarise themselves with information on this page concerning ‘rent’. 

The community use application form can be submitted alongside the ‘Crown Land Lease Application Form’, where required.

Click here to view form.

This form is used to provide initial information on the reason and proposed use of the property or land the applicant wishes to lease. From here the Authority will assess the application against Victorian Government legislation and policy. 

Applicants may be required to provide a business case or evidence of community use of the building or area. 

Applicants should also be aware, as per the Leasing policy for Victorian Crown land 2023, applicants are required to pay the costs associated with the development of a lease. This may include, but is not limited to: 

  • Development of a survey plan 

  • Rent valuation report 

  • Legal advice if variations to standard leasing templates are requested by the applicant;  

  • Advertisement of intention to lease; or 

  • Other administration costs associated with the development of the lease. 

Applicants can be submitted via email to: info@GreatOceanRoadAuthority.vic.gov.au 

Applicants will be contacted to discuss their application and additional information may be requested. 

Rent 

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the Leasing policy for Victorian Crown land 2023 or the Occupation and use of Crown land by Lifesaving Clubs In Victoria – Policy Statement 2019 which provides information on how rents are developed for Crown land leases. 

Community Uses 

To be considered a community use lease, prospective tenants must: 

  1. be a not-for-profit organisation,
  2. be competitively neutral,
  3. be managed mostly by volunteers, 
  4. manage the lease primarily for the community, and 
  5. meet compulsory public benefit criteria such as social engagement, service is non-discriminatory, there are no barriers to participation and a demand exists for the service. 

The ‘burden of proof’/justification in relation to a prospective tenant being granted a rental subsidy from market rent lies with the prospective tenant at the lease application and rent review stages. 

Community Use categories 

After assessing a prospective tenants business case and ancillary revenue raising activities the lease will be categorised as either a: 

  1. Full community use lease (Profit is low to medium and there are no permanent commercial activities) 
  2. Mixed use lease (Profit is low to medium and there are permanent commercial activities), or 
  3. High profit lease (profit is high regardless of permanent commercial activities)

Community Use category rent calculation 

The diagram below describes the rent calculation method for each community use category.

 Community use rent categories

Administrative rent 

Full community use tenants will pay an administrative rent based on cost-recovery reflecting the preparation and administration of the lease. The administrative rent will escalate annually to ensure it reflects the costs incurred by the landlord in administering the lease. 

Further information 

For further information, or you wish to enquiry about obtaining a lease, please email info@GreatOceanRoadAuthority.vic.gov.au