Good Pastoral Land Management Guidelines

Overview

The Pastoral Lands Board (PLB) has released a Consultation Draft of the Good Pastoral Land Management Guidelines (Guidelines).

The Guidelines are designed to provide a toolbox for pastoral lessees to assist them to engage in good land management practice.

The initial driver for the Guidelines was the Auditor General’s Report of October 2017, Management of Pastoral Lands in Western Australia (the Report), which focussed on monitoring and compliance of rangeland condition. It highlighted the Government’s failings in that area, also finding the State is not providing enough guidance or support to pastoralists on how to comply with land condition requirements in the Land Administration Act 1997 (LAA).

The Report recommended the PLB, with support from the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), should:

• 3b. Develop, publish and circulate policies to prevent the degradation of rangelands and to rehabilitate degraded or eroded rangelands to restore their pastoral potential, as prescribed under the LAA;
• 3c. Provide guidance on good practice soil, vegetation, stocking and feral animal management techniques, and rehabilitation techniques, to protect and improve the environmental condition of pastoral lands.

The Guidelines will meet Recommendation 3c and contribute significantly to the development of an appropriate suite of policies as outlined in Recommendation 3b.

A copy of the Guidelines and a Consultation Summary document, which provides broader context for the development of the Guidelines, is found below.

Why your views matter

The PLB is seeking feedback on the Guidelines, in order to ensure that the document contains the most up-to-date, best-practice land management information. While the development of the Guidelines has involved a significant amount of engagement with pastoralists, Government, and other stakeholders with an interest in the pastoral estate, there is always room for improvement.

Please provide your feedback below, or via email to the Pastoral Lands Board.