IPART completed its review of the rental arrangements for communication towers on Crown land that is managed by three NSW land management agencies in November 2019:
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The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) – Property and Housing (Crown Lands)
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NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which is part of the Environment, Energy and Science Group in DPIE
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Forestry Corporation of NSW (Forestry Corporation) – a state-owned corporation.
The terms of reference for the review asked us to provide advice on a fee schedule that reflects “fair, market-based commercial returns”. In forming this advice, we had regard to:
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Recent market rentals agreed for similar purposes and sites
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Recent land valuations
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The framework we established in the 2013 review and used to set the current rental arrangements for communication tower sites
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The land management agencies’ legislative requirements.
We found that setting rents using a schedule that reflects efficient prices in a workably competitive market continues to be the most appropriate and practical approach for ensuring that government land management agencies receive “fair, market-based commercial returns”. However, other key elements of the current rental arrangements should be refined or changed to better reflect up-to-date information on market prices and practices, improve simplicity and transparency, and ensure compliance with the Telecommunications Act.