COVID-19 assistance for tourism lease, licence and permit holders
COVID-19 update - State land rent waiver
In response to the impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus), the Queensland Government is providing rent relief for holders of tourism leases, licences and permits on state land.
Depending on your tenure type, support includes:
State land rent waiver
We are waiving rent for tourism lessees, licensees and permit holders for the period 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020.
Eligibility
Leases, licences and permits on state land for the purpose of tourism are eligible for a rent waiver, unless they are on minimum rent.
If you are not eligible for a rent waiver, you may still apply to defer your rent (see below for details).
You do not need to take any action to receive the rent waiver. The Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy will automatically waive your rent.
Lessees who receive a waiver and have tenants who are operating a commercial business are expected to pass on an appropriate amount of land rent savings to these tenants.
How the rent waiver works
If you receive rental invoices quarterly, we have waived the payment of rental invoices due in the following periods:
- 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020
- 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020.
The following arrangements apply if you receive rental invoices annually:
- If you have paid your annual rental invoice for the 2019-20 billing period, that part of the annual rental amount for the period 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020 will be refunded to you. We can also credit your account as long as you email us at ltladmin@dnrme.qld.gov.au by 15 May 2020.
- The annual rent invoice for the 2020-21 billing period will be adjusted to remove the rental amount due from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020. This rent invoice will be sent on 1 November 2020 and payment will be due on 1 December 2020.
If the calculated refund or adjustment results in your rental payment being lower than the minimum rent payable for your rental category, you will only receive a refund or adjustment down to the minimum rent.
Tourism rent deferral
If you hold a lease or licence for tourism purposes and receive rental invoices quarterly, you can apply for a land rent deferral for the 3rd quarter of the 2019-20 billing period (1 January 2020 - 31 March 2020).
If your application is approved, rental invoices that were payable by 1 March 2020 will instead be payable by 1 January 2021. No penalty interest will accrue on overdue balances for this period.
If the lease is transferred, the rent deferral stops from the day of the transfer settlement and all outstanding rental monies must be paid.
Eligibility
To be eligible for deferral you must:
- hold a term lease, perpetual lease or road licence for tourism purposes (you are not eligible for deferral if you hold a permit to occupy)
- receive your rental invoice quarterly
- currently be trading or operating under the terms of your lease or licence and in substantive compliance with your lease or licence conditions
- be suffering financial hardship as a result of adverse economic conditions related to the purpose of the lease as a result of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
How to apply for deferral of rent
Your application should include:
- LA00—Application form part A (PDF, 92.1KB)
- LA24-1—Application for deferral of rent for tourism leases and licences (PDF, 107KB)
- Any additional attachments, as requested.
To help us assess your application, you will need to provide information demonstrating the direct negative impact on your financial situation or liquidity as a consequence of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
Examples of information that can be provided include:
- a decline in occupancy rates or tourism ticket sales
- reduced patronage
- booking cancellations relating to the operation of the tourism lease.
The information supporting your application should be provided by:
- a suitably qualified person (i.e. chief financial officer, accountant)
or
- the lease or licence holder via a completed declaration and witnessed by another person.
Note: Where you are unable to have the declaration witnessed due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, you can:
- note on the declaration that the document is unable to be witnessed due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements
- provide a copy of signed photo identification (i.e. driver’s licence or passport) for the person signing the declaration.
To avoid processing delays, read the forms carefully and include all required information.
Lodging your application
You can lodge your state land application by emailing it to SLAMlodgement@dnrme.qld.gov.au or by posting it to Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, PO Box 5318, Townsville QLD 4810.
Contact us
If you have any questions about lodging your application, email SLAMlodgement@dnrme.qld.gov.au or call (07) 4447 9179.
You can contact your nearest business centre to arrange a pre-lodgement meeting.
How your application is assessed
We will assess your application against legislative requirements and our own policies, procedures and guidelines.
Policies and legislation
What happens next?
Once we have investigated the application for deferral of rent, we will send you a written notice. If your application is approved, the notice will state the time for which the deferral applies.
While the deferred rent must still be paid after the deferral period ends, no penalty interest is payable by the lessee or licensee on the deferred rent for that period. All approved deferrals will be reviewed to ensure the circumstances are still current.