Note
: "Small-scale title" means a mineral claim or an opal prospecting licence.
(2)
The Minister may determine the compensation payable (
"standard compensation" ) for the purposes of subsection (1) and the quantum
of any standard compensation is at the discretion of the Minister.
(3) A
determination of the Minister is to be made by order published in the Gazette
and any such order--
(a) may prescribe different amounts of
standard compensation for different mineral claims districts or opal
prospecting areas, and
(b) may provide for standard compensation to be
indexed on an annual or other basis.
(4) The Secretary must not grant a
small-scale title to an applicant unless satisfied that--
(b) the applicant has given, in the manner
prescribed by the regulations, any such landholder a notice that states the
applicant's intention to exercise rights under the small-scale title and that
identifies (by map or otherwise) the land to which the small-scale title
applies, and
(c) if the application is for the renewal of a mineral claim,
the applicant has, no later than 28 days after lodging the application, paid
all outstanding amounts of compensation payable by the applicant to the
landholder under the mineral claim (other than compensation that may be
payable under a compensation agreement).
(5) The Secretary may grant a
small-scale title to an applicant despite the applicant failing to satisfy the
Secretary of a matter specified in subsection (4) if the Secretary is
satisfied that the failure occurred because the applicant, after taking all
reasonable steps, has been unable to sufficiently identify a landholder for
the purposes of this section. Nothing in this subsection affects the right of
a landholder to compensation under this section.
(6) The Land and Environment
Court--
(a) may determine the compensation payable for the purposes of
subsection (1) in respect of a small-scale title for which no
standard compensation has been determined by the Minister, and
(b) may make
any such determination on the application of the landholder or the applicant
for the small-scale title, and
(c) in determining the compensation payable is
to have regard to any determinations of standard compensation made by the
Minister.
(7) Compensation determined by the Court under subsection (6) is
taken to be standard compensation in respect of--
(b) the grant of a renewal of the title (but
only if the Minister does not, within the term of the title, make a
determination of standard compensation in respect of the title).
(8) The Land
and Environment Court may, in exceptional circumstances and despite subsection
(1), award a landholder compensation for the compensable loss suffered, or
likely to be suffered, by the landholder as a result of the exercise of the
rights conferred by a small-scale title, but only if--
(a) the application for
such compensation is made to the Court no later than 60 days after the notice
under subsection (4) (b) is given to the landholder in respect of the title,
and
(b) there is no compensation agreement in place in respect of the title
between the landholder and the person from whom compensation is sought.
(9)
Division 3 does not apply to a determination of compensation under this
section. However, sections 271, 272 (other than section 272 (1) (b) (i)) and
275 do apply to a determination of compensation under subsection (8).
(10) No
appeal lies against a determination of compensation under this section.
(11)
The Minister cannot vary or substitute a standard compensation amount
previously determined by the Minister under this section unless--
(a) at least
5 years have passed since that previous determination, and
(b) the Minister
has caused an independent review to be conducted into the appropriate levels
of standard compensation and has considered the findings of that review.
(12)
The regulations may make provisions for or with respect to the collection of
standard compensation by the collection agency and the payment of that
compensation to landholders, and in particular may--
(a) prescribe fees in
respect of the exercise of functions by or on behalf of the collection agency
under this section, and
(b) permit any such function to be delegated to
Service NSW as a customer service function.
(13) In this section--
"collection agency" means a government sector agency or the head of a
government sector agency nominated by the regulations as the
collection agency.
"term" of a small-scale title includes, in the case of the renewal of a
mineral claim, any period during which, before its renewal, the mineral claim
was taken to continue to have effect under section 197 (3).
