Perilya Broken Hill Limited v Valuer-General (No 6) [2015] NSWLEC 43

Perilya Broken Hill Limited v Valuer-General (No 6) [2015] NSWLEC 43

The expression "the fee simple of the land" in s 6A(1) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 refers to a hypothetical absolute or pure fee simple constituting full ownership in law, not the actual title held by the owner. Minerals are physically part of land, and Crown reservations of minerals are restrictions on title or ownership rather than public laws affecting use or enjoyment of land independently of title. Accordingly, the hypothetical fee simple includes publicly owned minerals and requires them to be treated as privately owned for determining land value.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
30 March 2015
Procedural Posture
Class 3 Valuation Appeal Concerning Mining Land / Separate Question for Determination After Remittal From the Court of Appeal
Outcome
Separate question answered in the affirmative.
Legal Topics
['land Value Under S 6 a of the Valuation of Land Act 1916' 'publicly Owned Minerals and Privately Owned Minerals Under the Mining Act 1992' 'fee Simple of Land' 'mineral Reservations in Crown Grants' 'distinction Between Restrictions on Title and Public Laws Affecting Use of Land']
['valuation of Land' 'mining Law' 'statutory Construction' 'land Law' 'rating and Taxation'] ['land Value Under S 6 a of the Valuation of Land Act 1916' 'publicly Owned Minerals and Privately Owned Minerals Under the Mining Act 1992' 'fee Simple of Land' 'mineral Reservations in Crown Grants' 'distinction Between Restrictions on Title and Public Laws Affecting Use of Land']

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Procedural Posture

Class 3 Valuation Appeal Concerning Mining Land / Separate Question for Determination After Remittal From the Court of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Under s 6A(1) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916, whether the land value of land containing publicly owned minerals, as defined in the Mining Act 1992, is to be determined on the assumption that the minerals are privately owned.']

Ratio Decidendi

The expression "the fee simple of the land" in s 6A(1) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 refers to a hypothetical absolute or pure fee simple constituting full ownership in law, not the actual title held by the owner. Minerals are physically part of land, and Crown reservations of minerals are restrictions on title or ownership rather than public laws affecting use or enjoyment of land independently of title. Accordingly, the hypothetical fee simple includes publicly owned minerals and requires them to be treated as privately owned for determining land value.

Court Disposition

Separate question answered in the affirmative.

Orders

  • ['Under s 6A(1) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916, the land value of land containing publicly owned minerals, as defined in the Mining Act 1992, is to be determined on the assumption that the minerals are privately owned.']