Government pushes ahead with valuation changes

THE Queensland Parliament is debating the Land Valuation Bill this week.
The current Valuation of Lands Act 1944 has become dated, and too many urban valuations were subject to legal battles and debates over the actual unimproved value of some sites.
In response, the Government announced in March that from next year it would adopt ‘site value’ for non-rural land, while rural land would continue to be valued as unimproved.
These exemptions are good news for farmers that have made improvements to their land such as laser-levelling, but there remain challenges for some farmers along the coastal strip in the blurry line between regional towns and agriculture.
Site value has general support as a simpler approach as it removes the debate about what the original or natural state of land was, which was becoming increasingly complicated in urban areas.
Site value takes into account improvements to land such as clearing, draining, and filling but improvements such as buildings are not included.
Site value has now been successfully applied in other states.
An important issue for rural landholders will be how the government determines rural land and non-rural land when it issues the two different valuations.
You only have to go to Mackay where the sugarcane is grown right up to buildings on the edge of the city to see that zoning is a massive challenge.
The Bill provides that all land that is zoned rural under an approved planning scheme will continue to be valued as unimproved land.
Land that is urban (not zoned rural) will be valued from next year using site value.
If a rural zoned parcel of land is used for an urban purpose and has approval for this change of use, then site value will also be applied.
Where land may be zoned both rural and non-rural, the choice of valuation will be determined by the zoning of greatest land area.
There may also be cases with land close to urban areas that is zoned non-rural but may be used for rural purposes.
In these cases landholders can lodge an application to the Valuer- General to change the valuation, but they must meet specific criteria defined in the legislation.
The Bill also introduces other reforms. Under both valuations there will no longer be consideration of the added value of development approvals, leases and infrastructure credits as is the case currently.
These changes should simplify the process as much as possible.
Other concessions in the existing legislation for the use of land for single dwelling or farm are retained in the Bill but provision is made for these concessions to be reviewed in 2013.
Without these concessions, the government would have met with strong opposition to these reforms.
The change to site value will result in significant differences in valuations for some land.
However, the Bill provides for measures for landholders to adjust to impact of these changes in valuation.
It also simplifies the objections process by providing for improved exchange of information and the extension of time to conduct the process.
A new independent Valuer General will be appointed to conduct an annual valuation cycle for all properties across the State beginning next year. This target might not be achieved where there may be unusual circumstances or little valuation changes.
QFF has been involved with a range of other peak organisations in the development of these reforms. We have welcomed the State Government’s decision not to apply site value to rural land as this would have involved consideration of a range of issues regarding improvements that are made to farming land for productive and environmental outcomes.
Landholders nearby urban areas will need to be aware of current zoning and future zoning changes to watch for the impact of the implementation of these valuation reforms.
However, it appears that adequate provision has been made for landholders to apply for a change in valuation if they are adversely affected by the changes.