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Limitations on competitive allocation of certain concessions on conservation land  (PDF, 402K)

Summary

Competitive allocation of concessions can be an effective mechanism to leverage competitive tension in the market to drive better outcomes for public conservation land (PCL). 

Although the competitive allocation of concessions is already possible under the Conservation Act, current legislative settings mean DOC must take a ‘first in, first served’ approach when concession applications are received, and there is ambiguity about when and how these alternative allocative mechanisms can be used.

Cabinet decisions were made in June 2025 on key policy settings to make it easier to use competitive processes when allocating concessions for activities on public conservation land (PCL) and invited the Minister to report back on “whether there are any situations in which leases and licences with significant private capital investment should be contestable.”

Always requiring concessions to be competitively allocated could create risks for current concessionaires who have invested in fixed infrastructure. In some cases, making particular concessions contestable would effectively force the sale of privately owned fixed assets to the incoming concession-holder on unfavourable terms and discourage investment in maintaining, renewing or expanding fixed assets or upgrading facilities on PCL.

The approach recommended by the Department in this Regulatory Impact Statement would set the following limitations on the application of contestable processes for certain concessions (indicatively major tourism concessions, and to be defined and set in regulations):

• A third party would not be able to make an application for an existing concession more than 2 years prior to its expiry
• The Minister of Conservation would not be able to commence a contestable process (with respect to an existing concession) more than 2 years prior to its expiry.
• The incumbent concessionaire could apply for the concession at any time.

The Minister of Conservation preferred a different option that was ultimately presented to and agreed by Cabinet:

• A third party or incumbent for the affected concession cannot apply more than 5 years before its expiry,
• The incumbent can apply between 2 and 5 years before its expiry (if a contestable process has not been initiated prior to this), and
• The Minister may only commence a contestable process for the affected concession opportunity either:
• More than 5 years before its expiry; or
• Within 2 years of its expiry.

The Department advised that both options were reasonable and more proportionate than ruling out competitive allocation entirely for certain concessions, and would have similar impacts. Both approaches seek to balance the benefits of competition with the need to provide greater certainty for concession-holders that have made significant investments. The Department’s preferred option provides more certainty to incumbents, while option 2 provided greater flexibility for the Crown to initiate a contestable process well in advance.